Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 182, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 July 1920 — MT. AYR PUTS ON CITY AIRS. [ARTICLE]

MT. AYR PUTS ON CITY AIRS.

The town of Mt. Ayr is expecting to soon start furnishing its people with electric service. We are informed that they expect to have the plant in operation not later than September Ist. The building, which is built of cement blocks, located in the northeast corner of the park, has been completed and accepted from the contractor and the batteries are already* installed in it as is the switchboard. All line material with the exception of some minor parts is on tha. ground and erection of the lines will start in the next few days. As there will at this time be but 75 poles to set and about three miles of wire to put up it will not take long to put that part of tile plant iin readiness. The engine, which is a FairbanksMorse, heavy oil burning type internal combustion was shipped from the factory about two weeks ago and is expected to arrive in a short time. The electrical machinery is the product of the Western Electric Co. of Chicago and the board has tried, with the best information to be gotten, to get it large enough to serve the town for some years to cqme but they are begining to think that probably what looked a large machine a few months ago is going to be only a medium sized one. The street lighting at this time will consist of plain hoods fitted with 100 c. p. nitrogen bulbs aL intervals of about three hundred feet on each side of the streets in the town. The street lights will probably be in service each night until eleven o’clock with an extension until midnight on Thursday and Saturday nights. The service given patrons will be continuous day and night for lighting and the plant will be run during the day, of such days as are decided upon by the board, to give service for those who wish ।to use washing machines, irons and similar appliances. The storage bat<»ry purchased will have eapacitv enough for some service other than lights but will be protected from an overioad. The people of Mr. Ayr are aware of the fact, that this arrangement will not give them all that might be desired in the way of electrical service but it will be so far in advance of what it has been possible for them to have in the past that it will be a great step in ment and hape that in time the business will be large enough that a line will come that way that will give them unlimited electrical service. The new plant will start off with fully fifty per cent of the business and residences wired and it looks now like seventy five per cent would be a much closer figure.