Rural Electrics Celebrate First Twenty-Five Years Electrics Grow Rapidly-Face Never Ending Job Average American Farmer Uses Four To Five Times More Electricity Than Expected Some folks think the job of electrifying rural America is about done, now that more than 9b% of all the farms, homes, schools, churches and businesses—outside the city limits—are be ing served with low-cost electric light and power. Not so, says John Costen, manager of the Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation. Even more costly and difficult years lie ahead. "We must run, just to» stand still,” he insists, “because heavying-up our lines to meet ever increasing demands for ] more kilowatt hours is a never ! ending job.” Most folks back in '35, includ- ■ ing the so-called experts, “guess timated” that a farmer could possibly use as much as 90 toi: 100 kwh a month. That was when the average farm with central station eleelricitv was us ing about 50 kwh per month. ; They figured he might install a i few 25 watt bulbs, throw away the battery for his old radio, and buv his wife an electric i iron. They didn’t know Mrs. . Farmer. Thev didn't realize that to her. good refrigeration is much more important than it is to city folks. So a freezer fol- , lowed her refrigerator. Then the electric water pump i and heater brought a wave of washers and dryers. The auto- i matic electric range replaced the ! old coal, wood, and oil stoves . . . and on. and on. Meanwhile, Mr. Fanner found ways to milk his cows, feed and water his stock, move heavy crops into the silo and mow— cut hand labor drastically with electric power. This cost less, made him happier, and saved his back. The result? Well, today, the' average American farmer uses four to five times as much elec tricity as even the most opti mistic "expert" guessed he would, back there in 1935. Rural kwh Demand Up And this growth continues. Rural Americans are increasing their demands for electricity much faster than their city neighbors. Within the next sev en years demands will double again. And all of America's Rural Electric Systems are gear ing up to meet this problem even liefpre it happens. This isn’t all. Good roads, bet ter telephone service—and low cow electricity are causing more city folks Vo move to the country. As farms grow in size .and de crease m number, the proportion of non-farm consumers of the rural electric systems continues 450 W ays To Use Electricity 011 Tlie Farm Aiul In The I lome Who would have guessed 25 years ago that we would ever find as many as 200 uses for electricity on the farm? Those were the days when seasoned electric i-onipany executives laughed as RFA engineers predicted some day U. S. farmers might use an average of 90 to 100 kilow’att hours of electricity a month! Use of electricity today has passed the wildest dreams of 1»35. Researchers in the Unit ed States Department of Agri culture now poim >to more than tall different applications of elec tricity on the farm and in the 1 farm home. These new uses and big step-, up in the consumption of elec tricity on farms is part of Amer ican agriculture's move to mech anize and substitute power and machinery for human labor both on the farm and in the home. There have been real changes made from the early days when home use of electricity was lim-' iti d almost entirely to lighting, powering the washing machine... end pumping water. From air conditioning to automatic water ; systems, rural electrification has made it possible for farm peo ple, too, to live better electri-' HERE’S WHERE THEY ARE fr —» '.h V» » . • '}• *•" *'T' rXr */ J rn j /••• • • Is* . / • * •/ •• • w •¥• C *••/• - *e \ • WA f j " > f l. •/ * £sr^ Vr-; r :tL.- l-M'&W l \ ./• . /•*•• :rf*: *vS*.Ai.*; L \T| f • .j ‘ill* . i* ■ it;*._>,V • ''Jv :■ \J * \ 10 .*• ••&>*•**a t / .*• ;• jO Vy-v. „ . • \j r®si \) *>m> ■ I ' .■ . ■ I ■ '»■■.■ . I.- .Mi l .i nr—l 1 ■'■ ■?—d£>-' v-A! #- o THE CHOWAN HERALD Volume XXVII. —Number 19. Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina, Thursday May 12, 1960. to increase. Front the start, America’s! Rural Electric Systems have |, been organized for service, not ! for profit. Their motto has been to "serve ’em all” in rural areas. 