Were it not for the malfunctioning traffic signals, it might have been mistaken for a normal, pleasant summer evening in downtown Clarkston. People were walking dogs, sitting on benches and steps, passing the time as long as daylight would allow.
Valerie Hulderman came out of Rudy’s Market on Main Street, having purchased “salad fixins” with the assistance of people with flashlights inside the store.
“They don’t have a scale, so they’re being real kind on the weight,” Hulderman said.
It was only one example of how local residents coped with what is being described as the largest power outage in the nation’s history. When the lights went out at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, most thought it was the typical local overload of the electrical system.
Emily Derby, a friend of Hulderman’s daughter, Charity, was visiting from California.
“She called her mom to ask her to tell us what was going on in the news,” Hulderman said.
(Although a little surprised at Michigan’s humidity, Derby said California has become accustomed to rolling blackouts.)
Charity Hulderman, meanwhile, joked about being the cause of the blackout.
“I was feeling really sick today and I didn’t want to go to work,” she quipped. “I don’t mind if it’s my fault.”
As folks throughout the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada debated the real cause of the overloaded energy grid, locals got on with business as best they could.
Downtown Clarkston got power back about 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15, but much of the outlying areas had to wait until the next day. Municipal water customers were under a boil order until Monday.
Another early Thursday evening shopper at Rudy’s Market, Rawleen Cristea of Clarkston said she was shopping at the Waterford Kmart when the power went out.
“Everyone was just orderly and quiet,” she said.
After stocking up on pop and water from Rudy’s, Norm Cristea said they were ready to tough it out, “as long as it doesn’t last too long.”
In one of the area’s long gasoline lines Friday, customers at the Dixie Highway Speedway station said folks were generally kind and courteous during the wait.
“Yeah, most of them, but not all of them,” said Paul Peel, who described a wait of about 15 minutes, with part of that time being in line on Dixie Highway. “I was hoping for a little better than this.”
Parrish Jackson said, “We’ve got a generator, so we’re all right.”
Jackson’s husband sat in line for gasoline the previous evening, but she had to join the wait Friday for fuel for the generator.
Add “blackout” to the rain, snow and dark of night; the Clarkston Post Office came through. Officer-in-charge Jane Haugen gave credit to her crew for showing up for work Friday, after the Thursday night crews broke out the generator and flashlights.
“We delivered,” she said, both Friday and Saturday, and, “We had community support.”
Haugen gave credit to the Speedway gasoline station for fueling three postal vehicles with low tanks on Friday.
Although there were no computers operating at the postal store on S. Main Street, Haugen said employees hand-cancelled mail for people wanting to meet Aug. 15 deadlines for tax and mortgage payments.
Independence Township Parks and Recreation closed parks on Friday, but kept the Deer Lake Beach open as an escape for folks who lost their air conditioning. Recreation Programmer Kelly Arcello said the parks and rec trip to Cedar Point went as scheduled, however, as the amusement park had their own emergency power.
Despite the lack of power, the Springfield Township Board conducted their meeting Thursday, Aug. 14, utilizing sunlight from the western-facing window of the meeting room. Clerk Nancy Strole asked trustees and audience members to speak up for the benefit of the battery-powered tape recorder used to document the proceedings.
“We view government as different” from business entities, Strole said later. “The meetings are scheduled, and we work on the premise that people would come to the meetings.”
As officials debate how to follow up after the blackout and prevent future incidents, Clarkston resident Scott Speagle offered his own advice from the gasoline line Friday.
“Buy a generator,” he said, “and keep some gas in the garage.”