by Joseph RADDER
Its been said that there are no Horatio Alger stories anymore. Bob Mayers
story explodes that theory.
Born in Wellsville, NY in 1932, Bob moved to Buffalo with his family when he was only one
year old. As a child, he and his brother and sister enjoyed living on Humboldt Parkway
where they could watch the horses and the bridle path from their front porch.
Bob Mayer, circa 1935. |
Fortunately for Bob, some of his mothers relatives remained in Wellsville,
Friendship and other towns near the Pennsylvania border, where they operated oil wells on
leased land during the oil-thirsty days of World War II.
Lois and Bob on their wedding day, 1955. |
From the time he was about 9 years old, Bob would spend his summers helping in the oil
fields. It was my job to drop the dynamite charge into the well. My uncle would
light the fuse and hand me the charge. I would hold it until the fuse burned to the right
length and then drop it in. Sometimes I would scarcely be able to get out of the way
before the nitroglycerin would explode and oil and water would gush out of the well.
A few years later, the Buffalo branch of the Mayer family moved from Humboldt Parkway to
the North Park Area, where Bob spent the rest of his youth and early adulthood.
Bob with his mother and father at Sampson AFB in 1956. |
I grew up in St. Margarets Parish, he said, and in the 6th grade I
met the girl I would eventually marry, Lois Reilly. We were a year apart in high school. I
graduated from Bennett in 1946, Lois graduated from Mt. St. Josephs a year later.
During our teens we were both very active in church-oriented things like the CYO.
Bob serving as chairman of the WNED Auction. |
I had lots of jobs in those days, most of them on Hertel Avenue, Bob Mayer
continued, I worked at Loves candy store, Days drug store and
Willkies mens shop. Eventually I got a job at the Sample Shop unpacking
ladies dresses. In between those jobs I also had a Courier-Express paper route,
which meant I had to get up early every morning, seven days a week. Prior to his Air
Force enlistment, Bob worked as a ship repairman for the American Shipbuilding Company on
Ganson Street. We did most of our work in winter when the ships were in drydock or
in the harbor, Mayer said. Believe me that harbor can be a cold place in the
wintertime.
Military service was inevitable for Bob and his friends in the early 50s. So, to
beat the draft, they enlisted in the Air Force on April Fools day 1952. Four years
later they were honorably discharged, also on April 1st.
Three of those four years were spent running the base post office in Bermuda. Most of
Bobs final year in the Air Force was spent close to home, at the Niagara Falls Air
Base. In October 1955, while Bob was still in the service, he and his high school
sweetheart, Lois Reilly, were married.
Lois is a DYouville graduate. Most of her career since graduation has been raising
her family of six children. Our three oldest; Mike, Jim and Bob; were born in 1957
and 1958. Our daughter Kathleen and son Tommy were born in 1962 and 1969. Then, in 1975,
we were blessed with our special child, Jeanne Marie.
The whole family except Kathy and her
family who stayed home from Tom & Lisas |
Bob told us a very touching story about his little girl, whom he obviously loves very
much. When she was a very young child the Mayers family doctor told them she would
never be able to walk. Obviously, Bob and Lois were crushed.
The evening of the day they got the bad news, Bob was obligated to attend a very important
business dinner. He happened to be seated next to Dr. Joseph Godfrey, the well-known
orthopedic surgeon, who was then the team doctor for the Buffalo Bills. Bob told Dr.
Godfrey his sad tale about Jeanne Maries disability.
Bob and his daughter Jeanne at the Porter Cup. |
Bring her in to see me at 8 oclock tomorrow morning, Godfrey said. And
of course they did. As it turned out, Dr. Godfrey wouldnt accept the earlier
diagnosis. He took Jeanne Marie as his patient, treated her and after several operations
she did indeed walk. Bob and Lois feel fate brought Jeanne and Joe Godfrey together and
their faith continues to direct her special care.
But back to our Horatio Alger story:
After the Korean conflict, Bob joined the Liberty Bank as a trainee and soon became a
teller in the North Park office. His mother-in-law was a prominent realtor in the North
Park area and as a result, Bob studied real estate, took the exam and occasionally worked
on weekends selling and holding open houses. Real estate appealed to him but so did
banking. That led to the decision to concentrate on the mortgage phase of the banking
business.
