HI, group, I've been off for a while because I was writing a book for the JOHNSON line of my family. We had a reunion on the 2nd. (Unless you come from Central New York, I can guarantee you that we are not related. In the 1850's, the name was JOHANSEN. When Hans came to this country, he americanized it. He and Lene had 2 chldren; one died and the other was my g-grandfather.) And, I've had a minor but painful health problem. So as you can see by my "subject", I've a few things to add. 1. The Simond Saw Co. was just taken over by the Corps of Engineers, in order to "study" any contamination. 2. The Schoelkopf Power Station collapsed because of the greed and ignorance of man. When one sees some of the very old pictures of that particular side of the City of Niagara Falls, one cannot help but notice the several factories (for want of a better description) at the top of the gorge. Beside each of these buildings are raceways of water. There were many channels dug to connect what is called the upper river with the lower river; and to give power for the industry. (This just means one side of town with the other. The City of Niagara Falls is shaped somewhat like a triangle with each leg along the river.) As the factories went out of business some of the channels were filled as best and cheaply possible. There are still buried channels that are frequently found when the untilities are digging. Anyway, as we all know from physics class :), water will seek the path of least resistance. Sometimes this takes decades. The Schoelkopf was built at the base of the gorge. An elevator shaft was dug down to the plant for accessability. My dad was a mechanic for Otis Elevator Co. and my grandfather was the District Representative for Otis. Unless he was on a call, Dad always was home by 5 for dinner at 5:15 PM. The afternoon of the collapse, Dad came in, said he had to leave right a way, that he heard on the radio there had been an accident at the Schoelkopf. (This scared Mom, my brother and me because 2 years before he, Gramps, and the man referred to as their "Helper" [in the elevator business a Helper was the same as an apprentice] had missed being killed by about 10 mins. when the Prospect Point fell at the Falls. This is another story.) He told us later that he had to park on the shoulder of the road, and jumped the fence to get to the entrance. The elevator worked and most of the men were accounted for but until they took a count they wouldn't know for sure, was what he said. Later, it was reported that one man died. The water seeped down through the rock and shale until it found its path of least resistance. When it gushed out, circuits were blown and the plant basically blew up. The remains can be seen from a viewing point above. 3. When visiting this area as well as the cemeteries, etc., I suggest that one never miss the Niagara County Historian's Office, Niagara St. @ Hawley St., Lockport, NY 14094 (716) 439-7324; Niagara Falls Library, Local History 1425 Main St., Niagara Falls, NY 14302 (716) 286-4899; Lockport Public Library, 23 East Ave., Lockport, NY 14094 (716) 433-5935; and Niagara County Historical Society, 215 Niagara St., Lockport, NY 14094 (716) 434-7433. I hope I've helped, not overstayed my welcome, and not bored anyone. Ellen Colangelo

Dear Ellen, et al, Wow, you sure know how to write an informative message to the list! :-) I couldn't have dug up that sort of information (re the Schoelkopf Plant) unless someone had written a Master's thesis on the subject at Niagara University or some such. Darn, and just when I thought I either knew it all or had the information at hand in old history books! Don't you just hate it when something like that happens to you?? :-) Re your suggestions as to the places to go for research in this area, I agree with you 100%. I just might add that anyone visiting the Niagara County Historical Society will find themselves in the same building as the Niagara Co. Genealogical Society. One word of caution. Call ahead to check what days/hours they're open. from vee, who's barely hanging in here! :-) ----- Original Message ----- From: A. Robert & Ellen E. Colangelo <apri@pcom.net> To: <NYNIAGAR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2000 7:58 PM Subject: Re: Nuclear Waste, Schoelkopf Plant, Where to go when Visiting the Area > HI, group, > > I've been off for a while because I was writing a book for the JOHNSON line > of my family. We had a reunion on the 2nd. (Unless you come from Central > New York, I can guarantee you that we are not related. In the 1850's, the > name was JOHANSEN. When Hans came to this country, he americanized it. He > and Lene had 2 chldren; one died and the other was my g-grandfather.) And, > I've had a minor but painful health problem. So as you can see by my > "subject", I've a few things to add. > > 1. The Simond Saw Co. was just taken over by the Corps of Engineers, in > order to "study" any contamination. > > 2. The Schoelkopf Power Station collapsed because of the greed and > ignorance of man. When one sees some of the very old pictures of that > particular side of the City of Niagara Falls, one cannot help but notice the > several factories (for want of a better description) at the top of the > gorge. Beside each of these buildings are raceways of water. There were > many channels dug to connect what is called the upper river with the lower > river; and to give power for the industry. (This just means one side of > town with the other. The City of Niagara Falls is shaped somewhat like a > triangle with each leg along the river.) As the factories went out of > business some of the channels were filled as best and cheaply possible. > There are still buried channels that are frequently found when the > untilities are digging. Anyway, as we all know from physics class :), water > will seek the path of least resistance. Sometimes this takes decades. The > Schoelkopf was built at the base of the gorge. An elevator shaft was dug > down to the plant for accessability. My dad was a mechanic for Otis > Elevator Co. and my grandfather was the District Representative for Otis. > Unless he was on a call, Dad always was home by 5 for dinner at 5:15 PM. > The afternoon of the collapse, Dad came in, said he had to leave right a > way, that he heard on the radio there had been an accident at the > Schoelkopf. (This scared Mom, my brother and me because 2 years before he, > Gramps, and the man referred to as their "Helper" [in the elevator business > a Helper was the same as an apprentice] had missed being killed by about 10 > mins. when the Prospect Point fell at the Falls. This is another story.) He > told us later that he had to park on the shoulder of the road, and jumped > the fence to get to the entrance. > The elevator worked and most of the men were accounted for but until they > took a count they wouldn't know for sure, was what he said. Later, it was > reported that one man died. The water seeped down through the rock and > shale until it found its path of least resistance. When it gushed out, > circuits were blown and the plant basically blew up. The remains can be > seen from a viewing point above. > > 3. When visiting this area as well as the cemeteries, etc., I suggest that > one never miss the Niagara County Historian's Office, Niagara St. @ Hawley > St., Lockport, NY 14094 (716) 439-7324; Niagara Falls Library, Local > History 1425 Main St., Niagara Falls, NY 14302 (716) 286-4899; Lockport > Public Library, 23 East Ave., Lockport, NY 14094 (716) 433-5935; and > Niagara County Historical Society, 215 Niagara St., Lockport, NY 14094 > (716) 434-7433. > > I hope I've helped, not overstayed my welcome, and not bored anyone. > > Ellen Colangelo > > > > ==== NYNIAGAR Mailing List ==== > Were your ancestors in Niagara County by 1860? You might find their > names at <http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyniagar/extras/1860.html>, > transcribed from 1860 county maps! >