1 They agree to provide this serv-j ice to all. and at the lowest pos- 1 sible cost, when they borrow ( their capital funds from REA—! at interest. One thing sure, with our spir- 1 ailing rural population, the newj and better uses of electricity and ; the higher standards of living |. through the use of this modern [ necessity, demand for and use!; of electricity can move only up ward in the years ahead. Predict 5.600 kwh by 1963 Based on the past rate of in- < crease, the Agricultural Re search Service. U. S. Depart-! ment of Agriculture, prophesies i that average annual electrical! consumption per farm will reach' 5.600 kilowatt hours by 1963. By 1975, the average consump tion per farm served by REA| financed lines is expected to] reach 10,800 kwh. more than 2Mti times what it is today. Recent reports say the average yearly consumption bv all consumers on lines financed bv REA loans will hit 1-MOO kilowatt hours bv 1975. This is approximately 14 j times the total capacity of earli est rural electric lines. With prices of materials and labor up sharply, heavy ing-up and improving service with the latest modern equipment may, , weH cost more than the original lines. As one spokesman for the rural electric systems put it: "This spells out the need for! continued loans from REA. America’s Rural Electric Sys tems today own on the average only 18.2 percent of their sys tems. Because of this fact, there is little possibility that they can I obtain the necessary funds fori growth and expansion from pri vate sources. It necessarily fol lows that needed funds must come from the Rural Electrifica tion Administration, which al ready holds the first mortgage j on all properly of the borrow-1 ers.” cally. Radio. TV, clocks, refrigera tors, freezers, stoves, washing machines, dryers, vacuum clean ers, water pumps, water and space heaters, dishwashers, mix i ers. and lawn mowers are com mon everyday uses of electricity around the home. I In fact, there’s little today that can’t be done easier, quicker, and better electrically. USDA’s list of uses for electrieitv in the farm home includes just about every conceivable household gadget under the sun. There are burglar and fire alarms, fish bowl heaters, bed warmers, biscuit bakers, can openers, Christmas tree turners, cigar lighters, communication' systems, deodorizers, dumb wait eras. dust precipitators, fish seal-1 ers, flour sifters, fly traps, andi Continued on Page Two FDR Signed Order That Electrified Rural America Contrary to the way most Fed eral Government programs come about, rural electrification was! not born in a smoke-filled room, in a Congressional cloakroom, or in a government office building in Washington. Actual birthplace of this vast program, which has brought light and power to every nook and cranny of rural America, is said to have been a little cottage at Warm Springs. Georgia. And the plan evolved in the active brain of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Those who should know sav the germ of this idea—low-cost electric light and power for all Americans, in or out of the city limits—came during F.D.R.’s first visit to Warm Springs in 1924. At the end of his first month’s stay, he couldn’t understand the j charge of 18c a kilowatt hour to light his cabin. This was about four times the rate he paid in his Hyde Park home in New York, and over six times the' average cost of a kilowatt hour: of electric power in rural Ameri ca today. F.D.R. felt that all America deserved the comforts and con venience of low-cost electricity. | Fore than that, he decided to do something about it. It wasn’t until 1935. on May 11th to be exact, that this same man. then President of the; United States, signed the Exec- 1 utive Order that brought the Rural Electrification Administra tion into being. Program Changes Outlook He visualized a program that was destined to change the whole outlook of rural people. The order created REA for the express purpose of starting and supervising a program of gen eration, transmission, and distri bution of electrical energy to j rural areas. This was what people out in the country were waiting for. Backed up by long years of wait- Continuad on Page Four Let’s Face It. “It Just Ain’t RFA” If you are one of those who calls everything connected with rural electrification “REA’ ’— read on You will be surprised to learn that “REA” is the ab breviated name of a division in the U. S. Department of Agricul ture—far removed from the local Rural Electric System that pro vides electrical service to rural Americans. Actually, a