尼亚加拉奇迹（Miracle of Niagara）

Miracle of Niagara

n ANNIVERSARY: Roger Woodward survived plunge over falls 50 years ago

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Posted By TONY RICCIUTO , REVIEW STAFF WRITER

http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2661190

The name of Roger Woodward and what happened in Niagara Falls 50 years ago on July 9, 1960, has been well documented in history as the Miracle at Niagara. But the man who lived through the terrifying ordeal never lost sight of what happened that day.

"If the story is remembered another 50 years from now, I hope that I will be remembered as a real person who tried for 50 years and more to protect the true spirit of the story, not to over-dramatize it, but to tell it like it really happened," Woodward told The Review in an interview from his home in Huntsville, Ala.


"We were just a regular family, we were out trying to have a fun time on the water and things went wrong. We were involved in a tragic accident where a man lost his life, and by the grace of God, we survived. If I could sum it up, that's really the story."

Now 57, Woodward, who is semi-retired, has never tried to benefit financially from the accident. In fact, he's not one to even talk about it. Many people he associated with had no idea he was the seven-year-old boy who was swept over the Horseshoe Falls, wearing only a life-jacket.

Reporter Tony Fredo covered the story for the Niagara Falls Evening Review.

The bold headline on the front page, which still hangs in the newsroom, reads: "Niagara Miracle: Boy Cheats Falls" while the sub-head states "Sister Rescued At Horseshoe's Brink; Man Lost."

The story tells how death missed its cue twice on July 9, 1960, when three Niagara Falls, N.Y., residents went for a boat ride about 10:30 a.m., and there was an accident.

The history makers were Roger Woodward, 7, and his sister, Deanne, 17. History's victim was James Honeycutt, 40, who was presumed to have been swept to his death over the falls.

The drama unfolded about 12:45 p.m., when all three in the 12-foot aluminum boat fought for their lives amid the turbulence of the upper Niagara River. All three ended up in the water.

His sister clutched an outstretched arm five metres from the precipice.

She was rescued by John Hayes, 44, of Vauxhall, N.J., a bus driver and auxiliary police officer. John Quattrochi, from Penns Grove, N.J., helped get Deanne out of the water.

Capt. Clifford Keech from the Maid of the Mist sightseeing boat was getting ready to head back to the Canadian landing when he spotted Roger in the water. A crew member made two unsuccessful attempts to toss him a life preserver. On the third try, the boy grabbed it and was brought onboard.

A photo by longtime Review photographer Ron Roels accompanied the story that showed Roger in a hospital bed at the Greater Niagara General Hospital with nurse Eleanor Weaver giving him a drink of water from a glass. His only complaint was a sore leg.

His sister, Deanne, had been taken to Memorial Hospital in Niagara Falls, N.Y., where she was reported to be in "top spirits" and was scheduled to be released on the Monday.

The Woodward family moved to escape the media attention.

Woodward has returned to Niagara Falls several times with his wife, Susan, and their three sons. One trip was in July of 1980, which marked the 20th anniversary of his miracle at the falls. A photo in The Review showed Roger and his wife taking a trip on the Maid of the Mist.

Woodward said he doesn't mind talking about the incident. He learned it's part of Niagara's history, and his history, and he can't change it.

His concern is that as years go by, and many of the people who were around at the time of the incident pass away, the spirit and accuracy of the story remain protected.

"Sometimes, things can get distorted over time," he said.

So, what did it feel like going over the Horseshoe Falls?

"There was no sensation of falling. There was total peace. It was probably the most peaceful aspect of the whole experience because the most brutal part of the accident was the ride through the rapids," said Woodward.

"The way the water falls there, one minute you are on the surface and the next minute you are pulled under and you think you will never breathe again. It's just a constant, perpetual beating that seems like it will never end.

"As I tried to get my wits about me and looked around, I could see people running up and down the shore, but no one was doing anything to help. I went from experiencing pure panic to pure terror and anger because no one could help me, to realizing that this was it and I was going to die."

He recalled having a throbbing in his head following the accident, probably caused by a concussion when he was thrown from the boat or from hitting a rock while in the water.

"I didn't have that sensation you get on a roller-coaster or when skydiving out of an airplane where your stomach is in your throat. It was total vertigo and the best way I can describe it is I was in a cloud -- a cloud of mist. It was peaceful and totally uneventful," said Woodward.

There was a brief moment when Roger could see the capsized boat and Dianne holding on. Shortly after, they were caught up in the rapids, torn apart and he didn't see her for three days.

"I had no idea if she was alive or dead until my parents came in to see me that night to tell me she was OK."

Honeycutt, the boat owner who died, was worked with his father, George, on the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant project in Lewiston, N.Y.

Honeycutt visited them and because it was Dianne's 17th birthday on July 5, he offered to take them for a boat ride.

Following the accident, Woodward's parents tried to live a normal life.

"We had a lot of issues in our family, like any family does today, we had illness and my dad being an hourly worker if he didn't work we didn't have any income. Mom and dad had the attitude that look, a man lost his life, it was an accident, it's over and there was no need to talk about it any more so let's move on."

In Niagara there be a great deal of media attention. Some was fun for a seven-year- old, because it included a parade, meeting then-governor Nelson D. Rockefeller and being on TV and in magazines.

Some people became too demanding and the family decided to move.

"This is no exaggeration, dad hooked up a truck to our mobile home, I won't say in the dead of night, but it was pretty early in the morning, we left Niagara Falls and didn't tell anybody where we were going," said Woodward.

For a short time they lived in a town near the Hudson River, but there wasn't much work. So the family moved down to Lake Alfred, Fla..

No one knew about the story because the family didn't talk about it.

On the 25th anniversary it received a lot of media attention.

Ross Finch of Niagara Falls knew Woodward when he was a boy and continues to stay in touch.

"I first met Ross when I was seven years old and in my eyes he is a spiritual giant. He is a good man who has always tried to do the right thing in helping kids. He has influenced thousands of kids in a good and positive way."

Finch was the director of Youth For Christ and met Woodward after he went over the falls.

"With him being spared from being killed after going over the falls, the Lord had a purpose for his life. I contacted his family and he told about his experience to the large group of kids we had, a couple of hundred, and we just stayed in touch over the years," said Finch.

IMAX contacted Woodward in 1972 when he was a freshman in college to see if he wanted to tell his story. He declined.

"If I had known it was such a professional organization and extraordinary type of technology I wish I had participated because they did a phenomenal job. They just changed my name to Pete and made me look like I was 14 or 15 years old and a lot of people think the man who is in the movie is my dad, but of course he's not," said Woodward. "They hooked a bunch of cables to the girl portraying my sister in the water and two white guys rescued my sister, which certainly isn't accurate because one of them was a black man by the name of John Hayes."

Woodward said Niagara Falls is still an amazing place.

"It's extraordinary and it doesn't matter how many times I go back there I find it beautiful, powerful, majestic and frightening. The first few times I visited, I couldn't go to Goat Island and walk out to the edge and hold onto the railing. I had to stand back, but as years have gone by and I've gone back and enjoyed it like anybody else does. I've been able to separate myself from that seven-year-old kid that fought for his life there," said Woodward.

tricciuto@nfreview.com