Applause and thanks to Mid-American Energy

After I voted Tuesday morning, I headed over to Hy-Vee in Rock Island to mail a package. As I proceeded West on Rock Island’s 18th Avenue, it got very dark. Then suddenly I hit what felt like a wall of wind. I looked ahead and saw a large tree overhanging the Avenue and waving. Given the strength of the wind, I immediately pulled to the curb. I was afraid of getting under that tree and having the wind bring it down atop my car. When the west wind abated a bit, I scooted past the tree, and on to Hy-Vee. My efforts were in vain; Hy-Vee had lost power to run their mailing devices.

I headed home, wondering if the wind had done any damage. It had. A large maple tree on neighbor A’s property had fallen against the electrical pole on the same lot, with one big limb around the north side of the pole, and a second around the south side. In the process, the tree has taken down and snapped the electrical wire leading to neighbor B’s house. When I got home, I promptly learned that I was without power.

I immediately called Mid-American Energy to report the tree-attack on the pole and my outage. As I waited no more than 30 seconds on the phone to make my report, I thought to myself, “We are on an unimportant street; we may not get power back until tomorrow.” To my very pleasant surprise, a woman answered, who identified herself as “Susan” (if I remember).

I first reported the tree against the pole, and she asked a few intelligent questions, obviously to make sure she understood what I was telling her, and then before I could report my own outage, she inquired “Do you also have power?” She gathered the pertinent details.

Then, in mid-afternoon, as I took the dog out, I saw an emergency vehicle over by the tree and the pole. I walked over, and they advised me they had been sent out to determine exactly what equipment would be needed to restore power in the neighborhood. I was pleased that they were out “scouting” to ensure the necessary equipment would be dispatched. I was still guessing Mid-American Energy would deal with bigger problems first, and that we would probably be without power until the following day.

Since I was now living in 19th century America — an “America before electrification, — I went to bed early. At some point, around 9 o’clock, I notice flashing lights. Being curious, I got up, dressed, and went outside to see what was going on.

I again was pleasantly surprised to see a big bucket truck across the neighbor’s yard either working, or getting ready to work, to get the tree off the pole.

Because I had seen in the daylight how the tree was straddling the pole, I wondered how the tree removers would do the job. And I recalled that when I was about 3, a neighbor, who had been a lineman with the electric company, was electrocuted and killed, while working on a line.

Fascinated, I stood about 150 feet away, both out of personal danger, and out of the way of the workers, and watched. As I watched, it was clear that the man in the bucket [who a number of the times passed over the top of the pole], was proceeding deliberately and carefully to both get the tree off the pole and avoid doing any further damage to the pole or the wires. Rather than cutting off large sections of the limb, he proceeded almost surgically, using the appropriate saws — to deal with the smaller branches, as well as the larger ones. Then as the job neared completion, the power company’s linemen appeared to do the electrical work.

One of the Mid-American Energy men had earlier told me that the power had earlier been shut off, down the street. (I guessed to avoid the threat of somebody being injured by the down wire(s).) With the tree removers done, the linemen went back to the other end of the block and in their own bucket changed the fuse, or turned on the circuit breaker, or whatever, and suddenly we had light. My porch lights went on!

As I went in, and headed back to bed, I saw them return to restore power to neighbors A and B. Both had power.

To put it simply, I was impressed with the entirety of the service. The tree men told me that they had come from Des Moines, with five other trucks/crews.

I am assuming, Mid-American Energy did every bit as well in other affected neighborhoods. But at least in mine, they have my applause and my thanks.


First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on April 9, 2023.

Copyright 2023, John Donald O'Shea