I remember this as it was yesterday. I was 12 years old and we stood very near getting a very good look at President Kennedy while he made his speech. Brings back old memories.
I was three and a half years old when I went to the parade with my mother and siblings. It was a sunny, hazy day; very mild. I was standing at the corner of Broadway and Shumway Streets, waiting for the president's motorcade to come by. Since I only stood about three feet tall, I had trouble seeing the parade. I remember a man exclaiming: "Here he comes...!", and I knew that he meant JFK. My sister L was holding my hand; she was only about 7 or 8 years old. I broke free of her hand, and she said something like: "What are you doing...?" I squeezed through the legs of the adult people standing along Broadway, and got to the front, so I could see the cars coming by--from left to right. I saw President Kennedy sitting up on top of the back seat of an open car, and it appeared there were two men on either side of him, sitting down in the rear seat, holding onto him, or holding onto his legs. I recognized him instantly. A big cheer went up. This was one of the most exciting days in Buffalo. My dad was not at the parade; I think he had to work that day at the Curtiss-Wright plant. It is a shame, because if he had gone to the parade, he would have brought his movie camera and could have taken wonderful movies of the event. Later on--several decades later--I learned from movie and tv documentaries, that the Cuban Missile crisis started that day, or a day, or two later. The Pulaski Day Parade--of which JFK was the grand marshall, so to speak--occurred on either Saturday, or Sunday. I cannot remember which. Some kids were running down Broadway--after his car. I later learned in life, that one of those kids was TV news guy Tim Russet. I can see now why it must've been so easy for Oswald to have shot him in Dallas the following year. There did not seem to be much security around the president, at that Pulaski Day parade in October. This is an event you never forget. Of course, at that time, we knew nothing about the clandestine things that JFK was involved in, during his presidency. I also learned later on, through reading books, that Oswald came back to the U.S. from Russia, in, I think, March 1962. JFK had only 20 months to live. One of the reasons that JFK was in the parade, that day, was because he was stumping for one of the Congressional candidates, from the Buffalo-area, who was up for election that November. Please share any thoughts that any other of you beloved Buffalonians have of that special day.
October 14, 1962 was one of the most exciting and memorable days in the history of Buffalo's Polonia. It was the day when President John F. Kennedy would be the most prominent visitor in the city's annual Pulaski Day Parade. Already one of the marquee events of the year for Buffalo's Polish-America community, Kennedy's appearance at the parade would draw over 200,000 along the parade route and conclude with a poignant speech targeted at communist oppression of Poland and other nations across the world. Kennedy's journey took him down Broadway, to Niagara Square were an additional 100,000 spectators waited his arrival. The President stopped the car numerous times to shake hands and wave to the throngs along the parade route.
Thank you John Kennedy from Polish Hearts! "Nations rise & fall, men may die, but an idea lives on" - JFK From the son of men who toppled communism in Poland.
My family & I were supposed to go there to downtown Buffalo to See the late John F. Kennedy, he later that same day traveled to Canada with Canada's Primer Minister on I-190. We didn't get to see him. Buffalo was much better then, Buffalo has gone through a decline, so has many other industrial cities in the 9 state Northeastern and 8 state Midwest region. There are cities that are making comebacks in the same regions and then there is Detriot, Gary, IN, East St. Louis, Il that are far worse than Buffalo. I have lived in the Philadelphia area, Camden, NJ is in the exact same condition as the other three cities are that I just mentioned. I lived in Southern New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, California, Hawaii, the Philippines and presently in Mexizona(Arizona). I have been in Baltimore many times, that city is far worse than Buffalo and is sliding down real fast. Buffalo is making a comeback.
I remember this as it was yesterday. I was 12 years old and we stood very near getting a very good look at President Kennedy while he made his speech. Brings back old memories.
Wow! I never heard about this. Thanks for posting!
I too was there ,,,I was 5 years old. GREAT VIDEO!!!!
