Ed Adamczyk
The Tonawanda News
I have long been of the opinion Western New York has an image problem.
No, not of snowstorms, hazardous food and mediocre football, but of its forgotten history of crackpottedness.
Hearing the terms “Texas” or “New England” can conjure a number of images in the mind, and are likely to include historically hardscrabble existences of men and women who were tough, flinty, hard-working and, uh, a little screwy.
We should have an image like that, of people who braved the cold and loneliness and perhaps were driven nuts by it. This is the place (here and central New York) that was overtaken by religious revivalism in the 1830s, of spiritualism and utopian communities (look up the stories of how they felt about sex; they were strenuously in favor of it), the bonfires from presentations by faith healers, quacks and other eccentrics giving the area the nickname “The Burned-Over District.”
This (actually, Grand Island) was where a guy, in 1825, tried to establish a homeland for the world’s Jewish population. The Jews held out for Jerusalem. Smart move.
Read more: http://tonawanda-news.com/opinion/x241729649/ADAMCZYK-Airplane-with-a-few-screws-loose
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