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More Nutters Who Have Gone Over The
Falls
After watching the film about Niagara we wandered into the
'Hall of Fame' and saw just how many nutters
there were, fascinating though
 
An Englishman named Bobby Leach
successfully made a trip over the falls in a steel barrel and was the first man
to ever do so. Leach had been a performer with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and
was no stranger to stunting. Prior to his trip over the falls he owned a
restaurant on Bridge Street and would boast to customers that anything Annie
could do…he could do better. On the 25th of July 1911 he took the plunge
over the falls and spent the next six months recuperating in hospital from
various fractures and contusions he suffered during his ordeal. After surviving
the plunge he went on to make a good living by touring vaudeville theatres and
lecture halls, recounting his harrowing experience, and displaying his barrel.
Leach returned to Niagara Falls, New York in 1920 and operated a pool hall.
While in his sixties he attempted to swim the whirlpool rapids but failed after
several attempts. During these aborted attempts, Bobbie Leach was rescued by Red
Hill Sr., a riverman, who knew the Falls well. Red Hill Sr. would also become
well known in the area for later rescues, and a son, Red
Hill Jr (below). would also attempt a journey
over the brink. Unlike Annie Taylor before him, Bobby Leach attained some
success from his endeavour. For several years he toured Canada, the US and
England, recounting his harrowing journey at vaudeville shows and lecture halls,
exhibiting his barrel and posing for pictures. Luck would run out for Bobby
Leach fifteen years later, when he slipped on an orange peel and broke his leg
while on a lecture tour in New Zealand. Unfortunately the first man to ever
brave the Mighty Niagara and live to tell the tale succumbed to complications
from his injury.
In October 1829, Sam
Patch, who called himself "the Yankee Leapster", jumped from a high tower
into the gorge below the falls and survived; this began a long tradition of
daredevils trying to go over the falls. On the 24th of
October 1901, Annie
Edson Taylor (own blog) was the first person to go over the falls, since Taylor's historic ride, fourteen other people have intentionally
gone over the falls in or on a device, despite her advice that "No one should
ever do it". Some have survived unharmed, but others have drowned or been
severely injured. Survivors of such stunts face charges and stiff fines, as it
is illegal, on both sides of the border, to attempt to go over the
falls.
Other daredevils have made crossing the Falls their goal,
starting with the successful passage by Jean François "Blondin" Gravelet in 1859, carrying his manager Harry
Colcord. These tightrope
walkers drew huge crowds to witness their exploits. Their wires ran across
the gorge, near the current Rainbow Bridge, not over the waterfall itself. Among
the many was Ontario's William
Hunt, who billed himself as "The Great Farini" and competed with Blondin
in performing outrageous stunts over the gorge. Englishman Captain
Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English
Channel, drowned in 1883 after unsuccessfully trying to swim the rapids down
river from the falls.
George
A. Stathakis lived in Buffalo, New York where he worked as a chef after
emigrating from Greece. He was 46 years old and a bachelor when he made the
decision to go over the falls in a barrel. He hoped that the revenue that such a
trip would generate could be used towards the publication of his books on
metaphysical experiences. With
the help of some of his friends George set about building a massive barrel made
of wood and steel. Ten feet long and over 5 ft. in diameter, George had been
previously warned by Red Hill Sr. that the barrel was too big and heavy,
weighing nearly a ton. On
the 5th of July 1930 George Stathakis, along with his pet turtle Sonny took
the plunge over the falls. His barrel would survive the ride, relatively
unscathed, but would be caught behind the falls for over twenty hours.
When
finally the barrel was recovered George Stathakis was dead, apparently
suffocated. His pet turtle Sonny, believed to be 150 years old, had miraculously
survived the trip. Of
all the barrels to go over the falls, George Stathakis’s barrel was the only one
to become held up behind the falls. Perhaps the massive barrel that Mr.
Stathakis thought would protect him from harm actually contributed to his
death.
On the 2nd of July 1984, Canadian Karel Soucek from Hamilton,
Ontario successfully plunged over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel with only
minor injuries. Soucek was fined $500 for performing the stunt without a
license. In 1985, he was fatally injured while attempting to re-create the
Niagara drop at the Houston
Astrodome. His aim was to climb into a barrel hoisted to the rafters of the
Astrodome and to drop 180 feet (55 m) into a water tank on the floor.
After his barrel released prematurely, it hit the side of the tank and he died
the next day from his injuries.
 
