Would you go over the Falls in this barrel?!

The other day when out for a walk I went past Henri’s Motel. Out front they have a white barrel that is painted with the words: The original Hill’s Barrel July 1949 I supposed they are referring to Major Lloyd Hill who went over the Falls in a barrel on July 30, 1949. NiagaraFallsInfo.com has…

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Daredevil seeks statue for Red Hill in Falls

From the Niagara Falls Review: One of the last men to go over the falls in a barrel wants to see a proper memorial for one of Niagara Falls’ most legendary figures. Peter DeBernardi, who survived a 1989 trip over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel he shared with Jeffrey Petkovich, is trying to raise…

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Oct. 24, 1901: First barrel ride over Niagara Falls

From Yahoo! Malaysia News: Niagara Falls had been a tourist destination for decades before 1901, but it wasn’t until Oct. 24 of that year that the first person decided to ride a barrel over the falls. Former schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor made the plunge on her 63rd birthday, hoping for fame and fortune. Taylor, whose…

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Natural wonder or carnival sideshow?

From the Buffalo News: Nik Wallenda’s tightrope walk over Niagara Falls this summer has been pitched as a once-in-a-generation event, a tribute to stunting history that legally can take place only every two decades. Now three more daredevils want to join the party — promising they will seek to conquer the falls in a barrel….

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Queen of the Mist, Starring Tony Nominee Mary Testa, Takes the Plunge Off-Broadway Oct. 18

From Playbill.com: Tony Award-nominated composer-lyricist-librettist Michael John LaChiusa takes on an American icon in Queen of the Mist, starring Tony nominee Mary Testa as Anna Edson Taylor, the first person to survive the plunge over Niagara Falls. The Transport Group’s environmental staging begins performances Oct. 18 at The Gym at Judson Memorial Church… Here’s how…

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OVER THE EDGE: Freeport thrillseeker plans to barrel over Niagara Falls one last time

From The Walton Sun (Santa Rosa Beach, Florida): Steve Trotter is an intelligent, well-spoken and charismatic individual who happens to have barreled over Niagara Falls, twice. And, he’s about to do it again. When he was 22 years old, the Freeport man was the youngest person ever to ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel….

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Daredevil survived falls, but not orange peel

From the Niagara Falls Review: After successfully going over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel on Oct. 24, 1901, Annie Taylor, the first person to try such a stunt, reportedly said: “Nobody ought to ever do that again!” For 10 years nobody did. Then along came Bobby Leach. A native of Cornwall, England, he was…

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Bay City woman’s story as the first to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel told in new book

From MLive.com: Annie Edson Taylor left her boarding house room in Bay City in October 1901 to take the ultimate bumpy ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel. The extraordinary achievement is told by East Grand Rapids-native Chris Van Allsburg, in his new book, “Queen of the Falls.” “I read about her in the early…

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