With The Town of Tonawanda, author John Percy has created an unprecedented collection of historic photographs, illustrating over a century of change. Readers catch glimpses of the town as it progressed from its agricultural era through industrialization, into suburbanization. Located immediately north of the City of Buffalo, the Town of Tonawanda was able to build on the success of that city's nineteenth-century growth. Luckily, the town's development has been recorded on film; many rare and never-before-published photographs are in the collection of the Tonawanda-Kenmore Historical Society, the principal source for this new work. Many of Tonawanda's people made significant contributions to the growth of our nation, particularly in the development of technology. Features of town history are recognized worldwide, like the Erie Canal, the Niagara River, and our aircraft and automotive industries. Organized to illustrate the principal eras during the past century, over two hundred photographs depict the lumber industry, the canal, and the railroads that transformed the village of Tonawanda a boom town. When the village became a separate city in 1903, the rural town developed a great industrial riverfront and the area's first successful suburb, Kenmore. World War II brought even further growth of industry, population, and culture. As we shift gears into the twenty-first century, it is natural to reflect on our area's lively past. This important new volume helps inspire the sharing of memories and stories between young and old, resident and visitor alike

Between the years of 1940 and 1960, Tonawanda and North Tonawanda virtually redefined themselves. The waning lumber industry gave way to manufacturing that accommodated first the war effort and then postwar market demands. After the war, men and women returned to family life, and the baby boom began. New homes, new schools, and new roads were built to serve the burgeoning population; meanwhile, local industries expanded, and new businesses took root. Well-paying jobs were plentiful, as were consumer goods such as televisions, modern appliances, and cars. Community pride was evident, with volunteers swelling the ranks of fire companies, churches, and service clubs. Downtown had dozens of shops, department stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues such as the Riviera and Melody Fair. Tonawanda and North Tonawanda: 1940-1960 celebrates the American Dream, an era when teenagers were rocking and rolling at school dances and hanging out at Zeffery's the Sugar Bowl, and Pee Wee's Pizzeria.

With The Town of Tonawanda, author John Percy has created an unprecedented collection of historic photographs, illustrating over a century of change. Readers catch glimpses of the town as it progressed from its agricultural era through industrialization, into suburbanization. Located immediately north of the City of Buffalo, the Town of Tonawanda was able to build on the success of that city's nineteenth-century growth. Luckily, the town's development has been recorded on film; many rare and never-before-published photographs are in the collection of the Tonawanda-Kenmore Historical Society, the principal source for this new work. Many of Tonawanda's people made significant contributions to the growth of our nation, particularly in the development of technology. Features of town history are recognized worldwide, like the Erie Canal, the Niagara River, and our aircraft and automotive industries. Organized to illustrate the principal eras during the past century, over two hundred photographs depict the lumber industry, the canal, and the railroads that transformed the village of Tonawanda a boom town. When the village became a separate city in 1903, the rural town developed a great industrial riverfront and the area's first successful suburb, Kenmore. World War II brought even further growth of industry, population, and culture. As we shift gears into the twenty-first century, it is natural to reflect on our area's lively past. This important new volume helps inspire the sharing of memories and stories between young and old, resident and visitor alike

"Powerful and important . . . an instant classic." —The Washington Post Book World The award-winning look at an ugly aspect of American racism by the bestselling author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, reissued with a new preface by the author In this groundbreaking work, sociologist James W. Loewen, author of the classic bestseller Lies My Teacher Told Me, brings to light decades of hidden racial exclusion in America. In a provocative, sweeping analysis of American residential patterns, Loewen uncovers the thousands of "sundown towns"—almost exclusively white towns where it was an unspoken rule that blacks weren't welcome—that cropped up throughout the twentieth century, most of them located outside of the South. Written with Loewen's trademark honesty and thoroughness, Sundown Towns won the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and launched a nationwide online effort to track down and catalog sundown towns across America. In a new preface, Loewen puts this history in the context of current controversies around white supremacy and the Black Lives Matter movement. He revisits sundown towns and finds the number way down, but with notable exceptions in exclusive all-white suburbs such as Kenilworth, Illinois, which as of 2010 had not a single black household. And, although many former sundown towns are now integrated, they often face "second-generation sundown town issues," such as in Ferguson, Missouri, a former sundown town that is now majority black, but with a majority-white police force.