CECIL HANSON

EDISON COMPANY - BIG CREEK
1923 - 1925
 

At some point he was approached by a man who wanted to obtain confidential information about Edison. He reportedly offered Cecil money if he would give him access to the company mail. Cecil acknowledged the request but knew it was wrong and immediately went to his management to inform them of this person's action. They instructed him to go along with the request and set up a time and place to transfer some mail records. Cecil did this and as soon as the transaction was made, law enforcement officers arrested the perpetrator.

The Edison management was most impressed with Cecil's integrity and loyalty so they decided to offer him an opportunity to work with a surveying crew on the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project in the California High Sierras. This would give him a substantial pay raise and an opportunity to learn skills that could lead to a professional career. Cecil jumped on the opportunity and started working on the new job in January of 1924.
 

Edison's Hydroelectric project  was  a system of integrated dams, tunnels and powerhouses in the Sierra Nevada mountain range east of Fresno. The concept for development of the project was the effort of John S. Eastman, who explored  the Sierras in the late 1800's and determined that this location had the best potential for hydroelectric power generation. In 1910, Henry Huntington's Pacific Light and Power Corporation (PLPC) decided to proceed with the development of the Big Creek project to provide electricity to Southern California which was rapidly growing. Huntington's Los Angeles Railway company consumed about 80% of the electricity produced at the time from oil fueled steam generators.

The initial step consisted of building a railroad from Fresno 56 miles to Big Creek to transport people and supplies into the Sierras at Big Creek. Between 1912 and 1914, dams increasing the capacity of Huntington Lake and two powerhouses were constructed, with the first becoming operational on October 13, 1913. PLPC merged into Southern California Edison in 1917 and there was little work on the project from 1914 to 1919 due to World War I. The next phase of the development starting in 1921 included the construction of a dam at Florence Lake and drilling of a 13 mile tunnel through solid granite to divert water from Florence Lake to Huntington Lake for generation of electricity at the downstream powerhouses. In order to expedite the completion of the tunnel two adits were established between the inlet and outlet so that drilling of the tunnel would take place on six faces. And Camps 60 - 63 were established at each entry to the tunnel to house workers.

Cecil was assigned to a surveying crew who was responsible for directing the drilling of the tunnels from Camp 62 and from Florence Lake so they met up and other projects associated with construction of the Florence Lake site. In January the road from Huntington Lake (elev 7,000 ft) over Kaiser Pass (elev 9,300 ft) was snowed in so after arriving at Big Creek by train he had to walk to Camp 62 with his belongings, about 10 miles.

Cecil worked as a chainman and rodman, learning the ropes of the surveying profession. Trout fishing in the streams and lakes was one of his main leisure activities when he had time off during the warmer months. This part of the Sierras was inaccessible to the public and trout populations were abundant. The camps provided some amenities for their workers including a recreational hall, movie theatre and a library at Camp 61. In July of 1924, he left the Sierras for a couple of weeks to join some family members for a California driving trip that started in San Francisco and ended in San Diego. The tunnel project was completed in February, 1925 and he continued working until April when he returned home.

He had many fond memories of the time spend on the Big Creek project and subsequently revisited the area on many occasions. These included trips in 1927 and 1929 where he brought his young nephews, Jimmie and Bobby Stephens, to fish and later took his family there in the 1950's. In the 1980's he and Thor stayed at the Muir Trail Ranch on several occasions, which is accessed via the road over Kaiser Pass and a boat trip across Florence Lake.

Additions to the hydroelectric generating capacity continued to the late 1980's, including more dams and power plants. Today, the Big Creek project generates nearly 4 billion kilowatt hours per year, which is about 20% of Southern California Edison's total generation capacity and accounts for 12% of all the hydroelectric power produced in California. CLICK HERE for a map showing the overall system and various stages of construction. For a summary of the project from start to completion,  CLICK HERE

Below are some pictures he took or collected during his time at the Big Creek project