Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-9-2011 12:00 AM The Powered Generation: Canadians, Electricity, and Everyday Life Dorotea Gucciardo The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Jonathan Vance The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Dorotea Gucciardo 2011 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the History of Gender Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Gucciardo, Dorotea, "The Powered Generation: Canadians, Electricity, and Everyday Life" (2011). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 258. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/258 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WIRED! HOW CANADA BECAME ELECTRIFIED (Spine title: Wired!) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Dorotea Gucciardo Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Dorotea Gucciardo 2011 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Jonathan Vance Dr. Keith Fleming ______________________________ Dr. Doug Leighton ______________________________ Dr. Guy Holburn ______________________________ Dr. Eda Kranakis The thesis by Dorotea Gucciardo entitled: Wired! How Canada Became Electrified is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date__________________________ _______________________________ Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract and Keywords Most studies of electricity in Canada have examined the process of electrification from a business or political perspective, emphasizing the role of private and public institutions in electrifying the country. Such approaches neglect the primary targets of the electrification process: Canadians as consumers of electricity. This dissertation analyzes electrification as a social phenomenon. Drawing from archival sources in Canada and the United States, as well as newspapers, magazines, and government documents, the author addresses technological debates in Canadian history and investigates the relationship between technology and society. The broader themes in this dissertation include: urban electrification, rural electrification, domestic electrification and the changing role of electricity in medicine. This thesis is the first study of the social implications of electrification in Canada on a nationwide scale, and a step toward understanding the broader social implications of technological change for Canadians. (Keywords: Electricity, electrification, Canada, technology and society, lighting, appliances, medicine, farm, rural, urban, consumerism, gender, fairs) iii Acknowledgements My first debt in the writing of this thesis goes to my supervisor, Dr. Jonathan Vance. In addition to reading several drafts and providing valuable feedback, he always laughed at my dumb jokes and entertained all of my odd ideas, including an electrical pun war where he came up with this gem: ―Ohm-i-god‖. I am also indebted to him for putting me in touch with his uncle, Vern Shute, a retired engineer from Ontario Hydro, who advised me on some of the technical aspects of this work. A big thank-you to the curators and staff at all the museums and libraries cited in this dissertation for their assistance, but especially: Anna Adamek, Randall Brooks, David Pantalony, and Sean Tudor from the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology. Anna provided me with her expertise in the electrification of Ottawa and also gave me a tour of the Museum‘s collection of artifacts from Ontario Hydro. Randall expressed continuous support and made sure I was well-connected within the Museum, including introducing me to Sean who helped locate and photocopy (and scan) material for me. David opened up the world of material culture to me during his incomparable Reading Artifacts Summer Institute, and he also put me in touch with Elizabeth Ihrig from the Bakken Museum of Electricity and Life. The Bakken graciously awarded me travel funding to visit its impressive collection and Elizabeth, the Museum‘s superhero librarian, introduced me to a plethora of fascinating printed books, pamphlets, and paraphernalia of electric medicine. She also pointed me to all the hot spots in Minneapolis, which made for a memorable trip. iv I must also signal out Sophia Kalas and Nancy Hutton of London Hydro, who gave me access to the utility‘s printed and material culture holdings, and also spoiled me with free photocopies and a free lunch. Caroline Rousseau from Hydro Quebec and Paul Robertson at the Museum of Health Care each offered expertise and enthusiasm for my project, and provided much-needed assistance in helping me mine for sources. These research trips, as well as my research trips out west, were made possible by generous funding from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, The University of Western Ontario, and the EDF Foundation, which awarded me a History of Electricity Grant in 2009. I have been fortunate to draw from a wide circle of friends and colleagues in London who have helped shape this project in one form or another: Becky Beausaert, Graham Broad, Kara Brown, Oliver Charbonneau, Adrian Ciani, Tim Compeau, Brandon Dimmel, Rachael Griffin, Richard Holt, Mark Humphries, Teresa Iacobelli, Francine Mckenzie, Rod Millard, Rob Miller, and Liam Van Beek. The administrative staff at Western, but especially Chris Speed and Brenda Hutchinson, were especially helpful in answering all of my questions. There have also been some very special people in my life who have encouraged me throughout the entire PhD process, and without their support and love (and the occasional couch), I would not have been able to complete this project. So, special thanks to Allison Bergin, Kayti Coughlin, Sandra Blais, Christine Gomes, Jennie Groom, Aleks Guzek, Jeannette Homem, Mara Hurst, Elena Manica, and Brian ―Fresh Limes‖ Masini. I have also been blessed with very special ―little‖ people, who could care less about my work and more about playing games and singing silly songs. For consistently forcing me to put away the books and bring on the fun, I must acknowledge my v goddaughter, Gioiella Agosta and her sister, Carina, my godson, Lucas Gomes and his brother, Landon, my nieces, Simone and Zoie, and my nephews, Davide and Marcus. I am also indebted to my immediate family. My brothers and their wives, Gaspare and Tina, Francesco and Neda, have been receptive to my endeavours, even if they have no idea what it is that I actually do on a daily basis. My parents, Baldassare and Girolama, though supportive, always made sure to remind me that there were more important things than the history of electricity, including making sausage and not burning the sauce. My in-laws, George and Carole Virtue have never been short on words of encouragement. And then there was Nicolas, the Canadian studying Italian history who asked the Italian studying Canadian history to marry him — right smack in the middle of our degrees (totally worth it). In addition to providing scholarly advice and formatting my footnotes (though, of course, I take credit for any errors), he has ensured that I have been entertained with endless Clint Eastwood movies, suffonsified with endless plates of pasta Bolognese, and sprightly with endless glasses of wine. This one‘s for you. Salute! vi Table of Contents Wired: How Canada Became Electrified Certificate of Examination...................................................................................................ii Abstract and Keywords......................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................iv Table of Contents...............................................................................................................vii List of Figures...................................................................................................................viii List of Abbreviations..........................................................................................................ix Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: ―The Electrical Age‖...................................................................................24 Chapter Two: ―Since the Hydro Came‖.............................................................................54 Chapter Three: ―More Power to the Farmer‖....................................................................96 Chapter Four: ―The Domestic Workshop‖......................................................................132 Chapter Five: ―Nature‘s Tonic‖.......................................................................................176 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................220