I've seen discussions on other threads about how handy those Y2K preparations have come in for handling non-Y2K needs.

Here's a story on the same theme on a much larger scale.

-------------Alexi.

Excerpt:

A lucky break had staff at the Chicago Hilton and Towers uniquely prepared to handle the blackout.

The hotel recently had acquired 6,000 flourescent sticks, each about 6 inches in length, that were going to be used in case of any Y2K-related electrical problems.

Instead, the hotel passed out the sticks to guests this afternoon, using security staffers to walk through the 25-story hotel giving the glowing sticks to anybody who needed them.

"In this case, Y2K was a blessing," said Chicago Hilton public relations director Bob Allegrini, who was preparing to relocate guests to the unaffected Palmer House Hilton if the blackout extended into the evening.

--------------------

For Educational Use:

http://chicagotribune.com/news/metro/chicago/article/0,2669,ART-32850,FF.html

Chicagoans on a Powerless Day

Chicago Tribune | Metro -- Notebook: Idled Loop denizens make the most of a powerless day --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Compiled by Joyce Garcia

Tribune Staff Writer

August 12, 1999

The heart of Chicago's downtown, whether it was plunged into darkness or not, plodded along today as the scattered power outages put a crimp into lunchtime and cut short the work day for hundreds in and around the Loop area.

Beer and bratwurst by candlelight

There are problems and then there are problems. When the Berghoff Restaurant, 17 W. Adams St., can't serve its famous food and beer, that's a major problem.

"We heard ComEd was going to shut off the power on the radio," said Mike Santiago, a manager at Berghoff. "We had a full room when it went out. Some finished their lunch and others left."

Rodney Yarger, who was eating lunch with his family by candlelight and flashlight, said, "The manager stood up and said ComEd was going to shut the power down and to just keep eating."

Rodney and Stacy Yarger, both Northwestern University graduates, are visiting Chicago with their three daughters from Dayton, Ohio.

"Before we went to the Art Institute, we bought a flashlight just in case we needed it," Rodney Yarger said. "And sure enough, we did."

But the Yargers aren't letting the power outages get to them: They planned on heading back to the Art Institute.

One hotel sticks it out

A lucky break had staff at the Chicago Hilton and Towers uniquely prepared to handle the blackout.

The hotel recently had acquired 6,000 flourescent sticks, each about 6 inches in length, that were going to be used in case of any Y2K-related electrical problems.

Instead, the hotel passed out the sticks to guests this afternoon, using security staffers to walk through the 25-story hotel giving the glowing sticks to anybody who needed them.

"In this case, Y2K was a blessing," said Chicago Hilton public relations director Bob Allegrini, who was preparing to relocate guests to the unaffected Palmer House Hilton if the blackout extended into the evening.

An inconvenience? No debate here

A debating workshop was quieted and summer school classes shut down for the day at a South Loop high school, annoying the program's organizers and forcing staff members to send participants home with bus and train fare.

Marty Hamilton of the Chicago Debate Commission Training Institute, which sponsored the program for about 75 to 100 students from 15 public schools across the city, said his staff got word the power would be cut minutes before it was to happen.

Calling it "highly disruptive," Hamilton said they evacuated everyone from the building and -- using cell and emergency phones -- making arrangements to get the students home or to somewhere safe.

Dr. Cynthia Barron, Jones' principal, said other students were in the building attending summer classes. She said staff members gave students taking public transportation CTA fare and transfers, called the CTA to make sure what stations were open and then walked students to their respective stations. Barron added that they kept logs on each student so inquiring relatives or guardians would know where they were.

Barron said a career technology class was waiting for a pizza party they had been planning all summer for today -- the last day of class. The outage spoiled those plans.

Shocked, but not stirred

Down the street at Burnham Park Animal Hospital, 11th and State Streets, a receptionist said any possible long-term outage would not affect their operations, which includes overnight boarding of pets. "Any (refrigerated) medications we need should last 24 hours without refrigeration," Paula Strouse said.

The animal hospital ran on emergency generators for the duration of the outage there.