number of organiz ations, and groups of organiza tions are actively engaged in : making the nationwide rural ; electrification go and grow! As la help in understanding this program, here are a few basic facts about the various groups directly involved in rural electri fication.. Rural Electric Systems are lo cal organizations that actually do the work of providing elec trical service to people who need and use the electricity. Indivi : dual electric systems, incorpor ated under state law, borrow money from the government through the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to build electric lines and facilities. These systems bill their mem bers for the electricity they use. A portion of each bill is set aside for interest and principal pay ments on the REA loan. Rural Electric Systems are an out standing example of private en terprise. They are owned, con trolled, and operated by the lo cal people who use the service they provide. Since the start of the rural electrification program 25 years ago, over 1,000 rural electric Continued on Page Two Kpp£ : , - J... . . i.. .. . Above-Rural Electrification is born as President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order creating REA, May It, 1935. Champions (or rural people. Congressman Sam Rayburn (left above) and Senator George W. Norris sparked REA Act of 1935, making Rural Electrification a lung range program. PROCLAMATION IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF EDENTON WHEREAS the continued yvell-being and economoic progress of our rural families are vital to the strength and welfare of our Community and our Nation, and WHEREAS Rural Electrification has lighted the way, lightened the burdens, and brought a goodly measure of the luxuries of city lh'ing' to all rural America, and "6k WHEREAS Rural Electrification has enabled farmers to produce efficiently,and abundantly, and provide sanitary and high grade food for city tables, anil WHEREAS billions of dollars spent for electric appliances and equipment in rural areas have meant sales and jobs in every segment of our economy, and WHEREAS Rural Electrification lifts proved to lie .1 sound in vestment and loans are being repaid.with nit er.-: t on or ahead of schedukv and WHEREAS 1960 marks the 25th birthday, and the Silver Jubilee of the Rural Eh rtrifiCatimi Program: NOW, THEREFORE I, John Mildiener. Jr. Mayor of the C'ity of Edenton, do hereby proclaim the period from May it to May 14 to he Rural Electrification Week Furthermore, I call upon my lel low citizens, whether rural or urban, to support and partici pate in the Silver Jubilee Celebration -of Rural filedi dicatito.n, IN WITNESS WHEREOF'. I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal «if Edenton to be affixed, DONE at the. eit v of Edenton this 11 lit day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen bundled and sixty, JOHN A, MITOHENER JR, Mayor” Now F!rtiri<* Power Has Changed iThe Face Os All Rural America While no would-be expert has j yet attempted to measure the] complete impact of electrifica tion on American agriculture, j the influence of rural eleetrifiea j tion on farming and farm life has been tremendous. For years, farming has been i ' undergoing a peaceful, vet rapid, revolution in technology, living standards, and working condi tions. Everywhere, the magic | power of electricity has played a ! leading role in the dramatic-' changes in both farming and life, in rural areas. 96% Farms Electrified With 96 percent of all farms) ) in the United States electrified I i today, central station electricity has become so commonplace that; farmers themselves seldom stop) to figut% just how much they; depend upon it—until the power) goes off. The lights go out, the pump) stops, and jobs that were mech anized yesterday suddenly must be done by hand. Anyone who ever used the old sadiron for an hour, turned the corn sheller. pumped water, or pailed a dozen cows, knows how electricity is helping get the work done. Things are easier on the farm, today, everyone agrees. Availability of dependable low- 1 cost electric power is one of the important factors in modern farm efficiency. It is a major reason whv farmers have step ped ahead of production in creases in our factories. Believe it or not, output per farm work er today is double what it was ' 15 years ago. and three times 1 what if was at the ‘•♦art of