RES News - Rochester History

A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society.

1897 - 1976

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.

September 15, 1976 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce)

The Board approved one application for Regular Membership and one for Junior Membership.

RES Director, Richard Rice, requested that the RES form a committee to study, and respond to the City’s proposal to alter its traffic patterns (including the partial closing of Main Street). He also announced that his legislative group for the City’s anti-litter campaign was getting underway. RES Luncheon programs were announced; October – RES President M. John (Jack) Corson, November – Marlene Nicoll of the Landmark Society of Western NY on the Historical American Engineering Record (HAER) Project, December – Professor Jasper Shealy of RIT on “Skiing and Engineering”. Junior Past President, Jack Schickler announced that the HAER Project was now working in the Buffalo area and next would be focusing on Rochester. Senior Past President, Dr. Richard Kenyon, announced that the County Legislature would soon be voting on the Solid Waste Recycling Center. He also listed the qualifications for the NSF supported Technical Advisor to the City of Rochester. President Jack Corson reported that he had recently attended a meeting of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, where he presented reasons for ASHRAE members to consider also joining the RES.

“The Rochester Engineer” (September 1976)

This issue presented a description of the Rochester Community for Better Architecture, a charter member of the NY State Association of Development/Design Centers (CDC’s). These CDC’s made their services available to individual and community group clients who would not otherwise be able to afford such services. This mechanism allowed community groups to become an integral part of the planning process for the future of their communities. Locally, the Rochester Community for Better Architecture had been working with groups on the Southeast Community Center, Northeast Area Development, the Maplewood Association, as well as the Charlotte Community Association and other groups concerned for development around Monroe High School and Upper Monroe Beautification. These efforts and their projects would then become eligible for funding support from NY State and City of Rochester grant programs. In an article, “Our Nation’s Energy Policies: Are We on the Right Track?”, Dr. Lewis J. Conte, Dean of the Rhode Island College of Engineering describes our nation’s continuing dependence on petroleum, our distraction by the supposed benefits of oil-shale and “clean coal”, our power plant problem (siting and capital). He described for simultaneously following three paths: the development and application of inexhaustible, non-polluting alternate energy resources, beneficial recovery of large quantities of process energy that is currently being wasted, and energy conservation, on a scale not yet contemplated. He then goes on in some detail to describe alternate energy source potential, the recovery and uses of waste heat and, finally the value and potential for almost unimagined benefit from greatly improved energy conservation in buildings, heating and cooling systems, and from yet-to-be-developed technologies. He closes his discussion by emphasizing how imperative it is that we begin and succeed in these efforts. RES Director, James Sterlace reported on the recent success of the RES Education Committee’s seminar on improved success for small business. RES Legislative Watchdog, Andrew C. Hirsch, described an evaluation of a recent Rochester Times-Union article, “Refuse Recycling: Boon or Boondoggle”. The Monroe County Environmental Management Council dissected the TU article, interviewing the author of nearly every accredited commentor. It found that: 1. Many of the experts warning about problems with the proposed Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) had been quoted out of context. 2. There were significant factual errors in the TU article. 3. There were serious errors of omission in the series. 4. Alleged problems with the burning of refuse-derived fuel were misstated, fire hazards exaggerated, and reported operating costs that were totally inaccurate. Chair of the Genesee West Audubon Society’s Conservation Committee, Michael E. Carlson’s article, “Statements of Concern Regarding the Van Lare Sewage Treatment Facility of the Rochester Pure Waters District”, calls attention to the recent decision to discharge 40 mgd (million gallons per day) of (only) primarytreated sewage into Lake Ontario, as a means of dealing with an on-going “odor problem”. It was alleged that the Monroe County Pure Waters Division (MCPWD)’s primary motivation in taking this action was to alleviate a six-day back-up of sewage and sludge, resulting from a combination of factors, including; poor-inadequate design, lack of alternatives for effectively dealing with sludge and no clear plan for an upgrade of the facilities. The article goes on to accuse the MCPWA, and others, of violating existing environmental legislation and obfuscating (covering up) the actual problems with the facility and its operation. Editor’s note: In keeping with RES Editorial Policy, an article by MCPWD Director, Gerald McDonald, in response to this one, would appear in the next issue of The Rochester Engineer.

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 continuing prosperity of the second-half of the 20th Century. We welcome your questions and comments on this series.