Black Hills Power and Light, Decade of the 40's
Robert Protheroe was hired to engineer and guide the electric operations of the company in November 1942. He was elected a vice president in 1945. He was an Electrical Engineer who graduated from Columbus University in 1911. He had experience with AT&T in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Denver and had been in the contracting business for six years. He worked five years with Con Edison in Chicago, eleven years with Washington Gas and Electric Company, and two years with Southwest Public Service Company in Texas. He was responsible for engineering designs and construction for all three of those companies. His capacity to get things done, coupled with many years of experience and skills, made a lasting effect on the design and engineering of the electric operations of the Company. He retired on September 1, 1954.
To accomplish his goals, Protheroe was fortunate to have two dedicated craftsmen, Edwin Geddes and Henry Oestreich, who were self-educated and self-trained, to execute his plan to construct and operate the new 0 sage power plant and the transmission and distribution system. Henry and Ed are legendary in the Company because of their ability to accomplish the impossible.
Henry Oestreich was born in Germany, went to school there, and received a Maintenance Engineering degree from International Correspondence School in 1935. He came to the United States in 1923, went to work for Consolidated Power and Light Company in 1927 as a lineman, and became a naturalized citizen in October 1933. He had previously worked for electrical contractors in western Germany for four years and for an Oklahoma construction company for three years. He also had served with the German Army on the western front during World War I where he was severely wounded. He had been in charge of line construction since 1933. Henry was also ideal for the job of constructing the huge 69 kV transmission network system.
Over 100 men, mostly ex-military servicemen, were hired to construct the 69 kV transmission lines and substations. The headquarters and lodging site for a large portion of the project were located at "Pactola". The site was situated in what is now the middle of Pactola Lake. Bernice Musekamp ran a well-known store and cafe operation near Pactola, and several old buildings there were used for sleeping quarters for the men. The backbone transmission lines interconnecting the South Dakota plants were completed by 1947.
Ed Geddes was born in Deadwood, graduated from Deadwood High School, and went to work for Consolidated Power and Light Company at Pluma in 1910. He worked at the Redwater hydro-plant and started on the "bull" gang and worked up through Maintenance Man, Fireman, and Operator to Chief Engineer at Pluma. He engineered and helped convert Pluma from the old coal-car loading platform to automatic coal stockers, and helped with the conversion to natural gas and to fuel oil. He was a natural to be selected as Chief Engineer for the installation and operation of the Company's newest and largest generating plant at Osage.