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THE HISTORY OF THE GROTTO

INTRODUCTION

Niagara Frontier Grotto (NFG) is an official chapter of the National Speleological Society <http://www.caves.org> (NSS). We are a group of about 35 cavers from Western New York who are dedicated to the exploration and conservation of the underground wilderness.

Our Grotto is named after the "Niagara Frontier," a reference to the area that is now Western New York. During the 1700s, the settlements in this area stood at the frontier of civilization, beyond which was only wilderness, fur trappers, and Iroquois warriors. The Niagara Frontier is, of course, most famous for Niagara Falls.

PREHISTORY

Little is known about the activities of NFG in the prehistory era. The early cavers were probably Ice Age big-game hunters. We speculate that they abandoned their nomadic lifestyle in order to grow hops and barley, and to brew beer. As these early cavers watched the glaciers recede, they scooped the newly-opened caves. Archeologists note that little changed in these caving-farming communities during the last 10,000 to 20,000 years until about the year AD 1950.

THE 1950s -- THE PRE-NSS PERIOD (Note 1)

The history of NFG predates the group's affiliation with the NSS. Cavers were active in the Niagara Frontier since the early 1950s. These cavers were affiliated with the NSS and other regional grottos such as the Boston Grotto, the Cornell Grotto, the Nittany Grotto, and the Rochester Hydrographic & Speleological Survey.

Early caving activity in the Niagara Frontier focused upon digging open small caves, venturing into nearby caves in other states (Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia), and shooting 16mm color films underground. Erwin Sloane (NSS #309) took a number of high quality 16mm films of commercial caves. Dale Grady (NSS #5555) and Stan Grady dug open a considerable amount of passage from 1956-1966 in Dulany's and Barton's caves, Pennsylvania. Dick Schnier (NSS #4813) was the first caver who was active in the Albany area, back in the late 1950s. He eventually moved to the Niagara area.

THE 1960s -- THE GOLDEN ERA

In the early 1960s, a band of cavers from the Niagara area frequented caves in Virginia and West Virginia. This group included Frank Downhower (NSS #8514), Steve Fickner (NSS #6442), Curt Geverdt (NSS #7800), Nelson Highley (NSS #5326), and Dick Schnier. The first NSS members in Niagara County proper were John Keryk (NSS #4393) and Meredith Schelenker (NS #7690). In 1964 the group expanded to include Michael Dimond (NSS #8395), Alan Meyers (NSS #23317, Note 2), John Strickland (NSS #7742), and Pete Strickland (NSS #8298). During the fall of 1964, the Niagara group made the first of numerous trips to central and southern Pennsylvania, starting with Centre and Mifflin counties.

In 1965, caver's interest centered upon an unsuccessful effort to open Lockport Cave, an apparently large cavern in the Niagara Escarpment that was buried by landfill in the 1880s to make room for more buildings. In the summer of 1965, most of the Niagara group attended the 1965 NSS national convention (NSS CON 1965) in Bloomington, Indiana. Niagara County cavers were impressed with the incredibly long passages, and took some of the first color slides of Queen Blair cave. During the fall of 1965, this same group traveled to the caves of Frankland and Cumberland counties in southern Pennsylvania.

1966 was a busy year for the Niagara group. In June, John Strickland and Pete Strickland joined their new friends from Indiana and attended the NSS CON 1966 in Sequoia National Park, California. After the convention, Pete Strickland and an Indiana caver traveled to nearby Yosemite National Park. There they rappelled and ascended a 1,300 foot free-hanging rope hung from the top of an overhanging cliff called The Leaning Tower. These two cavers successfully demonstrated a new rope climbing technique during this adventure. During the fall, the Niagara groupvisited the caving areas in Albany, New York, and central Pennsylvania. Over Thanksgiving, the Niagara and Buffalo groups joined together for the first time during a trip to West Virginia, led by Nelson Highley. It was also during this time that Paul Greenwald (NSS #12270) and the Niagara group began experimenting with high quality 16mm cave cinematography using new lighting lighting systems.

After the banner year of 1966, the idea of an official NSS grotto in the Niagara Frontier began to grow in caver's minds. During the spring of 1967, several meetings were held by area cavers to discuss forming a grotto. However, several key players moved away from the area. Caving activity slowed considerably and group cohesion fell apart. Niagara Frontier cavers joined other grottos in other states (such as Philadelphia Grotto, Nittany Grotto, and Huntsville Grotto) and continued to cave individually or with their new grottos. Pete Strickland attended NSS CON 1967 in Huntsville, Alabama. John Strickland attended NSS CON 1968 in Springville. No one from the Niagara area attended NSS CON 1969 in Wyoming.

During 1969, interest in forming a grotto was rekindled when several cavers returned to the Niagara area. The Niagara and Buffalo groups each traveled to Virginia and West Virginia in the fall, and then made one joint trip to West Virginia over Thanksgiving.

THE 1970s -- NSS AFFILIATION

In January 1970, major work on the constitution and bylaws for a grotto was completed, and on September 10, 1970, cavers held a meeting to sign the constitution and elect officers. The constitution was sent to the NSS, and on May 14, 1971 the charter was approved. Niagara Frontier Grotto (NFG) became an official chapter of the NSS. The grotto was formally welcomed in NSS News July 1971.

THE 1980s -- THE MISSING CHAPTER

The 1980s were bleak years for NFG. Membership fell off and the grotto could not maintain its status as an affiliate of NSS. During the mid 1980s, NFG was defunct for a few years.

The 1990s -- REEMERGENCE

During the 1990s, the seat of NFG shifted from Buffalo to Rochester. Interest in the grotto surged once again, mostly in the Rochester area.

THE 2000s -- BOON TIMES

The year 2000 opened with a vigorous NFG. Large contingents from NFG attended Spring NRO, the NSS Convention in West Virginia, Old Timer's Reunion, and the Fall NRO. Chuck Laun (NSS #46676) began formal exploration and mapping in Burrough's Cave in the Adirondacks. Recently NFG celebrated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the grotto's constitution at a 3-day party hosted by Anne (NSS #41105) and Rob (NSS #41104) DeBeque. The grotto currently plans to host Spring NRO 2001 in Cobleskill, New York, to celebrate the grotto's 30th anniversary of its affiliation with the NSS.

NOTES

1. Much of the early history of NFG was taken almost entirely verbatim from "The Origins of the Niagara Frontier Grotto," The Hole Truth, Volume 1, Number 1, July 1971.

2. Alan Meyers (NSS # 23317) went on to hold the chair of the Northeastern Region Organization (NRO) from 1965 to 1968, and chair of the Northeast Cave Survey from 1966 to 1970.

The long-lost NFG Legacy Logo was recently found hermetically sealed in a mayonnaise jar on Joe Guinta's front porch. The logo, designed by Paul Greenwald, first appeared on the front cover of the very first issue of The Hole Truth newsletter (volume 1, number 1, July 1971). The logo depicts a cave in limestone behind a waterfall.

The Official NFG Logo was designed by graphic artist Jeff Brown of Delevan, New York. Former NFG chairman Rob DeBeque immortalized the logo by obtaining a limited production high quality grotto patches. The Official NFG Logo was also reproduced on the grotto's new sandwich board to announce NFG's presence at campsites and meetings.