Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-09-28
THE BRIDE, GROOM AND
THE FALLS
BY Frederic j. Haskin.

so many brides and grooms see fit to follow the
plunge into matrimony by inspecting the seeth-
ing waters of Niagara. You can ask this ques-
ton as often as you like and get a different slant
on the subject every time.
One plausible answer offered by a Niagara
Falls native of philosophical bent is that a trip
to the Falls is the standard American pilgrimage.
Once a couple are married, he explained, they
settle down to prosaic domesticity and there Is
less chance of setting off on the purely esthetic
mission of seeing Niagara. So the b. and g; iahd
from as many angles as their finances ana time
permit. After that, they board a train with a
look of peace on their faces. They have seen the
Falls and in future conversations they can hold
their own safely with any one who wants TO taik
travel.
misses a trife old-fashioned. The modern couple
rarely takes marriage to imply permanent ana
total domesticity. Nor is travel the tormioaoie
undertaking that it was once.
A shop keeper explains the oneymooners TINS
way: You know the Falls has a fascination Tor
lots of people. It's pretty well understood that
when two people look at the Falls they have to
hold each other tightly to keep from jumping IN
There's no other place that l know OF tnat !,
fers an opportunity like that for honeymoon
couples. Why, the Falls was made for them!
and the shop keeper winked gaily and motloheu
toward a couple that had apparently ciuHs ~
Falls that they hadn't been able to get apart.
They stood, cheek to cheek, gazing soulfuliy, at
a rack of postcards.
Tradition doubtless has had a good deal to do
with the annual honeymoon stampede toward
Niagara. And the atmosphere of the Fans IS an
OBVIOUS ItdSOl IoE LILO
ties. The entire parkway on either sloe OF the
American Falls for some distance is an unproken
series of lovers retreats. There Is pae PEN nd I'd
the roar of the falls just suitably loud enough
to keep outsiders from hearing remarks meant
for two only. Doubtless Niagara cops are ienient
to spooners.
The Speeches. Spectator.
There is not, on the whole, a great aeal y
conversation going on around the !, FAILS nd1 stands AZ ,s on
the brink and burst into rhapsodles. For sonle
reason, the American vocabulary doesn't go Ia
here. Almost all the language people can, A.
tract to fit the view is that it's beautiful or
wonderful, and, occasionally. Amt 1T Crane.
with the swift answer from the other nan ol Il
couple, ut sure is"
The Falls has always rendered people lnarucu-
late. Seventy-fve years ago our granomotnels
and grandfathers, who pronounced IL Ni-a-saSsi@
Falls, with the accent on the gay, We're stanoins
at the edge of the same rapids In the iaiI lhouasud5
of 1S5O-panniers, hoops, beaver mats, anu
everything-usfng the already hoary IA"
We have been told that the fixed rule of Nj
agara for a honeymoon has OF late years peo1ine
less arbitrary, other points of interest," rlNaihs
the Falls in attractiveness. This may be SO, put
A casual count would show that ABOUT every
other couple that may be seen w "a rhs Of being
or near the Falls bears all the earmarks Oh oetas
lust hitched. Their shoes are new, unoer inc
Niagara Falls dust. And their expressions "
beatiic calm likewise nave the LUX " 0eNe
new. aos+-
Except for these honeymooners who are most
ly in a state of suspended animation the me-
a muSemenIS OF VIM =
Ealls are chewing gum and taking snapshots. ~
some vantage points it may be SAID Wltnoue roo
much exaggeration that the chck ol lhe o"m
rivals the roar of the Falls. -
People who are at first glance disappointed
in the size of the spectacle sometinlee =
clearer idea of the vastness of Niagara wneh
thew start to take pictures. Visitors are stand
ing all along the shore on both the q tha
and American sides. Mn some places Wnele the
Iand iuts out they are on the very edge OF Inc
Itorrant, Yet the people across the river can
scarcely be seen with the naked eye. the cam
era makes nothing of them. AND even a. EaIis
range, the average kodak view OF the fans
doesn't register the people IN the scene az ~
more than if they were flies craving oh 'he
The town of Niagara Falls offers what Amerle
can travellers seem most 'to ~want-pienty u
post cards and an assortment or souvenirs eHa a.
seem somehow more in keeping with the era u
whatnots, gimcracks, and suffered parlors ina
with this decade of so many beautiful ana useful
things.
That there is a demand for the souvenirs IS
apparent from the fact that there are SO man.
Of the shops. A count showed twelVe 49, op
stores and ten restaurants on TWO ploeks VI
Fall s street on one side of the street ohly.
These shops are far from cheap. me WIZ
figure on five months active trade, pu' uu' w "
Ave months they say there IS only SIX "eem
rushing business. A good many newlyweos Golns
during June, but not many vacationlsts' inen
after the Fourth of July, the number OF vis. .
increases steadily and rises to a peak In August.
falling off again by the end of the month; ALL
that, as winter approaches, the shop h &c tha
board up their stores, and open business LII 'H'
South or at some winter resort. :. Mi
There is no large, weI-appointed hotel Il NJ
aQara Falls such as most popular resorts q
The city expects to have one in a rev years. ~
the meantime, the tourists are accomniooaeeu -
small hotels of all grades and in private roonl.n5
houses. The latter can apparently oe TaT1s
only by numbering the houses In Niagara fais
for practically every housekeeper within a nne
of the Falls has a sign out. The nVe ~
omen season is kept by these roomlng houses,
and many of the hotels, too, are locked up ny
the time of the first snow. ntay
Some day. Niagara Falls hopes 10 pc a VIZ and
resort. The beauty of the ice-bound Fans ano
the snow-covered evergreens on the snore Is re.
garded by many people as a more sisnia',
sight than the Falls in summer. COMPARATIVE
few neople who work take vacations IN the VIII
ter and summer is still the popular season lol
marriages, but the wealthy who 1fequent resoas
the year round may soon be sougnt GUY a . pc.
irons of Niagara in winter with the aooeq IN
ducement of winter sports, such as shaeihs
tobogganing, and sleighriding.
At present, this plan Is merely an ar cast,e
ike other places, Niagara Fails has 1eit tnt
shock of hard times this season. one restauian
keeper on Falls street says oniy han u i"s'
vars crowds have been here this summer. =,
"There are more auto tourists, ne iamenteu
"and lots of them eat picnic luncnes anu nut
ont cheap places to eat. Close! why Two me
lame in here the other day and ordered 50 GEM
worth of breakfast between them-one 'oas
and two %coffees!" rv ~
The scenes in the shops bear out the story o.
hard times. There are plenty OF people pricins
and examining goods, but not SO much has''
me CITY of Niagara Falls disclaims the ldef
that it exists only for the tourist. TO De SUR
the Falls bring many visitors with tneir ooliar'
snto the civ. 1t is certain that the hardened
natives of Niagara Falls do not contribute iarse
Iv r., the fortunes of the numerous dealers u