VISION OF Power (WAB2656)

I considered calling this piece "εν Αρχη" (which has great meaning) but I realized that most people would simply not get it.  The phrase is from the Septuagint and simply means "In beginning".  This image is the of the first hydro electric dam built in Manitoba.  The construction began in 1903, and was completed in 1906 amid a great deal of skepticism.  The dam was 60 miles north of the major city (Winnipeg), and skeptics were convinced that the power could never travel that far.  Today their concerns seem laughable given that our energy comes from hundreds of miles away.  But back then, hydro was pretty much unknown.  Houses were heated with coal, and lit with coal oil lamps.  Who could have ever conceived of the impact that hydro would have on our lives.  Well apparently a few forward thinking people did.  Today, Manitoba is electrically rich. (so to speak).  We have but one generation plant powered by gas, and it is only a backup supply.  We export more power than we use, and we reduce our consumption to increase the capacity to export.  In 1903 no one could conceive of the possibilities, as they exist today.  But thankfully, some forward thinkers persevered in the face of opposition.  (That may be what all of us are called to do... persevere in the face of opposition)