Bob with Tom and Mike and son-in-law Charlie Reiser and grandson Bill Reisler in Cape Cod. |
It wasnt long after Bob made this decision that Dick Barrows heard about him. Dick
was the Liberty Bank vice president in charge of the mortgage department in the
banks downtown headquarters. After an interview, Barrows hired Bob Mayer
to work in the mortgage department downtown. In other words, he was promoted from teller
to mortgage officer.
Thanks to Lois patience and the G.I. Bill, Bob started college and attended night
school during the late fifties and early sixties. He received his associates degree from
SUNY in 1963.
Later, the bank sent him to Rutgers Universitys Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
In 1972, Chairman Perry Spink appointed Bob and two other Liberty senior vps to the
position of executive vice president.
Bob with Ralph Wilson. |
Eventually, after some mergers, Liberty Bank became Norstar and Mayer became regional
president of the banks Western New York operations.
Now you know why we call Bob Mayers history a true Horatio Alger story.
Bob, Jack & Joan Kemp and Lois. |
I loved my career at the bank, Bob says. You get to become very involved
in the community, meet and become friends with a lot of the areas key people. Not
many jobs offer that opportunity.
Bob Mayer cites as an example of what is today called networking his friendship with Paul
Snyder. Through this connection Bob became a director of the Buffalo Braves and was also
involved with a number of Snyders entrepreneurial ventures. The
banker-entrepreneur relationship is a unique and satisfying one, he says.
Chuck Knox, Bob, Ralph Wilson and Gene Mann at the first and only Black Tie board meeting of the Monday Quaterback Club. (1978) |
He was chairman of the American Cancer Societys charity golf outing, the first such
event held in Buffalo. He was a trustee of DYouville College, Trocaire College and
Canisius High School. The year Jeanne was born, he chaired the first Gambit Dinner Auction
at Canisius High. He is a past chairman of the WNED-TV Auction, Buffalo Place Inc. and
associate chairman of the United Way. He is a Regent Emeritus of Canisius College.
His great love of the Buffalo Bills was reflected in his presidency of the Quarterback
Club. And this led to his friendship with Ralph Wilson and most of the Bills
management, coaches and players. For the Bills 25th anniversary, Bob chaired a huge
event at the Convention Center. Tied in with a Monday night game on national TV, Howard
Cosell, Dan Meredith, Frank Gifford and Commissioner Pete Rozelle participated in the
event.
Bob at the announcement of the Buffalo Bills Alumni Patrick J McGroder golf tournament. Along with family members Lorretta, Doc and son Pat McGroder are Stan Kleeberg, Bill Polian, Ed Rutkowski and Bill Munson. |
Bob promoting an early Buffalo Bills/Bank Sack Attack contest. |
Not long before his retirement from the bank, Bob was asked to get involved at People
Inc., with the agencys fund-raising activity. Eventually, he became a board member
and today he is board chairman of this organization, dedicated to improving the quality of
life for people with special needs including seniors and their families. Bobs
experience with his special child, Jeanne Marie, equipped him especially well for his work
at People Inc.
Its not all work and no play for Bob Mayer. He remembers fondly attending the Super
Bowl in Tampa with his four sons and son-in-law. That was the game the Bills lost by only
one point in the last few seconds of play as a result of the infamous wide
right field goal attempt.
The Mayer family members are all Cape Cod enthusiasts. We spend at least two weeks
on the Cape every summer, Bob says. Last year we rented a six bedroom home
that would sleep twenty children and adults. That came in handy because there are six
grandchildren now. Fortunately all of the family lives within a half mile of our
home.
One cant help but feel just a little envious of this obviously happy man who started
with nothing and has all anyone could desire. Hes living proof that opportunities
are here in Buffalo/Niagara if one is willing to look for them and work hard at making the
best of those opportunities.
In addition to his happy marriage, wonderful family, fascinating career and very
satisfying civic life, Bob Mayer is a cancer survivor. Indeed he has been truly blessed.
Joseph Radder is a freelance writer.