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Historical Society of the Tonawandas, 113 Main Street, Tonawanda, NY (2026)

10/10/2026

REMEMBERING CASSATA’S DOME STADIUM – Many will remember that in the late 1970s and 1980s Cassata’s Dome Stadium at 200 Main Street was a great place to grab some wings, socialize with friends, or enjoy a Sports Night. The tavern celebrated the international athletic career of THS Class of 1964 graduate Rick Cassata.

Cassata was a top athlete in high school and at Syracuse University was a star football player. After college, he played for many years in the Canadian Football League – leading the Ottawa Roughriders to victory and the Grey Cup in 1973. When he retired from football, he returned to the Twin Cities and joined his brother Joseph Cassata in purchasing the “Double D” tavern at 200 Main Street and turning it into Cassata’s Dome Stadium.

Before it was the “Double D”, 200 Main Street had been known as Fanger’s Tavern for many decades. The building goes back to the late 1800s. In 1984, Rick Cassata took over the Sawyer Creek Hotel on Nash Road at Niagara Falls Boulevard – another vintage local building steeped in history. While the tavern in Tonawanda is today known as “200 Main,” there are many people who fondly still refer to the building just as “Cassata’s.”

09/21/2026

REMEMBERING TWIN CITIES HEROES: A memorial service was held at Payne Avenue Christian Church, then situated at Payne Avenue and Wheatfield Street in North Tonawanda, on June 2, 1970 for Mark Edward Vanderheid and Gary Lee Bowdler. Mark and Gary, both members of the church, had died in Vietnam while serving in the military. A special memorial window was dedicated for Gary at that time; Mark had been memorialized with a window in December of 1968.

Mark Vanderheid was a 1967 THS graduate, school athlete, and the son of Lillian and William Vanderheid of Simson Street in Tonawanda. He had worked at Acme Market in North Tonawanda and Walter’s Service Station in Tonawanda before enlisting in the US Marines on July 31, 1967. He went to Vietnam in January of 1968 and was wounded just two months later. He returned to duty and was killed by mortar shrapnel near Quang Tri on 28 June 1968. Mark had risen to Lance Corporal by the time of his death. He was brought home and buried with full military honors in Elmlawn Cemetery. The following May, the Tonawanda American Little League recognized Mark’s time as a player, coach, manager and umpire for the Little League as well as his ultimate sacrifice when they dedicated a playing field in his honor. A biography of Mark appears in the book, Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice by Gary Bedingfield. The book remembers 500 players who died in service to the nation.

Gary Bowdler was a 1967 NTHS graduate who had been a school athlete and was named the friendliest senior boy in his senior yearbook. The son of Marion and William Bowdler, Gary had lived on 9th Avenue. After graduation, he worked at Continental Can and enlisted in the service in June of 1968. Serving in Vietnam as a Spec 4 Army combat medic, he had been on over 25 combat missions tending to the wounded when the aircraft he was in was hit by enemy fire on September 7, 1969. Initially listed as MIA, the government notified his family on September 15, 1969 that he had been killed. He was brought home and buried in Elmlawn Cemetery with full military honors. As a tribute from North Tonawanda High School, a member of the NTHS band played taps at the burial. NT Mayor Paul Rumbold ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Gary’s honor.

In 1972, Mark and Gary were again remembered by Payne Avenue Christian Church when a new American flag was presented to the church and dedicated in their honor. These two men shared so much – they were born the same year (1949), both loved Little League, both were popular school athletes, they graduated the same year (1967), they were members of the same church, they enlisted in the service after high school, both had brothers in the military at the same time they served, and both gave all they could for their country. Now, nearly sixty years later, let us continue to REMEMBER THESE TWIN CITIES HEROES.

09/10/2026

What do Johnny Cash, Alice Cooper, Jack Benny, Louis Armstrong, the Doobie Brothers, Eartha Kitt, Liberace, Barbara Mandrell, Frankie Valli, Angela Lansbury, Gladys Knight, Rich Little, Dionne Warwick, Roy Clark, and the Fifth Dimension all have in common? They all appeared in North Tonawanda. Some literally worked under a tent and others played under an iconic dome. It was MELODY FAIR and for decades it brought the best of world entertainment to the Twin Cities. The stars of stage, screen, and television were literally in our backyard and we loved it.

Largely the creation of impresario Lewis “Lew” Fisher and others such as Thomas Finn and Frank Abbate, the idea of “theater in the round” impressed Wurlitzer Company Chairman Farny Wurlitzer and NT plant manager Roy Waltemade. Wurlitzer agreed to lease property next to its North Tonawanda plant for a theater that would bring world class entertainment to the Twin Cities.

