History

On July 18, 1940 a large number of people met at Tom's Hall to hear Mr. Lee Lloyd tell about the REA plan to procure electricity for Washington Island.

A temporary Board of Directors was elected consisting of William C. Cornell, Charles O. Hansen, Andrew Cornell, Conrad A. Anderson, Martha Stelter, Theodore Gudmundsen, Anna Gunnlaugsson, George O. Mann, George Hansen, Robert Gunnerson and Arthur Hansen.  These same eleven people became the incorporators of the Washington Island Electric Cooperative.  The original Articles of Incorporation were accepted and filed by Secretary of State Fred Zimmerman on July 31, 1940.

Article III of the Articles of Incorporation states that the conduct of the business of the Cooperative shall be upon the Co-operative plan and the purposes for which it is formed are:

(a)  to generate,  manufacture, purchase, acquire and accumulate electric  energy  for  its   members   and   to   transmit, distribute,  furnish,  sell  and  dispose  of such electric energy  to  its  members  only,  and  to  construct, erect, purchase, lease  as  lessee and in any manner acquire, own, hold, maintain, operate, sell, dispose of, lease as lessor, exchange and mortgage  plants, buildings, works, machinery, supplies, apparatus, equipment  and  electric  transmission and distribution lines or systems necessary, convenient  or useful for carrying out and accomplishing any or all of the foregoing purposes.

Article III, Section 1 of the Cooperative By-Laws states that the business and affairs of the Cooperative shall be managed by a Board of seven Directors which shall exercise all of the power of the Cooperative except such as by law or by the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative or by the by-laws, concurred upon or reserved to the members.

Article X of the Cooperative By-Laws states that the Board of Directors of the Cooperative shall have full power and authority, without authorization by the members of the Cooperative, to borrow money from the United States of American, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from a national financing institution organized on a cooperative plan for the purpose of financing its member's programs, projects and undertakings.

We are a Cooperative.  A Cooperative is people working together, not for the purpose of increasing wealth, but to provide products and services at a fair price.  Our purpose for being, is to provide adequate, reliable electric service for our members.  We should remember this in all decisions we make. 

How Electricity Came to Washington Island
By Ray Krause (Originally Printed in the Washington Island Forum – 1974)

I have been asked many times to write an article on how electricity came to Washington Island. I don’t want anyone to think I am trying to be a braggart, but the older persons on Washington Island will remember that I was mainly responsible for getting electricity here in spite of all the criticism and opposition. You will see “I” written numerous times, not for me to boast, but that is the way it was.

In the early days (the ‘20s) when I came to Washington Island, there were only four places that had electricity: Hotel Washington, West Harbor Resort and Jule Hagen with Fairbanks Morse gasoline driven generators and Tom Nelsen with a Delco. These were all 32 volt machines with 16 cell large glass batteries to store the electricity. A short time later, Tom replaced his 32 volt Delco with a 110 volt automatic Kohler.

This kept on until there were 96 of these machines here. I kept track of these as I sold many of them and did some repair work on all of them. I also wired many of the homes and business places (my home was the first one), the biggest job being the present Mann’s Store. This was done mostly after school hours, evenings and weekends. I always had a helper for these jobs; those that I can remember were Conrad A. Anderson, Orville Jess Sr., Wayne Boshka, Wallace Jensen, Harvey Jensen, Dave Foss, Victor Cornell, etc. I can’t remember any more.

In the early 30’s I realized that we should have something better here as we couldn’t use electric ranges, water heaters, pressure systems, large motors, T.V., etc., so I tried to find out how it could be done. This took several years as most people thought that such a large and expensive project was impossible here. Many trips I took at my own expense to get advice, information, etc. The Kohler Co. was very helpful and made available to me their engineers, electricians and experts at no charge. This was most likely because I was selling there generators for several years.

I read in the papers that Orlando Loomis was appointed “Rural Electrification Coordinator.” I contacted him and he came to Washington Island and gave an address at Tom’s Hall after the four annual school meetings. I remember this as I believe it was the hottest night we had on Washington Island.

I later contacted him at Madison and I believe Conrad A. Anderson was along on one of these trips. Loomis was later elected Governor of Wisconsin, but died before he took office.

We tried the Public Service Corporation at Green Bay, and they sent up James Johnson to make a survey. He didn’t give us much satisfaction. Later Mr. Goedjen and Mr. Pulliam sent letters stating that a submarine cable to Washington Island was not at all feasible, and that the Public Service Corporation would not install diesel generators here.

