The Ryan's Hope story had a unconscious person in a canoe on the lake plunging over a raging Peterskill Falls. However there was little water flowing in the Peterskill. The fall drought brought out the best in Philips improvisation. Ken Jr. built a temporary dam above the falls and at when sufficient water had been collected, Ken collapsed the dam and created the illusion of a mighty torrent carrying the canoe and occupant dramatically to death.