BUFFALO, N.Y. — 10 years ago this week in 2013:
Restaurateur and philanthropist Russ Salvatore applied to the town of Amherst for a permit to build a mausoleum at his Patriots and Heroes Park, in order that he would be able to have his final resting place there.
"It's not like I'm anxious to get in it," joked Salvatore at the time. "That's one trip I'm not eager to make!"
Permission to build the mausoleum was granted, it was constructed, and happily a decade later Salvatore still hasn't had to use it.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti apartheid activist Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95.
20 years ago this week in 2003
Geico announced it would be brining up to 2,500 jobs to Western New York at a new location in the Crosspoint office park in Amherst.
Though it had been around for decades, Pilates was becoming an increasingly popular trend in fitness in Western New York.
30 years ago this week in 1993
After hours of acrimonious debate, Erie County Legislators passed the first budget in county history to exceed $1 Billion in spending. Thirty years later, the current county budget is nearly double that amount. In stark contrast to the way things operate today, reporters seeking comment from the County Executive about the spending plan needed only to go to Dennis Gorski's home, where he'd welcome them into his living room to answer questions.
You could still find a Salvation Army bell ringer posted outside of AM&As downtown, not far from the once popular window displays which once enchanted Christmas shoppers of yore.
Imam Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad of Buffalo was sworn in as an Army captain, becoming the first Muslim chaplain to serve in the American military
Mattel completed its acquisition of Fisher Price which had thousands of employees at facilities in East Aurora and Medina.
In Buffalo, outgoing Mayor James Griffin signed a law establishing a nightly curfew for residents age 16 and under. The curfew established that young people must be off Buffalo's streets by 11pm on school nights and Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The law also provided that police could take those found in violation into custody and that after four offenses their parents could be fined from $25 to $200.
Three decades later the curfew law is technically still on the books, but is seldom if ever enforced according to Buffalo police.
40 years ago this week in 1983
That year's Connolly Cup, presented annually to the best high school football player in Western New York, was awarded to a player who would later have a standout career in the NFL where he would win three Super Bowl rings. He is also the subject of this weeks News 2 You Pop Quiz, the answer to which can be found at the conclusion of the video attached to this story.
Civic leaders from Buffalo attended the annual Major League Baseball meetings when the city was among six communities vying to land an expansion team. Part of the pitch included a proposal to build a $50 million domed stadium downtown.
An established program from the federal government which distributed free surplus cheese to low income citizens was being expanded to include other foodstuffs such as flour and coffee.
Greyhound bus drivers, including many from Buffalo, were part of a nationwide strike involving 12,500 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union.
