By Pat Gracey
Let there be light
The Spirit of Tehachapi
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Tehachapi, always a dancing town, celebrates the advent of the "new fangled" electric lights with a street dance in front of the Town hall on Green and F Street.
There was a question asked of me, recently, during one of our First Friday evenings at the local Museum. The question: "When did Tehachapi first install electric lights?" The answer, of course, is 1915. I didn't elaborate as the conversation turned in another direction. The best part was not given and the person who inquired left with only the date and no more interesting facts. I was given that information from Grace Errea, herself, who had lived in the Errea House with her parents and brothers. That's only part of the story and people need to know the rest.
The City celebrated the installation of the wonderful electric street lights and power to all homes, by holding a "street dance" on July 31, 1915. To add to the story, even though it said "street dance," the dancers were "stepping out" on the board sidewalk on the corner of Green and F Streets. They could not dance in the unpaved dirt Street. Green Street would not be paved until 1936. It would not be until 1927 when cement sidewalks would be laid in the downtown and nearby residential areas of the city. They would have been seen waltzing or perhaps trying the latest new dance, the "Turkey Trot," a cute, little two step that caught on and made the old folks wonder about the young people and what this world was coming to. The Charleston was yet to come in just a few years.
One usually, when switching on the lights, does not think about the complex electrical system needed to complete and construct such an undertaking. Power lines, poles, rights of way for those high tension lines, substations, access roads, contractors as well as getting a bid for a company to fit their budget. Pacific Light and Power Company was chosen. Thus¸there was an election on April 12, 1915 stating the city's intent to construct an electrical system in the small town for an estimated $8,000. There were 113 affirmative votes and (believe this¸if you will) 11 voting against it. Not everyone wanted those "new fangled" lights.
It's interesting to note that the beautiful multiple-globed downtown street lights used an excess of current, necessitating the instructing of the night watchman to turn off the street lights on full moonlight evenings. The exception was to leave the lights burning on the corner of F and Green which was the location of the Masonic Temple, a two story brick building, and the site of the historical dance.
One , real live civic scandal occurred during this time when one of the consulting engineers was accused of embezzling funds in the amount of $3,291.55 from the town funds. I found no information as to the outcome of the incident. I didn't even look.
In 1928 the city accepted an offer from Edison and sold the system for $23,500. The money from the sale financed the building of a new City Hall in 1932. It was a charming building and was constructed the same year as the local Kern County Library building on Green Street; both built in the 30s style architecture . The library site is now the Tehachapi Museum and the building still stands sturdily.
In 2004 the Tehachapi Main Street Murals Committee raised funds to commemorate the Street Dance event by enlisting the talents of Mural Artist, Phil Slagter to reproduce the early scene on Tehachapi Boulevard in the 200 Block. The "real life" reproduction by Mr. Slagter features the dancers' faces being those of present local citizens. A good idea which brought the scene home.
The facts of the lighting being installed in Tehachapi can be read in more detail in the latest printing of Judy Barras' book, The Long Road To Tehachapi ,page 245, which can be obtained at the local museum . If one has an older printing of the book at home, page 148 will take you there.
All of this came about when a single question was posed at the Tehachapi Museum's First Friday event. It's nice having people pop by on those evenings to share conversations, have some hors d'oeuvres and take a look at the historical artifacts from a former age that will never come again but should remain in our hearts and in our minds.
