This week's Retro photos from the Duke Energy archives in Charlotte, N.C., highlight the company’s long history of natural gas operations and workers. We need help with IDs of names and places. If you have details, please email illumination@duke-energy.com, and include the photo number or attach the image.
Photo 866: This photo is labeled "Total Combustion." Do you know what that means, or recognize any familiar faces?
Photo 847: This car appears to be Union Gas and Electric Co. car. Do you know the make, model and year?
Photo 861: We think this was taken at a Piedmont Natural Gas office. Do you know where? Who are the employees?
Photo 856: Who are the employees from this 1993 Piedmont Natural Gas photo? Where was Green's Fuel Gas Co. located?
And … mysteries solved!
Photo 858: Thanks to Tara Heglar, Ranelle (Warfield) Kasper who retired from Piedmont, and Jenni Shipman who let us know that Delores Dockum is on the left and Mary Carter is on the right. Delores served as executive secretary for operations. Mary was both a consumer consultant for Nashville Gas and a food stylist who managed and performed their cooking club each month while she worked there.
Heglar and Kasper said it was not unusual for gas companies to have residential gas cooking demo areas as a part of (or separate from) their appliance sales centers. By this time, Nashville Gas had moved away from selling appliances.
Shipman also reached out to her father, Jim Thweatt, who thinks the timing of the photo is early to mid-80s, before Piedmont moved from the 814 Church St. building to MetroCenter. He also thought that it might have been a retirement reception based on the cake.
Photo 851: Bo Malinowski did some detective work on this photo by enlarging the photo to see that the trophy says Charlotte and 1971.
Another individual thinks the person holding the award is John R. Pendleton, who was in retail sales at Piedmont in Charlotte, N.C. James Armstrong said, "I have a copy of the Piedmont Natural Gas 1968 Annual Report that has a picture of him being recognized for passing the $1 million mark in sales of gas appliances and equipment in December 1968.”
