Monthly Archives: February 2024

1928 WEDDING CHRISTENS NEW OWNERS’ NEW BRIDAL ALTAR

The first wedding underground in Howe’s Cave may have taken place as early as 1852, as noted in my book, Underground Empires.  The Howe children—Huldah, Harriet, and Halsey—were all married in the cave around that time, and weddings undoubtedly continued on a sporadic basis right up until about 1900, when the cave’s owners at the time discouraged the day-long tours.

Howe Caverns, Inc. was formed in 1927 and developed the back half of the cave as a tourist destination with an elevator entrance, electric lights, brick baths and handrails.  The bridal chamber opened by the Howes was near the cave’s old entrance and not owned by the caverns’ corporation, so the new cave owners went about creating their own, naming it the “Bridal Altar.”

Howe Caverns’ Bridal Altar – an artist’s rendition from a 1950s brochure.

This new Bridal Altar’s key feature is a heart of pure white, translucent calcite illuminated from below, and intended for couples to stand on while taking their vows.

The first wedding in the new Howe Caverns took place before the cave was open to the public in 1929.  The story, written for the press by the corporation’s boastfully eloquent publicist, follows. Here it is still referred to as the “bridal chamber,” not altar.

From The Cobleskill Index, Thursday, May 24, 1928

Bridal Chamber in Howe Cavern Again Scene of Wedding Ceremony

The marriage of Roger Henry Mallery of Owego, N.Y., to Margaret May Provost of Howes Cave, was solemnized in the Bridal Chamber of Howe Caverns on Thursday night. May 10th, 1928, at 11:30 o’clock.

The beautiful ring service was performed i by the Rev. Fred M. Hagadorn, pastor of the Cobleskill Methodist Church, in the presence of Mrs. Louise Provost, mother of ‘the bride; Francis Provost, brother of the bride, and John J. Sagendorf. of Howes Cave.

It was one of the most unique romantic weddings which has ever taken place in this section of the state.

Deep within the silent vaults of this second largest cavern in the world; far beyond all sound of the familiar world above: where the mighty grandeur of the World’s Supreme Architect dwindles the efforts of man into insignificance: here where He first saw the pattern of nave and groined ceiling; there the column, pedestal and capital were reared countless ages e’er man came to be; here where earth’s mightiest Cathedral—in contrast grows small, the clergyman’s voice broke the awful silence as he spoke the marriage ritual.

A picturesque view from the Bridal altar, looking into Titan’s Temple

The bridal party stood in the great balcony of Titan’s mighty Temple. Before them was the exquisitely beautiful “Lake of the Fairies” where stalactite formations are inverted in perfect reflections.  Just at the left of the groom was the “Fountain of Somnus” glowing in its sleep. Back of them stretched the vast reaches of the Temple of this giant of the gods of mythology whose unbroken ceiling is probably the largest in existence. Here, great masses of calcite crystallization witnessed for the first time the sparkle of the queen of their kind as the nuptial ring glistened when placed on the finger of the bride.  All of the lesser crystals must have blushed at the presence of their perfected sisterhood of gems, shining forth from the tremulous finger of she who was promising.

Vows plighted and promises made in the presence of such might and majesty; witnessed thus by symbols of eternity, cannot be broken or forgotten.

The bride who has spent her life near the great cavern is a graduate of Cobleskill High school, class of 1922, followed by a post-graduate course in the same school. Graduated from the New York State College for Teachers at Albany in 1927. specializing in French and English.

During the past year she has been a student in The American Academy of Dramatic Art, Carnegie Hall building in New York, the oldest institution of its kind in America. Later she specialized in dramatic art under the special instruction of Helen B. Carey. She also studied piano under J. Austin Springer.

Roger Henry Mallery is a member of Signi Pi Fraternity of Cornell University and is a civil engineer of marked ability. Among the great engineering feats of his career has been the re-conditioning of Howe Caverns.

The bridal couple spent their honeymoon in Albany, Philadelphia, Atlantic City.

Immediately upon their return, Mr. Mallery received the contract for the construction of the bridge at Schoharie, to replace the one which collapsed a few weeks ago.

The bride was the recipient of many valuable gifts while the groom was remembered by the employees of the cavern with a service of solid silver.

Their wedding was of outstanding interest and the prospects of a long, happy, and useful life stretch out before them through the vistas of the coming years.

Chauncey Rickard

CARVED HEART OF CALCITE MARKS THE SPOT

On page 84 of Underground Empires is the version which ran in The Cobleskill Times, a competitor to the newspaper who carried the above. I’m sure the editor thought “I’m not running this gibberish” when Chauncey handed him his account of the wedding.

Also, it sounds as if Mallery’s no longer works at the cave, although construction underground continued, often in two shifts, for all of 1928 and early 1929.