MELODY FAIR was a summertime venue that was, for many years, thousands of seats surrounded by canvas walls and ceiling. Groundbreaking took place on March 23, 1956, and large crowds enjoyed the theater’s first show on June 15, 1956 – the musical Plain and Fancy. Producer Lew Fisher sent representatives to NYC to secure bookings of touring companies of the nation’s best theater. In the early years, Melody Fair tried to establish its own theater company of actors, singers, and dancers that would appear “under the tent” throughout the entire season.

Entertainers quickly found out that North Tonawanda and Melody Fair were great places to play. Lew Fisher treated the stars well and made them feel comfortable and at home in the Twin Cities. Stars were feted at local venues such as Warren’s Steak House, Kostek’s, and The Three Coins. The theater was also willing to make accommodation for the stars and their shows. For an early production, the orchestra pit was converted to a swimming pool and Olympic skater Peggy Fleming had the stage covered with ice for her show. Pianist and entertainer Liberace, who appeared at Melody Fair more than any other performer, often commented on how welcoming Melody Fair and the Twin Cities were.

The 1974 season opened with the tent replaced by hard walls and a domed ceiling and a performance by Chuck Mangione. In 1980, the theater was sold to local businessmen David and Rudolph. The theater had several great years of shows after the purchase, but by the 1990s, the theater again faced an uncertain future. By 2010, the decision had been made to demolish the structure. Walmart and its parking lot now occupy part of the original 14 acres where Lew Fisher and Melody Fair once brought the stars of the world to the Twin Cities.

08/27/2026

PART TWO - REMEMBERING TONAWANDA’S SEA LIONS – THE TIEBORS -

Along with the Webbs and Pickards, the Tiebor family was among Tonawanda sea lion royalty. As the story was told, about 1914, John Tiebor (1858-1945) of William Street was at the Buffalo Zoo watching sea lions when he thought that he, too, could train the animals. He purchased a baby sea lion, began training, and in a short period of time “Captain” John Tiebor had a troupe of sea lions performing and traveling the world. Like the Webbs and Pickards, it was a family affair with several Tiebor sons and later grandchildren joining the business.

When “Captain” John Tiebor died at his William Street home in 1945, his obituary entitled “He Saw Something in Sea Lions” was featured in newspapers as far away as Sydney, Australia. The Tiebors were especially loved in England where Roland Tiebor Sr. (1901-1987) established a troupe that toured Europe and North Africa in the 1930s. British audiences, which included members of the royal family and prime ministers over the years, were particularly impressed when the Tiebor sea lions played “God Save the King” on their horns. The Tiebors met King Edward VII (later the Duke of Windsor) and played before Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. With the coming of war, the Tiebors returned to Tonawanda.

Famous for performing with the Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Tiebor sea lions were often seen on TV shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show and Captain Kangaroo. They can also be seen in the 1952 Cecil B. DeMille circus movie The Greatest Show on Earth. Like the Pickards, the Tiebors never seemed too busy to take their sea lions and perform for local groups, especially schools.

In the 1950s, the Tiebors lived on Highland Avenue and many Highland School students in Tonawanda were often late to school with the excuse that they stopped to see the sea lions. The Tiebor sea lions sometimes made the one block journey to entertain the students and “went to school” for the day.

In 1999, the London Daily Dispatch mourned the passing of Roland Tiebor, Jr. (1928-1999), who had spent his youth in England with his father’s troupe, with a six-column obituary. The paper lamented the passing of something that had made the Twin Cities unique.

Thanks to the Webbs, Pickards, and Tiebors, we had been the “Sea Lion Training Capital of the World.”

08/24/2026

REMEMBERING TONAWANDA’S SEA LIONS - PART ONE -

At the Historical Society’s TWIN CITIES HERITAGE CENTER at 113 Main St., Tonawanda there is a display that makes people do a double take. It is the display honoring Tonawanda’s days as the “Sea Lion Training Capital of the World.” People know about the Twin Cities’ lumber heritage, and many remember our prominence around the world because of business such as Wurlitzer and Re*****on Rand, but sea lions???...in Tonawanda??? Yes!

From the start of the 20th century to the early 1960s, Tonawanda was recognized around the world as the place where many of the sea lions featured in circuses, fairs, vaudeville acts, television shows and even a Cecil B. DeMille movie learned their trade.

