The tragedy of Strawberry Island

Note: The above picture was painted in August 2013 at Beaver Island State Park. It is a view of the river from the park.

Before I tell you the tragic story of Strawberry Island, I want to tell you about one of my most favorite of children's books: The Giving Tree, written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein (1930-1999). It is very poetic.  A boy and a tree loved each other, but the boy took far more than he gave. At first, when the boy was little, he was content simply to climb the tree and to play with the leaves and to sleep in her shade. After a number of years, the boy said that he was too old to play and that he wanted money more than he wanted to enjoy the companionship of the tree, whom he had once loved very much.
The tree loved the boy more than she loved herself and she offered everything that she had and everything that she was to the boy so that he would be happy.
Eventually, all that was left of the tree was a stump. She could no longer produce apples or provide shade. She still loved the boy and she gave him the only thing that was left: a place to sit and rest. That was enough for the boy because he had grown old and no longer had the strength to climb and his teeth were too weak for chewing apples.
This story of unconditional love makes me feel sad and joyous, both at the same time.
Yesterday evening, I went to the Buffalo Launch Club to eat delicious food and to hear a presentation about Strawberry Island and Motor Boat Island. They are small islands in the Niagara River, located between Tonawanda and the southern tip of Grand Island.
Strawberry Island is one of those small island in the Niagara River. So I will tell the story, a little bit differently than it was presented, which was factually. I will tell it as a story of an island that gave and gave and gave, until it had nothing left to give. Once, a long time ago, Strawberry Island was much larger than it is now.
The Neuter Nation, who were allied to the Eries, who were mound builders, loved the Niagara River. Their name for the river was Onguiaahra. People then went to Strawberry Island, and they foraged for food. Except for some food to nourish human bodies, the visitors did not take anything away from Strawberry Island.
The Neuter nation was gone by the 1700s. In the 1700s, fur traders wrote about Strawberry Island in their journals. Whether or not they visited the island, I don't really know.  
The journals of British General James Wilkinson during the War of 1812 make reference to several islands in the Niagara River, including Strawberry Island and Frog Island. In fact, Strawberry Island was occupied by the Americans for a while. They were there to try to prevent the British from burning down Buffalo for a second time.
After the war, in about 1815, title to the land went to New York State. To obtain that title, New York State paid the Senecas a one-time amount of $1,000 and an annual amount of $500 in perpetuity. That $500 is still paid to the Senecas.
Surveyor General Simeon DeWitt had the island surveyed in 1824. It was determined that the island was 100 acres in size. It consisted of marsh and upland woods and was capable of producing hay. Strawberry Island and the other islands in the Niagara River were seen as valuable to hunters and fishermen, including President Grover Cleveland (the only president with two nonconsecutive terms) and President Theodore Roosevelt (who established the National Park system).
In the mid-nineteenth century, Strawberry Island was seen as a place for people to go for rest and relaxation. A hotel was built with verandas on the island. A canal was built through the south end of the island so that people could enjoy boating without having to endure the harsh undercurrents of the Niagara River. Visitors were happy to get away from Buffalo, which was dirty and smelly.
By 1892, the hotel was closed. People preferred going to the larger hotels in Grand Island, and Strawberry Island was seen as too small.
Strawberry Island would eventually become much smaller.
In 1923, a survey was done that indicated that Strawberry Island was 200 acres in size. At about that time, sand and gravel dredging began. When Buffalo Gravel purchased Strawberry Island in 1926, sand and gravel dredging was done faster and faster and faster.
The island was giving up her very existence.
She was being dismantled, piece by piece.
Without the sand and gravel, the soil eroded from the island. It did not take long before the island was 100 acres smaller than it had been when the survey was done in 1923.
There were consequences to this destructive mining. Because the land mass of Strawberry Island was being mined for gravel and sand, the lake levels began to drop. This made shippers and sportsmen angry. Dredging was temporarily halted. All sorts of legal action took place, including a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer. In 1948, the size of the island was 36 acres. That same year, dredging resumed.
The island continued to shrink. It had a lagoon and it was rapidly shrinking, as a result of dredging and other activities.
At that time, no one thought to take care of the island, to keep it from eroding further.
The island had given until it could give no more.
Only a small land mass was left.
There was very little left to dredge.
The island was like the giving tree at the end of the story. There was nothing left of the tree but a stump.
Yet the tree still loved the boy, who had grown old and only had enough strength to sit on the stump and rest.
When the New York State Department of Parks purchased the island in 1989, it seemed as if it people would finally give something to the island. Garbage cans were installed to encourage people to dispose of their waste responsibly. The island, however, continued to shrink until is was not even 25 acres in size.
The island had given until it gave no more. It gave up its sand and it gave up its gravel because humans wanted those things for building and for industry.
Finally, a person came along who wanted to give to the island. His name is Frank Levin. In 1993, he raised the money needed to help stabilize the island, which had shrunk to just five acres.
Today, native vegetation is once again growing on the tiny island that was once a 200 acre piece of land that could support people's need for food.
You can go to Strawberry Island in canoes and kayaks, and that's about it. People are not encouraged to go there because of concern that the ecosystem of the fragile island could not withstand another human invasion.
Eco-tourism, however, is a new thing in the Niagara River, so it may be possible to see the tiny islands of the Niagara without damage to the ecosystem. If I get that opportunity, I'll share the photographs with you right here in this blog.
And I hope that is a gift that I can offer to an island that gave and gave and gave until she had nothing left to give.

