Because of the severe weather forecast for Jan. 5, the gravesite commemoration celebrating the 218th anniversary of the birth of Millard Fillmore, UB’s first chancellor and 13th president of the United States, scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. in Forest Lawn Cemetery, will be shortened to a brief wreath presentation ceremony outdoors, featuring representatives from the White House, Fillmore legacy organizations and Forest Lawn.

Afterward, participants will travel to the Margaret L. Wendt Archival and Research Center in Forest Lawn for the remainder of the ceremony, including the welcome, invocation, legacy organization comments and a presentation by Carole Emberton, UB professor of history. Emberton will speak on “Coming to Terms with Millard Fillmore and the Fugitive Slave Act,” which will explain how the act affected African-Americans living in Western New York, including a number of fugitives living in the city at the time.

Participants are being encouraged to meet at the Wendt Center (see map of Forest Lawn Cemetary) at 9:45 a.m. before being transported via trolley at 9:50 a.m.to the Fillmore gravesite, located in section F (the Forest Lawn Cemetary website offers a downloadable map) for a photo op of the presentation of wreaths.

More details about the ceremony are available in the Jan. 3 UBNow article.

This year’s commemoration marks the 53rd consecutive year UB has organized the event, a tradition that dates back to 1937.  From 1937 until 1964, the anniversary ceremonies were organized by Charles Templeton, a UB alumnus who worked with the city of Buffalo and the Buffalo Board of Education to program the annual events.