22. Revisiting Poisoned Ground at Love Canal with Luella Kenn — Photographs and Upcoming Live Event
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In 1978, Luella Kenny was living in the Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, when her 6-year-old son, Jon Allen, mysteriously became ill. He was in and out of hospitals over the next several months as he struggled with seizures, hallucinations, swelling, nausea, and labored breathing. Over and over, Jon Allen would never recover in the hospital, the doctors would send him home, and he would get sick again.
Jon Allen turned 7 in September of 1978. In October, he fell sick again. He was vomiting, his heart was racing, and he had trouble breathing. He went to the hospital one last time, where his heart stopped beating.
Jon Allen’s death was traumatic and devastating for Luella and her family: her husband, Norman, and Jon Allen’s two older brothers, Christopher and Stephen. His death was also a turning point in the struggle of Love Canal residents to convince politicians and health officials that the many unexplained illnesses, birth defects, and miscarriages were linked to the toxic pollution under their homes and schools and coursing through their streams.
Just years before Love Canal became the site of a school and a housing development, it was used as a toxic waste dump by the Hooker Chemical Company, which was acquired by Occidental Petroleum in 1968. By the time residents started asking whether there was a link between the illnesses and the toxic chemicals in the ground, Occidental Petroleum denied any culpability, hiding behind the lack of environmental laws when they did the dumping, and their disclosures to the school board when they sold them the dump for one dollar.
After Jon Allen’s death, Luella began to speak out and demand answers. She began to tell Jon Allen's story, as painful as it was. She realized that talking about her experiences could help prevent other young children from dying needlessly in the future—in Niagara Falls or in one of the many other neighborhoods near a toxic waste dump somewhere else in the country.
Luella is now 89 years old, and she still regularly gives tours of her old neighborhood and recounts what happened to her, her son, and her neighbors.
Last month, I was privileged to be on one of her tours as part of the University at Buffalo Humanities Institute conference. Over four hours, she showed us around the neighborhood, recounted her story, and answered questions. We drove past her old house, where Jon Allen used to play in the backyard by the creek, which was later found to be highly polluted with dioxin. We did not stop. A new family lives there now.
On April 16, 2026, I will be recording a live podcast conversation on stage with Luella, along with Keith O'Brien, author of the book Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe.
Keith’s remarkable work of literary nonfiction places the reader in the middle of the story of Love Canal, as if it’s playing out in real time, like a thriller. His meticulous research and extensive interviews connect dots and create a clear timeline, revealing many new insights about an infamous chapter in American history. His book allows you to feel the story—the horror, the outrage, and the courage of those who fought back against powerful men in industry and government who would let all of this happen.
In our conversation, we will hear from Luella about her story and from Keith about how he wove her story into the narrative of his book.
If you’re in Buffalo on April 16, please join us in person. In the show notes, you can find the registration link. It’s filling up fast, so register soon. If you can’t make it in person, you can also register to watch online.
You can see my photographs from Luella’s tour of Love Canal last month at johnfiege.earth.
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Notes and Media Recommendations
- Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe, by Keith O'Brien
- Love Canal: The Story Continues..., by Lois Gibbs
- Love Canal: A Toxic History from Colonial Times to the Present, by Richard S. Newman
Credits
This episode was edited by Isabella Fleming. Music is by Daniel Rodríguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.