Historic Hood River
Service Outage
7-5-2018
Notes
This early Alva Day image shows how hard it was to maintain rural electrical service in the early days. It looks like a tree has fallen across the road and taken out the electric wires. The horse drawn sleigh has brought the line crew to the rescue.
Charlott
Looking at this makes one so appreciate the service that our modern electric companies provide us. Stop and think how long the power would have been out in this particular incident. Just goes to show how quickly, unless it is one of those massive ice storms, that our local guys get us up and operating once more.
Only one good note about this era and electricity going off, was that the majority of people had wood stoves and fireplaces. At least they kept warmer than those with the modern types and could continue to cook and heat.
I have had more than one meal cooked on my modern day wood stove and wouldn’t give it up for a million……
L.E.
Boy, I agree with Charlott. When I was a kid, a winter power outage would usually last a week. I know winters were harsher back then, but I don’t think that is the only reason. I think today’s power supply, technology and our crews are more prepared and efficient. Also the ability to keep roads open is better. Not very often do today’s utility districts need a team and sleigh to get to the problem area.
And like Charlott, I wouldn’t give up my wood cook stove with its oven, for a million….
Although we probably get criticized for all that wood smoke.
Kenn
Other than outdoors I haven’t seem anyone cook with wood since 1945, glad the art and memories survive ~
Charlott
When people converted to electric stoves, my Mom made my Dad take her wood burning cooking range to the basement and hook it into the chimney there. In the mid-1960’s, don’t recall what year, but the power went out very early Thanksgiving morning. Mom cranked up that stove in the basement and everything from turkey to rolls to pies were prepared down there. Same with conversion from wood to oil and sawdust. My parents kept their wood stove. Everyone laughed at them. Those same people would arrive in droves when the power went out and they got cold. No laughing then. My parents house still has the wood stove in it and it is used as the source of heat to this day…. Meant to say wood furnace not stove….
Judy
Wood stoves are great, but the smoke can play havoc on a person with asthma. Unless you "know someone" wood has become very expensive.& a person by themselves cannnot split it, stack it & haul it around . The pioneer families had a lot of help. Plus the women were of hardier stock!
kmb
This is similar to the photo from back on March 30th. Two lines of poles, one on each side of the road. In this photo, the poles on the right have two insulators, so maybe the power lines. The poles on the left side have many insulators, so maybe the phone lines?
Jerry Larsen
I believe kmb is correct. The two crossarm arrays on the left, with multiple wires, would likely be "farmer lines" – with as many as 10 subscribers for each pair of wires. Selective ringing ("two shorts and a long", eg) would alert one subscriber that it was their phone, but often many on that line would pick up and snoop. The fainter the signal, the more snoopers!