The story begins with Thomas Webb (1852-1936) of Tonawanda. His 1936 obituary named him “The First American to Train Sea Lions.” Thomas Webb was working a concession stand at Put-in-Bay, Ohio about 1896 when a friend “gave him a sea lion.” Noticing how intelligent the animal seemed, Webb attempted to teach it tricks. Success! and a new form of entertainment was born. Webb and his wife Diana Pickard Webb (1860-1952) travelled the world with a growing number of sea lions in a vaudeville act. In Europe, they performed for dignitaries such as Russian Czar Nicholas II. A 1902 newspaper account states that their act in Paris had so astounded people that a committee of journalists was formed to investigate if sea lions really performed their tricks or if humans had been wearing sea lion skins as a ruse.

Tonawanda was the home base for the Webb troupe of sea lions. When home, the animals lived in a warehouse with water tanks on Young Street. In 1910 one sea lion made a mad dash and escaped to Ellicott Creek and was chased for a mile up the canal. It was recaptured after it came out of the water to lounge on land. People in boats along the canal were astonished to see a sea lion swimming along with them! The Webbs’ success provided them with a winter retreat in Florida and a fine home at 150 Delaware in Tonawanda.

When the Webbs retired, their sea lion troupe was taken over by their nephews Harry (1887-1966), Charles (1894-1947), and William Pickard (1889-1975). Troupes of Pickard sea lions traveled the world and entertained thousands of people over the decades. Charles Pickard and his wife Elsie (1902-1977), who later had her own sea lion act under the professional name “Wanda Dixon,” were in Germany on a 1939 European tour when Germany invaded Poland and WWII began. The couple and their sea lion “Susie” were scheduled to go to Paris, but the American consulate warned them to leave Germany immediately. Joined by members of the Golde family of Morgan Street, Tonawanda who were also in Germany at the time, they managed to get to Denmark and, after several weeks, were able to board a neutral Swedish liner that was allowed through the British naval blockade. They reached NYC and safely returned to their Fletcher Street home.

Continuing in Captain Webb’s path, the Pickards trained their animals to balance balls, play the national anthem on horns, and make various human type sounds such as a crying baby. All done, as William Pickard said, with a bit of salmon or mackerel. Captain Harry Pickard’s red uniform jacket, cap, and training whistle are on display at the Twin Cities Heritage Center. (COMING SOON – PART TWO: THE TIEBORS)

08/20/2026

“The dream of a 31-year-old Buffalo executive will come true next spring with the opening of Fantasy Island, a $500,000 amusement park on Grand Island.” That was how the entertainment publication Boxoffice noted the start of Fantasy Island in September 1960. Gerald Birzon had organized a number of local businessmen to back the creation of a new amusement park on Grand Island. Children in the Birzon family wielded shovels when ground was broken on October 15, 1960, and Fantasy Island celebrated its grand opening on June 24, 1961.

The amusement park offered rides and entertainment for small children, teens and adults. Many people will remember the Wild West shootouts complete with stunt performers, children receiving metal stars and taking the oath that made them “deputies,” the lion tamer Tarzan Zerbini, trapeze artists, high divers, performances at the Golden Nugget Saloon, a gentle ride on the river boat “Mark Twain”, roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, and over time a growing number of rides. Not only a beloved spot for families, but many companies and organizations held their annual family picnics there.

By 1982, economic forces pushed the park toward bankruptcy and a series of out-of-town owners. In 1994, the park was revived by Martin DiPietro as Martin’s Fantasy Island. The California-based Apex Park Group purchased the park in 2016 and began what some called “fire sales” of the park’s infrastructure. The park closed in 2020 but reopened in 2021 when the Chicago-based IB Parks and Entertainment rebranded the park as Niagara Amusement Park & Splash World. The park did not open in 2026, but generations of people have great memories of fun summer days at Fantasy Island!

08/17/2026

REMEMBERING CLINT SMALL AND GEORGE VETTER…generations of athletes learned about leadership, sportsmanship and camaraderie from two men who spent their professional lives dedicated to the youth of the Twin Cities. Clint Small, in Tonawanda, and George Vetter, in North Tonawanda were more than coaches – they were men who worked to build their athletes, their schools, and their communities.

George Vetter came to North Tonawanda from Elmira and started teaching history in 1936. He became head football coach for NTHS in 1937. He held that position until he retired in 1971, except for four years he spent in the US Army during WWII. He coached basketball from 1937 to 1942 and baseball from 1946-1971. He served as NT Athletic Director and was recognized for helping to build female sports in the district. The NT football field was named in his honor, and he was a charter member of the North Tonawanda Football Hall of Fame. Coach Vetter died in 1983.

