The Deep Freeze Coal Famine
With record-breaking snow and railroad blockades, Kennewick faces a chilling shortage of fuel and the potential return of oil lamps.
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.
With less than a week's supply of coal in the bunkers of local coal dealers, and with the freight shipments at a standstill, Kennewick is facing a coal famine which threatens to become acute within the next few days. At noon today, there was not to exceed 100 tons of eastern coal in the city. If the threatened coal famine materializes, our householders may not only be put to the necessity of splitting wood for a while, but they may have to resurrect the old coal oil lamps from the garret. It is reported that the Pacific Power and Light Company has coal in their bunkers sufficient only to operate their steam plant for three or four days longer.
“If the threatened coal famine materializes, our householders may not only be put to the necessity of splitting wood for a while, but they may have to resurrect the old coal oil lamps from the garret.”
Energy security and supply chain vulnerability were as critical in 1916 as they are in the age of modern power grid debates. A town cut off by winter weather illustrates how precarious local utility supplies can be without reliable transportation infrastructure.
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