Visiting the Hotel @ The Lafayette (formerly known as the Hotel Lafayette)

In October, documentary filmmaker Jackie Albarella gave a presentation to the Grand Island Historical Society about the history and restoration of the Hotel Lafayette in downtown Buffalo. I was so fascinated by the pictures of this Buffalo landmark that I bought Jackie's book. The book was created from Jackie's experiences at the hotel. She was able to visit the restoration project daily and document the entire two-year process of restoring the hotel to its former status as an architectural gem in the City of Buffalo.
Here is a link to my October blog post about the Hotel Lafayette: 
Restoration of the Hotel Lafayette
Incidentally, the City of Buffalo is filled with architectural gems and, when the weather is more conducive, I will photograph some of Buffalo's more interesting structures and share those pictures on this blog.
Yesterday, my friend Dave Baker and I went to the Hotel @ the Lafayette to attend a fundraiser for the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library system. The fundraiser involved food and wine and a silent auction. Many people were there to enjoy the festivities and to show their support for the library system. The building is just as beautiful as the pictures depicted it to be but the acoustics inside? A nightmare. Way too loud and echoey and I did not understand a word that the speaker said.
Here are a few pictures of the building that I took.

This painting is part of the wall. After Rocco Termini purchased the building and began the restoration process, he had art conservationists restore this painting to its original condition.

This corridor features all sorts of interesting stuff, including this pattern on the floor.

Patterns in the glass.

Detailed ceiling. Almost like a love letter from 1913.

Interesting geometric design.

Old style telephone. 

The Pam American Exposition of 1901, as seen outside of the ladies room. The original intention of the Pan American exposition was to celebrate electricity and the marvels that it created. As Buffalo was among the first cities in the United States to be electrified. Unfortunately, President McKinley was shot outside of the Temple of Music. A few days later, he died, and that is the thing that is most remembered about the Pan American Exposition (the death of a president),

Another view of the Pan American Exposition. Most of the buildings were temporary. The one building that was not later became home to the Buffalo History Museum, home of the Buffalo Historical Society.

A fine place to enjoy food or drink... but exposed to the elements so it is not used in the winter...

A peek inside the florist shop, which was closed.

Another view of the florist shop and its Christmas decorations. Soon  it will be time to decorate for Valentine's Day!

A view of the mailboxes at the original checkin desk at the hotel.

Dave Baker waits for the elevator.

