Niagara-on-the-Lake's
Community Web Site
 

Besides being a past mayor, J.E. Masters wrote a weekly column in the Niagara Advance between 1949 and 1955.  As the years go by his memories become recorded local history.

Some of us remember the jams of 1909 and 1937. I think the latter was the last, as I do not seem to remember any since. These jams were caused by ice from Lake Erie coming down in such quantities over the Falls that the slower current of the Lower River could not pass it out into the Lake fast enough to clear. Usually the greatest pressure would be at the old Ferry, while the swells from the Lake would break it away further down. I remember an incident that occurred in the early 1900's. There had been a jam in existence for some time, but the mouth of the river was clear. Bill Ball and Ned O'Melia were running the Ferry at that time and an Irish Soldier from Fort Niagara had come over the ice bridge to spend the evening in Niagara. When it came time for him to return, a gale of wind from off the Lake had sprung up and he didn't like to tackle the ice trip, as it was a dark stormy night. Mr. Ball, to whom he went seeking passage by boat, declined the trip, it being such a bad night, so the soldier borrowed a lantern and departed for the path over the ice bridge. Some time later, he arrived at one of the hotels near the dock, soaking wet and minus the lantern. The storm had loosened the ice and a gap had opened, into which Corporal Barney Larkin had walked. We never could figure out how he managed to get back on the ice. He certainly was a lucky Irishman.

This poking around in and through the river ice was always a precarious business. I remember the late Tommy May having an adventure that might have cost him his life. He had married a wife in our Town and having bought a rowboat, spent his free nights over here. Having to answer roll call early in the morning, it was usually not yet daylight when he would embark for the U.S.A.

About 8 o'clock in the morning, I was standing on the Railway Platform, talking to Paddy Miles, the Conductor, when along came Tommy in his rowboat. He had been unable to get through to the other side, but had managed to get back to our side and he had spent a couple of hours of strenuous labour in that ice. The river, by the way, was about three quarters full of running ice, the wind keeping it crowded against the American shore, while on our side, there was a clear passage. I called out to Tommy as he rowed past that he could not make it. His reply was to the effect that he would cross the blessed river if it took him all the gosh blessed day or words to that effect. "Let him go, let him go," called out Paddy, "Another fool, another fool." About noon, Tommy was seen from our side to miss the American Wharf and he being tuckered out, finally wound up his toilsome efforts some miles out in the lake. A party of American soldiers manned a rowboat and went to the rescue, but they not being wise to the ways of making a way through the ice, also became stuck. So to the rescue, came ten of the Niagara Fishermen. They manned a big skiff belonging to Charlie Currie called the "Maggie", and with plenty of stout ash oars and pikepoles they brought both derelicts and their crews safely to shore behind the Fort. They then took their boat overland to Youngstown on a sleigh and thence home through the ice.