Hillmanns 36

THE HILLMANNS OF BROOKLYN

CHAPTER 36

1928

NIAGARA FALLS

This album is a little different because in this one, Lily and I join my grandmother, Marian Hillmann, wih her parents, Rose and Herman, as we discover Niagara Falls

Herman and Rose in the Maid of the Mist rain gear

Lily  in Maid of the Mist rain gear, exactly 80 years later.

The Maids of the Mist going into the Falls

Why do we wear raincoats?  The mist is very wet.

You are looking at the American Falls.  The view of Niagara Falls from the American side is awful.  If you want to see Niagara Falls get a passport so you can get to the Canadian side.

Above is the picture a Hillmann took of the American Falls from the Canadian side.  Below is the picture I took of the American Falls from the Canadian side.

The American Falls is on the left.  The Canadian "Horseshoe" Falls is on the right.

The American Falls from an observation tower in 2008.

Canadian Falls in 1928

I took virtually the same picture in 2008.  When we went in 2008 I did not yet have these Hillmanns albums.  I was not trying to duplicate the picture.  But the fact is when you see these falls they are so breath-taking it's not surprising people take the same pictures.

I went back in 2008 because people told me I had to see the Falls in the snow and ice.  I respectfully disagree.

My beautiful girl.

The cable car over the whirlpool.  

The Hillmanns road this in 1928

We didn't ride it in 2008, but Lily rode it in 2016.

Check out the whirlpool below the cable car.

Old power plant.

If you visit Toronto check out Casa Loma, a museum that was once the home of Henry Pellatt.  Henry was the first man who figured out how to harness the power of Niagara Falls and generate electricity.  You are looking at one of his power plants.  He also built himself a castle. Then the Canadian government decided the power plant should belong to the government because the water flowing over the Falls was free, and thus, should belong to the people. They confiscated the power plants and Henry died in poverty spending his last years living in the home of the man who was once his chauffeur

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Herman above, Rose below

Marian on "The Riot" which looks to me a like a speed boat ride, predecessor to the Whirlpool Jet Boats 

It's Lily and Marian at the Whirlpool Jet Boats. If you go to Niagara Falls you must do this. It is the most fun ride I have ever done. It's expensive, but so worth it

We are the next to the last row, I am closest to the water on the right. We are about to get swamped

Whoa so much fun! Go there, do this

Hillmanns albums come out on Tuesdays. Next week we're going to the Thousand Islands

Hillmann's 35

THE HILLMANNS OF BROOLYN

CHAPTER 35

1928

Pssst.  Do you think it's still called "Indian Point" or is it "Native American Point" now?

Female bonding?  Indian princesses?

How to impress the ladies, oh yeah!

In case you missed it the first time, this is a different guy.  It's a competition.

Here we have Marian in a sailboat.  We haven't seen her in a sailboat for years, but early in her life it was an annual event.

Here she is in 1911 with her family in what I believe is the same boat.  From studying these albums I believe this sailboat was docked on Long Island and was owned by someone in Rose's (Marian's mother) extended family.

Now we're back in 1928 and here we have Marian loving on her Dad.

And with Mama Bear

Hillmanns albums come out on Tuesdays. Next week we're going to Niagara Falls.

Hillmanns 34

THE HILLMANNS OF BROOKLYN

CHAPTER 34

1927

Summer Vacation

Hinsdale, Massachusetts and

Fort Ticonderoga

Marian beaming in her Erasmus sweater.

The Hillmanns visited Fort Tionderoga in 1927.  How many high school graduates today know what happened at Fort Ticonderoga or where it is?

What percentage of people know Ethan Allen as anything other than a furniture store?

How many of us believe in the concept of great men?  Can you name any great man?

Let us leave the arena of deep thought and journey on to relaxation.

In 1927 a portable, wind-up phonograph started at $14.95.

In 1927 Stalin took over Russia. His Communist Party then condemned all deviation from the party line. 

Not to be a downer, but while the Hillmanns enjoyed their Summer vacation, one thousand people a week were dying in Britain from a flu epidemic.  Thank God for antibiotics.

In 1927 Harvard professors invented the iron lung, which allowed people with polio to breathe.

Pan American Airways was formed and took its first flight from Key West to Havana.

I think there are Hillmanns in this group, besides Herman, Rose and Marian.   I have been blessed, though Ancestry.com to have met descendants of Herman's sister.  Herman only had one sister.  I would like to make contact with an avid genealogist on the Hillmann side, descended from a generation above Herman. 

Hillmanns albums come out on Tuesdays. Next week it's 1928.