Henderson history: Christmas in 1973 had little joy because of energy crisis

The Grinch – in the guise of an oil embargo – just about stole Christmas in 1973.

Henderson residents had been hearing rumblings for weeks about the embargo, which stemmed from U.S. support for Israel in the Arab-Israeli war that October, but until mid-November they had not paid much attention. It was to get worse. The price for a barrel of crude oil almost quadrupled by January 1974.

The Gleaner of Nov. 17 carried the first local indication of things getting worse, when County Judge John S. Hoffman announced that, beginning that day, the Henderson County Courthouse would be closed on Saturdays.

“In keeping with President Nixon’s request to conserve energy we’re going to try until the first of the year to see if it will help,” he said. Only the sheriff and county clerk kept half-day Saturday hours. Also, he was turning off hallway lights and keeping the thermostat at 68, although he said that may not work well.

“If we try to keep it at 68 degrees there are going to be some spots that will be 60 degrees.” He said he was convinced “that things are as bad as we’re being told.”

Municipal governments in Henderson and Owensboro decided at the same time that no Grinch was going to steal their Christmas lights. The Henderson City Commission voted 3-2 to leave the Christmas lights up; Mayor Bill Newman and Commissioner J.A. “Tony” Wathen cast dissenting votes.

Wathen told The Gleaner his vote was based on sending the right message to citizens. “Our decorations are symbolic of Christmas whether lighted or not,” he said. Commissioner Ralph Hays noted it would save little fuel in Henderson. “The electricity in this town is produced by burning coal and most of the shortages are in fuel oils.”

By Nov. 20 Christmas lights had become a full-blown controversy, according to that day’s Gleaner, with the battle lines drawn up with sentimental traditionalists on one side and practical conservationists on the other.

Judy Jenkins telephoned 25 random residents to sound them out and the story appeared that day. The traditionalists won.

“I think the lights are primarily for the children,” said James Van Winkle. “You know, for some poor little tots, those lights represent the only Christmas tree they have.”

“If we’re going to cut down, I think we ought to find another way to do it,” said Bill Shields. “That would be a little like cutting Christ out of the holidays.”

“I’m not really convinced there is a real energy crisis,” said Emma Gene Glunt. “They tell us there’s a shortage, but we don’t really know if it’s as bad as they say it is. If it is, the lights should be discontinued but, then again, they’re awfully pretty, aren’t they?”

The Gleaner of Nov. 28 again carried a lot of energy crisis news. The Christmas lights had been blacked out the past two days and the Henderson City Commission voted unanimously (with Louis Bonnell absent) to leave them off.

Commissioner Daniel Moriarty said he might make a motion to turn them back on the final week before Christmas, but apparently was unable to garner the votes.

Tom Taylor presented a story in The Gleaner that day that laid out Henderson’s vulnerabilities to the energy crisis. Henderson was fortunate to have the relatively new Station II power plant at Sebree (which the city shut down in February 2019). “Henderson and adjacent counties are rich in coal, but some proposed environmental standards scheduled for implementation in 1975 would limit use of this area’s coal because of its high sulfur content.”

A natural gas shortage already hitting the entire country prompted the city gas department to operate with “virtually no cushion.”

The gas department had already been forced “to refuse service to new commercial and industrial customers” and to expand that limitation to new residential customers as of Dec. 31.

Most local gas stations reported their allotments had been curtailed, in some cases by as much as 25 percent from 1972.

“Home heating oil is one fuel being especially hard hit by restrictions and cutbacks in allocations. A spokesman for Palmer Oil Co., one of the county’s largest fuel oil distributors, said the mild winter had helped. “I just hope it stays warm.”

The Gleaner of Dec. 19, 1973, written by Judy Jenkins, gave a more detailed look at the local problems, which made clear how stark a Christmas it would be in some households.

