WELCOME TO FORGOTTEN BUFFALO & TOURS

An Urban Explorer's Guide to the Buffalo-Niagara Region: Unique Landmarks, Historic Gin Mills, Old World Neighborhoods, History, Nickel City Oddities, Tours and More!

Welcome

Experience the Tour

Departure Board

Arrival Board

Tour Polish Buffalo

Buffalo Ethnic Tours

Tour German Buffalo

Tour Italian Buffalo

Tour Irish Buffalo

Last Fine Time Tour

Buffalo Brewery Tour

Classic Taverns-Awards

Classic Taverns-Buffalo

Dill's Tavern

Top Hill Grill

Talty's

Daren's Tavern

Scharf's Schiller Park

Pristach's

G&T Inn

Gene McCarthy's

Ulrich's Tavern

Artys Grill

Dick's Eastside Inn

East End Tavern

Sportsman Tavern

The Malamute

Taverns of Polonia 1910

Dalys

Eddie Brady's Bar

Ten-O-Won Grill

Classic Taverns-Travels

The Concertina Bar

Mels Bar

Club 505

Steve's Lounge

Classic Taverns-Last Call

Felong's Tavern

Billy O's Golden Swan

Big Joe Dudzick's Tavern

The Broadway Grill

Bramer's Grill

Concord Restaurant

Messner's Aero Bar

Ray Flynn's

Kutas Warsaw Inn

McBride's Pub

Strusienski's Restaurant

Private & Ethnic Clubs

Adam Mickiewicz Library

American Serbian Club

Corpus Christi AC

Croatian "Cro" Club

Dnipro Ukrainian Center

Dom Polski - N Tonawanda

Eldredge Bicycle Club

Polish Cadets

St. Stan's Athletic Club

Third Warders Club

Ukrainian-American Center

FBTV Video

Historic Polonia District

Central Terminal

Polish Home Museum Project

Broadway Market

St. Stanislaus Church

Corpus Christi Church

St. Adalbert's Basilica

Superman Corner

Polonia Views

Eckhardt Department Store

Polish Union of America

PPS Broadway Mkt Report

Polskie Kolo Spiewackie

Lucki Urban

Buffalo's Polonia History

A Polka Moment In Time

Vintage Polka Posters

Pulaski Parade 1962

Pulaski Parade 2006

Pulaski Parade 2008

Broadway Fillmore

Polonia Stories

1910 Maps of Polonia Buffalo

Buffalo Polonia - 1910

Preserve a Polish Home

Kaminski Meats

Polonia Scrapbook

Polonia On Parade

1965 Polka Convention

Polish Paintings

Power To Polonia

Beer Murals Nielsen

Forgotten Bflo Features

Kids & Wigilia Traditions

The Simon Pure Brewery

Lost Bflo Train Stations

New York Central at War

Pennsylvania RR at War

Talkin' Proud!

Buffalo Union Station

Bayliss-Oshei Residence

Niagara Falls Steak Sub

Buffalo Heights

The Statler Hilton

Metro Rail 1973

Bflo Before & After

Retro Chip Collection

Melody Fair - N Tonawanda

Buffalo Courier Express

History in Your Pocket

Corner Store Experience

The Fair

Most Endangered Sites

Re-Light the Rand

Pierogi @ St. Nick's

Whammy Weenie

Skateland - East Ferry

Jimmy Griffin 1929-2008

Jack Kemp 1936-2009

Sattler Theater

Masonic Lodge #846

Broadway Grill Reunion

Vintage Xmas Cards

Bocce Club- Clinton St.

Smiling Ted's

Buffalo Snow

Edsbyn, Sweden

Buffalo Drive-In

Buffalo 1969

Ray Bennett Lumber Co.

