Q&A:Donna Zellner Neal
Lumber City is focus of new center, director says
NORTH TONAWANDA—There was nothing sweeter to the ears of a younger Donna Zellner Neal than a whistle that blew at noon and at 6 to signal her dad’s return home from R. T. Jones Lumber Co. in North Tonawanda.
It was the music of North Tonawanda’s lumber business, making the city on the Erie Canal the largest lumber port in the world, along with its City of Tonawanda “twin.” Some of that lumber went into Bennett Homes, made in North Tonawanda by Bennett Lumber. Many of these quality homes were constructed in North Tonawanda after World War II, earning praise for at least a half-century.
Donna Zellner Neal hasn’t forgotten that aural signal, also signifying North Tonawanda and its twin as the globe’s lumber capital. And the now-volunteer executive director of the North Tonawanda History Museum wants others to remember as well, with the opening, not long ago, of the museum’s new building, the Lumber City History Center at 54-60 Webster St.
In the history book, “North Tonawanda: The Lumber City,” which Zellner Neal edited, she, in part, acknowledges her family, “for putting up with the long hours of neglect as work progressed on gathering the city’s history for the museum.”
How did the history museum start?
Our history museum was created at the request of hundreds of people and then developed around the ideas and requests of thousands.
Some have given their family’s heirlooms as well as personal treasures. We had over 200,000 items donated in the first five years.
What’s your theme? On our being North Tonawanda—a wonderful little city located at the junc-
ture of the Niagara River and the Erie Canal, part of the Seaway Trail, the new Greenway Trail and in the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
People wanted to know more about the city’s waterways history?
What they asked for wasn’t so much about the water. They enjoy the water for recreation these days, instead of for the commerce, which created our community and made it develop into the “Lumber Capital of the World” and an industrial center of significance.
So what were they interested in?
They asked us to tell the stories of its people, those who lived here and worked here.
Our exhibits have a heavy emphasis on the people and their lives, the ethnic heritage of the early North Germans, the Poles, the Italians, Irish, Lebanese, Slovakians, Ukrainians and so on, who came here to build new lives, and on the industrial heritage — where the people worked and earned the wherewithal to live their lives here. Our museum is meant to take the focus of a love story and put it on public display for all to savor and enjoy for generations. People come in here, and they’re so excited about the lives of people, they get so wrapped up in it.
Tell us a bit about your own history?
I’m the widowed mother of seven, grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of three going on six. I was born and raised in the City of Tonawanda, moved to North Tonawanda when I was 18 and a young wife. I’ve lived in Buffalo, the Town of Amherst and the Town of Tonawanda before returning to North Tonawanda in September 1997 with my two youngest children. My children encouraged me to get a new hobby. They tease me now and say, “She started a museum!”
What were the museum’s “early days” like?
Enthusiasm for the idea spread quickly in North Tonawanda and beyond. Then-Mayor David Burgio asked me if I would be willing to coordinate starting such an entity. With little idea what I was getting into, I accepted.
Initially, we operated from my home and the homes of other members.
Is it true you’re getting some international attention?
The online museum receives visits from individuals in more than 50 countries monthly and brings in orders for the publications and other items we offer from across the country. We’ve sold our books to people in Canada, Hong Kong and Great Britain, and have received donations from Dubai, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
What else do you offer?
We offer historic maps of North Tonawanda, the City of Tonawanda and the Town of Wheatfield, which are also popular. North Tonawanda, and what is now the City of Tonawanda, were, from 1854 through 1857, an incorporated village in two towns — the Town of Tonawanda and the Town of Wheatfield — and two counties — Erie and Niagara.
North Tonawanda, originally known as the hamlet of Niagara, was part of the Town of Wheatfield from the establishment of the Town of Wheatfield in 1836, until North Tonawanda’s incorporation as a city in 1897.
What are your hours?
We’re open from 9 a. m. to 9 p. m. Mondays; Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. During Canal Fest week, July 19 to 26, we’ll be open from 11 a. m. to 10 p. m.
A panel of members of the 1812 Niagara Legacy Council — including Onondaga Nation member Percy Abrams — will speak at an informational meeting of the North Tonawanda 1812 Bicentennial Group at 7 p. m. Tuesday in the history museum at 54 Webster St. Anyone interested in participating in efforts during the celebration of the years of peace between the borders is invited to attend.
Have an idea about a Niagara County resident who would make an interesting question-and-answer column? Write to: Louise Continelli, Q&A, The Buffalo News, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240. e-mail: lcontinelli@buffnews.com
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments