Ghosts of ’Lectricity

Photos from the Shoeboxes & Archives of NH’s Electric Past

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It’s Not a House … It’s a Home

(1937)

This is one of three single-phase transformers being installed at Amoskeag Hydro Station. Getting these 3,000-pound transformers to their new home on the opposite side of the powerhouse building was a formidable task. After removing part of the building’s brick exterior wall, workers rolled each transformer into position on railroad rails. Today, a large crane would be used to simply reach over the building to lift a transformer up and over the powerhouse. If fact, that was done in 2017, when these three were replaced with one modern three-phase transformer. The original units lasted reliably for 80 years, which is a testament to the technology and engineering capabilities of that time.

Special thanks to Bill Smagula for all the detail on this one!

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For the Wheel’s Still in Spin

(c. 1920s)

Here’s an up-close look at one of the three water wheels that power Amoskeag Hydro Station on the Merrimack River in Manchester. Amoskeag Manufacturing Company completed construction of the hydro station in 1924.

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Gonna Change My Way of Thinking

(1977)

Show of hands: Who’d like to learn where energy comes from, how to use it efficiently, and become a card-carrying Junior Energy Conservation Specialist? If you were a fifth grader in PSNH’s Southern Division back in ’77 or ’78, you just might have gotten the opportunity—not to mention a pretty sweet ID card featuring Reddy Kilowatt.

From a press release at the time:

The class consists of energy conservation ideas and projects, the pupils are taught how electricity is generated and how to read an electric meter through a series of talks and slides and how to conserve electricity.

The classes are taught by Al Taylor, Southern Division Staff Assistant and Mrs. Pauline Hawkins, Energy Applications Specialist both of Public Service Company and the audio visual aids feature such characters as “Energy Ant” and “Eddie Energy.”

At the end of the class the students had a fifteen minute written quiz and received Junior Energy Conservation Packets which contain coloring book, pencil and several books and pamphlets to aid them in energy conservation.

The first three photos were taken at Brookline Elementary School in October 1977. Pauline Hawkins is shown with a power plant diagram, and in the next photo, PSNH’s Milford District Manager, Norman E. Woods, Jr. presents Brookline fifth grade students with their Junior Energy Conservation Specialist Cards. In the last photo Pauline is with students at Wilton Elementary School in November 1977.

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The Water Smooth Ran Like a Hymn

(c. 1920)

Here is Manchester’s Amoskeag dam under construction with a portion already completed. The wooden boards you see served as the form for pouring the concrete to finish the dam. Inside is a tunnel used to inspect the dam and connect the power house to the station’s gatehouse.

Amoskeag Hydro through the years.

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Lookin’ for the Fuse

(1926)

Switchboard and regulators for Souhegan Valley Electric Co. This photo was taken on July 24, 1926—about a month before the company joined Manchester Traction, Light & Power Co.; Keene Gas & Electric Co.; Ashuelot Gas & Electric Co.; and Laconia Gas & Electric Co. to form Public Service Co. of New Hampshire.

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I Came to a High Place

c. 1960s

Yesterday, Eversource posted photos of a Haverfield Aviation contract crew working on a transmission line in Hooksett, NH. Wearing Faraday cage suits, they were installing lightning arrestors on a live line. That reminded us of this photo of PSNH linemen perched high atop a transmission structure somewhere in the Granite State (we’re not sure about the location). Even though the power lines in this picture weren’t live, it’s safe to say that protective clothing and gear have come a long way!

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Down In the Flood

1936

“The greatest disaster ever to befall the State of New Hampshire.” That’s how Gov. H. Styles Bridges described the Great Flood of 1936. The New Hampshire Flood Reconstruction Council’s official report called it “the most severe in 300 years.” After a “remarkably steady” winter, the rains began in the second week of March.

“Ice jams coming with the breakup of ice in the rivers on March eleventh to thirteenth 1936 caused flooding of many areas that would not otherwise have been affected. That flooding had barely subsided when heavy rains on the eighteenth to twenty-first coming with warm weather that rapidly melted the snow cover resulted in the worst flood in the 300-year history of New England. The stream flow at Garvin's Falls on the Merrimack which had seemed threatening at 50,000 cubic feet a second during the first stage of the flood was doubled during the second.” —Everett Sackett, Fifty Years of Service

These photos were taken between March 19 and 21 when the flood came through Manchester’s Millyard. During that time, the Merrimack River peaked 17.2 feet over the Amoskeag dam, right in back of the building that is now Eversource’s Energy Park offices. Attempts were made to slow the tide with sand bags, but the flood waters persisted.

According to the New England Historical Society, “Police worked around the clock evacuating families from their homes, snatching some from rooftops, as the Merrimack washed away houses. The National Guard was called up to help police. … The flood badly damaged the giant mills owned by the bankrupt Amoskeag Industries, washing away any hope that the company could revive.” New Hampshire wasn’t alone, of course; all of New England was hit hard: “The flood burst dams, wiped out roads, ruined businesses and washed away homes. As many as 200 people were killed and 14,000 left homeless.”

This wasn’t the first time Manchester’s Millyard was flooded; check out these photos from the Flood of 1896, which took place almost exactly 40 years prior.

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Handle Me With Care

(1950)

PSNH employees installing a transformer at the corner of Nutfield and Lowell in downtown Manchester.

Original photo date: December 18, 1950.

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Reddy for Christmas

(1966)

It’s no Little Saint Nick, but this bucket truck was just the ticket for Reddy Kilowatt as he greeted onlookers at Dover’s 1966 Christmas Parade. Working foreman Ernie Lane is taking Rudolph’s place in the driver’s seat.

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The Superhuman Crew

c. 1940s

Reader Dave Ekola sent us this great photo of a 1940s PSNH line crew that includes his dad, Herb:

My father was “Herb” Ekola, and was known by his ever-present cigar. His PSNH career ran 35 years, from 1942 to his retirement in 1977. Our family lived on their little farm in Dover, NH. I know that he worked out of the Somersworth facility for at least some of those years. He was born in 1912 and passed from this world in 2002. My father had many fond memories of his career with PSNH, his last position was foreman on a digger truck. Herb can be seen in the attached photo, in the front row, kneeling on the left. I am afraid that I do not know any of the other men.

Thanks Dave!

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Got Ice Water In My Veins

(1955)

A fully suited-up diver taking the plunge to perform an inspection at Greggs Falls Hydro Station in Goffstown. Here’s another photo from the same day.

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All of Them Along the Line

(1976)

This group shot was taken 40 years ago at the Brook Street Substation in Manchester. Special thanks to Holly Gordon Haas for sharing this photo and to Ray "Whitey" LeBlanc for providing us with all the names (that’s him in the red and white striped shirt).

Front Row (left to right): Ed Purdy, Richard Clang, Ed Lawler, Kevin Cote, Lionel Tessier, Marcel Carrier, West Libby, Steve Johnson, Conrad Cote, Doug MacDonald, Andy Zerlag, Ernie Paris, Brian Ackerman, John Henniman.

Back Row (left to right): Bill Cash, Robert Sidwic, Robert Northridge, Jack Bernard, Wayne Wood, Allen Hayfield, Richard "Dickie" Duval, Roman Oliszzak, Bob "Blackie" Gordan, Gary Luckman, Ray "Whitey" LeBlanc, Jack St. Cyr, Don White, John McCaron, Bert Guimond (all the way back, arms up on sides), Gus Coddere, Andy Bell, Andy Routhier, Guy Norman (arm resting on truck window), Ned Gelinas, Jim Hamilton, John Clossick, Eddie Riel, (sunglasses, standing in back), Ray Mudge, Gary Foye, Harry Simons, Jimmy Kneeland.

We hope all the names are spelled correctly; if they’re not, let us know using the link below!

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Stick With Me Anyhow

(1975)

Stanley Bobusia applies a logo—featuring the ever-popular Reddy Kilowatt—to a new linetruck at PSNH’s Automotive Maintenance Center in Manchester.

Original photo date: October 1975.

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Going to the End of the Line

(1951)

Manchester’s downtown underground electric system was installed between 1951 and 1953. The line that these two are pulling was used to feed Elm Street. Here’s the scene from a different angle, and another photo taken a year later.

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Inside the Franklin Garage

(c. early 1960s)

When we posted this photo in 2013, we thought it was taken at PSNH’s Brook Street Garage in Manchester. Thankfully, three years later, it caught the eye of PSNH retiree Larry Swett, who was looking through the photos with his son Paul (currently an Eversource employee) and recognized it to be the garage at the company’s Franklin District Office at 859 Central St. Larry should know, because he’s in the picture! He also recalls that the vehicle they’re standing in front of was, in fact, Franklin District’s first bucket truck (a Ford).

Left to right: Maurice Frost, Ed Williams, Bill Robinson, Bob Clough, Larry Swett, Rob Kelly, Warren Gilman, and Dave Shields.

2016-04-29 Update: Thanks to Larry and Paul Swett for all their help with this photo!

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Thanks to Larry and Paul Swett for all their help with this photo!

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Pledging Their Time

(1992)

Today is the kickoff of New Hampshire Public Television’s 43rd Spring Auction (still the “Channel 11 Auction” for some us 😀). Here’s a photo of PSNH employees at the one in ’92. Like so many volunteers, they spent most of their time answering the phones. Left to right: Don Gray, Elizabeth LaRocca, Mary-Jo Boisvert, Barb Doyle, and Jack Briggs.

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Extending Goodwill

(1926)

During the 1926 grand opening ceremonies of PSNH's first corporate headquarters at Elm and Lowell streets in Manchester, 10,000 local residents came and "took advantage of the opportunity to look over the handsome building,” reported the Union Leader, "piloted about by a delegation of 16 girls of the Women's Committee."

The Women’s Committee—now at Eversource—continues to this day as a social and charitable organization, and this week held its 90th Annual Meeting. The group currently has 57 active members, including retirees.

The names below come from a caption in the Union Leader titled, “These Pretty Guides Will Show You About Next Week.”

Top row, left to right: Catherine M. McLeod, Agnes Sexton, Helen Avery, Lucille L. Simonds, Ruth D. Wiley, Ruth W. Casey, Louise Holmes, Vera Hastings, Grace A. Phillips

Bottom row, left to right: Lucille A. Whipple, Eva M. Wheeler, Margaret M. Martin, Ethel M. Achilles, Irene Hooker, Dorathy Dalton, Judith C. Perrault

Here’s another shot of this same group, now updated with their names.