Rochester History

A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society...1897 - 1973 by Lee M. Loomis

Continuing with the historical sampling of the earlier writings on behalf of the Rochester Engineering Society, the years following "The Great War", into and through the “Great Depression”, continued to be a time of reaching out for the maturing Society, both locally and nationally. The meeting minutes describe a series of technical discussions and presentations intended to broaden the technical horizons of the membership (especially the CE's, ME's and EE's). The RES affiliated itself with a number of National technical societies, adopted local Affiliated Societies, frequently held joint meetings with them and continued taking action on a growing list of public matters. Certain issues of standardization, some crucial to public safety, became the responsibility of the RES and its affiliates. In the pervasive economic downturn of the “Great Depression”, the magazine offered classified advertising for unemployed engineers, technicians and draftsmen and took other steps to try to deal with the crisis. Still, it continued its effort to shape the function, purpose and infrastructure of the City of Rochester, and beyond. World War, again affected the Society, taking away many of its leaders while providing opportunities for others to step forward to fill these vacancies. In an effort to provide even greater perspective on the happenings and concerns of the day, a synopsis, featuring selected items from "The Rochester Engineer" has become an integral part of this series. The Second World War and the Korean Conflict are now history, and the Vietnam War has recently become a focal point. These experiences have changed the face and, no doubt, the future of the community. The Rochester municipal leadership and the industrial community have become immersed in the cold-war, growth economy.

May 9, 1973 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce)

The Board approved four new Regular Memberships, two new Junior Memberships and one Student Membership. The Board received the report of the Nominating Committee for Society Officer and Directors for the 197374 year. NOTE: These were described in last month’s RES history article. RES Director Roger Kober announced that the Society would be participating in a two-day seminar at St. John Fisher College, sponsored by the NY State Science Teachers Association. The RES‘ participation would include a presentation on “Operation RESOURCE” and a fully-manned booth with information on career opportunities in engineering. Director Dr. Richard Kenyon announced that the two chairs for Phase I of the RES Transportation Study, Donald J. Bergmann and Dr. Paul Wojciechowski had been appointed and that they were in the process of organizing their committees. It was announced that the recent ASME National Conference in Philadelphia had featured a presentation on “Operation RESOURCE” by RES Project Chair Milton Gross. It was announced that Peter Di Pasquale had accepted the chairmanship of the RES Civic Affairs Committee, and that Richard Rice had agreed to chair a subcommittee to review the proposed new City of Rochester Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed County of Monroe Noise Control Ordinance. Gordon Keenan of RG&E agreed to chair the 1974 Engineers' Week Committee. The Board received and approved a petition from the Western New York Chapter of the American Concrete Institute to become the newest Affiliate of the RES.

“The Rochester Engineer” (May 1973)

It was announced that the RES Annual Meeting would be held at Island Valley Golf Club and Party House, for the purpose of electing and installing the 1973-74 RES officers and directors. The evening would feature “Ancient Engineering and Art”, by Richard D. Boutros, Executive VP, Mixing Equipment Company, a native of Egypt, whose life experiences have given him insight into the interrelationship between psychological factors and engineering design, in ancient Egypt. This issue also featured Part II of “Rochester’s Original Pure Water Program, 1904-1917”, by Assistant City Historian, Joseph W. Barnes. The project involved the construction of an eight mile long “interceptor sewer” from the West side of the Genesee River to the sewage treatment plant adjacent to Durand-Eastman Park, in Irondequoit. Divided into five Sections, it included an inverted syphon, with a 70’ drop, that crossed the river, solid-rock tunnels at depths of 40’. Editor’s note: This was long before the advent

of electric-powered tunnel-boring equipment, and involved dynamite and hand-digging to lift rock waste to the surface through vertical shafts placed at every 700’ of sewer length. Portions of this original sewer are

still in use. Processed and dried sewer waste or “sludge” from the Durand-Eastman Plant was successfully marketed (at 50 cents a cubic yard) to local farmers as nitrogen-rich fertilizer for their orchards and truck farms. This practice was later determined to be harmful to the environment, due to the toxics and heavy metals that remain in treated sewage, and it was declared illegal in the mid-twentieth Century. For perspective, these 1917 sewer tunnels, constructed at a cost of $1 million, were of circular brick construction (to prevent spalling), and 6’ – 8’ in diameter. Fifty-six years later (1973), the Irondequoit Bay and Browncroft Blvd. sewer interceptor project by the Monroe County Pure Waters Agency (MCPWA), was bored almost entirely through solid rock, was concrete-lined, cost over $37 million and is 16’ in diameter.

Subsequent articles in this series will describe the RES' continuing outreach to other technical societies as it considered its role in this and the larger community, along with more of the activities of the RES as it moved to be of greater service to its membership, especially those suffering from current economic crises, and adopted a greater role in shaping the future of the City and its environs. Noted also, will be the contributions made by RES members in the struggle to meet the challenges coming out of World War II and the Korean Conflict, as well as a hoped-for period of post-war growth and prosperity. These articles will also feature an impressive array of RES activities in support of post-war re-emergence of Rochester area industry, and the ensuing prosperity of the second-half of the 20th Century.

We welcome your questions and comments on this series.