Kurchhoff Brothers Motorcycle Act

JWise Moments, Photo of the Day

Rudolph Kurchhoff (left) and Herman Kurchhoff (center), unknown on right in Buffalo, New York circa 1902

Rudolph C. Kurchhoff born in 1884 is on the left and Herman William Kurchhoff born in 1887 is in the center, the person on the right is unknown. Herman is my maternal great grandfather. Best we can figure the boys were photographed here around 1903 in Buffalo, New York. The bikes play a foreshadowing role in their lives because less than half a dozen years later the brothers were starting to earn close to $1000 a week by risking their lives simultaneously riding motorcycles in a steel cage known as the “Globe of Death”.

Kurchhoff Brothers Motorcycle Cage circa 1907 in Buffalo, New York

The cage took two years to engineer, build, and perfect at a cost of $4000.

Herman W Kurchhoff circa 1908 with his Reading Standard Motorcycle in Buffalo, New York

When they started riding in the cage they both rode “Indian Camel Back” motorcycles from what appears to a 1907 model. This photo of my great grandfather Herman is from a later date, as his “Reading Standard” motorcycle is most likely a 1908 model.

Rudolph Kurchhoff circa 1907 and his Indian Camel Back Motorcycle in Buffalo, NY

With a little more than 2 horsepower, the brothers sped around the interior of their cage at the crazy speed of nearly 60 mph.

Flyer about the Kurchhoff Brothers Motorcycle Act in Buffalo, New York circa 1907

Not only were they flying dangerously fast, often touching elbows as they passed each other, but they were also blindfolded!

Kurchhoff Brothers performing their Motorcycle act under the big top in New York circa 1907

Their big break came when they were invited to perform their death-defying feat for the very first time at the Hippodrome in New York City, which at the time was the largest theater in the world. They performed this act a full 10 years before Harry Houdini would take the exact same stage in the Hippodrome to make an elephant disappear.

Following the New York City performances, they went on to perform their act across the region.

Newspaper clip from Illustrated Buffalo Express May 17, 1907 about the Kurchoff Brothers

Only a few fragments of press clippings still exist that tell of their story, but it’s interesting for me to know that about 110 years ago I had family that was daredevils and doing the Evel Knievel thing.

Karen Mae Kurchoff RIP

JWise Moments

Karen Goff and John Wise at a Great Lake in the Eastern United States

This is my mother, Karen Mae Kurchoff. She was a difficult person with questionable decision-making processes, but she was still my mom, and now I will only be able to look back at our lives because hers has passed. In October, she experienced a stroke that affected her left side to an extent that, without her concerted effort, would leave her paralyzed; she chose paralysis. A couple of weeks ago, she made another poor choice when she stopped eating, followed by the stopping of drinking any fluids four days ago. So tonight, with little struggle and no fanfare, she quietly and by herself, through the haze of a morphine-induced stupor, took the exit ramp.

Should my short note of memorializing my mother seem distant, she effectively chose suicide by self-neglect instead of taking the more difficult path. That is how she lived most of her life. I cannot know what ultimately made her the person she was, but I know she had plenty of blame for nearly all that were a close part of her life. I can’t say I really ever knew her to be genuinely happy, as there was always an undercurrent of frustration and wanting things to be better because good enough was never enough.

While my mom was affable and could endear almost anyone to her loud Buffalonian screech, she often honestly tried to be a good person for others she respected. For those she was supposed to love, there was conflict and tension. I will wonder in the years to come what was it in childhood that impacted her ultimate happiness. Why, at 14 years old in 1962, would she get pregnant and then, six years later, abandon her children? Why did she take the easy road and endure the pain and suffering of abusive husbands? Why didn’t she fight to live to a ripe old age?

In the end, she would never explain a thing, though when my sisters and I asked her a week ago why she chose the path she was most recently on, she said, “Because it’s easy.”

Is it really so easy to just go die?

Bocce Club Pizza

JWise Food, Photo of the Day

Bocce Club Pizza boxed up and overnighted from Bufffalo, New York

This is 7 pounds of Bocce Club Pizza from Buffalo, New York that just arrived on an overnight delivery from FedEx.

Three 17"x9" slices of pizza from Bocce Club Pizza in Buffalo, New York

I had ordered a sheet pizza but the box was way too small to hold a pizza of the size I was expecting. After opening it up I see that they simply sliced what originally is a 17 x 27-inch pizza into three 17 x 9 pieces, each one barely fits on my cookie sheet!

Bocce Club Pizza ready for the oven

The pizza is partially baked in Buffalo before it is sent off to customers across the United States. The oven is warming.