The Mallery descendants say that Roger, Sr. was responsible for carving the calcite heart in the new Bridal Altar, as a symbol of his love for his young bride. Tour guides at Secret Caverns say the sizeable chunk of calcite for the heart was broken from a formation at their cave, known as ‘frozen Niagara.” That seems unlikely, as Mallery, Sr. was making plans to show Secret Caverns to the public around that same time.

For more information/recommended reading: UNDERGROUND EMPIRES: Two Centuries of Exploration, Adventure & enterprise in NY’s Cave Country

A CENTURY LATER, PROF. COOK’S ‘MYSTERY CAVER’ IS REVEALED

Author Clay Perry, a light bulb moment, and a quick Google search solved cavers’ decades-old mystery, “Who is Professor Cook’s mystery man in several of his 1905 photos?”

19 LIMESTONE CAVES IN EASTERN NY STUDIED

Professor John C. Cook produced “Limestone Caverns of Eastern New York” for the 60th annual report of the New York State Museum. published in 1906. His report documents the karst development of the Onondaga, Becraft and the Manlius limestones in Schoharie and Albany counties. He produced nine maps with surveyor James. F. Loughran, and 40 photos on 4×5” glass-plate negatives1, with his brother, Harry C. Cook.

In all, Prof. Cook mentions 19 caves, most of them familiar to cavers of the northeast.

“The work was prosecuted with vigor though it was arduous and venturesome, involving risks to persons which few would care to take,” wrote Museum Director John M. Clarke. He was evidently pleased with the work of the Cook team: “The results have been entirely satisfactory. . .”

Cook’s work in old Howe’s Cave is particularly noteworthy. His map of the cave’s portions that were lost to quarrying is all historians have to help recreate the famous cave in its entirely. With the report are several photos of the cave’s outstanding features prior to its 1929 development and reopening as Howe Caverns, Inc.

Perhaps the most well-known photo from Cook’s report is of a solitary young man in muddy duck-bibbed coveralls and beaten pork-pie hat, his eyes closed, resting next to a huge and beautiful stalagmite.  Twenty-plus years later, Howe Caverns’ developers placed this formation—nearly 12 feet high—upright on a solid base and named it “The Chinese Pagoda.”

The photo has been well used. I’ve used it in both my books on the cave, and it was turned into an historic souvenir postcard sold in the caverns’ gift shop.

The mystery caver has always been described as “unidentified.” His image shows up in several of the younger Cook’s photos in the report (some with his eyes open).  At various times, it’s been suggested this mystery man was a hired laborer mentioned in a 1906 newspaper account or a knowledgeable local caver acting as a guide, or maybe even a young D.C. Robinson of Knox Cave fame. But who is he?

AHA!

Surveyor James. F. Loughran rests against the ‘Chinese Pagoda’ in Howe Caverns during a surveying trip in 1905. The name of this caver who accompanied Prof. John C. Cook for the State Museum was lost to history, until recently.

I was reading again through Clay Perry’s 1948 Underground Empire2, chapter 10, page 98, and he credits (and names) Prof. Cook, his surveyor Loughran, and photographer Harry Cook.

THE LIGHTBULB MOMENT: The lightbulb went on over my head: The photographer is not taking pictures of himself! My palm hit my face.

And so, a five-minute Google search found James F. Loughran (1884-1954) on the history page of the New York Bridge Authority, here: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=164465

Loughran’s bio notes he was chairman of the state Bridge Authority from 1949 until his death. He was a civil engineering graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a master’s degree in highway engineering from Columbia University.

His bio confirms: “after a brief stint surveying caves for the New York Geologist’s office,” he was appointed Ulster County superintendent of Highways. Loughran held the job for 44 years and became “widely known as an expert on rural roads.”

JAMES LOUGHRAN, about 1950

Our “mystery caver” would have been 21 years old at time of Cook’s survey.  There’s a photo of the older Loughran on the website, and although hard to reproduce, it is clearly one and the same man.

# # #

1 Specials thanks to Chuck Porter of Troy for his work with the Cook photos and invaluable help with this article. Porter and the late Jack Middleton saved the photos from Cook’s work from relative obscurity in the bowels of the NYS Museum and painstakingly reproduced them for the 21st Century. In the mid-1990s, Jack was working with the museum’s Geological Survey and had access to the original 4 x 5-inch glass plate negatives.

Writes Chuck: “Jack and I placed these glass plates on a light table at the museum and took close-up photos with 35mm SLR cameras held on tripods. Attempts to print from these closeups with film techniques at that time were very disappointing, but years later, digitally scanning the filmstrips—and then adjusting with Photoshop—made a huge difference. I processed 40 plates in all.”

2Not to be confused with my book, titled in homage, Underground Empires: (plural) Two Centuries of Exploration, Adventure & Enterprise in NY’s Cave Country.