America was no longer the land of plenty, she began her article. “A more appropriate description today might be America, land of shortages.’ Shortages exist in everything from tractors to drinking straws…. The consumer is having to tighten his belt. If that belt happens to be plastic, he better hold on to it. He might not be able to get another one.”

Plastic is a product of petroleum byproducts, she explained, and less and less plastic was being produced. “Items long taken for granted by the consumer may become expensive rarities.”

Opal Snider at the Western Auto store said some toys – such as the Evel Knieval Stunt Cycle by Ideal and the Baby Alive by Kenner -- were in tremendous demand but almost impossible to get.

But it wasn’t just toys, she said. “The greatest shortages we’re finding are batteries, locking gas caps, and five-gallon gasoline cans. We’ve got at least 100 back orders for the locking gas caps.”

Pete Jones at Fernwood Floral Co. said plastic flowers were becoming more difficult to obtain and his major supplier told him to expect a “real shortage” the summer of 1974.

The hospital was having trouble getting not only plastic straws, but also forks, knives, spoons and plates used for patients in isolation. The institution was looking at possibly going back to china that could be sterilized and reused.

Plumbers were having trouble getting any type of plastic pipe – and customers were seeing bigger bills because of higher pipe costs.

Ted Yeiser, president of Cresline Plastic Pipe Co., said the local plant had been operating with a 25 percent reduction in raw materials. Consequently, he said, employment had been slashed by the same amount.

He thought things would improve for the plastics industry, though, because it used only 2.5 percent of petroleum products, while the gasoline and fuel oil industries used about 75 percent. It appeared Washington, D.C. was looking to maintain employment, he said, which meant plastics would do better than gas and fuel oil.

The construction trades also were hurting, according to Bobby Glover of Glover Construction. “Manufacturers have simply stopped producing items that don’t make a big profit.” Copper, brick, tile and related masonry products were “next to impossible to get.

“The situation is every bit as bad as you’ve heard it,” he said. “It is.”

The embargo was lifted in March 1974 but the Iranian Revolution in 1979 led to another oil crisis that year.

100 YEARS AGO

Firefighters responding to Lizzie Rowland’s house on Helm Street at 1 a.m. were surprised to find they had no water when they tapped the hydrant, according to The Gleaner of Nov. 22, 1923. The water had been shut off to make repairs on the Green Street line.

The fire raged for fully 20 minutes before firefighters could get ammunition. Rowland lost her stable, coal house, and fence. A neighbor, Harold Collins, also lost his stable and car inside it -- along with a friend’s horse.

Also, The Gleaner of Nov. 24 reported William T. Gregory, 13, was on his way to Sunnyside school with a friend to stage a show for the PTA. They cautiously approached a bridge they knew to be slippery and the friend, William Hancock, safely made it across. Gregory’s horse slipped, “and turned a complete somersault, falling upon the lad. His chest was crushed by the impact.”

75 YEARS AGO

For what apparently was the first time ever, a deed reserving rights to uranium and any other material determined to be “peculiarly essential to the production of fissionable material” was filed with the Henderson County clerk, according to The Gleaner of Nov. 25, 1948.

The land was 70.34 acres the federal government sold to Leland G. Williams and his wife for $2,842. It adjoined the Ohio River Ordnance Works, as well as Canoe Creek and the Ohio River.

25 YEARS AGO

Harbor House Christian Center was getting ready to move into its new quarters at the corner of Clay and Alvasia streets, according to The Gleaner of Nov. 20, 1998

“Almost everything in the sprawling building with its 10-foot ceilings has been donated or provided at very low cost…. About 75 volunteers ranging in age from 15 to 83 – including center residents – undertook most of the labor involved in creating the center.”

The $300,000 structure was completed for $125,000.

The center formerly occupied rented quarters at 242 S. Green St. for 10 years. A dedication and open house was scheduled Nov. 21 and the men moved in shortly thereafter.

Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at YesNews42@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Henderson history: Christmas in 1973 had little joy because of energy crisis