How the inventor of cable T.V. was my neighbor

[Note: I previously published this post prematurely, before catching some errors in the html, so the previous version was funny looking in spots.
Also, due to some stellar detective work on the part of Dixon Jones I now have more information to add. So, please do read again!]
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Alaska Jeopardy question:

Inventor of cable television who installed Alaska's first cable system allowing residents in some areas to watch T.V. for the first time.

Answer:

Who is...?

My step-dad, Dixon, and I were recently discussing how our neighborhood has changed over time and one place in particular sparked conversation: Oil City, which used to have a sign announcing that it was a Bed and Breakfast but because it's always looked unbelievably sketchy I assumed it was a joke of some kind. However, like most things slightly scary, Oil City has been a source of fascination for me. It's strange, and consequently mysterious. What's inside of that building made up of several trailers? Has anyone ever actually stayed there? Why would they? Gross!

 Then Dixon informed me that a man by the name of Leroy Parsons lived there once ages ago, it would have been in the 1950s, and he had invented cable television. In shock, I exclaimed something to the tune of, "Get out of town! No way! The dude who invented cable T.V. lived just down the street from where we live? I don't believe you. I'm totally Googling that later!"

And so I did. Sure enough Leroy "Ed" Parsons lived in Fairbanks and, although the actual inventing of cable television occurred in Astoria, Oregon, he did indeed bring cable T.V. to Alaska. Apparently he invented cable television because his wife had seen a T.V. at the National Association of Broadcasters 1947 convention in Chicago and wanted one but there was no network in Oregon at the time. So he used an antenna on the top of the Astoria Hotel, a coaxial cable and amplifiers to invent cable T.V. for the woman. Other people noticed it and wanted it so he helped his neighbors out for a fee but eventually he got overwhelmed by the demand for his new invention so he "eventually suffered a breakdown and fled to Alaska, where he remained." 

In an interview with Richard Barton for the Hauser Oral History and Video History Collection, he mentions the importance of bringing television to the rural communities of Alaska:

BARTON: I remember one surprising response. A teacher said she thought television was wonderful. That it helped students understand the world. That's very different from what you hear now.

PARSONS: It had a tremendous effect of bringing the people of Barrow or Anaktuvuk Pass or Arctic Village into the present century.

I found this quote particularly interesting because not only did it mention specifically two places I was fortunate enough to visit this summer, Anaktuvuk Pass and Barrow, but also because it's difficult to imagine how monumental it would have been to see television for the first time. What must it have been like to feel for the first time a strong sense of connection to places far away that you had possibly never even heard of? In today's environment of media saturation it's sometimes a challenge to remember what a powerful instrument of knowledge sharing television can be.
There you have it, Leroy Parsons, the dude who invented cable T.V., lived in Fairbanks and was, if you trust Dixon's claim, an inhabitant of the "fine" establishment called Oil City.

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As I mentioned in my note, Dixon did some detective work after reading my previously posted entry so as to put all of my doubts to rest regarding whether or not Leroy "Ed" Parsons, inventor of cable television really lived in Oil City. 

I really should cease in doubting him, since he does appear to be ALWAYS correct! 

Here is where Leroy "Ed" Parsons is listed in the Fairbanks phonebook and sure enough his address is where Oil City is located.

 Here is an excerpt from an article about Leroy Parsons printed by the Fairbanks Daily News Miner on Saturday, December 3, 1988 (I would have just turned 6 years old).

It may be too difficult to read the small print but it's worth mentioning that in addition to inventing cable television, Parsons also invented the transistor radio and the TV satellite receiver, which provided communications for the military, other airlines, and the first circumpolar flight. He helped bring modern communications to the North Slope as well as Vietnam. As if this all weren't enough, he is also credited with inventing the refrigeration process for making domestic bleu cheese! Apparently he had a refrigeration company in Fairbanks.

The article quotes Parsons as saying, "People call me a doctor. I prescribe what you need to do a communication job." Alas, the article also mentions later on that the communication doctor never made millions on his cable invention because he never secured a patent.

So, there you have it, a famous person chose to live just down the street from where I currently call home in Oil City, Fairbanks, Alaska.

I dedicate my next glass of wine to you, Ed Parsons, my  neighbor separated by time!

Neighborhood pride! Whoop!