Reese Electric

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The year is 1946. Minimum wage is $.75 per hour and the price of gold is $35.00 per ounce, Frank Sinatra turns out an incredible 57 songs during the year and February 10th Reese Electric opens their doors for Business! Reese Electric was started by Ben and Viola Reese. Ben was born in Bandon and went to school there. He began his electrical career in Bandon in 1936. One of his early jobs was wiring the temporary "Tent City" for the homeless after the big fire in 1936 that nearly destroyed all of Bandon. Their first office location was 1200 South Broadway, Coos Bay, in a little house which is now the present location of Hansen's Animal Hospital. In 1947 the business moved to 781 Virginia Avenue in North Bend and rented space in an old dairy building. Some neighboring buildings at the time were the First National Bank, The North Bend Hotel, the White House Lady's Clothing Store, and the Safeway Store. The North Bend Hotel had a Western Union Office and a Grey hound bus stop where passengers waited in the lobby for the bus. This brings us to our present day location at 2011 Union Avenue in North Bend . By this time it was 1948. By the mid-50's Reese Electric became the local Frigidaire appliance dealer. Another store was opened on Broadway in Coos Bay across from the Egyptian Theatre. The sales manager in Coos Bay was Les McKay who was also a sports announcer for the local radio station. Les Hosted the "Play by Play" for the Lumberjacks, a local professional baseball team. Many patrons would stop by the store to meet the man whose voice they had been listening to on the radio. Not only did Reese Electric carry appliances, but they also carried television sets when they first came out. Cable, when it first came out, was very expensive to connect to. Reese Electric had a cable connection brought into the shop and when there was an interesting sports event, all the men gathered to watch it. The company's main focus in the 1950's regarding electrical work was in residential house wiring as there were many subdivisions being built. Reese Electric employed anywhere from four to eight electricians as the projects allowed. The appliances and televisions starting phasing out in the later 50's as the business shifted more toward electrical contracting. This brought the business in the 1960's. In 1965 George Reese began his electrical apprenticeship program while working for his father. George completed his electrical apprenticeship in 1969 and began working in the field as a journeyman. After work George spent most of his time learning to bid jobs. In 1965 George married Sharen Sorensen and their daughter Kristine was born in 1966. Sharen joined the family business in 1970. Ben and Viola Reese continued to operate Reese Electric until 1976. At that time they began their full time retirement, selling the business to George Reese. During the early 80's when the economy slowed down, the company employed only one full time electrician and one part time electrician. As the economy started picking up, the business started to grow steadily and has continued to do so. Reese Electric had around 25 employees at the time of their 50th anniversary, 1996.

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