Farmers probably wouldn’t use that much electricity, anyway (or so the IOUs thought). “IOUs nationwide generally regarded rural electrifi cation as a losing cause – something that involved a
massive investment with a distant payoff (if it ever paid off ). T ey just weren’t interested in pursuing it. So, for a generation aſt er their city neighbors (and those along the main roads) enjoyed the blessings of electricity, much of rural America lived like it was still 1860, with kerosene lights and hand-operated everything. “T e idea that rural electrifi cation could be accomplished by co-ops was an idea expressed by a man named
Giff ord Pinchot in 1908. Pinchot was the founder of American scientifi c forestry, and later served as Governor of Pennsylvania. He was acutely interested in the problems of rural life, but his advocacy of rural electric coop- eratives went nowhere for some 25 years. T e electrifi cation of rural America waited for a new era of progressive government, and a new president: Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal. “T e lack of electricity in rural areas was widely seen as a big problem by President Roosevelt. When low
interest loans became available under his New Deal, rural men and women banded together with a common purpose and brought cooperative electricity to the countryside. “Electricity made life easier, safer, healthier and more convenient. It made farms more productive. It promot-
Packaging wine for shipment
ed agricultural, commercial, residential and economic development. It does all those same things still today. “As one early Tennessee farmer put it, right aſt er having his home wired: “T e greatest thing on earth is to
have the love of God in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to have electricity in your house.” “T ank you, Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative members, for sharing this “next greatest thing” with
us over the past 75 years.” Dandy A. Risman
Wine storage inside the winery
A packed house awaits this year’s business meeting.
October 2013 - 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164