“All the neat people in Allegany”
The story of a Bump the Dump aficionado
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| Jessica
Hutchison wears one of the well-known mushroom buttons which became a symbol of the protest. |
By Kathryn Ross
Jessica Hutchison was raised in North Carolina, but that
hasn’t stopped her from finding a home in Allegany County and getting more than
comfortable with the county’s most important fight – the Bump the Dump protest.
Hutchison is so interested in the protest that for several months she has been
creating a series of interviews with the people who opposed the dump and the
people who proposed the dump. The interviews can be seen on the Concerned
Citizens of Allegany County’s YouTube page.
Shortly after moving here in 2010 Hutchison said she was
browsing the Alfred State College library when she discovered Tom Peterson’s
book, “Linked Arms”. The book chronicles the story of the Bump the Dump
movement.
“I remember reading it and thinking ‘Wow, why did no one
tell me about this before!’ Shortly after that I found “My Name is Allegany
County” on YouTube and I was hooked on the story,” she recalled.
What may have piqued her interest was learning that the
county had successfully prohibited the state from contaminating the land with a
nuclear waste dump.
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| While
filming an interview Jessica Hutchison dons a tri-corn hat that saw most of the protests when it was worn by Sue Beck horn, songstress and one of the leaders of the movement. |
She explained, “I got my undergraduate degree in
Environmental Soil Science from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and
my master’s from the University of Georgia. During my master’s degree, I
studied the movement of chromium through soil. Since that time, I’ve always
been interested in contaminated soils and how they should be cleaned up.”
After reading Peterson’s book and viewing “My name Is
Allegany County” Hutchison started showing the video to her students and then
talking with them about how soil is used to dispose of wastes.
Hutchison soon became involved with the Concerned Citizens
of Allegany County, the group that led the dump fight in the late 1980s. They
are planning to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the conclusion of the fight
this April. Hutchison’s interviews are to be part of that celebration.
But why is this young professional so interested in an event
that took place almost 20 years before she arrived in the county? She explains,
“I have often wondered this myself, as have many others. I think that when
“bump-the-dumpers” first meet me, they think I’m a little crazy because I treat
them a little like celebrities. I’m not sure exactly what I find so compelling
about this story, but I think it’s because I’ve always liked stories about an
underdog. Allegany County was such a *“Rudy” of that time. In a world where we
often feel small and helpless, this story reminds me that people have the power
to band together and get something accomplished. It gives me hope on glum days.
The academic part of my brain is also fascinated with discovering how the
people here were able to accomplish such a feat that is not often repeated.”
“I think it’s amazing how well prepared the people of
Allegany were,” she said. “I’ve pored over documents from the Siting Commission
(New York State Low-Level Waste Siting Commission) in the archives of Alfred
University and Alfred State College. Within those documents are thousands of
hand-written notes from “bump-the-dumpers” analyzing the information, making
notes to themselves on things to look up, etc. I cannot agree with some of the
siting commission members' assessments that the people of Allegany County
didn’t understand the science behind the dump. It is very apparent to me how
well prepared everyone was, from strategy to non-violent training, science to
politics, etc.”
After meeting many of the people who were involved in the
dump fight and hearing their stories, Hutchison became concerned.
“As I was helping to plan the 30th anniversary of the
protest, I started worrying that many of the stories I heard from the people
involved would be lost over time. That’s what prompted me to start the oral history
project.”
“The response so far has been amazing, and I currently have
about 20 people waiting to be interviewed. I hope to continue the project as
long as interest remains. Each interview is full of surprises. To quote the
BANDITS: “It was right about then, that I started to see, all the neat people,
in Allegany."
“I look forward to each and every interview. I was very
excited to complete an interview with Dick Wood (former member of the Siting
Commission). Having multiple perspectives on the event is important to
understanding it as much as I can without having been part of it. I have not
been able to get in touch with any law enforcement involved. I would be very
interested in interviewing one of the state troopers, for example,” she said.,
Through the interviews Hutchison has found out things few
people know such as the members Siting Commission wore bullet-proof vests to
the Belfast meeting on the urging of the state police. And that some people in
the county were very upset when the horses were brought out at Caneadea.
While those who have seen the interviews say Hutchison is
doing a great job, the hardest part of the process is letting go of her need
for perfection.
“This event is so important to me and I feel it is my
contribution to memorialize it, so, I feel a lot of pressure to portray people
in an appropriate way and make good quality video with pictures and footage
from that period. However, I’m am not a very “techy” person, so I have had many
moments where my computer almost ended up in a ravine,” she admits.
Hutchison and her husband Phil Schroeder moved here in 2010
to teach at Alfred State College and to be closer to extended family. Both
teach in the department of Agriculture and Veterinary Technology. Her job puts
her in touch with local farmers.
“I’m not a local,” she said, “but I’ve met a lot of people
in ten years and I’ve never felt more connected to an area than I do with
Allegany County.”
AUTHOR BIO: A native
of Wellsville, Kathryn Ross has been a journalist in Allegany County since 1984
and was among those reporters who followed the Bump the Dump protest in its
entirety, travelling with the protesters around the state. She is a graduate of
Alfred University.
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Save the Date for the Anniversary Weekend: April 4-5, 2020. Follow Concerned Citizens’ FB page or join us
at our next meeting. Phone/text
585-466-4474 or email contactusccac@gmail.com.