rural : electrification in 1995. While electricity has been out- 1 ting farm production and Pro cessing costs, it also has been 1 ratai— standards at ratal living, 1 i improving health conditions both •] in town and country, and iielp ; iiig provide quality food in abundance for city tables. Nev er have so many been fed so ■ well by so few. In 1930 one farm worker pro -1 duced on the average, enough food and fiber for nearly ten people. Today each farm work ci- produces for 25 people, and : American farmers are making plans to handle twice that num ber of people much before the , turn of the century. Wonderful Changes Not only has rural electrifica tion removed drudgery, and j brought city living and city ways to rural areas, it also is credited ; with changing the entire out j look of rural people. Whether I vou live in the country or in' I town today, schools, churches, clubs, recreation and civic inter-) ; ests are often the same. The only dividing line between town and country anymore is the city limit sign showing where tlie city streets begin. So—rural electrification, as no other single force, has transformed America’s rural areas into a highly desir able place to live. Thi-ee-fourths of the electricity used on the farm today is con sumed in the home for lighting, cooking, washing, drying, pump ing, water heating, space heat ing, cooling or freezing. Automatic Hired Man Use of electricity about the farmstead still is limited largely to chores that were time-consum ing when done bv hand. It pow ers the motor that turns, lifts, pumps, heats, freezes, grinds and sharpens. I Electricity powers clocks, sol enoids and automatic controls to operate the lights, feeders and waterers so much « part at farming toefcp. Rural Electricity • Makes Jobs And Business Room Mention Rural Electrification and we usually think of light and power, heat and refrigera tion. VVe think of the hundreds of ways electricity lends a help ing hand in work, in play,, amt daily living. We think of greatly unproved standards of rural living, health and sanitation, throngs of eitv people moving to the country, and of a new and undreamed-of efficiency in farm production. Twenty-five years of rural electrification have brought tre mendous changes to the face of rural America, but that's not all. The Nation’s REA loan program has generated billions of dollars of busines for people who do not live in rural areas. This in cludes the billions of dollars in vested in electric lines and fa cilities ,as well as the endless list of appliances and equipment for farms and homes. Jobs for Millions These purchases and the labor required to build the lines and do the wiring have made jobs for millions, and profits for mer chants up and down eVerv main street in America. Back of ev ery kilowatt hour of electricity distributed hv America’s Rural Electric Systems lie huge invest ments in electrical equipment, and the companion appliances, and equipment that go with rural electrification. Rural customers. receiving electricity for the first time in their lives, have not been able to buy all the electrical equipment they needed or wanted. Spend ing more than a billion dollars a year, they have become the best customers electric appliance dealers ever had, and the mar ket’s still far from saturated. Today, America’s Rural Elec tric Systems are spending be tween S2OO and S3OO million an nually on lines and facilities. At the same time, a new survey shows that rural electric con sumers will buv over a billion dollars worth of appliances in 1960. That’s good busines f.r all —means more and better jobs in cities and towns, too! Everything’s Electric Looking ahead, the experts see an ever growing demand tor things electrical on the farm nr in country homes. j n ihe 20 years just ahead rural oeonle will spend more than $25 billion for absolutely necessary electri- I goods s.ut'li as lights, wiring, as well as the endless TV s. air conditioners, freezers, stoves, and other equipment re quired in modern farming and rural living. One thing sure, REA loans mu only enable rural people to serve themselves with eleetrici- IV, hut they ate helping miners, factory workers, mike person nel, stockholders, salesman, small businessmen, corporations, battle's and tax divisions of local, state, and federal government. Rural electrification is makim jobs for millions, business boom jiui profits