b'First UsA to CAnAdA bAlloon Flight Hydrogen balloon crash lands in Cartwright BY J. PETER HVIDSTEN bounced at least 50 feet up into the air at a dangerous after distaster over Lake Erie 163 years agoCartwrightTownshipstrangelybecamepartofan angle, before plunging to the lake again with great force.internationalstoryinJune1857,justweeksafterJohn Fortunately a steamship, the Mary Stewart on its way editor of the Chroniclemade his way to Port Perry where he stepped on board the,H. Steiner,anadventurousanddaringaeronaut,at- to Detroit, saw thestrange vessel and headed to aid Woodmanat Lake Scugog, and arrived at Lashers Point (Caesarea), after a fewtemptedtoflyinahyrogenfilledfabricballoon,across Steiner, who jumped from the balloon into the cold water, hours sail.LakeErietoCanada. before being pulled safely aboard.Mr.John Lasher charged 25 a head for admission to his large barn, inTheadventurousSteiner,tookofffromhishome Despite the efforts of the Mary Stewartscrew, to secure which the balloon was kept, and although the barn was insufficient to con-aroundErie,Pennsylvania,asalargecrowdwatched the balloon, it slipped away and disappeared into the tain the balloon if inflated, the ingenious exhibitor, with the aid of a pairthehugeballoonriseintotheairheadingnorthwest wooded inland of Ontario. of Smiths bellows, managed to partially fill it with air, sotowardsLongPoint,Ontario.PeoplegatheredonWeeks after the fateful incident, which sent shock- as to give his visitors an idea of its dimen-rooftops,andonthewatersailboatsandsteamships waves throughout Canada and the United States, an ar- sions.soundedtheirhornsatthesightofthisstrange,huge ticle in the Whitby Chroniclesolved the mystery of where He also displayed the gondola,eggshapedflyingmachine. the balloon had finally crashed back to earth. the grappling anchor and provided aAlongtheway,Steiner,inhissmallgondolaranThe article, published on July 16, 1857 reported that most semi-heroic, comical descriptionintohighwinds,rainandflashesoflightning.He the large sized balloon was found about 25 miles north of its adventures.wouldlaterrecall,Everymomentthesurrounding of Whitby, in the Township of Cartwright. It was first seen The balloon was later transportedmassesofcloudswereilluminatedbyflashesoflight- by the people of Cartwright on the 19th of June, who to Whitby, where it was put on publicing,succeededbyterriblecrashesofthunder,inthe thought it to be a spark from a comets tail, and were con- exhibit until Mr. Steiner arrived toverymidstofwhichIseemedtobefloating,andmy siderably alarmed in the consequence. After an extensive retrieve his historic balloon.excitedimaginationledmetofancythatIwouldfeel search of the area it was located in a nearby field. The balloon was safely transportedmyfrailgondolaquiverateveryshock.Two weeks later, on July 30th, the Chroniclereported back to the USA, ending CartwrightsItwasntlongbeforetheballoonbeganlosing on the incident, saying the steamer Woodmanwould brief, but exciting brush with fame,altitude,eventuallyskippingalongtheroughsurface convey passengers to see Steiners balloon in Cartwright. the first attempt to fly across Lake ErieofLakeErie.Itrolledinthepowerfulwater,then So, in company with about 50 other curious patrons, the in a balloon.JohnSteinerisshownleapingfromhisballoonintoLakeErieinthiscontemporaryengraving.WinnerBrent Herringtonhas been selected to Team Canada (one of six members)Please support TEAM CANADAto compete at the WORLD BUTCHERS CHALLENGE 2020 through GoFundMe or purchase a short sleeve or long sleeve T-shirt for $30.251 Queen Street, Port Perry905-985-1456www.portperrybutcher.com 26FOCUS - FEBRUARY 2020'