成人X站

Stories about Northwest history on the radio are nothing new. There鈥檚 just something about scratchy old recordings and tales of long ago 鈥� often set in damp, evergreen-filled locales 鈥� that seem to be perfectly suited to the audio medium. I am biased, of course.

One long-forgotten series was sponsored for almost two decades by the Portland-based private utility once known .

And though it鈥檚 been off the air for more than 40 years, an Oregon man now in his 90s has vivid memories of writing the stories, and working closely with the storyteller, to share historical and other local tales over the airwaves for a series called 鈥淪tories of Pacific Powerland.鈥�

The program aired as many as three times a week on stations all over the Northwest, and parts of Northern California and the Mountain West from 1961 to 1977. It was heard in Washington in Yakima and Walla Walla, where Pacific Power & Light was the local electric company.

During the 16-year run of the show, there were more than 1,000 episodes produced, each about five minutes long, and each also serving, of course, as a gentle commercial for Pacific Power.

The genial host of 鈥淪tories of Pacific Powerland鈥� was a sonorous-voiced actor . Olmsted had worked in radio, often reading dramatic or suspenseful stories on-air, since the 1930s. He began his career at a local station in Texas, and then moved to the big time at NBC in New York. Olmsted at age 78.

Tom Worcester was the researcher and writer of those 鈥淧acific Powerland鈥� stories for the last eight years of its run.

鈥�I think I did something like 650 of the stories,鈥� Worcester said by phone recently from his home outside Portland. 鈥淚t served quite an audience … I think there were six different states that it crossed.鈥�

The show was a team effort, with Worcester researching and writing the scripts, with help from a research assistant. The format included an announcer, who helped introduce each story and who also delivered the commercial message for Pacific Power, or what more often was a public service announcement related to energy conservation or electrical safety.

鈥溌爄ntroduced them,鈥� Worcester said, naming the smooth-voiced announcer, who also worked at Portland radio station KOIN for many years. 鈥淎nd Nelson Olmsted was the storyteller.鈥�

鈥淗e was a marvelous guy,鈥� Worcester said of the baritone tale-teller. 鈥淗e just loved this show.鈥�

Tom Worcester had a long career as a writer before and after 鈥淪tories of Pacific Powerland.鈥� His best-known work, perhaps, is his collaboration with FBI agent Ralph Himmelsbach on the definitive book about the Northwest鈥檚 most infamous hijacking,鈥淣ORJAK: The Investigation of D.B. Cooper.鈥� Worcester also wrote books about the history of Oregon and of his native Colorado.

The scripts that Worcester (and his predecessor John Forbis) wrote, were designed to showcase Nelson Olmsted鈥檚 talents as a narrator and radio actor. Topics ranged from the origins of glass fishing floats found by beachcombers on the Oregon Coast, to the time in the 1880s when the town of Yakima was moved four miles because of the whims of the railroad, to Native American legends behind the names of local places, to more current, non-historical stories about people doing interesting things in communities where Pacific Power was the electric company.

Roger Kim is president of and something of an expert on the old history program. He says that the narration style that Nelson Olmsted brought to 鈥淧acific Powerland鈥� episodes actually dated back a few decades to the earliest days of Olmsted鈥檚 career in broadcasting.

鈥淪tarting in 1939, [Nelson Olmsted] came upon this idea of a way to do very low-budget radio,鈥� Kim said. 鈥淗e would read classic stories on the air, and he would be the narrator and he would also do different voices for all the characters.鈥�

This dramatic performance style, says Roger Kim, was ahead of its time.

鈥淲hat he was doing was very similar to what a lot of audiobook narrators do today,鈥� Kim said. 鈥淏ut back in the 1940s, it was highly unusual.鈥�

By all accounts, Nelson Olmsted was a charming and charismatic performer. Worcester clearly enjoyed the years he spent with Olmsted writing and producing 鈥淪tories of Pacific Powerland.鈥�

鈥淚t was just wonderful to work with him,鈥� Worcester said, explaining how the two would produce episodes of the program several times each year in batches, recording the audio at a production house in Portland. 鈥淲e would get about 70 stories ready, and then we鈥檇 line them all up and get them produced and start them on the air.鈥�

Forty-plus years later, Worcester still is deeply touched by how much the audience seemed to love 鈥淪tories of Pacific Powerland.鈥�

鈥淚’ve talked to people who would tell me they used to … pull their car over on the side of the road and listen,鈥� Worcester said. 鈥淚t was that popular.鈥�

Times change, of course, and 鈥淪tories of Pacific Powerland鈥� came to an end in 1977, after what amounted to pretty remarkable 16-year run. Worcester isn鈥檛 bitter.

鈥淚t only stopped when the company got a new guy in who wanted to do something different … that鈥檚 sort of standard, to make a change,鈥� he said, chuckling.

Roger Kim says that there were likely other contributing factors to the demise of 鈥淧acific Powerland,鈥� including changes to laws related to how much utilities were allowed to spend on marketing purposes. Kim is researching the series and the people involved for an academic journal article he鈥檚 working on.

鈥淧acific Powerland鈥� wasn鈥檛 the only history series on the radio in the Northwest in the 1960s. Bellevue-based Puget Sound Power & Light (now PSE) sponsored a similar series in the early and mid 1960s, narrated by journalist and historian Nard Jones and called 鈥淧uget Sound Profiles.鈥�

In earlier decades, Washington Water Power in Spokane sponsored 鈥淭rails of the Great Northwest,鈥澛�a series of short radio dramas based on local history.

As announcer Clint Gruber used to say at the end of every episode: 鈥淭une in next time, when Nelson Olmsted brings you another of his 鈥楽tories of Pacific Powerland.鈥� So long!鈥�

EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE: Special thanks to Roger Kim for his help with this story, including sharing images and a complete episode of 鈥淪tories of Pacific Powerland,鈥� and for connecting 成人X站 Radio with Tom Worcester.

More from Feliks Banel