I later read in the paper that Robert Merrill was appointed “Chief of Wisconsin Rural Electrification.” I had him come to Washington Island and spent considerable time with him. I found out that he was an officer in the 32nd Division 128th Infantry of World War I. He knew Sergeant Charles Gislason well and was not far away from him when he got killed. He also knew Walter Miller, Clarence Anderson and Christian Anderson.

Mr. Merrill suggested that we bond the Town and install a diesel plant. After meeting with the town board and other interested citizens like George O. Mann, Tom Nelsen, Harry Hanson, Ted Gudmundsen, Arni Richter, Charles O. Hanson, Leon Cornell, Ernie Boucsein, Oliver Bjarnarson, etc., we dropped this plan.

About this time, 1935, REA (Rural Electrification Association) was started. I found out that Beaver Island had gotten a loan from REA and installed a small Diesel Generating Unit. I wrote many letters to Beaver Island and received many replies. About 1936 I drove to Charlevoix and took the ferry to Beaver Island, 3 ½ hours of rough weather both ways. As soon as we got out of the harbor the crew put tin pails here and there on the boat. There were only a few passengers. The crew, myself and a Catholic Priest were the only ones that didn’t get sick. On the way back to Charlevoix, the constable was taking a prisoner to prison. The constable said he had an uncle on Washington Island, John Larson.

I was sure that if Beaver Island, with about half the population of Washington Island, and about one-third of them Indians, could get a loan from REA that we could also. I kept trying REA but received a letter from W. M. Kline that we must have 100 miles of lines with at least three members per mile to make a feasible project. Shortly after, I received another letter from the REA Director C. O. Falkenwald himself in which he quotes, “Unfortunately we do not feel that we will be able to aid you.”

We sent letters to Senator Robert La Follette and Congressman Joshua Johns. Shortly after, a Washington D. C. news item appeared by Joshua Johns stating that he was advised by REA that the Washington Island project was not feasible. We still didn’t give up.

More people wrote letters, the American Legion, the Lion’s Club, local businessmen, etc. Many citizens thought I was crazy to keep at this, that the Town would be bankrupt, that I was getting paid somehow for all this, etc., or that I wouldn’t do it. I was criticized severely and called every mean name you can think of and some you can’t think of.

About this time I took another trip to Beaver Island for more information. This time with Cecil Anderson and his father Jack Anderson on the old “Diana.” They were delivering oil to various Coast Guard Stations and Beaver Island was one of them. I remember this as being in the month of August with warm weather and very smooth water, hardly a ripple.

Another agency was started in Madison, the “Wisconsin Development Authority.” I went there for help. Through their efforts REA sent up here a M. Lee Lloyd. He held a public meeting, but offered us little hope.

More and more people became interested in this enterprise, so REA sent up a Mr. Guy Keffer, who stayed here several days and held several public meetings. He was great at telling jokes and stories and soon had the audience laughing and singing songs. He said that we should get more signers and that there was a possible chance. Not long after, we received word from Senator Robert La Follette that REA would grant us a loan.

We then got organized. I was appointed coordinator and Herman Leasum the project attorney. He has since stuck by us through thick and thin. I started to get paid.

Herman and I did most of the work obtaining other members and right-of-way easements. I wish there was more time and space to list the various reasons why they didn’t want lines on or over their property. Some of them were: “It will spoil my land”; “It may kill my animals”; “When this project fails, which I know it will, the government will take away my land”; etc.

The first meeting of the incorporators was held at Tom Nelsen’s Hall August 24, 1940. They were: George O. Mann, Anna Gunnlaugsson, Robert Gunnerson, Andrew Cornell, George Hanson, Wm. C. Cornell, Art Hanson, Chas. O. Hanson, Conrad A. Anderson, Ted Gudmundsen and Martha Stelter.

The first Board of Directors were: President – George O. Mann; Vice President – Marvin Andersen; Sec./Treasurer – Conrad A. Anderson; Wm. Engelson, Robert Gunnerson, George Hanson, Andrew Cornell, Art Hanson, Chas. O. Hansen, Ted Gudmundsen and Clifford Vogel.

We rented the present office at $10.00 per month. We employed “Wisconsin Development Authority” as our engineers and set rates.

Our first building plan was a small building with two 50 Kilowatt machines with space for a third machine should it ever be necessary. Now we have 2120 Kilowatts of power and will soon be thinking about more.

We had nothing to start with. I bought an old desk from Dr. Crane for $5.00, I got an old office chair from my father-in-law, Wm. Jess, and an old typewriter from him also. The typewriter table was an old slot machine stand. Clarence Anderson made us some tables, and each director brought a chair if he wanted to sit down. Herman’ chair is still there.