directlv or indue t|\. for everyone Truly, rural elec trification is, good for all Ameri cans ! On many a farm, electricity lias replaced the hired man and at the same time permitted a big increase in the amount of 1 productive livestock carried on tlie farm. j For instance, a single one horsepower motor can do as much work in one hour as the average man can do in an entire i day. and the cost per unit of production is almost negligible. For four or five cents, a farm er can pump 1,000 gallons of water, milk 30 cows, heat five gallons of water, cool 10 gallons of milk, shell 30 bushels of corn, cut a ton of silage and blow it . into the silo According to USDA findings, the average dairyman spends 1 119 man-hours a year on each | cow in the herd. With modern buildings and the latest electri fied equipment, he can cut his labor requirements to 67 nian i hours or less. Ups Production Per Man Under the old system of hand milking one man had his hands full with 10 or 12 cows. Today, he lets electricity do the chores with silo unloader, barn clean er and pipeline milker and he handles 30 to 40 cows with ease. Everywhere farmers have cut their costs, solved their labor problems and greatly increased the size of their fanning opera tions by putting this new electric hand to work. For instance, barn cleaning for a 40-cow herd in New Jersey required Pi man-hours daily when the fork and scoop were jused. An electric-powered clean er now does the job for four cents a day. Michigan State Col lege reports 300 tons of manure; can be moved mechanically from gutter to the spreaders for only one cent a ton. At that rate, Ceti tinned on Page Two More I lian 1000 Locally ()wnecl Kleetric Systems Now Serve 16*000,000 Rural Amei •leans This year, rural people everywhere are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Rural Electrification Program, a social and economic “miracle" that has brought electric light and power to more than 1 6,000,000 Americans who were almost literally, living in the dark only a quarter century ago. It was May 11, 1935, that*— ——— President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed ihe Executive Order trial created Hie Rural Electrifica tion Administration. It seems laughable now. with S3 *2 billion having been invested to bring electricity to rural people, that Roosevelt's original appropriation was for only $75,000. But the Nation's farms needed power, and the nation's workers desperately needed work. So rural electrification began as an arm of the Works Progress Ad ministration til that depression year. In 1936, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act, setting up a long-term program under the Rural Electrification Admin istration— widely known as REA —which made it possible for groups of rural people to work together to serW themselves with elec.tfic.itv. Almost from the beginning, use of eleelricitv had b.-en con fined to town and city areas be cause the experts tllotlglll it would cost too much to bring it to the country. Power companies said it was impractical, if not unprofitable, to extend electric lines .to most people living outside of the city limits They thought rural folks couldn’t afford, or wouldn't pay the cost involved in getting elec trii tv to them. Few Farms Had Electricity Consequently, only 3 percent of American farms were elec-' trifled hv 1925: 10 percent by 1931, and barely 11 percent had central station electricity when RFA came to life in 1935. The picture has changed rap idly since the fust REA torn was approved in Julv. 1935 Gong are the davs of drab dnuteerv and hack-breaking toil of pilehine hav vmli a fork • •■•rrvim> water hv the pail, and firewood hv l U-. .o-mfnl. Lest We Forget Kerosene lamps. lanterns, pump handles, and sadirons have lost tlu-ir meaning to youngsters still iit high school The dav is long-gone when farm folks seem to age overnight, and young peo ple were forced to leave the farm for the city’s bright lights, letter iolis. and ea-ier living The Rural Electrification Act of 1935 authorizes RFA to lend funds to “persons, corporations, lilies districts, states, and co operatives” tor the construct kin of rural ole. tin s\ terns. The Art specifically prohibits use of loan funds m extend electrical set vice into the more profitable •areas of towns and villages of over I and population, or to anv one a 1 * e.idv Leim l served Rural