Mayor Calls the Centennial Bulb A 'Constant in Our Community'

From Mayor John Marchand--

This episode speaks to how engaged our community is and also makes a statement about modern technology and planned obsolescence. Someone went online to look at our light bulb at 2:00 in the morning and notified us as soon as they saw the unthinkable... it had gone dark. Fortunately, it was not the light bulb that had failed after over a century.

[Related article: World's Longest Burning Light Bulb Out... But Only Overnight]

Instead, it was the UPS (uninterruptable power source) which was installed a relatively few years ago to protect the light bulb from power surges,  that had failed.  Once re-connected to unfiltered power, our light bulb came back on; doing the job it was created to do over one hundred ten years ago. 

The irony was that the device installed to protect the bulb had failed. Similarly, we have installed three bulb cams over the years. Each had expired after their relatively short lives and yet our centennial bulb continues to burn.

I spent the better part of today replacing my water heater. Both of my neighbors had their water heaters fail over the last couple of months. Mine hadn't failed, yet, but I took the hint that it would probably not last much longer, so I replaced it before it failed. They each had a ten year warranty and each lasted ten years and a few months. I recently replaced a garbage disposal that had a five year warranty and it failed after five years and one week.

It is amazing how things can be engineered to fail so precisely.In this modern society it seems that everyone must have the newest technology; discarding the older, yet still working versions. There is a remarkable hubris when it has become easier and cheaper to throw away and replace,  rather than repair. That is why there is something comforting about looking at that light bulb. It was first installed to light the hose rack on Second Street so that the firefighters would not waste precious moments lighting a kerosene lantern. It illuminated the path of the firefighters and kept them safe as they worked to keep our community safe.  

It later moved to the station on First Street and finally to the fire station on East Avenue. There is now a mural on the old station which includes the light bulb As we have become so accustomed to the ephemeral, it is nice recognize something that has touched people over the decades. 

It is something that is usually so simple, so fragile and so taken for granted. Yet it is something that renews our faith in technology, gives us pause to reflect on something that was built to last, something that has transcended generations. This small thing that has been such a constant in our community... our light bulb.