Years of Prosperity1920 - 1938 Prosperity was the key word for the 1920s. With three new turbines installed and the additional power available from IPS, there was no longer a need for the steam engines. The utility company was paying its own way. With a healthy balance on the books from profits, the tax levy was producing a small but certain bonus. The City Council decided that taxes were taxes and financed other needs by transferring a portion of the tax to the general fund. By 1926 the judicious management of the light plant had resulted in a large balance. Bonds were retired early, and bonds in a Florida light plant were purchased as an investment. 
Rural residents were anxious that electrical service be extended to them. In 1927 a franchise was granted and two lines were built to the northeast of the town. These were quickly followed by others until the wires stretched in all directions from Waverly. The same year an attempt was made to take over the local gas company. That issue was defeated by the voters. However, progress continued as West Bremer was lined with new electroliers, and a new contract that was even more beneficial to Waverly was negotiated with IPS. Plans were made and experts hired to raze the smokestack, but demolition methods in 1929 were no match for the reinforced bottom half of the chimney. The men were excused from their contract, and so the landmark stood on the riverbank for another thirty years, a cement symbol of prosperity. While the Depression Years took their toll in other areas, Waverly's electric utility department flourished due to the ever increasing needs and desires for additional service. When street lights were added from the courthouse to the edge of town on East Bremer Avenue, Waverly was considered to be one of the best lighted towns in Iowa. The continuing success of the electric utility did not deter talented and frugal members of the light crew from finding ways to save money. During the 1930s they cast their own light poles for the downtown area and built a meter tester. Still, the sale of power enabled the utility to annually transfer funds to other city departments. In 1931 the rates charged to users actually went down. By careful management the Waverly utility was also able to absorb the new federal and state tax levies in 1932 and 1934 without passing the cost on to their patrons. Prior to this time these services had not been taxed. The seawall near the plant had developed holes with seepage "so steady that a 6-inch tile was loaded to capacity to carry it off . . . [and] . . . a considerable amount of dirt was also carried away behind the old wall, weakening it." A coffer dam was built, and crews working in three shifts poured concrete continuously until the new wall was completed. Within months the wisdom of building the new seawall was proven. A flood converted the east bank into a midwest version of Venice, but the city sustained less damage than from previous floods. The flood waters did emphasize one problem to the city fathers. Because the wires serving southeast Waverly traveled along the bank and under the Bremer Avenue bridge, they often required repairs after high water. City Engineer Arthur Beyer was directed to bury the east side power lines. Mayor Frank Osincup and the City Council proposed the purchase of diesel engines. They believed that the increasing demand for power would pay for them. Diesel engines would provide Waverly with power at a price comparable to that being charged by Iowa Public Service during times of high usage or when the level of the Cedar River was low. But it was an election year, and Mayor Osincup lost the election to an opponent who strongly believed in immediately and drastically cutting the city budget. Seizing the opportunity, Iowa Public Service made an offer to continue to sell Waverly extra power at lower rates. The idea of switching to diesel power was shelved.
Newspaper article: Bremer County Independent, Nov./Dec. 1928 New Electroliers on West Side See First Use Saturday Street lighting system which makes West Bremer avenue one of the best-lighted streets to be found in any town the size of Waverly was put into use for the first time Saturday evening . . . The new lights, put in under the supervision of Wm. Roe, superintendent of the city's light and water plant, who designed the electroliers and saved Waverly tax payers about $3,000 by doing so, are placed seven to the block on each side of Bremer Avenue until Oak Street is reached, and from that point to the Illinois Central are five to the block. . . Forty years ago the town council of Waverly was passing a resolution that it would accept kerosene lights as a gift to the city from local persons -- today the city council can put its thumbs through its suspenders and swell out its chest while announcing that Waverly has the best lighting system of any town of its size in the United States. EXPANSION
1938 - 1941 The subject of diesel engines came up again at council meetings in 1937 when Ed Doonan, City Engineer, pointed out that the load had nearly tripled since 1919. Councilmen were aware that no tax subsidy had been needed for the electric plant since 1925. In fact, even with the purchase of the diesels, the city would in all likelihood benefit from future profits. With the understanding that the costs were to be paid from the profits and not from the city coffers, bids were let for both diesel engines and a facility to house them. Worthington Pump & Machinery Co. Of Harrison, New Jersey, received the contract. They subcontracted the building of the brick addition to Stark Co. of Cedar Rapids. During construction, the contractors were pressured at one of their other job sites to unionize the Waverly project. Although it was one of the first times that local control was at issue, the city fathers did not press the matter as only a few men were actually affected. They did, however, strongly emphasize that they resented outside interference in what was exclusively a Waverly project. 
The 1938 addition housed the new diesel engines.
Construction above ground began in January of 1938. While local citizens watched the progress with interest, plant crews kept a careful eye on the river level. It had to be maintained with a variance of only a few inches. Their concern was not related to the brick work, but to block work -- ice blocks. It was the season when crews were on the ice cutting a year's supply of blocks for the ice houses and the railroad. Many local men found seasonal work every winter cutting car loads of ice for the Chicago Great Western. If the river dropped six inches, the ice could crack. Hourly checks of the river level were made, and the turbines' operations adjusted accordingly to maintain the level within a two inch variance. Also benefiting from this care were the ice skaters who made good use of the river. The two new EE 4 cycle 5 cylinder and one new D 4 cycle 5 cylinder diesels, the twenty- one miles of rural lines serving sixty-seven customers, and a plant staff of thirteen men were a source of great civic pride. The dedication of the new facility on August 25, 1938, was a cause to celebrate. The newspaper printed an entire edition lauding the new plant. An open house was held so that the citizenry could view both the plant and the high tech equipment. Local merchants set up displays of modern appliances, speeches were given, and the municipal band played from atop the water reservoir. The June 1939 issue of Diesel Progress featured Waverly's new light plant. The article extolled its up-to-date status. Meanwhile, the City Council was debating the advisability of creating a trusteeship to oversee the utility's operation. The council favored the idea, and an election was called for January of 1940. The voters were not as enthusiastic and defeated the measure 433 to 345. 
1938 (This was a picture of the dam and east plant.)
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