              |
 |
 May 2006 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Life & Leisure Thanks to the 134 Club By Ann Roach Ferguson Love Blooms in Buffalo Contest Results This winter we asked for your stories about how love has bloomed in Buffalo. Here is our winning story submitted by Ann Roach Ferguson, along with questions I had for her. Ann won a $50 dinner certificate! Watch monthly for contests and prizes from Forever Young. - Gail Nicholson, editor.
One night during the course of the evening, Bill joined our table to get better acquainted with one of the girls, but she had other plans. He finally asked me to dance and at the end of the foxtrot he dipped me. Unfortunately, he let go and I fell, hitting my head on the floor. When he helped me up and apologized he kissed me and I saw stars — whether from the kiss or the fall I don’t know. We dated three or four times, and within six months we were married. The owners of the 134 Club, Charlie and his wife, along with the entire Buffalo Bills semi-pro team, attended our reception on Buffalo’s west side. Bill and I shared 41 wonderful years and we owed our wedding bliss to the now defunct 134 Club. Bless you, Charlie! I lost Bill, my friend and lover, four years ago. Gail Nicholson: Can you tell me about the Bills semi-pro team? Ann Ferguson: The players were a lot of war veterans and people we knew from high school, and Bill Smith was the coach. GN: Was your husband also on the semi-pro team? AF: Yes. He was a right guard. The team was a really good organization for my husband and other veterans who came back from Korea. GN: Describe the 134 Club. AF: It was a neighborhood bar with a big back room and juke box. It was run by Charlie who was a very nice man. We called his wife “ma.” She was one of those great types that took everyone in. GN: Where were you living? AF: I’m from the First Ward and my husband was from the Jefferson and Main Street area. I moved to go to nursing school at Sister’s Hospital. When I was in school the 134 Club was off limits, so as a student I couldn’t go there. GN: Tell me about your wedding. AF: I was in a borrowed dress. There were about 150 people at the reception at the Ukranian Hall on the west side of Buffalo. We were married after I graduated from nursing training, and many of the semi-pro Bills players came. GN: I enjoyed your story. Thank you. How did you hear about the contest? AF: I read about it in Forever Young. I’m a regular reader. back to top back to table of contents Current Issue | About Forever Young | Where to Find | Advertise | Our Advertisers | Community Calendar | Contest | Clubs | Contact Us | Archives | Home |
