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.

In March of 2004 George and Sharen Reese sold the business to Randy and Becky Rema of North Bend. Randy came to work at Reese Electric in June of 1995 and worked as a journeyman wireman and later as project manager on many projects through the following years. In 1999 the Reese's came to the Rema's with a plan for their retirement and for the Rema's to purchase the business. In March of 2004 the business changed hands and George and Sharen began their retirement. Married in 1981 in San Diego, California where Randy was attending school as a sonar technician in the United States Navy, Becky worked as a civilian on the base at the Naval Training Center. In early May of 1981 Randy received orders to report to the USS Harold E Holt (FF-1074) stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Hawaii was home for four wonderful years, followed by instructor duty at the Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center in San Diego. In 1987 Randy left the Navy and they moved to Elkhart, Indiana, Becky's home town where both went to work, Randy as an electrical apprentice for Northside Electrical Contractors, owned by Phil and Libby Dorries. Randy learned the electrical trade well during the following eight years and will always be indebted to the Dorries for their support and guidance. Becky worked for several automotive firms as a shipping/receiving clerk. In 1992 daughter Rachel arrived and in 1995 the decision was made to return to Coos County to live and raise Rachel. Randy is a native of Coos County, born at Keizer Memorial Hospital in North Bend (now the Coos County Annex) and was raised in the Myrtle Point area, living up Catching Creek until he was 18 years old.

Since purchasing the company in 2004 the business has grown from 24 employees to over 50 today. New locations have been added, those being Florence, Bandon and Gold Beach. Of utmost importance to the Rema's is maintaining the level of service and the family oriented atmosphere that has served the company so well during its history. The future looks very bright, not only for the family of employees at Reese Electric, but for Coos County as a whole. We are thankful and proud to be a part of this exciting time in Coos County's history and our goal is to maintain the standard of service that Reese Electric has been known for for over 60 years.