RES News - Rochester History
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A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society. 1897 - 1975 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, focus 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, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War are now history. These experiences have changed the face of and will, no doubt, influence the future of the community. The Rochester municipal leadership and the industrial community have become immersed in the cold-war, growth economy.
“The Rochester Engineer” (April 1975) In an article from the National Observer (March 29, 1975, re-printed by permission), entitled, “Natural Resources…A City Discovers Expert Close to Home”, author Daniel Henninger describes Rochester, Monroe County and the RES’ on-going effort, beginning with Operation 8 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER APRIL 2022
RESOURCE, to offer technical support to meeting the needs of the Communities in/ around Monroe County. The article concludes with a quote from RES President, Dr. Richard A. Kenyon, “Politics has been our excuse for not doing this sort of thing, in the past. We’d be making a bigger mistake, though, if we didn’t do it, now.” This issue introduces the concept of the RES Technical Skills Bank and provides a questionnaire wherein interested RES Members, and others, are invited to list their professional and technical qualifications and interest areas, including Building Resources, Land Use Planning Environment, Energy Conservation, Consumer Affairs, Government Services, Public Utilities, and Community Services. Recognizing the current impact of the on-going Arab oil embargo, this issue features an article, “The Nuclear Alternative”, by Richard D. Kelley, Manager Special Projects, RG&E. In this article, Mr. Kelley provides an overview and projection for the next 10 – 20 years, beginning with the oil embargo, projected growth in US energy needs, recent (Winter 1974) natural gas supply curtailments, and the new Federal program called, “Project Independence”. Recognizing that developments in alternate energy technologies, especially solar and wind, cannot offer significant energy resource relief in the immediate future, Mr. Kelley describes the benefits of continued development and application of nuclear power to meeting the nation’s energy needs. He concluded his article by saying, “RG&E totally endorses the national effort to explore and utilize ALL our energy resources. I am confident that today’s research will ensure res news - history
