In from Hertel Avenue

by Ben Verrico

It used to be that the action in town was all on Hertel Avenue. When we first got here in the '50s, Hertel Avenue was the street to go to. Drinking was legal for eighteen-year-olds then.

There was a place called the Everglades with a huge oval bar. One night there was a guy on the opposite side of the bar who was being loud. It was about one o'clock in the morning. I called him on his loudness, and then we were outside swinging the fists.

The next day was the first football practice at UB. We all got into our uniforms and went out. All the coach did was wind sprints. I did about three wind sprints before I found myself at the goal post, upchucking - a disaster.

There was another guy at the other goal post, upchucking, a disaster. I looked up, he looked up, and it was the guy from Everglades. We looked at each other, walked over and shook hands, and we've been best friends ever since.

I can remember that on the South Campus that year there were these great big plastic signs up that said "Welcome, Frosh, to campus." We would come in from Hertel Avenue and the guys would be all revved up heading to the dorms, so they'd race to run through those signs. Some guys would go right through them, and other guys would go through them only to hit the two-by-four on the other side.