[Electronics-talk] The Night the Lights Went Out in 1965

Wed Nov 11 06:44:27 UTC 2015

Hello everyone,

	I was watching Bozo the Clown on television when we lived in Brockton Massachusetts. Bozo's sho featured several cartoon shorts one of which was called "The Funny Company." It was during The Funny Company when the T.V. started flickering and the picture began to fade. Rolling television pictures were a common occurrence back then so I thought the T.V. was acting up. Suddenly the lights begin to brown out until everything went dark. Since our part of town was prone to power outages and we didn't have a telephone I ran upstairs to one of our neighbors and asked her to call the power company. She too lost power. She tried calling the electric company but even the phones was dead. There was nothing to do but wait until the lights came back on. We walked back to our apartment and mom found some candles and lit them to serve as light so we wouldn't be in the dark. She finally found a radio and tuned in to one of our local news stations. It was then that we learned of the full extent of the blackout, that it covered much of the Northeastern United States and that efforts were under way to restore power to effected communities and there were a lot of them. A Brockton Edison truck was working on power lines near our home to get the lights back on. Unlike many other folks we were lucky in Brockton to have power restored about an hour after it went out. The rest of that evening went without further power outages in our little corner of Massachusetts. However it was a different story for many other communities. I recall seeing news reports of stranded subway passengers walking through the tunnels of Boston and New York and being rescued by emergency services personnel and being bussed to their homes. Others needed rescuing from elevators, bank vaults, and from other situations due to the power blackout. It was an experience we remember to this day. Since my wife Mary is from Wisconsin she missed out on all the excitement since the Mid West was unaffected by the power blackout of 1965. Ya might say that it was the producers of Bozo the Clown that unknowingly invented reality T.V. with help from The Funny Company.

Peter Donahue

 -----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of wmodnl wmodnl via Electronics-talk
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 11:19 PM
To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
Cc: wmodnl wmodnl
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Storable energy for prolonged periods of power outage

Me too!

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 10, 2015, at 3:53 PM, Star Gazer via Electronics-talk <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
>                I wasn't even born. I'd love to hear everybody's stories. 
> I'm not sure I agree with "life was simpler" back then, because you guys were kids or teenagers so by definition had less responsibilities. The same stuff still had to get done, only the methods changed and maybe not even that in many cases. 
> Also, I think it's easy to fall into the "it was simpler" because you all came through it ok and so you know the ending. 
> I've also read some research that when we remember things, our brains rewire the memories so the emotions are softer... in other words we remember things and put a more pleasant spin on it then may have been the case... which isn't a bad thing at all.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Andrews, David B (DEED) via Electronics-talk
> Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 3:16 PM
> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances 
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Andrews, David B (DEED) <david.b.andrews at state.mn.us>
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Storable energy for prolonged periods 
> of power outage
> 
> I lived in northern New Jersey at the time.  I remember listening to the radio, about the blackout with my Mother.
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> 
> David Andrews | Chief Technology Officer Department of Employment and 
> Economic Development State Services for the Blind, 2200 University 
> Ave. W., Suite 240, St. Paul MN 55114
> Direct: 651-539-2294 | Mobile: 612-730-7931 Web | Twitter | Facebook
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Gerald Levy via Electronics-talk
> Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 1:35 PM
> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
> Cc: Gerald Levy
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Storable energy for prolonged periods 
> of poweroutage
> 
> 
> Just by coincidence, yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the great Northeast blackout of 1965.  I was a student at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan at the time (I still had normal vision) and traveled to school by subway.  Fortunately, I got home before the power went out.  Life was much simpler in those days.  No cell phones or personal computers to worry about. 
> I remember doing my homework by candlelight.  But school was closed the next day because the subways were still not back to normal, and so nobody could get there.  Where were you when the lights went out?
> 
> Gerald
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gerald Levy via Electronics-talk
> Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 2:09 PM
> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
> Cc: Gerald Levy
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Storable energy for prolonged periods 
> of poweroutage
> 
> 
> Taping a bunch of 9 volt batteries together?  That's a new one on me.  The only reliable way I know of to use electronic devices during a prolonged power outage is with an emergency generator or perhaps a UPS.  Of course, you could buy one of those hand-cranked radios to receive the latest news and emergency alerts during the outage.  Actually, bunching 9 volt batteries together sounds like a bad idea because it could damage the device you are trying to power if the voltage you are supplying it is too high.
> 
> Gerald
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diane Vlasoff via Electronics-talk
> Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 1:24 PM
> To: electronics talk n f b list serve
> Cc: Diane Vlasoff
> Subject: [Electronics-talk] Storable energy for prolonged periods of 
> poweroutage
> 
> I was hoping someone on the list might be able to help me with my energy storage issues for the upcoming potential El Niño event.
> 
> Has anyone ever heard of using 9D batteries taped together and using a DC car adapter to charge your cell phone? Will that work? Will it fit in my equipment? Does anybody have any other ideas on how I can keep my electronics going if we have a prolonged power outage?
> 
> I'll help is welcome in truly appreciate it.
> 
> Diane Sent using voice recognition. Please excuse aberrations in spelling or punctuation.
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