LIGHTING IN THE 40's
I'll never forget the day we got electricity in our house. We were the last in the area to get it because we were at the dead end of the road and had to wait until the workers got there with the lines. I suspect also there was a problem with Daddy getting enough money to pay for the installation.
We had coal oil lamps and I remember sitting at the kitchen table to do my homework with one of them in front of me. As a matter of fact I have that same one right here on my dresser. I chipped the globe one night messing with it when I shouldn't have been. That chip is there to remind me.
The crew was working up at the end of the road that morning very early setting poles and stringing wires. Daddy walked up that road all day until they got it to our house. After I got up I took every step he did. It was a fascinating thing for me to watch but I suspect not near as great as it was for my Daddy. After all he knew what it would mean to us and I didn't. I just thought the lamps we used were all there was. I can still see my Mamma and Daddy's faces when they finally got the power on and going. Daddy had hired his cousin to help him wire the house. There were wires hanging from the high ceilings with a light socket for the bulb to be screwed in. It had a chain on the end to pull to get the light on. One of the workers came in the house to be sure it was working. Daddy lifted me up and let me have the honors of pulling the chain for the first time. That humble but joyous look on my Parents faces was the one I saw every time there was an event like that in our lives. Humble people who appreciated everything they had and never were envious of anyone else who had more. That was the reason I was and am so proud of that house and everything that went along with it.
It was still daylight when it was finished so it was turned off and we waited till dark. That was a wonderful moment when that room lit up. I thought that was the brightest light I had ever seen in my life and I guess it was.
Till then we had a big ol' battery operated radio. Daddy had somehow got an electric one from somewhere and had it ready. I think someone gave it to him for some work he did for them but I'm not really sure.
NO plug ins on the wall. There was an attachment between the bulb and the fixture with a place for plugging in a cord. I didn't get to do that, Daddy did because he said it was dangerous. The radio was plugged in and a station found which wasn't very plain. The old battery one sounded better they said. But on Saturday night Mamma tuned in the Grand Ol' Opry and she was tickled pink Daddy said.
Oh my goodness those days were magical for me. I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. Know What? I still think that. YEP!!!
Tags: Oil Electric Lamp Memories