In the meantime I was taking some correspondence courses in electricity. I also went to Oconto Falls, the nearest REA project, for two weeks to learn how they did things.

In the fall of 1941 we were all set to start staking out the lines when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. We received word from REA at once to suspend all operations and to send representatives to Wisconsin Rapids to get instructions from REA officials. The Board of Directors sent Herman Leasum, Wm. Engelson and myself to meet with them. We were told what we should do, “stop all activities at once,” which we did.

The Board of Directors voted me $25 per month to keep things in shape until the war was over. Most believed it would be a very short war. After getting paid the $25 a few months, I stopped it as I didn’t feel I was earning it.

Conrad Anderson went to Milwaukee to work and I took his place teaching school for a few more years.

On the last day of school, May 25, 1945, an engineer, Carl C. Crane, and Construction Manager Edward Killoren came to Washington Island. We had a meeting with them that night, and I was again put on the payroll, from one job to another, never losing an hour. We hired Carl C. Crane as our engineer and Killoren Electric C. to build our lines. The Board also sent Herman and myself to St. Louis to meet with the heads of different REA departments. REA was in St. Louis during the war.

We spent about three days in St. Louis and many interesting things happened. We left Sturgeon Bay late in the afternoon and drove all night, arriving in St. Louis early in the morning. About 2 O’Clock the lights on the car went out. I was driving the car when this happened and Herman was sleeping in the back seat. I brought the car to a stop as soon as I could. We found that we were on the edge of a ditch several feet deep. Another few feet and we would have been in this ditch. We could not make the lights work.

We had passed an all-night service station a few miles back. Herman had a large flashlight along and I sat on the hood of his car lighting the way and he drove until we came to this station. It took the operator a long time, but finally the lights came on.

We could find no place to stay in St. Louis; every hotel was filled up, and many soldiers returning home were sleeping on the floors. We drove back about 10 miles to some cottages that we saw, had breakfast and waited for someone to check out.

We met a very famous doctor from Panama at one of the hotels. He was on his way to meet with Dr. Trudeau in New York. He could find no place to stay and his English wasn’t too good, so we took him along to the cottages. Later he sent us pictures which he had taken.

One day we met on the street of St. Louis Mr. Verne Williams who was in St. Louis on business. We went into a place nearby for refreshments and a visit. This was John Herschberger’s grandfather.

Herman was wearing an old suit, but his wife forgot to put his new suit in the car, so he had to sit at the tailor’s in his shorts while his suit was being pressed and cleaned.

We were hungry all the time in St. Louis. There wasn’t much to eat. I suppose we didn’t know where to go to get a good meal. On the way home at a small town we got a real good plate lunch for about $0.50, so we ordered the same again and ate two meals at once.

We found out that Waushara Electric Co-op had a diesel generating unit for sale. I went there with a Door County truck and trailer and brought it back to Sturgeon Bay. Our Town trucks took it from there to Washington Island. We paid $4000.00 for it. We still use it at times. At first it was installed in the back of our present office.

As soon as the poles started to go up, we had many requests for electric service, as now those opposed to electricity believed that it was a reality.

We hired Leonard Jorgenson and Conrad Schmidt as our linemen. Conrad quit to go sailing and Leonard has stuck with us through thick and thin, sometimes quite thin. We sometimes had to wait until money came in to draw our pay.

Since Conrad Anderson and Clifford Vogel were gone, Oliver Bjarnarson and Dr. Farmer were elected as Board members.

This was a difficult time. The lines were being built, the machinery installed, the houses being wired, etc., all at the same time. I had to be at the office every night also for some reason or other. I could never have done it all, if my dear wife had not come along to help.

We made plans to build a new generating building and started to build it. Andrew Justinger and Wm. Jacobsen were elected as directors. The Jackson Harbor line was the first to be completed, and on December 20, 1945, it was energized. The first member to be connected was the former high school, because the children would soon be the future citizens.

We received only two bids for our new generating units: Buda @ 900 RPM for $97858.00; Venn-Severin @ 600 RPM for $66634.96. After much discussion and calls to REA we accepted the Venn-Severin bid because of the slow speed and $31000.00 cheaper. In 1946 the manager’s pay was increased to $200.00 per month.

We purchased our International truck. It is still being used. This year the directors started to get paid. The new directors elected this year were Clarence Anderson, Claude Cornell and Nels C. Nelson. By this time our little power plant was getting overloaded. The exhaust manifold and a couple lengths of pipe would get red hot every night and I was glad when about 9:30 P.M. came. We removed a large part of the roof, removed the bottom boards on the building to let air escape and allow cooler air to enter. We installed fans to keep the generator from burning up. We also tapped into the lube oil lines and put coils of copper tubing into vats of cold running water to keep the oil cooler. We kept working on the new building that would contain our new generating units. Because of the heating of our little power plant we sent letters to all members asking them to curtail power, especially in the evening until our new units could be connected. This year we adopted our present “Capital Credit Plan.”

