Harvey "Harry" Fisher

Harry Fisher was born in Evansville, Ind., on May 26, 1866. He worked various jobs in his youth, including as a machine hand, wagon-maker and laborer. In 1884 he joined the city's light company where he served as "lamp trimmer" for 10 super lamps — 4,000-candlepower carbon lamps erected on 150-foot tripods. To service these lamps, Brother Fisher hoisted himself up in a one-man lift built in the middle of the tripod.

He was still with the light company when, in November of 1891, he traveled to St. Louis to serve as the delegate from Evansville at the First IBEW Convention. Brother Fisher was chosen as chairman for the Committee on Charter and Supplies and was also nominated as second grand vice president but lost to Delegate Heizleman from Toledo, Ohio. Upon returning to his hometown, Brother Fisher was instrumental in chartering Evansville Local 12 on Jan. 21, 1892. He served as the local's first and only president from 1892 until 1895, when the local went defunct. At that point he was working as a lineman for Rechtin Contractors. In 1896 he married his wife, Lucy, and together they had two children, Harry Jr. and Lucille.

Brother Fisher soon got back to organizing and became a charter member of Evansville Local 16 on Dec. 22, 1899, which is still active today. He served as the local's first financial secretary from 1899 to 1902 and again from 1905 to 1907. In 1910 he transitioned to inside work as an electrician with Heimann Electric and then for the city schools, a position he kept until his retirement in 1944 at the age of 78. He died on July 15, 1956, at age 90 and is buried in Evansville's Oak Hill Cemetery.

Edward Charles Hartung

Edward Hartung was born in Pennsylvania in 1860, his parents having immigrated from Germany the year before. His family moved to Indianapolis, Ind., in the 1870s where Hartung remained for the rest of his life. He married his wife, Elizabeth, in 1881 and began work as a street constable.

In November 1891, he traveled to St. Louis to serve as the delegate from Indianapolis at the First IBEW Convention. On the sixth day of the Convention, he was elected as first grand vice president and later gave a speech that night at the hall of St. Louis Local 5221.

Upon his return home, Brother Hartung became a charter member of Indianapolis Local 10 on Jan. 14, 1892. He served as financial secretary from 1896 to 1899. He also served as a delegate of the local at the Second, Third, Sixth and Seventh IBEW Conventions held in 1892, 1893, 1899 and 1901, respectively. He served on several committees during those conventions.

Brother Hartung was primarily engaged in inside electrical work. The May 1893 issue of The Electrical Worker mentioned that he was going into the "Fluid-Lightening" business, although no further explanation is given. The city directories of Indianapolis list him as an electrician from the late 1890s to the early 1900s. According to the U.S. census, he was employed as a carpenter repairman from 1910 to 1930. Brother Hartung died on Feb. 5, 1936, and is buried in Indianapolis at Crown Hill Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and three children.