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News 2 You: Remembering 40 years ago this week when Bethlehem shut down

Watershed event in Buffalo's industrial history is among the stories which mark our weekly walk back through time

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ten years ago this week in 2013:

After the Buffalo Bills had handed the keys to their offense to their rookie first round draft pick, EJ Manuel went down with knee injury just a few games into the season.

His replacement would be whom? This week's News 2 You Pop Quiz: Do you recall the name of the QB who who played the role of next man up under center when Manuel went down, and who wound up starting several more games for the Bills beginning tis week in 2013? (for the answer watch the conclusion of the video attached to this story).

Remember , this was back when funding was approved to turn a vacant parcel where Memorial Auditorium once stood unto what you now know as the Explore and More Children's Museum.

It was also the week when Trader Joes opened its first Western New York store on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst, which remains the chain's only store in the region to this day. 

Then, just like now, natural gas was the most affordable form of heating fuel, however there was no push to ban its use in the name of "climate change".

Credit: WGRZ-TV

20 years ago this week in 2003:

The national Do Not Call Registry went into effect after a bill to establish it was passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush

With another Buffalo Bison's season concluded, work began to tear out the bleachers which stood behind the outfield wall at what was then called Dunn Tire Park, and replace them with the party deck that stands there today.

And we were just starting to learn about the dangers of opioids, and the addictive properties of them in prescription medicine, with much of the awareness being raised by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh who revealed his addiction to his audience while telling them he would be taking time off to check himself into a rehab center.

Credit: WGRZ

30 Years ago this week in 1993:

Woolworth's, once among America's largest retailers, announced it would be closing about half of its 800 stores including ones in Hamburg, and in the Eastern Hills Mall.

The Woolworth store at the South Gate Plaza in West Seneca, on West Ferry in Buffalo, and the one on Main Street downtown would remain open until the entire chain went under three years later. 

Credit: WGRZ -TV

40 years ago this week in 1983:

After 80 years of operating its massive mill along a two mile stretch of Lake Erie shoreline in Lackawanna, Bethlehem announced it would be ending basic steel making at the plant which once employed 22,000 workers.

The end marked a milestone in Buffalo's industrial history.

Although other parts of the plant had been shuttered in the months leading up to this chapter, historians often cite this singular event as the the one which marked the sea change in our region, and indeed its reputation, from one of fire to one of rust. 

Credit: WGRZ-TV

You can watch more News 2 You segments on the WGRZ YouTube channel

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