DECEMBER | 2019
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER DECADE AND SO MANY PLACES TO CELEBRATE

There are so many great restaurants, communities and events to celebrate the New Year in Western New York. Some of our favorites...

Eckl's@Larkin delivers your classic New Year's Eve experience. The impeccable ambiance and finest steaks in Buffalo, plus a champagne toast draws a picture of the iconic celebration meal. 

Have you ever experienced a torchlight parade created by skiers slashing their way down a mountain? Ellicottville, NY offers just this opportunity, and it is truly a magically site. A stay at the EllicottVillas provides the luxury home base required for the perfect local holiday vacation. Dozens of restaurants, bars and shops provide alternative entertainment for the non-skiers (or when the weather does not cooperate).

31 years of celebrations and First Night Buffalo is still your best option for an affordable night of family fun. Stay warm inside the Buffalo Convention Center and experience carnival rides, bounce houses, acrobats, exotic animals and much more.

Join the 2nd largest New Years Eve Ball Drop in the US! The New Year's Eve Buffalo Ball Drop is celebrating 32 years of celebrations and the iconic Electric Tower will light up once more. Live music from Tommy Z and the All Star Band and a spectacular fireworks display is sure to send us into 2020 with a bang.
LARKIN HISTORY FROM THE DESK OF SHARON OSGOOD
LARKIN SOAP CO. DURING WORLD WAR I

My apologies. This article was intended to be completed and published in November, with Veteran's Day in mind. But between other commitments and the volumes of material I reviewed for this article, I failed. Hopefully, someone noticed!
 
As the Larkin Soap Co. (LSC), established in 1875, swung contentedly into the Twentieth Century, it coasted on the happy breezes of national and international peace, and was confidant, as well, in its own financial success and its creation of what could be viewed as a happy, caring community. 
 
Arthur Schlesinger introduced the gargantuan book, "Chronicle of the Twentieth Century," (*) which covered nearly day by day the period between 1900 and 1987. He described the first decade's peace, affluence and emergence of U.S. prestige internationally and confidence about years to come. Citing a painting by French artist, Jules-Alexander Goun depicting lavishly dressed Parisians "basking lavishly in the luxury of an art exhibition." He interpreted the scene as the pleasant ambience reflected in a carefree society, one devoid of burden and worry; an atmosphere marked by splendor and elegance. Schlesinger then warned that , paradoxically, grave problems lurked beneath the surface in that era, threatening the seemingly durable social structure.
 
So it was with innocence and optimism that LSC, and its subsidiary, Buffalo Pottery, founded in 1901, continued their growth in the early 1900's. As brows furled when Russia and Japan began fighting in 1904, followed by increasing worry as conflict developed between Bulgaria and Turkey in 1912 and England's failed attempt to negotiate peace between Germany and the rest of Europe, a full world-wide war erupted. By 1914 it came to be known as the World War. (It only came to be known as World War I after another World War began in the 1930's.). Continue Reading.

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PHOTO 2. Niagara on the Lake Public Library

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