I remember this. My family went downtown and I sat on my Dad's shoulders. I'll never forget this.
And just over a year later he was assassinated.
This is great, thank you for posting. I would love to find prints of his visits to Buffalo but am unable to locate any.
I was three and a half years old when I went to the parade with my mother and siblings. It was a sunny, hazy day; very mild. I was standing at the corner of Broadway and Shumway Streets, waiting for the president's motorcade to come by. Since I only stood about three feet tall, I had trouble seeing the parade. I remember a man exclaiming: "Here he comes...!", and I knew that he meant JFK. My sister L was holding my hand; she was only about 7 or 8 years old. I broke free of her hand, and she said something like: "What are you doing...?" I squeezed through the legs of the adult people standing along Broadway, and got to the front, so I could see the cars coming by--from left to right. I saw President Kennedy sitting up on top of the back seat of an open car, and it appeared there were two men on either side of him, sitting down in the rear seat, holding onto him, or holding onto his legs. I recognized him instantly. A big cheer went up. This was one of the most exciting days in Buffalo. My dad was not at the parade; I think he had to work that day at the Curtiss-Wright plant. It is a shame, because if he had gone to the parade, he would have brought his movie camera and could have taken wonderful movies of the event. Later on--several decades later--I learned from movie and tv documentaries, that the Cuban Missile crisis started that day, or a day, or two later. The Pulaski Day Parade--of which JFK was the grand marshall, so to speak--occurred on either Saturday, or Sunday. I cannot remember which. Some kids were running down Broadway--after his car. I later learned in life, that one of those kids was TV news guy Tim Russet. I can see now why it must've been so easy for Oswald to have shot him in Dallas the following year. There did not seem to be much security around the president, at that Pulaski Day parade in October. This is an event you never forget. Of course, at that time, we knew nothing about the clandestine things that JFK was involved in, during his presidency. I also learned later on, through reading books, that Oswald came back to the U.S. from Russia, in, I think, March 1962. JFK had only 20 months to live. One of the reasons that JFK was in the parade, that day, was because he was stumping for one of the Congressional candidates, from the Buffalo-area, who was up for election that November. Please share any thoughts that any other of you beloved Buffalonians have of that special day.
That was back then when buffalo was actually something ... Now, it's just a place about to be forgotten.
October 14, 1962 was one of the most exciting and memorable days in the history of Buffalo's Polonia. It was the day when President John F. Kennedy would be the most prominent visitor in the city's annual Pulaski Day Parade. Already one of the marquee events of the year for Buffalo's Polish-America community, Kennedy's appearance at the parade would draw over 200,000 along the parade route and conclude with a poignant speech targeted at communist oppression of Poland and other nations across the world. Kennedy's journey took him down Broadway, to Niagara Square were an additional 100,000 spectators waited his arrival. The President stopped the car numerous times to shake hands and wave to the throngs along the parade route.
Thank you John Kennedy from Polish Hearts! "Nations rise & fall, men may die, but an idea lives on" - JFK
From the son of men who toppled communism in Poland.
My family & I were supposed to go there to downtown Buffalo to
See the late John F. Kennedy, he later that same day traveled to
Canada with Canada's Primer Minister on I-190. We didn't get to see him. Buffalo was much better then, Buffalo has gone through
a decline, so has many other industrial cities in the 9 state Northeastern and 8 state Midwest region. There are cities that
are making comebacks in the same regions and then there is
Detriot, Gary, IN, East St. Louis, Il that are far worse than Buffalo.
I have lived in the Philadelphia area, Camden, NJ is in the exact
same condition as the other three cities are that I just mentioned.
I lived in Southern New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, California,
Hawaii, the Philippines and presently in Mexizona(Arizona). I have
been in Baltimore many times, that city is far worse than Buffalo
and is sliding down real fast. Buffalo is making a comeback.
Two days before the Cuban Missile Crisis
WOW! Thank you JFK!! :'(