On the 18th of August 1985, Steve Trotter, an aspiring stunt man and part-time
bartender from Rhode Island, became the youngest person ever (age 22) and the
first American in 25 years to go over the falls in a barrel. He built his barrel
from two Greek pickle barrels. It was reinforced with fiberglass and wood and
was padded with inner tubes. He padded the inside with the material that the
military uses to pack nuclear warheads. Inside the barrel, he had a two-way
radio and a SCUBA tank for air. Ten years later, Trotter went over the
falls again, becoming the second person to go over the falls twice and survive.
It was also the second-ever "duo"; Lori Martin joined
Trotter for the barrel ride over the falls. They survived the fall but their
barrel became stuck at the bottom of the falls, requiring a rescue. This time, the barrel was made from two hot water heater tanks welded
together, coated in Kevlar, and they had air tanks that would supply air for the
two of them for 1 hour and 20 minutes. The barrel was reportedly paid for by an
investment banker in Florida. It cost $19,000.
On the 28th of September 1989 Niagara's own Peter DeBernardi
(42) and Jeffery James Petkovich (25) became the first "team" to successfully
make it over the falls in a two person barrel. The stunt was conceived by Peter
DeBenardi, who wanted to discourage the youth of the time from following in his
path of addictive drug use. Peter was also trying to leave a legacy and
discourage his son Kyle Lahey DeBernardi from using addictive drugs. Peter DeBernardi had initially expected to have a different
passenger, however Peter's original partner backed out and Peter was forced to
look for an alternative, and Jeffery Petkovich agreed to the stunt. Peter claims
he spent an estimated $30,000 making his barrel including; harness's
steel and fiberglass construction with steel bands and viewing ports. Peter's Barrel also
included a radio for music and news reports, rudders to help steer the barrel
through the falls, oxygen, and a well protected video camera to record the journey over the
edge. They emerged shortly after going over with minor injuries and were charged
with performing an illegal stunt under the Niagara Parks Act.
 
John
“Dave” Munday was born in Caistor Centre, a small farming community in
Southern Ontario in 1937. A
diesel mechanic by trade Munday was also an accomplished skydiving instructor
with over 1,400 jumps to his credit, as well as a helicopter pilot. John David Munday also had an obsession
with Niagara Falls, and for many years had thought about going over the falls in
a barrel. On the 28th of
July 1985 at around one o’clock in the afternoon Munday launched a silver and
red aluminum barrel from the Canadian shoreline about two miles from the brink
of the falls. Unfortunately Mr. Munday was seen by a Niagara Parks Police
officer, who quickly alerted Ontario Hydro. Within minutes the water level was
dropped by over five feet marooning Munday’s barrel. That fall Munday returned to Niagara
Falls to fulfill his quest. Early on the morning of the 5th of
October 1985 a truck containing the barrel of Dave Munday, with Munday already
inside, pulled up to the shore of the Niagara River near the American Falls.
The barrel was quickly launched
into the river within one hundred and fifty yards of the brink of the American
Falls and within seconds it had disappeared beneath the bubbling foaming waters
of the Upper Niagara. A small plexiglass window would allow Munday to videotape
his ride over the falls. Munday survived his trip over the falls and was rescued
90 minutes later. Dave Munday was not content with his new found fame. On the
26th of September 1987 police discovered a six foot long barrel with
the name “Dave Munday” inscribed on the side. Apparently Munday was going to
attempt to challenge the Great Gorge Rapids and Whirlpool. His efforts however,
were thwarted by the Niagara Parks Police. A second attempt at challenging the
falls also came to an abrupt end when low morning water levels stranded his
barrel in the rocks above the falls. Dave Munday was not a man to take defeat
lightly and he would return to Niagara Falls several years later to challenge
the falls once again. On the 27th of September 1993 John "David" Munday became the
first known person to survive going over the falls twice.
 
 
Kirk Jones of Canton,
Michigan became the first known person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe
Falls without a flotation device on the 20th of October 2003. While it is
still not known whether Jones was determined to commit suicide, he survived the
16-story fall with only battered ribs, scrapes, and bruises. A second person survived an unprotected trip over the Horseshoe Falls
on the 11th of March 2009 and when rescued from the river, was reported to
be suffering from severe hypothermia and a large wound to his head. His identity
has not been released. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the man intentionally enter
the water.
ALL IN ALL
GLAD THERE ARE PEOPLE MADDER THAN ME
NUTCASES, BRAVE BUT UTTERLY
MAD
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