Trico Member Finds a Piece of Our History

Trico Member Lisa Trott was cleaning out her garage and found a stake and a sign that says it was the first stake driven by Trico for a power pole in section 36 on January 23, 1948. The stake is signed by five men, including Trico employee Harold Roberts, who was Lisa’s uncle.

Harold started as a Staking Engineer at Trico in 1947, just two years after Trico was incorporated. He first helped take the power lines into Pinal County covering 115 miles and serving 77 Members. The first lines were then energized on July 8, 1948.

In 1950, Harold began working with a small crew on providing power to Mt. Lemmon. It took them two years to finish staking the path up the mountain due to the winter season.

“Of all the things that happened in my years with Trico, building that Mt. Lemmon line was the most memorable thing. It was a test of endurance and of the will to persevere. Anyone looking up those slopes from the valley has to realize what a super-human feat it was,” explained Harold.

By 1953, Harold, along with a crew, had taken power lines from Marana, up to the Pinal County line, and over, up the mountain, down Avra Valley, to Sells and Sasabe.

Harold retired from Trico in 1977 after close to 30 years of service. Nearly every line on Trico’s system at that time was staked by Harold and his crews.

Today, Trico’s service territory encompasses 2,346 square miles with 3,999 miles of energized line and over 46,000 Members.