Anna’s Stories of Dallas

In June of 1980, a terrible explosion rocked our dear Love Field. A  major portion of the airport was shut down. You see, under Love Field,  is another world, where lighted streets lead through miles of electrical  and mechanical equipment. The previous contractors had installed a new  type of wire, with square strands of copper, instead of the usual round  strands. It was claimed that this new wire could carry more power. I  never did get to identify the testing laboratory that approved this  wire. The explosion had lifted a chunk of concrete, at least twenty feet  long and twenty feet wide. We worked, day and night, living mostly on  coffee and cigarettes, making repairs until Love Field was back up and  running. We were presented with beautiful plaques and, on each plaque,  is a section of the infamous wire. I treasure that plaque, to this day.  It gives me pride and humility, but also is a painful reminder of the  electrician that was killed on that job. We didn’t know him. He was  trying to make repairs, before we were called in, may he rest in peace  and may his loved ones have solace.

The Republican National Convention was coming to Dallas; I think it  was also in the 1980s. I was chosen to head a team of electricians that  was responsible for carrying out demands of the security forces,  protecting the presidential candidate. State electricians handled adding  the lighting in the “Canyon” underpasses. You know, where 35 heads in  and out of downtown? Did you ever wonder why we Dallasites had put up  with the sudden immersion, into the darkness of those underpasses, and  then the state installed the square, brown fixtures that lit the  dungeons up, like daylight? Well, it was not for our safety, it was for  the Convention delegates. Anyway, it was my team’s job to light the roof  and grounds of the Convention Center and City Hall. We also had to be  on the job, during the entire convention, ready for an electrical  emergency. Afterward, each team member got a cool cap, with an emblem of  the Dallas skyline that read, “I survived the Republican Convention”.

The City was trying out a new plan; letting low-security criminal  offenders work off their fines. It was dubbed, “Work-Release”. I guess  because I was a woman and they thought a mother figure was what might be  needed, I was selected to run this motley crew and make this pilot  program work. Our job was to light all the trees around City Hall, for  the holidays. I was prepared for the worse and, at first sight of my  “crew”, that’s just what I felt I had gotten. After we unloaded what  seemed like a thousand cases of light strands and supplies, I went to my  work truck and brought out bags of oranges, peanut butter crackers and  cans of juice, to share with the detainees. We sat out on the lawn and  ate, then went to work, assembling the strands into long “peacock tails”  that we lifted, in unison with long poles. We looked like synchronized  swimmers, gliding around the trees, draping the light strands. It was  truly a beautiful effort! We moved from tree to tree, stretching out our  strands and hoisting them into the trees. We finished, faster than any  hired contractor had ever done and the trees were the prettiest they had  ever been, according to city officials. Then my “crew” was released to  go back to their lives. I wonder what happened to them, especially the  younger ones. Anyway, the “Work Release” was up and running. One of the  City Directors called me and asked about why I fed the workers.  Apparently we were being watched from the windows of City Hall. I asked  him if he had ever been hungry for days. He said no and I said that I  had. From then on, he called me Cool-Hand Luke, from the Paul Newman  jail movie.

At the Dallas Zoo, in the Bird and Reptile building is probably the  most fantastic climate-control system I have ever seen. You’ve probably  never thought about it, but consider that the Gaboon Viper, a jungle  snake, might require 70 degrees and 70 percent humidity. The desert  Rattlesnake might require 95 degrees and 20 percent humidity. Every  creature in the building has different needs and one system provides for  them all. The system is controlled by pneumatic and electric switches  that open and close pipes filled with chilled and heated waters. There  are hundreds of these switches, in small groups, behind each glass box  you look into and in every room. The slightest change in temperature or  humidity sets off a chain of pneumatic and electrical responses. I wish I  could take credit for the entire design, but I only helped and I drew  the schematics into easily understandable sheets, so that future  generations could maintain it. The system even has a concentric cam, on  the air pressure system, that takes one year to rotate. As it rotates,  it gradually notches the temperatures down and then back up, simulating  the passage of the seasons, for our wonderful birds and reptiles. Is  that cool, or what?

In a warehouse near downtown Dallas, a businessman has a collection of  valuable cars and memorabilia. Among the items I have powered, are an  original Magnolia winged horse and a giant neon cowboy that is very  famous but I don’t remember from where. The Magnolia horse is powered by  a transformer that puts out 250,000 volts and the Cowboy rotates, so  both were real challenges. The contents of this warehouse are so  valuable, that I designed a relay system that can apply magnetic locks  to the overhead door, if an intruder sets off the security alarm. Do I  have fun, or what?

The old Skillerns Mansion sits at the bottom of the hill, where  Montclair turns into Colorado Blvd. When the original fuse box was  installed, it was state of the art, serving all three floors of the home  and the elevator. The addition of a modern kitchen, bath with heated  spa, waterfall, upstairs water heater, etc called for more and more  ampacity. In 1994, we installed an electrical system capable of a  400-amp load. I was especially happy to take care of this home, as I  grew up playing with the kids that used to live there.