1963 and 1967 Visits to Niagara Falls

I didn't realize it until recently, but it turns out my recent visit to Niagara Falls was the 50th anniversary of my family's first trip there in 1963 – which was a nice coincidence.

Above is one of the photos from the family photo album, obviously taken from the world-famous Maid of the Mist. (Looks like one of us kids was enlisted to label the photo; it wasn't me, because I was only four.)

Here's a shot of two of my siblings and me on Maid of the Mist (below). Being the middle brother, I'm appropriately in the middle.

I don't know when the company that operates the boats stopped providing the rubber raincoats. It's too bad, because they were very effective. Now you just get a blue plastic disposable one that I'm assuming very few people bother to dry out and keep as a souvenir.

Anyway, that first family trip to the Falls in 1963 left a big impression on me, mainly because of that boat ride. We also stopped a few years later (below), while on the way to Expo 67 at Montreal.

That's the Skylon Tower in the background, which had just opened in 1965.

My parents took us one more time to the Falls in the 1960s – when the American Falls were shut off.

Tomorrow: The Falls all dried up