OCR Text |
Show THURSDAY, SEPT. 12, 1957 THE SAN JUAN RECORD The sleepy little hamlet of Bluff received electric utility service for the first time in its 77 year history last week. And Thursday at 8 24 am. as Utah Power & Light Company crewmen made final connections to the newly constructed electric distribution system, enthusiastic interest was pretty much summed up in the comment of a Bluff housewife: "'We can begin to live like the rest of the world community now. The efficiency of the newly installed PAGE SEVEN electri- cally refrigerated soda pop dispenser is "out of this world to Mrs Ilene Black, who runs the Sunset Cafe. "My goodness, the bottles are still cold, she jubilantly told four linemen who were returning empties. Until the current development of the mineral and oil wealth in this corner of the state. Bluff was a town that history almost forgot. It was founded on orders of President John Prior to UP&Ls construction of an electrical system and its connection to the utilitys integrated community of some 200 people in the isolated corner of southeastern Utah relied on at best primitive means to power grid, this pioneer Mormon light homes and to power commonplace conven- Taylor of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints In 1879 President Taylor sent 25 scouts to survey the Bluff region and on Jan. 18, 1880, the call was issued for a mission establishing a fort at Bluff. iences. After the later establishment With the exception of scattered home power generating units that offered limited service, homemakers relied on kerosene and gasoline lanterns of Blanding to the north the once prosperous town of Bluff began to wane. Today, with the impetus given the area by for light. Most families used coal and bottled gas for cooking. The "sad iron was com- introduction of "industry, Bluff is being revitalized and these decendants of the pioneer settlers are coping with the change with much the same vigor monplace and good refrigeration was a rarity. and enthusiasm shown by the parent founders. The massive red sandstone cliffs of the San Juan country are typical of the terrain spanned by Utah Power & Light Company 69,000 volt power lines between Blanding and Bluff. The 25 mile section of line between the two communities was constructed at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars. High voltage trans v s y mission lines like this one form the backbone of the UP&L grid. They carry power from production points to cities and towns where high voltage electricity is stepped down to distribution voltages. Pictured is Dick Pizza, UP&L district representative checking this installation prior to charging. s V, i f s 8 h U ..niwrsr rj k 4 ? 1. f Itl f Vr v l Hr Bluff girl will only be used by this 11 year-olThe old fashioned sad iron heated on a stove a bad memory with the coming of electric utility service to the remote community in southeastern Utah. With small exception, commonplace household appliances were not not used in Bluff because of limited electricity. With new UP&L service as one housewife summed up, We can begin to live like the rest of the world now. v, f - d f it i I? V K f v M , . - K' r- - 1 X i jV w y 'll 4 4 i 4 - f i'; - ? $ v I' tjmr vi p 5 yr , j '1 Former Bluff U. S. Post Office located in a typical sandstone residence. Prior to receiving of UP&L electric service, a small generating rig furnished limited amounts of electricity for light ing. Present Post Office is in new building and is connected to new Bluff electric distribution system. Prior to connection last week, scattered home generating units offered limited service. f U - v' 1? j - r : r-- ? - '"' 'X- ,??' 9. " . v " 'j i j. t r 1 .t 4. ' f t 4 y . y f A,, .if f yYf K X A 4 i i S. a- X 1 V 1 PA V '' ' - y Utah Tower & Light Company linemen at work during the stringing of distribution lines which are now serving the some 200 people in Bluff. The community received electric utility service year for the first time in its seventy-sevehistory last week. n Pour modern mercury vapor street lights now brighten Bluff at night. There was no street lighting prior to UP&L service. In addition to some 26 homes, Bluff has a trailer court, cafe, welding shop, trading post, a service station and elementary school. St. Christopher's Mission, near Bluff, is headed by Father Liebler, an Episcopal priest and minister to the Navajo tribe of the area. Last year, the little hospital at this mission recorded 209 admissions. Of this total, 61 represented deliveries of babies. Dependable electric service of the UP&L system will be an invaluable aid to the mission. It is estimated that there are from 600 to 800 Xavajos residing on the thousands of acres of tribal ground owned by the Indian nation in San Juan County. |