European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 10, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Challenging Niagara fall daredevils in barrels by Stephen w. Bell associated press on oct. 24, 1901, Annie Edson Taylor a43-year-old Michigan schoolteacher loaded an Anvil into her Oaken barrel an became the first person to intentionally ride Over Niagara Falls. Since that Day 10 people Are known to have made the plunge. Seven survived. But no daredevil had made the trip for 23 years until july 2, 1984, when Karel Soucek who was later killed attempting another stunt Rode his steel barrel with two Way radio oxygen tanks and styrofoam lining Over the 176-foot-High Horseshoe Falls. Two others have successfully challenged the Falls since then. But some local folks say the Public is not impressed anymore. Besides they say today s High tech barrels cheapen the stunt. It really takes something far out to catch the Public s Eye today says Donald e. Loker City historian of Niagara Falls . But going Over the Falls does t anymore. It s been done and done and  i really wish they d go away says George Seibel author of the Niagara Park commission s Centennial history of Niagara Falls. After William Fitzgerald s ride on july 15, 1961, people became More interested in Man s exploits in space Seibel and others say. Riding a barrel Over Niagara Falls once considered the ultimate heroic feat could t compare with that. We be gone to the Moon. What else is there to do comments Seibel. Besides says Ken Sloggett a 70-year-old Canadian with intimate knowledge of Falls daredevils today s equipment takes a lot of the risk out of the stunt. Sloggett was a key Crew member for the fatal attempt by the legendary Riverman William red Hill or. On augusts 1951. The barrels they use today Are much better put together Sloggett says. Things have gotten much More sophisticated. They plan much better today. They know the River and the Falls  Seibel agrees. There was a mystique and More of a risk than there is today he says. An estimated 150,000 people watched Hill s attempt but following his death strict Laws against stunting were passed and Park officials Are currently talking about increasing stunting fines from the present $500 to $2,500. Among those who dispute the notion that the thrill is gone is Steve Simmons of starstruck productions a Buffalo based Talent Agency that represents Steven t. Trotter a 23-year-old Florida bartender who Rode the Falls last summer and recently jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge on a tether. It s not multimillion Dollar corporations who Are sending people Over Niagara Falls in a barrel it s people who Are out to prove something to themselves Simmons says. They Are the biggest part of the Niagara Falls  indeed it is still a risky business. Soucek was killed Jan. 19, 1985, while trying to duplicate his stunt in the Houston Astrodome. His barrel lifted by a Crane to the height of Niagara Falls partially missed a Pool of water when it was dropped. Ralph Grant owner of the Niagara daredevil gallery where several of the Early barrels Are displayed also argues that there is still a lot of Public interest in the stunts. Last year 800,000 paying customers passed through his turnstiles. A photo i it a barrels that go Over Niagara Falls today Are a far cry from those that took the trip at the turn of the Century. The stunting tradition began in 1859, when Francois grave let a Frenchman known As Blondin first walked a tight rope across the 975-foot-wide Niagara Gorge below the Falls. In addition to Soucek and Trotter John David Munday a 48-year-old Canadian machinist also won fleeting Fame for continuing in the Blondin tradition in the mid-1980s. But comparing Taylor s barrel to theirs is like comparing the Wright Brothers first air plane to a spaceship. Taylor personally supervised a Cooper s work on her barrel using 1 Viz Inch strips of oiled Kentucky Oak. When she squeezed into her barrel and screwed on the Hatch Light showed through the cracks and it had to be called. Air was pumped into her barrel with a bicycle pump. Bobby Leach on july 25, 1911, became the second person to go Over the Falls in a barrel. In pictures his steel Craft looks like it was designed in the Monitor Merrimac Era. Leach later died while on a vaudeville tour in new zealand. Gangrene set in after he slipped on an Orange Peel and broke his leg. Trotter s barrel which he says Cost $6,200 to monday March 10, 1986 build was 17 feet by 6 feet made from two Pickle barrels and lined with High density foam used to pack nuclear warheads. The barrels were wrapped in 12 layers of fibreglass cloth foam and several inner tubes from earthmover. Trotter who took the plunge on aug. 18, wore a harness designed to protect drag racers in a crash As Well As a life Vest. He carried oxygen tanks underwater flashlights and a two Way radio. Munday said his 7-foot-by-4-foot, 750-Pound barrel for his two attempts he was stopped july 28 and went Over oct. 5 Cost him $16,000. His barrel was made from a 450-gallon neoprene sprayer tank and contained an aluminium inner tank separated by 10 inches of foam. While their equipment May be More elaborate today Simmons says As soon As someone hurts themselves or gets killed doing this then someone won t say the technology is so  and Munday Points out that Steve Trotter is Lucky to be alive. He hit a Rock and snapped off the end of his barrel. It does t matter what you re in if you hit a Rock and come to a dead Stop you could get killed. So that shoots some people s theory  the stars and stripes Page 13