Rural Power at Library of Congress

Just back from the 2018 NRECA Annual Meeting in Nashville. As I was preparing for this massive conference, and a ton of interviews with rural cooperative leaders, I spent a day at the Library of Congress researching the early years of rural electrification.

Here are four pictures I took of rural power as it was developing in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. They say a lot about the first waves of electrification and electrification’s effect on people.

I. Too Many Farms Behind the Times Pic 3168

II. Here Lies a Coal-Oil Lamp

III. From 10.9 Percent of Farms on Central Service

IV. Rural Power’s Farmhand and Mascot, Willie Wiredhand

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