Update: The pizza was ordered on Monday, made and shipped on Tuesday, and arrived on Wednesday. It cost $48 for the pie, $55 for delivery, but before you gasp that I bought a $103 pizza you should know that we ate from this six times and while it was amazing the first few days the last 1/6th lost some of the magic. Now consider that by cutting it into sixths we were actually only paying $17 per section which is quite the bargain when compared to a local favorite pizza place where a pie with half the density costs $18.30 with tax. I’d do this again.

Back to Buffalo, New York

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Somewhere west of Montreal, Canada

We stayed somewhere west of Montreal (maybe Cornwall, Ontario), but I wrote just that at the end of yesterday’s post.

Tim Hortons in Morrisburg, Canada

Tim Hortons was in Morrisburg, Canada, and I have to say that I am more impressed with Strader Auto next door as they were the clue to find out where we were on the map on this day. Congrats to them for still being in business; as far as Tim Hortons goes, there’s no rhyme or reason they are as popular and ubiquitous as they are. Had we been able to find poutine for breakfast, we might still have tried Tim Hortons, but we’d have known to spit it out, opting for potatoes, cheese, and gravy instead.

Somewhere in Ontario, Canada

When I think bucolic living, this would do it for me right here, but then in 60 days, when the bitter cold of the region’s winter kicks in, I’d likely not continue holding fast to that idea.

Prescott Rotary Lighthouse in Prescott Ontario, Canada

Passed the Prescott Rotary Lighthouse which was an ice cream shop in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. Did we stop for ice cream? I have no idea but from the angle of the sun, I’d guess it was still too early for that, and in any case, we have some ideas for that when we get into Buffalo.

Caroline Wise and John Wise entering New York State near Alexandria Bay

We crossed into New York at the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority at Alexandria Bay and still had 240 miles to go before reaching the city in which I was born.

Bocce Club Pizza in Buffalo, New York

Pizza from Bocce Club on Bailey Avenue in the Amherst neighborhood of Buffalo is a mandatory stop, not just to satisfy our hunger but to allow us to carry with us some much-needed, awesome cold pizza on our flight home tonight.

Fowlers Chocolate in Buffalo, New York

This is Fowler’s Chocolate. I think I shared a photo of the place back in the year 2000 when we visited here while Caroline and I were on our first cross-country trip, and while I may proclaim not to enjoy nostalgia, that’s just lips flapping when it serves me to sharpen my edge-lord persona. Bocce Club, Ted’s Hotdogs, Anderson’s Custard, and Fowler’s with their orange chocolate are pleasures from my childhood I can’t ignore.

We had one more stop to make this afternoon, and it was quite possibly a mistake. Our great aunt and uncle, who used to live near Santa Barbara, California, in the town of Goleta, skipped back to the place of their birth, Buffalo, New York. Not only that, they bought a house across the street from where my father grew up and where my aunt Lillian was still living. They didn’t so much move as they escaped due to a part of their past catching up with them that brought my aunt shame and anger because of so many unresolved issues. Once back here in Buffalo, it was obvious that my uncle’s health took a severe turn for the worse, as he was a shell of the man he used to be. Now, we were left with the tragic image of a couple half-broken and seeming to be quite unhappy in the last stages of life. Woody passed the following year, December 16th, 2012, at the age of 88.

Caroline in NYC – Day 3

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

The New York City off in the distance

Travel, travel, travel. The meeting Caroline and the rest of the crew attended was outside of New York City proper, and with that comes a lot of travel. Sooner or later, though, it is time to head back to the airport; today is one of those days that Caroline will mostly be on the go.

Entering a tunnel in New York City

Not all the views are vistas, but still, they intrigue Caroline. Entering a tunnel on the way to the airport.

Broken toilet seat at the Newark airport

What does someone do to break off so cleanly the front left part of the toilet seat? Did they detonate butt-charges that created a pressure underneath their sealed movement that released its volume of gas through a weakness in the structure of the plastic? Maybe the person was feeling like practicing some karate moves in the bathroom and, upon putting the seat up, gave it a swift kick Bruce Lee style? This is the women’s bathroom, after all, just what are these mad bitches doing in here?

Caroline in NYC – Day 2

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

View from the Doubletree Hilton in New York City

This is another view from the Doubletree Hilton in New York City and one that Caroline took in this morning on her way to her first meeting of the day.

A sign from inside the Doubletree Hilton on Times Square in New York City

My wife has something for signs, especially ones with stick figures. Skipping two steps with each stride with fire hot on the heels of the escapee must have been the humor in this one that had her snapping it. We won’t talk much this day as she must have been quite busy, though there is always time to say goodnight before the day ends.