 |  | | | The Arrival of Electricity | There are 5 messages in this section. |
Marjory McQueen from Aberdeen. Posted 14 Mar 2002.
In 1958 we got electricity. There was such excitement when the house was wired. The light was great, it meant the paraffin lamp was eventually stored up on the landing.
The lamp glasses were filled with tissue paper to protect them from getting broken when not in use. Despite the new technology the oatcakes were still made on the open fire. | | |
|  | Lorna Sharp from Turriff. Posted 15 Apr 2002.
We lived on a farm in the N.E. near Turriff and were one of the last farms in the area to get electricity from the national grid. I can remember the water wheel which powered an old ship's dynamo. Sometimes in the summer when water was low the light would be very dim. The voltage tended to go up and down because of broken buckets on the waterwheel! I remember watching the amp meter in the kitchen as the needle swung wildly. For back up, we had a Lister engine which my dad had to crank to start. Later we had state of the art technology - a Startomatic! I was forever getting a row for starting the engine as it started at the flick of a light switch. The bark as it started up was unmistakable. I think we finally got proper electricity around 1963. Then we could do away with the parrafin fridge and the 9" TV which ran on 12v tractor batteries. I was over the moon because I could have a hair drier!
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| | Margaret. Posted 8 Aug 2002.
I remember when I started school the teacher used to boil the electric kettle for their tea break in the classroom. As I did not know about electricity I had no idea what was happening. It was some years later before we got "the electric" on the croft.
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| | Alex Currie. Posted 26 Aug 2002.
Hi Marjory McQueen of Aberdeen, (that rhymes!) I was very interested in your letter saying that it was 1958 when you got electricity installed in your home. I lived in Paisley, and I'm almost sure that we had electricity installed about 1933. It seems like a long time in difference between two towns in the same country, but maybe you are talking about some place other than Aberdeen, also, I don't remember us ever having paraffin lamps, before electricity we had gaslight which wasn't too bad except when you broke the mantle, if you didn't have gas, I guess you won't know what I mean when I say broke the mantle, but it would take too long to explain it and I don't even know if I could, hope you don't mind my comments.
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| | Tom. Posted 19 Dec 2002.
As an old Aberdonian you might get a kick out of this one when I was a lad I remember my uncle Ronnie driving a fire truck all the way from Aberdeen to Pansport Place in Elgin, he stayed long enough to have lunch, I think he just did it to prove he coud, he was a good lad.
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