Where Cats Go To Die (Bridge No. 9 Control Tower)

On the morning of June 19, 1930, a strong wind storm moved through Niagara. Sheldon Hansler was a 28-year-old employee of the Welland Ship Canal who was tasked with removing hydroelectric lines on the old canal property and relocating them alongside the new canal. Hansler was raising an 11-metre extension ladder near the control tower when a powerful gust of wind caused it to fall backwards and come in contact with a high-tension switch. Extension ladders in the 1930s were made of wood, but they had recently been redesigned to be lighter by reinforcing their sides with bands of steel wire. With his fists wrapped tightly around the metal and wood frame of the ladder, Hansler was killed instantly by a 22,000 volt electrocution. Newspapers at the time reported that, by coincidence, discussions about replacing this hazardous style of ladder were underway that very afternoon at the Lincoln Electric Company in St. Catharines. Almost 40 years later, the newly constructed Thorold tunnel replaced Bridge 9 at Ontario Paper Co. and Bridge 7 at Peter Street. The bridge was removed in 1968, but the decommissioned control tower remains to this day.