The Perils of Amateur Wiring
A Coulee City man survives a terrifying fall from an electric light pole.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Pete McGath, the amateur electrician, made his first ascent of an electric light pole yesterday. Owing to the fact that the Washington Water Power Co. had borrowed the only pair of spurs available, Pete essayed the ascent with a pair of saddle spurs. Consequently, when near the top he slipped and started for mother earth. When about half way down, he caught on a sliver, thus saving his life. Pete was pretty badly frightened, offering fervent prayers for help from the ground man, thinking no doubt of all his past sins and wondering who was going to take care of his wife and babe when he had passed to his reward.
“Pete essayed the ascent with a pair of saddle spurs, consequently when near the top he slipped and started for mother earth.”
This vivid account captures the precarious nature of early 20th-century utility work, long before modern OSHA regulations mandated standard safety equipment for line workers.
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