PenLight’s History
- Founded in July 1925 as a member-owned cooperative.
- Membership available to PenLight territory residents upon paying a $100 membership fee.
- First energized by Tacoma City Light’s supply in December 1926.
- Serving over 30,000 member homes and businesses.
- Coverage spans 112 square miles encompassing Gig Harbor, Key Peninsulas, and Fox Island.
- Full requirements utility of Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
- Utilizes BPA and Tacoma transmission for power distribution.
- Provides water services to more than 3,000 members
1920s
July 14, 1924
PLC was issued its first commercial license to operate. The license was issued by Secretary of State Grant Hinckle, paid for by Earl Knapp.
July 13, 1925
The first Articles of Incorporation were adopted. They were drafted by Homer T. Bone, a Tacoma attorney who was an early leader of public power in the Northwest.
The Board held meetings everywhere: Empress Theater, Peninsula Hotel, Washington Egg and Poultry Association, Old Schoolhouse, Home and Philip Peyran’s house.
In August 1925
Board approved purchase of a binder for the meeting minutes “… if the price was reasonable”.
1925
Penlight moved into the Eve-Glo Building.
Fox Island Light Company proposes to be served by PLC; raises funds for underwater line; PLC guarantees service if 100 memberships can be obtained.
December 7, 1925
The first annual meeting was held.
December 14, 1929
Peninsula Light Company was officially energized with power supplied by Tacoma City Light, but operation apparently ceased when funds ran out. Board members began membership drives and personally collected the memberships: cash and notes and transformer bills. They had a difficult time.
March 1927
55 miles of line were up.
December of 1927
74 miles of line served 457 members.
1930s
1930s
Fox Island is service completed. Because of the Depression, moves are made to cut salaries of employees. Mr. Hughes volunteers to cut his salary to $125; linemen to $5 per day. Hiring restricted but if absolutely necessary, and married men were to be given preference.
1932
192 miles of line served 878 members . McNeil Island service completed. A new 1.5 ton Ford pickup truck is purchased in 1932 for $575 (from Uddenberg’s).
1933
A.R. Hunt comes to terms to sell property and Eve-Glo building on Harborview to PenLight for $15,000.
1940s
July 4, 1940
First Narrows Bridge (Galloping Gurtie) opens.
November 7, 1940
Galloping Gurtie bridge collapses.
1960s
1964
Move into “new” PenLight building on Harborview Drive.
1970s
August 1970
Membership reaches 5,114 members
1975
Membership grows to 8,000 members.
December 20, 1976
December 20, 1976—A court decision known as the Otter Tail ruling allowed PLC to use Tacoma’s transmission system to switch to its first federal electricity from BPA.
1980s
1986
PenLight moves into a modern new headquarters building on Goodnough Drive. The building wins a design award from the local Chamber of Commerce.
PLC – Pioneers of the Peninsula (Long) Video
Pioneers of the Peninsula (Short) Video
Peninsula Light Introduction to Power
It was a land of berry bushes, tall timber, chicken ranches and fishing boats. Accessible only by water and populated only by a hardy sort, the Peninsula area during the early 1900s… As a frontier made the slow transition to civilization, the progressive among this land realized they could not afford to be left out of industry’s evolution toward electrical power. . . . Soon it became obvious that no outside agency was going to provide an electrical utility in the Peninsula area… A handful of local residents realized that if they were to ever see lights in their chicken sheds and their homes, they would have to make it happen themselves. . .
“You couldn’t get any money from Wall Street. They thought it was all Indians out here,” said Oak Lodholm, General Manager of Peninsula Light from the 1930s to 1973. Read more by downloading Pioneering a Power System (PDF), written in September 1988.
A Christmas Eve Miracle
A hundred dollars was a huge amount of money in 1924. Like a lot of people, Clarence E. and Vie Shaw found it difficult to come up with the membership fee when Peninsula Light introduced power to the city of Gig Harbor the following year.
“They had already paid for wiring the house and putting in the switches and lamp fixtures,” said their daughter, Jane Karlson. “Some of the fixtures in the bedrooms were just wires coming down from the ceiling with light bulbs on the end. Miraculously, on Christmas Eve, 1925, our house lights came on. The Christmas spirit must have come to the board members. Knowing and trusting memberships would eventually be paid by local families, the lights were turned on to give us all a glorious Christmas.”
~Jane Shaw Karlson
Read more about this and other personal stories about Joe and Laura Hoots, Betsy and Chuck Allen, Jane Shaw Karlson, Paul and Helen Alvestad, Leroy Challender, Melvin and Jane Etta Cady, and Donald and Shirley Olson by downloading PenLight Pioneers Reminisce.
Certificate Of Membership No. 1 – Fred S. Smythe
1St Headquarters, The Eve-Glo Bldg, 1925 To 1964
Open House For Harborview Bldg., 1964 To1986
The 7 Cooperative Principles
- Over 29,000 co-ops are in operation in the U.S., serving approximately 350 million members.
- With more than 900 electric co-ops, they manage nearly half of the electric distribution lines across the country.
- These lines encompass ¾ of the U.S. land area and offer power to over 40 million individuals.
Like all co-ops, Peninsula Light Company operates under these 7 cooperative principles:
Voluntary & Open Membership
- Co-ops are open to all individuals able to use their services.
- Membership entails accepting responsibilities associated with co-op participation.
Democratic Member Control
- Co-ops are managed by their members, who establish policies and take decisions.
- Elected representatives are answerable to the members, and all members possess equal voting rights: one member, one vote.
Member Economic Participation
- Members contribute fairly and democratically oversee their cooperative’s capital.
- Surpluses are allocated for co-op development, and benefits are proportional to members’ transactions with the co-op.
Autonomy & Independence
- Cooperatives are self-help organizations controlled by their members.
- If they enter into agreements with other organizations, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members.
Education, Training & Information
- Co-ops provide education and training for members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute to the development of their co-ops.
- They inform the public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
Cooperatives serve their members by working together:
- Locally
- Nationally
- Regionally
- Internationally
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
- Cooperatives prioritize member needs.
- They actively contribute to the sustainable development of their communities.