by Joan Bransfield Graham
Thomas
Edison didn’t
hesitate to let
ideas incubate, and
try again, if they
weren’t right. One
day to his intense
delight, he squeezed
his thoughts
into a bulb
and then
turned
on the
light
light
light
!!!
Imagine for a moment that you are fishing the Nile River in Egypt around 2750 BC and catch a fish that delivers an electric shock. What would you do? Would you tell someone or pretend it didn’t happen? Would anyone believe you? What if you lived in the Mediterranean 2,000 years later and noticed that rubbing an amber rod on a cat’s fur could attract things like feathers? (My guess is that a five year old boy discovered that one!) Would that lead you to try other things might work on different kinds of fur? For thousands of years, people have used their curiosity, intelligence, and ingenuity to both delve into intriguing observations and invent solutions to nagging problems, and that’s pretty much the story of how electricity was developed. First one thing was noticed, explored and added to, and then another and another, until finally that power was harnessed and refined into something that most of us consider to be a vital necessity.
Fast forward to the 1940's in Currituck County on North Carolina's Outer Banks, where electricity was scarce and a young man named Jesse Owens was just starting out in life. After working as a merchant marine and learning something about electricity and the electrical code aboard ship, Jesse came home to Currituck to work, be with his wife, and raise a family. At that time, many houses on the Outer Banks had little or no electricity, and there was already an established electrician in the area. This made it hard for young Jesse to get enough work to make ends meet unless there was a job that the other electrician did not want. According to his younger son, Nathan, Jesse would and could do a lot of different kinds of work: Painting, plumbing, electrical or carpentry…anything that would pay the bills. Back then, one crew would build a whole house from start to finish, unlike today’s situation where all the trades are separate companies. During that time, Jesse was contacted by a local furniture company that sold appliances. Even in the '40's, appliances required electricity to operate, which was a problem. In order for the furniture company to make sales, an outlet needed to be provided so that the appliance could be plugged in…hence the call to Jesse. The idea was that when the traveling salesperson would try and sell the appliance, enough money would be included to pay Jesse to add the required outlet. As Nathan explains it, “Once that got him in the house working ... the home owner would ask about adding other outlets or lights. In some cases the house had no electricity at all. That would require adding the service with the panel (fuse) box along with the outlet. At the time water heaters were a luxury as well. A 100 amp service on a house at the time was a large service. Most had 60 amp service, and when they would add a water heater that would be metered separate. Now most houses have a 400 amp service with two 200 amp panel boxes.”
Jesse went on to raise his family and a very successful business in Currituck County, which his sons have carried on in both electrical work and HVAC. Both Owens boys worked in the family business growing up, and they each do different pieces of that same work today. Nathan remembers going out on the job with his dad by the time he was 10 or 11 years old, working after school by the time he was 14 years old, and leaving school mid-day to work during High School. Here’s what he told me about working up where my house is being built:
“At that time doing a job in Corova was a big deal. You watched the weather and tide charts, you would check the truck over more so than normal, and plans would be made weeks in advance for the trip to Corova. So, I would be the one sent to Corova, leaving the shop in the dark. I would do the HVAC and then also the electrical. Most nights we would load the truck to come home by the truck headlights. If you remember back then the road above Duck was sand, and there was a guard gate at the Dare/Currituck line and no cell phones so it was up to you to get in and out. You carried extra clothes and food just in case you had to spend the night. To back way up ... Daddy did jobs in Corolla that it was quicker to go by boat because he did not have a vehicle that could make it up there. At that time the road was a dirt path beside the power lines (everyone called it the pole road). He would get someone to run him over and then come back to get him that afternoon. Back to me .... I would be the one sent to Hatteras, Elizabeth City, Knotts Island. "
It is Nathan Owens and HIS son, Randy, along with Ernest Meekins, who are doing the work at my house, and the company is called Jesse N. Owens Electric Company. Randy has the wonderful energy of being a young knowledgeable person, and he goes about the job with calm and obvious competence. Randy is endlessly patient as well, even when faced with unending rows and rows of wire that all have to be connected to the right things. I teased Randy once as he stood on a ladder with wires everywhere, saying he was probably excellent at putting the lights on the Christmas tree. He grinned and replied that was a job he really didn’t much care for. These guys are excellent at their work, and they are such great people to talk to that it makes you want to break something just so they can come out and fix it for you. Any time you can get Nathan to tell a story is time well spent.
The remarkable thing about the electrical installation in our house on the beach is not so much in the technology of electricity itself or in the differing functions of LED vs. incandescent light bulbs. It is more about the fact that there is electric service out there at all and the hard working company who did the work on the house. Of course, Vince did a lot of work planning and deciding what kind of lighting and which appliances to use in the house. The main goals were/are to use less energy and to plan for the systems of the house to work together well, which is really the same thing, isn’t it? This is really the only big technology in the house that was not “engineered,” but then it was, because Nathan did it. Vince addressed concerns about power outages and power surges and appropriate grounding and protecting the house and its parts from lightning strikes, noting that there are some key differences between what the building code requires and. what Mother Nature does, but the majority of the planning was in regard to how the house will be used. Where will the lamps be plugged in, and how much light will be needed in the guest bathroom? Will it be better to stand to the left or the right of the stairs to turn on the hall lights? For me, those decisions were honestly difficult, not being a person who really notices her own behaviors, but Nathan is very astute and detailed and leaves nothing to chance. Here’s what he said about part of his early experience:“Back then you had to do the job in your head and imagine every piece that was needed and then make sure you have it. If not it had to be ordered, so you could not wait until you realized you didn't have it and run to the supply house or Home Depot. I was not the one that would be sent to do what people called the beach boxes (rentals). Daddy would send the other guys. I would do the bigger home owner houses. I guess that is where I learned to pay so much attention to detail.”Well, thank goodness!
Randy’s wife, Candace, is a gifted artist. I was recently introduced to her work, but I haven’t yet met her in person. Vince and I both love the pieces that we have seen. In particular, I am intrigued by the expressions on the faces of the animals that she paints. There is a wonderful intensity in Candace’s work that gives the paintings life and vitality, especially combined with the vivid colors that she often uses. I absolutely want Candace to do a mural or a piece for us, and I can’t wait to find out what ideas she may have for our house. Here’s a video of some of her paintings. I wanted to post this here, because finding her work is much too wonderful to keep as a secret. Take a look:
