ANGELICA – The organizers of the 30th anniversary of the Bump the Dump protest are looking for the descendants of the six seniors who were the Grandparents For The Future.
On that wintery day, April 5, 1990, six senior citizens bundled in winter gear, chained themselves to the open deck of the Caneadea bridge. As the wind blew up from the rushing Genesee below them, they waited in lawn chairs and wheelchairs, to confront the NYS Troopers escorting members of the NYS Low-Level Nuclear Waste Siting Commission.
As Sheriff Larry Scholes tried to conjol them into releasing themselves they were steadfast.
After they resolutely refused to give way, troopers used bolt cutters to free them from the chain. Each one was arrested and escorted to jail in Belmont.
The six Grandparents For the Future were Ermena Barber of Friendship, Dr. Clarence Klingensmith of Alfred, Henry Koxiel of Caneadea, PhD M.M. Alexandra Landis of Alfred Station, Bill Parry of Alfred and Roland Warren of Alfred.
When afterwards members of the Siting Commission tried to dismiss their non violent protest as misguided and the result of being duped by the leaders of the protest, the seniors wrote a letter clarifying that the only ones trying to dupe people were the members of the Siting Commission.
Karen Ash, head of the CCAC said that one of the events they hope to hold during the April 4 and 5, 2020 anniversary celebration is memorializing the act of non-violent protest exhibited by the Grandparents For the Future. She hopes to create a tableau of the bridge protest with descendants of the grandparents, or the grandparents themselves if any are still alive.
“We’re hoping that we can get the relatives of these people to help recreate the event,” she said.
Contact CCAC at contactusCCAC@gmail.com or call 585-466-4474
