Published: June 30, 2009 10:55 pm      

KEN-TON SCHOOLS: John Percy inducted into West’s Corridor of Honor

Town historian John Percy has joined the likes of CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer and Astronaut Ed Gibson along Kenmore West’s Corridor of Honor.

The display honors graduates who have gone on to notable careers, and before a crowd of Ken West seniors Percy accepted the honor with wit and humility. Looking at a group seated in a place where he once sat as a student, Percy told everyone it seemed that he was something of a late bloomer.

“I told them ‘You’re all getting awards as seniors. I had to wait 58 years for mine,’” he said.

Along the way to becoming a part of the school’s history, Percy has amassed quite a collection of stories and legends about the Kenmore-Tonawanda area in particular and the Western New York region in general. His drive to understand history’s context can be traced back to a sixth-grade classroom, where Percy’s teacher was going on about local stories from way-back-when. While other students may have shrugged it off, he went to the library and looked them up in greater detail.

Even though he loved history, Percy initially pursued a degree in business administration. Still, he took history electives when he could along the way. Once he ended up in the Army — driving his Harley Davidson all the way to Fort Gordon, GA to report for duty — officials selected Percy to teach others about electronics, although it was far from his idea.

“They asked me what I would like to do, but then just they told me what they wanted me to do,” Percy said.

To his surprise, Percy actually enjoyed teaching. He enjoyed it so much that he went back to get a degree for teaching and ended up instructing social studies at Tonawanda High and Tonawanda Junior High for more than 30 years.

As a man who had historical interest, Percy was approached by the Kenmore Village Board asking if he knew anyone who might be interested in becoming village historian.

“I thought, ‘That sounds like an interesting hobby I’d like to do myself,’” Percy said.

It’s a hobby that also led to the publication of Percy’s first book, an updated version of the village’s history. Percy self-published the book through an agreement with Partner’s Press in Kenmore and took the role of Town of Tonawanda historian as well. He held both the Kenmore and Tonawanda posts until moving out of the village in 1979. He’s also kept another hobby — his love for motorcycles — very much alive, although he just got rid of his Harley, bringing the collection down to two.

“I just sold my Harley because I bought a convertible,” Percy said.

Even though he’s now only town historian, Percy’s books have been expanding overtime to take a broader look at the Western New York area. His eighth and most recent, “Buffalo-Niagara Connections,” examines all of the communities in Erie and Niagara counties, some outlying communities and even places on the Canadian side of the Niagara River.

Writing books isn’t the only way Percy communicates his knowledge, either. At one point he taught a course in local history at Canisius College, and he has continued hosting similar classes through the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. The students tend to be local teachers, looking for insights into how American and world history intersect with Buffalo.

While it is often overlooked in text books, Percy said the Buffalo area has plenty of significant stories to tell from times of greater prosperity.

“During the War of 1812, the whole war took place right here, along the Niagara Frontier,” Percy said.

He also sees resources, cultural and otherwise, that were built up during Buffalo’s heyday as a key component of any plan to rebuild the area. And if national textbooks don’t touch on this area’s contributions, Percy’s volumes will be there to augment the historical education of any student looking for more.

“I’d really like to see it get into the hands of social studies teachers in the area,” Percy said.

Perhaps some of those will be at Kenmore West, so students can put a face to the name on the book while passing through the Corridor of Honor.

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.