Clint Small was a 1934 THS graduate and, after he returned from serving in the US Army during WWII, he began teaching in Tonawanda. He was head football coach from 1949-1973 and coached basketball and baseball. In 1973, the Chamber of Commerce named him Citizen of the Year because of his service to the community through his many civic functions. As with George Vetter, Clint Small was remembered when the THS football field was renamed in his honor. Coach Small died in 1999.

Both men helped to build upon athletic programs established by people such as the legendary Christ Tussing and William “Pop” Ramsay. After their retirements, new coaches stepped up and continued to their work to this day. But the names George Vetter and Clint Small are still remembered for using sports to instill in every athlete pride in oneself and pride in one’s community.

08/13/2026

REMEMBERING GUST FLOROS – TONAWANDA’S “GOAT MAN”…if you are of a certain age, you may remember driving down Young Street and keeping an eye out for a flock of goats and a small thin man leading them. That was Gust Floros…”The Goat Man”…sometimes known as “Charlie the Goat Man.” It was always a thrill when Gust smiled and happily waved back. Born in Greece in 1891, he came to the US as a young man to seek his fortune, as he said. He was a bus boy and waiter in Chicago for a time, but by 1918 was living in Tonawanda. He served in the US Army at the end of WWI and returned to Tonawanda to work at Spaulding Fibre and Buffalo Steel. Gust said that to relieve his ulcers he had been told to drink goat milk which seemed to help. The price of goat milk inspired him to purchase a few goats to provide milk. He said that he realized that raising goats was a healthier and less stressful life than factory work. By 1920, Gust had a farm at the south end of Young Street. With a barn and a modest home, the farm eventually had over 100 goats along with geese, chickens, ducks, cows, dogs, cats and animals that were brought to him in need of a good home. Over the years, city regulations made Gust’s farm and animals illegal, but officials looked the other way. Not a recluse, he always welcomed visitors, especially classes of school children. He said he never married, in part because he never made enough to support a family – just himself. One of his sources of income was selling the manure from his farm. For almost 50 years, he said “Yes, goats are my life.” As time went on, it was more difficult for Gust and his farm to exist within city boundaries. In 1965, while recuperating at the VA Hospital from a stroke, relatives stepped in and sold his animals. A dejected Gust returned to Young Street and tried to build up his farm only to have heart problems, finally making him close things down in 1970. In 1972, while Gust was living with relatives in Buffalo, the county demolished the buildings on his farm. When Gust died in 1977, a well-wisher purchased a grave for him in Forest Lawn Cemetery where he now rests. A beloved fixture of the Twin Cities, Gust Floros loved his goats, his farm, and waving to passersby. It was said that “He bothered no one and was kind and friendly to everyone.” REMEMBERING GUST FLOROS…Tonawanda’s “Goat Man”

08/06/2026

REMEMBERING NORMAN KELLER...a few days after the TONAWANDA NEWS carried the story of Norman Keller's death while serving in Vietnam, a letter to the editor appeared in the paper about Norman Keller and loss. Even after nearly 60 years, the poignant, yet beautiful, words of that letter need to be read again.

08/06/2026

REMEMBERING NORMAN KELLER – In 2006, 91-year-old Dorothy Keller of North Tonawanda was on hand as the Niagara County building on Wheatfield Street in NT was renamed in honor of her late son, Army Specialist 4th Class Norman L. Keller who had died in Vietnam on June 4, 1968, while serving as a medical corpsman. A 1962 NTHS graduate, Norm graduated from UB in 1966 and was a physical education teacher at Spruce and Meadow elementary schools in NT and was part of the wrestling program at Cardinal O’Hara High School when he entered military service in July of 1967. Known as “Doc” to his comrades, he had been injured from a land mine in March of 1968. In June of that year, Norman was killed while bringing medical care to the wounded. He was honored with the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Conspicuous Service Cross and buried with full military honors in Elmlawn Cemetery. Student athletic and service awards were dedicated in his name. Nearly 40 years after his death, men he served with in Vietnam came to North Tonawanda to witness the county building renamed the Norman L. Keller Community Building – for their comrade – their friend. Perhaps the greatest testimony to the affection his comrades had for Norman was the fact that for many years his fellow soldiers sent flowers to Dorothy Keller on Mother’s Day – because Norman wasn’t there to do it himself. When you drive by the Norman L. Keller Community Building, please take a moment to remember Norman L. Keller – a true TWIN CITIES HERO!

Historical Society of the Tonawandas

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