Ray H. Bennett Home

Ultra Cool: 70s Buffalo

Buffalo Bowling Shirts

Great Northern Elevator

Pullman / Wagner Complex

Pierogi Capital of US

North Park Theater

Zywiec Brewery

Buffalo Beer Trays

1964 Campaign For Pres

Heritage Discover Ctr

Tale of Two Roundhouses

Brand Names Catalog

Trolley Lobby BCT

Mentholatum, Hyde, Smythe

Chez Ami 311 Delaware Ave

Schreiber Brewery

Forgotten Buffalo Sounds

Sounds of Buffalo Beer

Sounds of Buffalo

Sounds of the Hound

Utica Club Beer Song

Forgotten Buffalo-Lost

Gramza's Cigar Store

Burczynski Bakery

St. Gerard's Parish

The Polish Village

Rudas Record Store

Tondrowski's Shoe Store

The DL&W Terminal

Buffalo Gas Works

S.S. Aquarama/Marine Star

Aquarama - Final Chapter

Sattlers 998

Rivoli Theater - Broadway

H-O Elevator

Riverside Men's Shop

Mastman's Kosher Deli

Crystal Beach

Department Stores

CLASSIC PHOTOS

Bevador/Beerador Coolers

Parkside Candies

Buffalo's Last Roundhouse

Wildroot Factory

Buffalo Stockyards

Chicago Iron Works

Spolka Clothing

Forgotten Ontario

Tim Hortons #1

TH&B Train Station

Ivor Wynne Stadium

Canadian National Station

Minojijikum Island 1076

Forgotten Rochester

Retro Wegmans

Polonia Rochester

Spittoon Water Troughs

Forgotten Buffalo & Genny

Genesee Brewery Tour

Forgotten Bflo Roadtrips

Perreca's Bakery

F.X. Matts - Utica Club

Forgotten Buffalo-Media

Ch. 2: WGR & WGRZ-TV

Rocketship7

Commander Tom Show

Dialing for Dollars

Ed Tucholka

Polonia Media

Greg Chwojdak, WXRL

Tour of Bflo Broadcasting

WKBW Radio

WKBW Top 40 Celebration

KB Goes Kaboom! WKBW

1430 Main St - WKBW RADIO

A Thing of the Past 2006

WKBW's Tommy Shannon

George Hound Dog Lorenz

1420 Main St - WKBW TV

Forgotten Bflo Orchestra

R & L Lounge, 23 Mills St

Union Stock Yards Bank

The Think Bank

The Natural Tour

Preservation Corridors

Broadway

Fillmore Avenue

Lombard Gibson Mktplace

Project Paderewski

Forgotten Buffalo News

Despensata Corporation

Marketplace Kitchen

Buffalo Broadcasting

Oshei Family History

Robert & Mary Oshei

Born in Buffalo in 1920, Robert Chittenden Oshei’s earliest paternal family history is traced to Ireland. Some of his ancestors left Ireland in the 1700s to work in what is now Austria. Francis Joseph Oishei was born in Austria in 1830 and married Adelheide Van Wildt of Prussia. They would have three children that included Charles, who would become Robert Oshei’s Great-Grandfather. Francis Oishei arrived in the United States in 1859 and eventually settled in Buffalo. Oishei owned & operated a number of saloons and eventually owned the Golden Gate Hotel at 160 Exchange Street at the time of his death in 1878. Charles married Julia Roffo, the daughter of John Roffo who is believed to be the first Italian to settle in Buffalo in the 1840s. Julia was also an early graduate of Nardin Academy. Eight children were born to Charles and Julia – John, Stella, Camilla, Bertha, Charles, Bernard, Florence and William. Oldest brother John R Oishei would go on to form the Trico Products Corporation in 1917.

As the family grew and matured, members chose to use variations in the spelling of their surname. In family documents, historical records and civic directories, the spelling of the Oshei name, with or without the use of the extra “i” may be found.

Bernard Francis Oshei was born in Buffalo in 1898. He was a graduate of Lafayette High School and attended the University of Buffalo Law School. Shortly after leaving school, Oshei joined the Trico Products Corporation where he eventually became vice-president. In 1937, he left Trico for the plastics industry and formed the Bernard F. Oshei Co. at 170 Florida Street. Oshei married Hortense Pratt Chittenden (nicknamed "Honey") and had two sons, Bernard F. Jr. and Robert Chittenden. Hortense Pratt Chittenden graduated from The Buffalo Seminary in 1914.  She passed away in 1922. Bernard Oshei died in 1948 at the age of 50.

Hortense Pratt Chittenden’s ancestry can be traced to Buffalo’s earlier settlers and most successful business leaders. She was the daughter of John Lorenz Chittenden and Amelia Frederica Lautz. John L. Chittenden was the grandson of Pascal Pratt who founded Manufacturers’ & Traders’ Bank (M&T Bank) in 1856 and was a charter member of the Buffalo Club.  Chittenden was also a direct decedent of pioneer Buffalo settler Captain Samuel Pratt. While on an expedition to Canada in 1801, Pratt made his way through the wilderness outpost what would become the Village of Buffalo. Sensing opportunity in this western town, he moved his family from New England to Buffalo in 1804 to become a civic and social leader.  

Robert Chittenden Oshei was born in 1920 and attended School 30, Nichols School and Cornell University. He married Mary Elizabeth Bayliss in 1941 and had five children - Robert Chittenden Oshei Jr, William Bayliss Oshei, James Bayliss Oshei (died 2006), John Chittenden Oshei (died 2008) and Mary Elizabeth Bayliss Oshei known as Memo. Mary Elizabeth Bayliss, daughter of industrialist William Henry Bayliss, was a graduate of the Buffalo Seminary, attended Pine Manor College and National Park College. After serving in World War II and with the occupation forces in Japan, Robert C. Oshei founded Fibron Products in 1949. The firm became a pioneer in the manufacturing of laminated wood for the cutlery and hardware industries. Oshei enjoyed sailing as a member of the North Shore Yacht Club in Bertie Bay Ontario, Canada. He was also longtime member of the Buffalo Club and an avid bowler on the Club’s inter-club team. Robert Oshei passed away in 1999.

Mary Bayliss Oshei was a sustaining member of the Junior League of Buffalo, a member of the Garret Club and past president of the Buffalo Seminary Graduates Association. She volunteered on the Junior Board of Buffalo General Hospital and was a life member of Central Park United Methodist Church. She died on September 23, 2009 at the age of 89. In 2010, surviving family members include daughter Mary (Memo), sons William Bayliss and Robert Chittenden and seven grandchildren.  


Mary E. Bayliss-Oshei
Robert C. Oshei
Robert C. Oshei
Mary Oshei from 1963 Snowball program ad
Mary Oshei while on the Junior Board of Buffalo General Hospital
1962
1969
Bob & Mary Oshei with family in 1972
Oshei Family in the 80s
1969
October 1960
1954
1935
Mary Bayliss as a teen
William Bayliss Oshei, far right, at the Pine Grill.
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