oeeclous.html

The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., July 14, 1994, page 16

EMMET E. CLOUSE

Emmet E. Clouse of Goldendale passed away on Monday, July 11, 1994, at his home; he was 82.
He was born on April 20, 1912 in Colton to Elizabeth and Robert Clouse.
Mr. Clouse graduated from high school at Clarkston in 1932. He worked for the grange supply in Lewiston, Ida., for a time. He the attended Diesel Electric Engineering School in Portland going to work for Clearwater Light and Power in Lewiston after his graduation.
He and Mildred Carlson, his wife of 44 years, were united in marriage on June 16, 1940 in Moscow, Idaho. Later that same year the couple moved to White Salmon where Mr. Clouse became the first manager for the two-year-old county PUD.
He was a pioneer in the Rural Electrification Movement in Klickitat County and intensely devoted to public service for the past four decades.
During the early years the Clouse family lived in White Salmon before buying a farm near Block House in 1964. In 1970 they moved to Goldendale.
Mr. Clouse retired from the P.U.D. in 1977 as their general manager for 37 years.
He was an avid historian and coauthored the history of Klickitat County. He was active in the creation of Goldendale's Presby Mansion Museum.
He was a member of the Mt. Adams Chamber of Commerce, the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce and received many awards for his electrifying rural areas. He was an honorary member of the Northwest Railway Association SP&S Historical Society and was actively involved in obtaining the steam engine 2507 for Maryhill Park in 1966.
Mr. Clouse was a member of the Christ the King Lutheran Church and a 50 year member of the Grange. He enjoyed collecting old hand tools, woodworking, photography, gardening and was a rock hound.
He was preceded in death by three sisters, his parents, two half sisters, and a half brother.
He is survived by his wife Mildred and son Gary of Goldendale, daughter Karen Marie Simpson of Portland; and sister Devona Schwartz of Grangeville, Idaho. He had 2 grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 15 at 11 a.m. at the New life Assembly of God Church; Pastor Thomas Mac Adam will officiate. Graveside services will be held on Friday at 4 p.m. at the White Salmon Cemetery.
The family suggests memorial contributions be given to the memorial fund of Christ the King Lutheran Church.
The Erdman Funeral Home is in charge of all the arrangements.

The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., July 14, 1994, page 1
Includes portrait

KLICKITAT COUNTY MOURNS THE LOSS OF EMMET CLOUSE

Emmet Clouse, regarded as the man who brought electricity to Klickitat County, died in his Goldendale home on Monday, July 11 of complications from leukemia and Parkinson's disease. He was 82.
Emmet first came to Klickitat County in the fall of 1940 as the first general manager of the newly formed Klickitat County Public Utility District. The PUD was voted into existence in 1938.
It was a young man's world back in the late 30s and early 40s when rural electrification moved out of the realm of politicians' promises and into reality.
The young Emmet and his wife Mildred were working for Clearwater Power and Light in Idaho when he got an opportunity to become the manager of the Klickitat County PUD. He had several offers, but he chose to come here because he fell in love with the scenery.
When he arrived, he found the poorest electrified county in the state and the poorest electrified state in the country.
"At that late date, this county did not have electricity, except what people could generate themselves and in towns like Goldendale and White Salmon," said Mary Jean Lord of the PUD.
People didn't think that farmers would want electricity, she said. But Emmet proved those nay sayers wrong with his ingenuity and clever ability to find supplies. To make sure that there would be a load as soon as the Trout Lake-Glenwood line was completed, he arranged for electric ranges, water heaters, refrigerators and washing machines to be delivered to homes expecting electricity.
Emmet also worked out a way for people to work off their connecting charges. He put them to work clearing the way for the power lines.
In the fall of 1941, one year after his arrival, the PUD had 175 residents hooked up to electricity in Gilmer Valley, Trout Lake and Glenwood.
His next task was connecting central and eastern Klickitat County.
Prior to his arrival, the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) had rejected the PUD's application for electricity to these parts. After he arrived, he and his wife started collecting information, re-applied and the PUD was granted $450,000 to hook up the rest of the county.
But as soon as he had the contracts signed and the materials ordered, World War II erupted.
Most of the copper wire and materials ordered for the project were in San Francisco when the federal government impounded them for the war effort The war also took all but one of the PUD's 42 employees. Emmet and one lineman kept the lines to Glenwood operating during the war, even through heavy snows. In fact, between the two of them, they extended the line 27 miles during that time, all by hand.
After the war ended, rural electrification proceeded with a vengeance.
The rural electrification effort in Klickitat County was one of the biggest construction booms in the United States.
The PUD noted 1947 when the Pacific Power and Light system was joined to the PUD system after a condemnation proceeding.
And in 1949, the PUD accomplished virtually complete electrification of Klickitat County. This, Emmet often said, was the high point of his career.
Goldendale resident Joe Dressel fondly remembers his 23 years of working for Emmet at the PUD.
"I didn't have to, but he was such a jewel to work for," Dressel said. "He was involved tremendously in community activities. If anything came up, he'd volunteer."
As PUD manager, he helped put water and sewer systems in Wishram, Roosevelt and Glenwood, Dressel recounts. He helped establish the new township of Roosevelt after the John Day Dam was built. He was the advisor to the non-profit Observatory Corporation when it brought the Observatory to Goldendale. And, he was the chairman of the Ruralite Association, overseeing the magazine and the safety programs.
"He was a great man," Dressel said.
After 37 years with the PUD, Emmet retired as the longest-standing PUD manager in state history.
Emmet made his mark away from the PUD as well.
As he was an avid historian, he was active in keeping the local history alive.
He was one of the founding fathers of the Klickitat County Historical Society, said society member Delos Reno. Emmet was instrumental in purchasing the Presby House to be used as the society's museum.
Emmet realized that the society would not survive without a source of funding, Reno said. The museum gave the society a source of funding. Emmet helped keep up the old house, doing repairs and other work on a volunteer basis for years.
Another of his great achievements was being a co-author for The History of Kliickitat Couny.
Emmet was a member of the Mt. Adams Chamber of Commerce in White Salmon and the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce.
He was an honorary member of the Northwest Railway Association, The SP&S Historical Society and was actively involved in obtaining Steam Engine 2507 for Maryhill Park in 1966.
He was a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church and a 50 year member of the Grange.
He enjoyed collecting old hand tools, woodworking, photography, gardening and was a rock hound.
Emmet was born on April 20, 1912, in Colton, Wash., to Robert and Elizabeth Clouse.
He graduated from high school in Clarkston, Wash., in 1932. He worked for the Grange Supply in Lewiston, Idaho, for a time. And after he graduated from diesel electric engineering school in Portland, Ore., he went to work for Clearwater Light and Power in Lewiston, Idaho.
He married Mildred on June16, 1940 in Moscow, Idaho. They moved to White Salmon that same year, where he became the manager for the PUD.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 15, at 11 a.m. at the New Life Assembly of God Church with Pastor Thomas MacAdam of Christ the King Lutheran Church officiating.