Peninsula Light Co.

Peninsula Light Co.. "Energizing Gig Harbor". , Peninsula Light Company's roots in Gig Harbor date back to 1924, when the community began to discuss how it could form its own electric utility. At the time, Tacoma Power was building a transmission line through the peninsulas to deliver power from its hydroelectric project at Lake Cushman near Hood Canal. Community members didn't know much about how to build or maintain an electric grid, but they knew it would be the cornerstone of a growing town., PenLight incorporated on July 16, 1925, and the first headquarters building (1927-64) was located on Harborview Drive across the street from Borgen's Corner. The building originally was the Eve-Glo dance studio and was leased for $10 per month from Mr. Conrad Anderson. Eventually, PenLight purchased the building, and the property., The company opened a new headquarters in August 1964 at the former Austin Mill site in downtown Gig Harbor. The facility consisted of 3,800 square feet of office space, and a 5,000-square-foot warehouse. At the time, PenLight had 26 employees, eight vehicles and 4,950 members. Two of the longest-tenured employees were Oak Lodholm, known as "Mr. Peninsula Light," and his son, Gary Lodholm. Oak started as a lineman, then became superintendent and finished his nearly 40 years of service as the director of operations and engineering., By the early 1980s, PenLight had tripled its size to about 16,000 members, and outgrown its headquarters. A four-year process resulted in a new building constructed off Goodnough Drive, and the utility hosted the public during an open house on May 29, 1987., Throughout the company's history, PenLight has focused on its members. Today, it sponsors many community events and gives back through many other avenues, such as post-secondary scholarships and grants for use within the Peninsula School District. As of 2015, PenLight served 31,600 electric meters, and 3,200 water meters., Background Photo Gig Harbor: Circa, 1925, [Photo captions, top to bottom, read] , . First Location, Circa 1925, . Open house Circa: 1963 , Top: Clarence Thrall, Bill Parshall, Martin Samuelson, Oak Lodholm, Russ White, Bruce Arnold, Delbert Irvin, Jim Dillon, Leo Jones, Harold Eaton, Jack Rossi , Bottom: Reeves Overly, Walt Luters, Kenny Denton, Loren Harriman, Reuben Berg, Spot Bullard, Marv Smith, Carl Veitenhans, Vern Kauppila, Dick Johnson, Gordon McCormick, Gary Lodholm, . Circa: 1951 - Standing: Walt Luters, Bill Parshall, Harold Smythe and Glad Murray , Sitting on cab: Bob Hardy and Carl Veitenhans.