Our new building was now complete, the machinery installed and on July 1, 1948, the new power plant was started late in the afternoon. Before morning the coupling bolts started breaking and flying around the engine room. It was lucky no one got hurt. We obtained new bolts and for quite some time had to keep on replacing these bolts until new couplings were made and installed. We had much trouble with these Venn-Severin engines; in fact, so much that we decided in order to keep operating they would have to be replaced, which we did as soon as we could get other diesel engines to drive the generators. The costs of necessary items kept going up, and we were losing money every month. The more kilowatt hours we sold, the more we lost. For better efficiency, we reduced the number of board members from 11 to 7 members. One new board member was elected this year, Norbert O’Connell.

Herman Leasum and I figured out new rates and sent them to REA for approval. They revised them somewhat, and we put them into effect starting November 20, 1949. As it was difficult to pay REA on time, the attorney and I worked with REA and adjusted the original loan from 25 years to 35 years. At the time interest was reduced from 2 ½% to 2%. As we were still having trouble with the Venn-Severin engines, the Directors sent the attorney, president and myself to the Venn-Severin factory in Chicago to meet with the Venn-Severin officials. They tried faithfully to correct our difficulties but apparently could not. This company soon after went bankrupt and sold everything at auction. In the meantime we sent out specifications to several companies to bid on two new diesel engines to replace the Venn-Severin engines.

As we would soon need another generating unit, we advertised that we would accept bids on a complete new generating unit. We received eight bids for this new diesel generating unit. We chose the Superior, a 270 Kilowatt unit. When this unit was once put on line in April 1951, we didn’t use the Venn-Severins any more.

The Board sent our attorney, president and myself to Washington D.C. to try to get enough money to purchase some other make of engine to replace the two Venn-Severins. These engines were to drive the same generators, etc., that the Venn-Severins did, so the speed would have to be exactly the same. Our new unit, the Superior was now installed and was started in April 1951. We received several bids for replacement of the Venn-Severins and accepted the Enterprise. We decided to sue the Killoren Electric Co. for recovery of money on the Venn-Severin engines. We had many meetings with the company officers, attorneys, etc., but Attorney Leasum presented such a good case that Killoren’s attorneys didn’t think they could win, so they settled out of court for $16600.00. This year Arni Richter was elected as Director.

The Enterprise engines to replace the Venn-Severins were now here and being installed. They were tested and put on the line in May 1952. One of these Enterprise Engines is still the same and working excellently. The other one was up-rated from 100 K.W. to 250 K.W. in 1961. We received the $16600.00 from Killoren in 1952.

This year we purchased 2 large safes from the Polk-Burnett Electric Co-op at Centuria, WI. I went along with George Mann after them. He took a load of cattle to Green Bay and from there we went to Centuria and got the safes. This Co-op had just built a fireproof vault, so we got the safes very cheap. This year we also installed a large fuel oil tank on Standard Oil property so we could obtain oil directly from Green Bay cheaper. To haul it to the plant we bought a truck for $150. It still hauls all our oil. From this time on we started to show a profit.

To increase the volume of electricity sold we decided to sell electric ranges and water heaters at practically wholesale. We bought B&A pumps for the Enterprise engines. These were to pump the lube oil around to all moving parts and warm it up before starting the engine. At the end of this year we had all obligations paid and showed a margin.

We sold the Venn-Severin engines to a concern in Hawthorne, California for $1000. They had been standing outside covered up for a couple of years. We had them sold for $500, but the party backed out and didn’t want them. When I received a call from Hawthorne I set the price at $1000. To my surprise he accepted the offer at once.

Nothing much happened this year of importance. Dr. Farmer left the Island and Conrad A. Anderson was elected in his place.

This year we installed the street lights. In other words, we helped the Town crew install them.

Nothing unusual occurred this year. We installed a security light at the office, and at the end of the year everything seemed to be under control.

Percy Johnson was elected as a Director, and we purchased a line truck with an A-frame and winch which is still in use.

We were getting short of firm power, we decided to up-rate one of the Enterprise units from 100 KW to 250 KW. This was done by increasing the speed from 600 RPM to 720 RPM and installing some new parts to increase the BMEP (Brake Means Effective Pressure). A new generator was necessary to function properly at 720 RPM. This was much cheaper than a new unit.

I retired as Manager and Irwing Nelson was hired.