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BURRELL HECOCK AND THE 1912 NIAGARA ICE BRIDGE TRAGEDY

YOUNG MAN PERISHED TRYING TO SAVE OTHERS, CATHY ROY WRITES

Cathy Roy is the Local History Librarian at the Niagara Falls Public Library. She can be reached at croy@nflibrary.ca.

Winter is an excellent time to admire the beauty of both the American and Horseshoe Falls. January is often the month, with the right weather conditions, sees ice bridges form when pieces of ice pass over the falls and become a solid mass in the gorge. In the 1880s, people would gather on the ice and cross from side to side. It continued until 1912 when an unfortunate incident occurred.

On Feb. 4, 1912, the ice bridge was considered by many to be one of the strongest and most spectacular in memory, with ice piling up to a thickness of 80 feet in some places. Shortly before noon, crowds were beginning to gather and upwards of 40 people were on the ice. Eldridge and Clara Stanton were crossing to the Canadian side to visit friends. Accompanied by two friends, famed riverman William "Red" Hill was opening his refreshment shack that stood on the ice. Nearby, 17-year-old friends Burrell Hecock and Ignatius Roth were having a snowball fight.

Suddenly, Hill felt a tremor beneath his feet and heard a loud groaning noise that was loud enough to be heard above the roar of the Falls. He started running toward the Canadian side and shouted to the others to

follow. For some reason, the Stantons turned back and ran toward the American shore. When they realized their mistake, the couple turned and raced the other way. Clara Stanton began to falter and eventually fell, limp with exhaustion. Eldridge Stanton soon noticed that they were adrift and called for help.

At this time, Hill and his friend pulled young Ignatius Roth to safety on the Canadian shore and shouted to Burrell to jump toward them to safety. Instead, hearing Mr. Stanton's cries for help, he ran back to the couple to offer his assistance. About a quarter of a mile above the head of the rapids, the ice sheet broke for a second time, separating Burrell from the Stantons.

While this was happening, rescuers gathered along the shore and on the two lower bridges. Firefighters, police and railroad workers lowered ropes from the bridges and along the shores. Burrell Hecock's ice floe was the first to arrive at the bridges. He was able to seize the rope and swing free of his ice raft. While holding on to the rope, he landed waist deep into the freezing water before being pulled up. When he was dangling 30 feet in the air, he became exhausted, could no longer hold

on, and dropped into the swirling water.

After watching what happened to Hecock, Stanton prepared for his turn at the rope. He grabbed the same rope Hecock had used and tried to wrap it around his wife's waist. Unfortunately, this rope snapped under the pressure. One more chance at rescue remained with a single rope hanging from the lower steel arch bridge. Remarkably, he caught it and again tried to tie a loop around his wife's waist. When he realized his numb fingers would not succeed, he let the rope go. The couple was last seen kneeling on the ice in an embrace. No bodies were ever recovered.

After this horrible tragedy, regulations were put in place to prevent any public access to the ice bridges. For his part in the rescue, Hill received a Carnegie life-saving medal, the second of four he would receive in his lifetime. In October of 1912, a memorial tablet was erected in Queen Victoria Park to honour the heroism of young Burrell Hecock, who selflessly lost his life in the attempt to save two strangers.

OPINION

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2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281672554074888

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