Before power went out around 1:45 p.m., Strouse expressed shock at initial ComEd predictions that the outage could last as long as 22 hours. Shock, but not surprise.

"No, I'm not surprised," she said with resignation. "It's ComEd."

Commonwealth Edison restored power to the South Loop area by 3:04 p.m.

Idled? Time to shop

An employee at Marshall Field's service department said the store was seeing more business than usual. The worker, who would not identify herself, said not as many customers shop during the early afternoon hours on weekdays, but more customers than usual were around today. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Carson Pirie Scott it was "business as usual" today during the outages. Bill Stollon, the general manager of the State Street store, said that he didn't notice a lift in business as a result of today's blackouts. He did say, however, that Carson's worked with ComEd to reduce the store's electricity usage today as part of a voluntary program involving ComEd and companies: The store turned off some escalators, unnecessary lights and some air conditioning.

The ComEd program gives participating companies on their power bills if they cut back on electricity usage during critical times.

No food, no toilets ... coffee, anyone?

Union Station found itself the center of an early rush hour by 2:45 p.m. as Loop workers came down the escalators in droves toward the Metra trains. But it was almost a festive rush hour, despite a lack of air conditioning and a water shutdown that forced the closure of rest rooms and restaurants.

Deerfield resident Jim Lewis, who works for an investment firm at 222 S. Riverside Plaza, said his company let employees go home around 11 a.m. Does this mean a day off? "Guess I'll do more work from home," Lewis said.

Meanwhile, Tracy Whittman, a Plainfield resident who works at the Civic Opera House, was downright elated. "It's wonderful," Whittman, 28, said, "because now I'll be home in time to get my son to a doctor's appointment."

By 3:30 p.m., the early rush hour had tapered off and restaurants were shut down -- but one place, Foster Brothers Coffee, braced itself for more commuters. Workers there were awaiting five gallons of coffee to be shipped from its sister coffee house at 2 N. Michigan Ave.

Perhaps luckily for later commuters, portable toilets had preceded the coffee's arrival at the station.

One building takes no chances

The lobby was packed at the Illinois Center building, 205-255 N. Michigan Ave., as workers in the 25-floor high rise went home early. The building hadn't lost power, but companies in the building were closing up shop anyway.

By 3 p.m., most of the employees of the companies there had left the building; some floors were left looking like a ghost town. One company, Administar Federal, left its offices on the 22nd floor before the party was over: Forty or 50 helium-filled balloons and streamers wishing someone a Happy Birthday filled the hallway to the entrance. The door was locked, the floor was vacant. No one was celebrating.

Ketchum Advertising left Post-it notes on its 23rd floor office doors, telling certain employees that their bags had been taken from the office and left with lobby personnel.

Others employees were not so lucky. Chasity Middleton, an executive assistant with Arthur Andersen -- which occupies floors 12 through 14 -- was out to lunch when her co-workers were told to leave. She returned just as people were leaving the building.

"I didn't have my house keys or nothing," she said after walking 14 flights up to retrieve her bag and then 14 flights down to leave for the day. Oddly enough, the elevators still were functioning.

Nonetheless, the company's guest desk attendant said its computer system was down, so most people had left for the day.

Tribune staff writers Christine Badowski, Jill Blackman, Jimmy Greenfield, Scott Helman, Rick Hepp and Andrew Rodgers contributed to this report.

-- Alexi (Alexi@not-in-the-dark.com), August 13, 1999

Answers

Other Chicago outage threads:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001E Hz

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001E OL

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), August 13, 1999.

All testimonies of the practical helpful usefulness of preps welcome. A real good idea.

-- do the right thing (be@prepared.always), August 13, 1999.

<The hotel recently had acquired 6,000 flourescent sticks, each about 6 inches in length, that were going to be used in case of any Y2K-related electrical problems.>

LOL - CBS station in LA this morning said the hotel bought those 6,000 fluorescent sticks for Y2K festivities!!!

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), August 13, 1999.

oh, it'll be a festive restive party all right ;^)
Overnight the spin machine done spun out a real Happy Face on that one!

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 13, 1999.