Introduction: The following is a collaboration between Catherine Baker Dunlap and Lorraine Bridges Martin. Catherine grew up in Aims and Lorraine in Sandy. They have been friends for many years. At the writing of these memories Catherine is 89 and Lorraine is 93. The writing is from Catherine’s point of view. Lorraine is the only living employee of the Sandy Electric Co-op. Her memory of names and dates is excellent. Her help in recording this story was invaluable.
In 1912 the Bull Run Power Plant was supplying electricity to Portland and all the way back out to Corbett. In the late 1930’s the power lines from Bonneville Dam were run up over the cliffs from the dam. It was quite a project. The lines ran just up the road by where Aims Church is now. One of the engineers that managed the building of the lines boarded with us while the work was being done. That line fed into the grid that supplied additional power to Portland and the surrounding cities, but not to us. Pepco (now PGE) did not hesitate to tell those of us on Gordon Creek Road, between Corbett and Bull Run, that it was “unprofitable” to supply us with electricity.
Finally, in 1944, when I had graduated from high school and was working at the weather station at Crown Point, we got wired-in electric power. We were left for 32 years not only “in the dark” but handicapped in many ways with no modern conveniences available to us. Memories of the controversy and competition for control of the power lines are clear. The details remain somewhat sparse. Together with Lorraine we put together what we know.
President Roosevelt recognized that many rural areas in the nation suffered the same inconvenience. In 1935 the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was established to try to bring electricity to under-served areas of the country. The government would loan funds to a co-op to build lines and furnish power. The profits from selling the power were used to repay the loans. The private power companies weren’t happy about this. They claimed the government was competing with them…despite the fact these same companies had refused to extend power lines into many rural areas, saying it wasn’t profitable. Even in places where the private utilities had run lines, they often charged rural customers four times more than their city customers. It took a few years before the REA started making a dent in rural areas in the Western states.
In 1941, when Lorraine was a senior at Sandy High her typing/shorthand teacher asked her to go into Sandy where some people needed a good typist. It turned out to be a group of people doing a mailing to rural area residents, encouraging them to organize a Co-op to qualify for assistance from the REA to get power. The effort covered areas like Dodge, Dover, George, Sandy Ridge, Aims and Mt. Hood.
There were many meetings and much serious discussion. Apparently all of the “t’s” got crossed and the “i’s” dotted because finally in 1944 the REA authorized the Sandy Electric Co-op and Lorraine was asked to be their bookkeeper. She gladly left her shipyard job in Portland and took the one much closer to home. Her husband Merle was still in the Army.
The original Sandy Electric Co-op organizers were led by Carl Sandstrom, President of the Board of Directors and Mildred Decker, Secretary of the Board. General Manager was Morgan Sharp. Parker Holloway was an employee involved from the very beginning. And of course the men who put up the lines – Linemen Fred Decker, Amil Newman, Bud Palmer, Bob Hazelwander, Ralph Bridges, Clifford Sandstrom and Louis Popelka. Lorraine was Bookkeeper and Office Manager from 1944 to 1951. Marian Deming Annis was in charge of billings, collections and the monthly newsletter.
My memories of the construction and development of the system is what took place in Aims. For years the area residents had pleaded with Pepco to bring power from Bull Run or Corbett. The answer had always been “no”. However when REA, through the Sandy Electric Co-op started to bring power and light up to the area, Pepco suddenly took interest. The completion was ON! Pepco started building their lines up the hill from Bull Run. The REA Co-op needed to secure the area previously denied by Pepco. In order to be first with power, REA brought in a big diesel engine with a generator and set it up in a building next to our barn. They quickly constructed lines from Trout Creek Camp to Elsner road and produced electricity with the diesel generator for that line. The noisy engine ran night and day. My Dad (Louie Baker), who was no mechanic, took care of it. We came to know and respect many of the REA and Co-op employees.
It was a bit of a minefield with the two companies in hot pursuit of electrifying our community. One company putting up lines on one side of the road, the competition on the other, with lines occasionally crossing each other! Pepco’s lines were higher and carried voltage so if one broke it would send a surge through the REA lines below. It was very dangerous for the workers of both companies, and for us.
After about a year (1945-46) Pepco agreed to sell power to REA so the diesel power plant was removed. Later the building that housed it became (and still is) part of our house.
Pepco became PGE in 1948. REA’s Sandy Electric Co-op was purchased by PGE in 1956. They were able to provide power at a lower price, which was very beneficial.
One of our family “legends” happened during that time when both entities had power surging through their lines. There were no safety switches that would kill a damaged line. In 1951 a burning PGE line fell across a lumber pile in our front yard. We were desperately afraid the lumber (siding for our house) would be burned and maybe our house. We called our neighbor Dave Thomas who came with his rifle. Dave started shooting the line off as close to the pole as he could get. Finally he got down to one strand and for that final wire got a silver-tipped bullet and shot it off, saving the lumber and perhaps the house. From then on he was always known as the best shot around.
Getting power during war time meant we had little chance to get any appliances but we were thrilled with lights. Who knows how long it would have taken to get power if not for the REA. I was and am grateful for that program.
The story of the REA is very interesting. You can read more, and watch videos at these links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QttTxUc2_NY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dJklGTGXi8 http://www.oregon.gov/…/docs/archambault_rural_electric_041… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_Utilities_Service
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