Is that really illegal?? (stupid laws in the United States) (part one)

In Alabama, it is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of spooking horses.
Horse: That works for me.
Human: There are hardly any horses on the street. I have to open the umbrella on the street because opening it up inside is bad luck, which may be a bigger deterrent than the merely illegal.

Also, in Alabama, you may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.
That's why we do laundry.

Alabama laws are funny. But church is serious business. Hence: It is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.

I don't know why you would put a moose in an airplane but, just in case you do, in Alaska, It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane. Get that? No shoving meese... um, I mean mooses out of the airplane or out of cabooses (which is a train so I guess that's OK because trains are not covered by that law). And, while we are on the topic of how to behave around mooses, in Fairbanks, it is illegal to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose. No happy juice for a moose!

In Arizona, it is illegal to hunt camels. Also, donkeys are not permitted to sleep in bathtubs. What can I say? You sleep in the bathtub and let the donkey have your bed. It's not illegal for you to sleep in the bathtub! In Prescott, Arizona, no one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house. Not that I've ever seen a horse doing stairs, but you never know.
When you visit Arkansas, make sure to pronounce Arkansas correctly because mispronouncing Arkansas is illegal.  Oh, and there is nothing like requiring rivers to obey laws. The Arkansas River can rise no higher than to theMain Street bridge in Little Rock. Not sure how you penalize a river for violating the law but, hey, the law is the law! Not only does Arkansas regulate river behavior, it also regulates dog behavior. It is illegal for dogs to bark after six o'clock in the evening in Little Rock. Make sure to get your dogs watches for their birthday so they'll know when it is time to stop barking. 
In Arkansas, I guess that it's OK to let the donkey sleep in the bathtub but is illegal to let an alligator sleep in the bathtub. For sure, you sleep in the bathtub and let the alligator have your bed (especially if it's a water bed).

In Baldwin Park, California, it is against the law to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. (Oh darn! That's where I like riding bicycles.)

In Blythe, California, people are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless they own at least two cows.

Apparently, Carmel, California, has the Fashion Police on patrol, keeping everyone safe from Repulsive Bad Fashion Statements. It is illegal for men to go outside wearing jackets and pants that don't match.

In Colorado, it is illegal to mutilate rocks in state parks, which is a good thing because it is actually pretty difficult to mutilate a rock.

In Denver, Colorado, it is illegal to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door neighbor.  Apparently, it's OK to lend the vacuum cleaner to the person across the street.

In Connecticut, police can stop you if you are bicycling over 65 miles per hour. Why? Do they give you a medal or something for your bicycling prowess??

In Waterford, Connecticut, it is illegal for hairdressers to whistle, hum, or sing while working on a customer's hair. Singing telegrams are OK but singing hairdressers... no..

In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, you must behave properly. It is illegal to do any of the following activities: 

• change your clothes in your car (phone booths would be OK but there are no more phone booths so what the heck does Superman do?)
• whisper in church
• pretend to sleep on a bench on the boardwalk. Make sure that you really are asleep. Insomnia on benches is illegal.
• change in or out of a bathing suit at a public restroom...

Whoops, Florida banned all computers and smart phones in internet cafes. Um. Wow. Apparently, that was a mistake or it was the revenge of the technophobes.

Also, in Florida, it is illegal to sell your children. Get those for sale signs off of the kids. It's even illegal to sell the kids if they break dishes but the law limits how many dishes may be broken in a day: three dishes may be broken and four cups and/or saucers may be chipped. 

Apparently, it is not illegal for the kids to sell their parents, however. That doesn't mean that you have to rush out to buy for sale signs to attach to Mom and Dad. Keep those parental units and... no, don't sell them to an antique store when they get old!!!

Florida law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sundays. Single ladies who do so risk arrest, fine, and/or a jail sentence. Wait until 12:01 a.m. and it is Monday morning, which means that the sky diving is legal.

Watch who you have sexual relations with. It is illegal to have sex with a porcupine. Obviously a sharp legal mind came up with that one.

More later (in part two).

For more silly and stupid laws, take a look at really stupid laws website.