Local group looks to landfill as link to region’s past
Tim Tielman is a man with a mission. Tielman, executive director of The Campaign for Great Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture, is organizing a “Big Dig” day at the Town of Tonawanda landfill Saturday and Aug. 13.
“This is not an archeological dig,” Tielman said. “It’s sifting through dirt that came from digging out the commercial slip at the terminus of the Erie Canal in Buffalo. The issue is to uncover 100 years of history. There is a great deal of emotional value to what volunteers will find.”
The dirt at the landfill, which Tielman points out is not filled with garbage and doesn’t have a stench, is full of items such as milk bottles, oyster shells, ceramic ware, mugs and bottles. His group worked with the Town, coming to an agreement that would allow the on-site recovery.
“We’re fully insured and worked with the law department (of the Town) to do it,” he said.
Tielman himself has uncovered a bottle of Perrier water with the cork still intact at the site.
“What a thought that (Buffalonians) could drink French water in the glory days of the Erie Canal,” he said. “In fact, Western New York could not have existed without the Erie Canal.”
The Campaign for Great Buffalo has as its mission the preservation of the architectural legacy of the area and building upon it.
The group’s revenue comes from events including a historic harbor boat tour, tours of historic churches, the Larkin complex, Allentown, lighthouses and Buffalo City Hall, among others. Tielman is also editor of Greater Buffalo, the newsletter for The Campaign for Greater Buffalo.
But it’s the oysters that Tielman enjoys talking about.
“Before the Erie Canal, fresh oysters could not be transported (across the state) without refrigeration. Packed in ice, they could only be kept about four days. They were harvested in New York harbor and sailed to Albany.”
When the Erie Canal opened, oysters could be sent to Buffalo on the canal in four days and became part of the diet of rich and poor alike. They would be eaten and the shells thrown in the canal.
It was cheap food, and one benefit of the canal was to bring fresh food to Buffalo, he explained.
“(The Big Dig) is a very big project. Those who volunteer will have a huge sense of accomplishment,” he said. “They will hold a meaningful piece of history in their hands. We’ll wash the items we find on site, and everyone will have a souvenir to take home.”
At present, Tielman and his group are looking for a soil screener to be donated for both days and portable toilets. They also hope for donations of water and food, such as hot dogs, to feed to volunteers.
Volunteers are needed not just to work in the dirt, but to cook food, hand out water and help wash artifacts.
Tielman is quick to point out the all volunteers must register for the event and pay a registration fee.
“This is a one-time opportunity,” he said. “If we don’t recover these items now, they’ll be ground up and gone forever.”
— Barbara Tucker
•••
GET INVOLVED
For information or to register for Big Dig day, call The Campaign for Greater Buffalo at 884-3138.
When: Aug. 12 and 13
Where: Town of Tonawanda landfill.
Cost: $5 registration fee.
How: Volunteers are asked to call to sign up for two-hour shifts. Shifts will be assigned.
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GOOD NEWS: Unearthing history
Local group looks to landfill as link to region's past
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