Western New Yorkers love to talk about, read about and reminisce about the region’s rich history. The good ol’ days are a regular topic of conversation at family affairs, favorite watering holes, coffee shops, luncheons and reunions. Daniel P. Starr’s engaging work is a great opportunity to add to these conversations.

 

From Niagara Falls to the Niagara Peninsula and the eight counties of Western New York, colorful stories and portraits spring to life. 

 

Special emphasis is placed on the Queen City itself and its resurgence in the 21st century. Starr has recaptured some of this in his monthly columns for After 50, a popular local publication.

 

Within the book’s 210 pages, the reader will find colorful material and absorbing vignettes about everything from local sports to the old downtown of post-World War II days. Summertime vacation spots on both the American and Canadian shores are showcased, as are activities in he ethnic enclaves in Buffalo, parts of Amherst and beyond.

 

Starr is professor emeritus of history at Canisius College. He was a member of the faculty there for almost half a century and he served as the director of athletics for nearly three decades.