Saturday, May 16, 2009

A Mistaken Idea about Electric Light

This May 14, 1907 ad from the Ypsilanti Daily Press shows that the Washtenaw Light and Power Co. faced an uphill battle getting recalcitrant Ypsilantians to electrify their homes.

The ad protests a bit too much that the higher cost of electrification is actually a LOWER cost once you figure in the benefits. People are creatures of habit, and I'm sure many Ypsilantians said, "No--the gaslights I've got now are fine, thanks." An imperfect analog today is solar power. Of course it's more expensive, and similarly offers benefits in the long run. Perhaps one day every home will come with built-in panels and we will look back on DTE as something as quaint as gaslight.

Imagine yourself a bird migrating at night over Ypsi in 1907. Likely only a very few starlike electric lights twinkled below amid a great velvet darkness, as the city teetered on the lip of electrification.

The 1907 Washtenaw Light and Power Co. at 117 Pearl was near the present-day Congdon's, between Huron and Washington. Google map.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 16, 2009 at 3:14 PM

    A recent twist on solar power: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10235480-54.html

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  2. Dusty DMay 16, 2009 at 4:02 PM

    Wow, what a great idea! I wonder why no one thought of it before. The cells could "frost" the windows as well, allowing light through but providing some measure of privacy. I'd love to see them move into the marketplace. Thanks for the link.

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  3. jmlMay 17, 2009 at 1:33 AM

    Any idea what the line at the bottom, "Both Phones 1" means? Were there two competing phone services, and Washtenaw Power & Light got the coveted '1' number for both?

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  4. Dusty DMay 17, 2009 at 2:37 AM

    Hi jml: good question. I've seen that before in ads; "both phones 23" and the like. It's a tad confusing since we are used to different lines into a business having different numbers. I think your speculation is a really good one, but let me check with local historian James M. to find out.

    Alternatively it may just mean they had two (probably then-expensive) physical telephones hooked up on the one line, so perhaps "both phones" was a way of saying "we are such a prosperous business that we can afford two of those expensive telephones on our line."

    When I find out, I'll post it here. You can subscribe by email if you like so that you're sent the answer when I find out; I want to know, now, too.

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