Jim Nolan's Blog

"News Stories" by Peter Nolan

My dad's cousin Peter Nolan just sent me this superb memoir. I read it in two sittings.

If you are interested in the history of broadcast journalism, or want to know what Chicago was like in the 1970s and '80s, this is the book for you. Peter writes like he is sitting next to you, telling you a story. And they are always good stories. What it was like to watch the teletype when JFK was assassinated. How he found JFK's sister Rosemary when she became lost in Chicago. A Jimmy Hoffa press conference after he was let out of jail. Nixon visiting Chicago not long before he resigned. And a panoply of Chicago characters he knew: Msgr. Ignatius McDermott a.k.a. "the Angel of West Madison Street," Corneal Davis, Paul Adams, Fred Hubbard, Donald Stephens, Tom Keane, Bobby Rush "the Black Panther who went to Congress," Jimmy Taylor, Bernie Epton, Michelle Clark, Otto Kerner, Sid Luckman, Charles "Chick" McCuen, Charles A. "Pat" Boyle, Jimmy Nolan and Roland Burris. All are recalled with insight and Peter's wry, understated humor. I can't imagine someone from Chicago not eating this up. And if anyone else wants to know what it was really like to be a broadcast journalist in its infancy, you will discover it here.

Peter was born in Buffalo, and started his career in Niagara Falls as news director at WHLD Radio. His brother Michael Nolan was a sports anchor in Buffalo in 1969 at WGR-TV. Both Peter and Michael went to Canisius High School. Their father, Ralph, was the brother of my dad's father Paul and my dad's aunt Mamie. (There were two other brothers as well, George and Edmund.) Peter's mom, Doanie, was very funny and my parents remember her with great fondness.

 

Mamie Moran Wearing 1920's Outfit

My grandfather's sister Mamie and her husband Ross Moran. Mamie was a fashion plate and a beauty, and liked to pinch my brother Chris's cheeks. Mamie, Ross, and my grandmother and grandfather lived on Parkside Avenue in Buffalo across from the lawn bowling field. It had a huge horse chestnut tree in the front yard. I wish I knew where this photo was taken. It may be somewhere in Canada, where Ross was from. I love Ross's shoes. Mamie worked as an assistant to one of the Schoellkopfs, a family of Buffalo industrialists. Click to enlarge.

Rose Hill, Canada,1930

A earlier time on the Canadian shore. That's my Uncle John, grandfather Paul and father Jim Nolan at the beach. Paul and my grandmother Isabel would rent a house at Rose Hill, and Paul would commute by car, boat and bus to his job at Pratt & Lambert in Buffalo.

1906 Blessed Sacrament School Graduating Exercise Handout

Before he graduated from Buffalo's Central High School in 1912, my grandfather Paul Nolan went to Blessed Sacrament School. You will see that he was one of the sixth grade's two best students. This little booklet is in pretty good condition, considering it's over 110 years old. I hope some Buffalonians out there recognize a family member. Click to enlarge.

The Class of 1912 Graduates. 103 Year Later, So Does George.

 Buffalo's Central High School Class of 1912. My grandfather, the Class Poet, is in the top row, 6th from the right. And my younger son, George, graduated yesterday. The Class Poet's son, George's grandfather, was there to watch.

 

Click here to listen to To The Class Of 2010, from the Class of 1912

Pratt & Lambert Paint Volleyball Team, 1930

My grandfather, Paul Nolan, is on the far left. Wish I could make out the design on the jerseys better. It is not the Nike swoosh. Click below to hear my commentary about an illuminating P&L company newsletter from 1946, right after the war.

Click to hear 1946, In Color

July 1931 Book-of-the-Month Club Selection

A beautifully designed 8-pp. newsletter from 1931. The Club started just five years earlier, in 1926. Not sure why my parents had it; it must have been from Dad's parents. My folks were also BOTMC members and their bookshelves are full of its excellent selections. $2.50 was probably a lot of money back in 1931; a couple of the selections went for five bucks. 

John and Mamie

I love this shot of Mamie Moran, my grandfather Paul Nolan's sister. Here she is with my Uncle John at my christening. What style! Click here to see a photo of Mamie as a young woman. She was beautiful then, and beautiful in this picture. 

Jake Sicherman Debates for J.Y.M.A., June 1916

From a packet of newspaper clippings and photos sent to me by Barbara Sicherman. I've really enjoyed posting the four audio essays with Barbara this week on subjects from Well Read Lives: How Books Inspired a Generation of American Women. Barbara's dad Jake was my grandfather Paul's best friend, in high school and throughout life. Her mother, Esther, was a great friend of my grandmother, Isabelle. Here is an article about Jake debating a J.Y.M.A. team from Rochester at Temple Beth Zion. Thanks for this week, Barbara!

Dickens Day, Buffalo Central High, 1912

Click any page to enlarge.

To me, this presentation on the 100th anniversary of Dickens' birth seems incredibly ambitious. Sketches from David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, with a dance or two thrown in. Dickens, who was also a famous actor, would have loved it. My grandfather, Paul Nolan was the stage manager. My friend Barbara Sicherman's dad, Jacob, played Ebenezer Scrooge. A hundred years later, Dickens is still beyond category.