Totally unrelated to Reddy Kilowatt: I probably should mention that my new book is out. It’s published by the weird and wonderful folks at BlueQ. It’s a nice little photo book of the sad chairs of St. Louis. No, really. Discarded chairs in alleys. Abandoned chairs on street corners. Abused chairs on loading docks. You get the picture. You’re gonna like it.
When I came home from work on Friday, it was to a surprise package in the mail…from West Virginia…from someone I’ve never met before. Which is weird…that it came to my house, because usually I have things sent to Snap Snap, as someone is usually there to receive packages…so, I was thinking it was someone I knew…
Only it wasn’t…
I opened the package and what did I find?
A Reddy Kilowatt Christmas From the Kitchen vintage cookbook (and holiday decorating idea book) And I dropped dead…OK…I didn’t die, but I did cry.
Oh yes, I did.
I was so very touched that someone thought of me, and sent along something so treasured. Someone I seemingly didn’t even know…There’s not a lot of people who even know who Reddy Kilowatt is…except for one person I didn’t even think of…
Oh man, I think that’s the first time I’ve seen a life-size, live-action Reddy Kilowatt. Check it out, and be sure to watch the video:
Once upon a time, Northland TV stations made their own children’s show. The kids who watched those shows are now in their 40’s and 50’s but still fondly remember names like Captain Q and Mr. Toot. Dave Anderson tells us how a pair of fans is trying to preserve those memories…
“I’ve been doing research on this subject for nearly a decade now.” The biggest find was some actual Mr. Toot with Reddy Kilowatt footage found on an archaic reel to reel video tape. “We had to track down a company that had one of those old machines that could actually play that type of tape and have it transferred.”
“I bet I know what your favorite fish is. Electric eels!”
A cautionary tale about respecting electricity from Horace Jeffery Hodges — and note that this mishap was blamed on Willie Wirehand, not Reddy Kilowatt! ;-)…
Although I managed to maneuver the plug’s prongs into the extension’s outlet, a spark of electricity briefly illuminated the night, and I dropped the two cords in alarm without completing the connection. But we didn’t hear them fall to the ground, and I realized that they were linked and hanging somewhere in the darkness before me.
I went groping for them and closed my right hand directly on the bare prongs. A wave of power surged through my body, I saw more light than I had ever seen, and I screamed. Another wave and light. I screamed again. A third time. I screamed and collapsed, breaking the circuit.
Technology to help Americans reduce electricity use when the grid is stressed could help utilities save $120 billion on spending for new power plants and transmission lines, government officials and researchers said on Wednesday after a study in the Pacific Northwest.
But it was another favorite lost to history that Duffy likes best, the “Reddy Kilowatt” mascot for Pacific Power’s downtown office where her father worked, “a little man with lightning bolts for arms and legs, a light bulb for a nose and wall outlets for years.” If that neon sign were still shining somewhere in Portland, I’d have to draw from the cheerful rhetoric of Rachel Ray: “How good does that look?”
A quick Reddy mention from someone over in New York state:
“Living off the grid” was the norm, since the grid did not come to Scipio until about the early 1940’s. An early bill features a picture of Reddy Kilowatt and a cost of $2.50 for a month’s service for a house on the then Lake Road — now Wyckoff Road.
And electricity meant that the old hand pump wells could be replaced by a cistern or a dug well. To just turn on a faucet and draw the water you needed instead of pumping and bringing pails full to the house must have been a huge improvement and timesaver.
Today, Con Edison will end 125 years of direct current electricity service that began when Thomas Edison opened his Pearl Street power station on Sept. 4, 1882. Con Ed will now only provide alternating current, in a final, vestigial triumph by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, Mr. Edison’s rivals who were the main proponents of alternating current in the AC/DC debates of the turn of the 20th century.
It’s an electrifying day as a Sioux City icon, “Reddy Kilowatt”, has returned.
Friday Reddy was dedicated at the ISU Design West Studio for folks to enjoy.
The large neon sign welcomed travelers into Sioux City along I-29 from 1956 to 1996.
This new location is fitting because Reddy was made to educate students about electricity and now will be surrounded by students attending the design school.
Update: There’s an article at the Sioux City Journal, too: Reddy’s back in town (and it mentions us!).
This is a web site dedicated to Reddy Kilowatt, the cartoon character that was used as a corporate "spokesthing" for electricity in the U.S. The site features history, news, memorabilia, items for sale and more. Yee-haw!
Totally unrelated to Reddy Kilowatt: I probably should mention that my new book is out. It’s published by the weird and wonderful folks at BlueQ. It’s a nice little photo book of the sad chairs of St. Louis. No, really. Discarded chairs in alleys. Abandoned chairs on street corners. Abused chairs on loading docks. You get the picture. You’re gonna like it.
Although I managed to maneuver the plug’s prongs into the extension’s outlet, a spark of electricity briefly illuminated the night, and I dropped the two cords in alarm without completing the connection. But we didn’t hear them fall to the ground, and I realized that they were linked and hanging somewhere in the darkness before me.
This is a web site dedicated to Reddy Kilowatt, the cartoon character that was used as a corporate "spokesthing" for electricity in the U.S. The site features history, news, memorabilia, items for sale and more. Yee-haw!