First Lady of Red Rock Power celebrates Lineman Appreciation Day

 

April 18, 2018

Mary Pyette, the self-proclaimed "First Lady of Red Rock Power," poses in her lineman's gear for her special celebration of Lineman Appreciation Day. Mary invited the linemen from Red Rock to dine with her at the Chinook Senior Center but they declined and were taking advantage of some decent weather to catch up on projects.

A couple of weeks ago Mary Pyette told me she would be wearing her special lineman's outfit on March 9 to celebrate Lineman Appreciation Day. I planned to take a photo of her but also wanted to know a little about the holiday-not that I don't appreciate linemen, but I was not aware they had a special day. When I did my checking I found the day was officially on April 18 this year. There was even an ad from Big Flat Coop in the "Journal" referring to April 18. I really thought Mary was playing a joke on me.

The first Lineman Appreciation Days was celebrated April 10, 2013

And that's why Mary and I were talking about the same 'holiday' but different dates of the same month and year. Some how in just five years the exact date for Lineman Appreciation Day got muddled. Apparently Congress decreed in a resolution that the day would "always be April 18." But the first celebration was declared on April 10 by a nonunion electric cooperative executive who wanted the day to coincide with his father's birthday.

Then the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) got involved. They wanted Lineman Appreciation Day to be held on July 10, to commemorate the legacy of Henry Miller, one of the founders of the IBEW, on the anniversary of his death. California, always a trend setter, first celebrated the day on July 10.

Short answer to the quandry of when to celebrate the day?

Celebrate the day whenever you feel like it... The main thing is to honor the 100,000+ men and women who make sure we have power when we need it. It can accurately be said, "If you have electrical power a lineman brought it to you."

Thank you linemen for your dedication, for working in hard and dangerous places and for always coming to help when power is lost. And thank you Mary Pyette, the First Lady of Red Rock Power, for reminding us to salute those oft unsung linemen/heroes.

 
 

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