February 8

February 8, 1847: Following news reports of the arrival in Boston of ships full of starving Irish Immigrants, the Irish Relief Committee is formed in Rochester to coordinate aid contributions from the city and surrounding areas to those in Ireland suffering from the Potato Famine.  The group represented a unified and broad mix of rich and poor citizens from a variety of ethnicities, religions, and political parties.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Rochester History, vol 68 (2006), pg 8

January 25

January 25, 1982: At 9:25 am, a ruptured steam pipe at the Ginna nuclear power plant results in an emergency as a plume of radioactive gas is leaked into the atmosphere.  Approximately 100 workers were evacuated as the   reactor was put into cold shutdown at 4:30 pm the following day.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: GL82011
2. New York Times (May 25, 1982) "Nuclear Plant Mishap Is Explained by Utility"
3. "Ginna nuclear plant leaks radioactive gas", Riley, David, Democrat and Chronicle. Jan 25, 2014 
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ0Ml714TKU

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January 23

January 23, 1876: Work is completed on a water system providing fresh water from Hemlock lake to the city of Rochester. Two reservoirs are constructed in Rush and Highland Park. A fountain in Highland Park is built with jets that shoot water 50 feet into the air for the purpose of providing aeration.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 98

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January 9

January 9, 1973: The Rochester City Council passes a resolution condemning "the resumption and expansion of hostilities including the intensive bombing of North Vietnam" and urging our congressional representatives "to support congressional termination of the funding of the Vietnam War if the current peace negotiations are not successfully concluded by January 20, 1973".

Sources and Further Reading

1. Rochester History, vol 48 (1948)

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January 8

January 8, 1901: A fire erupts around midnight at the Rochester Orphan Asylum resulting in the death of 31 of the children and staff.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Newspaper Abstracts.com: Democrat and Chronicle (Jan 9, 1901)
2. Newspaper Abstracts.com: Democrat and Chronicle (Jan 10, 1901)
3. Newspaper Abstracts.com: Democrat and Chronicle (Jan 11, 1901)

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January 5

January 5, 1990: Arthur Shawcross, the "Genesee River Killer", was arrested after a series of 11 murders in the Rochester area.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Wikipedia: Arthur Shawcross

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January 4

January 4, 1875: The new City Hall is opened to the public, enabling city government to move out of the courthouse. Construction cost totaled $337,000. After 100 years in service, this city hall would become the "Old City Hall" when the "old" Rochester Federal Building was refurbished and rededicated as the "New City Hall" in 1978.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Rochester History, vol 40 (1978)

January 4, 1838: The Rochester Anti-Slavery Society elects the following officers:

President - Lindley M. Moore
Vice Presidents - George Avery, Silas Cornell, Russell Greene, O. N. Bush, David Scoville
Treasurer - Oren Sage
Corresponding Secretary - S. D. Porter
Recording Secretary - E. F. Marshal

A week later, a convention was held at the Rochester Courthouse.  Moore and Scoville were also officers in the Rochester City Temperance Society.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. O'Reilly, Henry, "Settlement in the West: Sketches of Rochester",  p 316 (1838)
2. Lindley M. Moore House, Rochester New York

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