Electric* Serve Everyone __’l.' -ame time rural eieo How Our Own Rural Electric System Has Grown Bv TOHN COSTTN. Manager A EMC Wo appreciate this opportun t itv to nrosopt The business of i rural electrification to The people 1 • vin-i j,i the lion-rural areas and 1 the business peo de of the com munity Rural electrification is ■ a business, and a big one. Our : Cooperative alone is a 51.437.001 l . business. Nationally, the rural ' electrification program is a husi ness with assets of well over three billion. During the last 25 years, rural electrification has contributed ‘ greatly to the economic wall be ing of farmers and to vou people right here on Mam Street Fanners increased their effici ency through the use of eleotri . citv in diversified farming. Then ; with their increased incomes, they hought more items from you. The memlrers served along tlie 640 miles of rural lines of the Alliemarle Electric Membership Corporation have spent over $6,000,000 for equipment requir mg electricity for its operation. This mckides appliances in die home and equipment on the farm. This amount livided into the trade areas of the Albemarle would indicate the trade areas , of Hertford and Edenton would have purchased $3,500,000 of the total. We feel the aggressive merchants in Hertford and Eden- 1 ton have had their share of the business. On January 26. 1945. the Albe- ) marie Electric Membership Cor , poration was organized for the purpose of providing electric service to the rural area of the Albemarle. The original organ ization work was started by Mr. Louis Anderson, Perquimans ; County Farm Agent, with the assistance of the County Agents of the other counties. They Were assisted by J. Wilson Jones, J. A. Whitehurst from Camden ifillf 6As) QNUfCA tin' borrowers agree to serve all vy iio are without elect net tv in their area, regardless of whether the service is profitable or not. Tnese restrictive handicaps leave America’s Rural Electric Sys tems operating in many margin al and uneconomical ureas. Although from the start, op portunity for government loans have het'n available to all. it yvas the rural people themselves who took ttie hall and ran yvith it to build the lines. Mainlv as the result of this consumer cooperation .and this “do-it-yourself" approach, today more than 960 of the farms, homes, rural churches, and busi nesses have low-cost electric po\\ er. All along, rural people knew of the comforts and uses of electricity. Farmers, especially, were determined to have electri cal service in their homes or on their farms Bv tin- tens and hundreds, these people organiz ed into cooperatives under th 1 lavys of their state and applied tor an REA loan Bv working together, and with REA loans to finance construc tion. farmers and people in small towns were supplying themselves with dependable and economical electric power, a ser vice thev could get in no other wav ('imperative leadership is showui hv the tact that of the 1,085 electric systems who have borrowed Federal funds through REA, 984 have been coope-a tives, 50 were public power dis tricts. and 2? were other tvr.es of public hodir Only 24 yvere private 1 over companies 1.5 Million Miles of Line In the short - nan of 2$ vear' the lo.altv-owned and managed rural el*-, tnc- h.v.- mult I 5 mil lion ” les us electin' ib-.iribu. non l.m m rural America -nrl dr. --et via.* more than 16 .trullicq. ... .1,1,- n. .fiy on*-ie»uh ..f the t.v 1 n. not'd. oo ~f the Winn They furnish eleelricitv to nearly. .milieu mete. ! ” Tli.it Rut it Electrification is ■me of the he- 1 investment one ■oyermnenr ha-' ever made i« 'r'.Ayt n K. the loan r ‘ na Vtnct e.-rord of tv.irowe. From the nart of , n 1835. until .Tanu- I I‘tilti )-yric tctalip ll nes.rto sf l - lotiion 1 1 *.f hr... mads frr C'.i",li..n |i on-tin .on d :.-rri !•■" on old con-nine.' fa.'>l ll Durilie tn. same Period b..••- .'yyy . r lia t ' l .t. i. iy-nier.t* fa th" Federal Government as over 1 billion dollar-' in nr in---, pa I an 4 •Mere I ,1 efedii re. ord C'-vel bv bankers MV.iyvk.fie AfncH f 'hi: w..g raid ahead of due <1 p- ■". rd of .. h.ewmen> .n mi' l * ~f h -a . oiisrrn, te < and number Continued on P3q* Four Conntv. Walter I.owry and F T . Brothers from Pasquotank. A T I .any and John Q Hurdle of Perquiimn' and J A Hi.****in<S, Ocor-’* t\ W,uni apd I. R F*-.-.*>- cis of Chowan, and mam othe> s <>011! the tow os of Elizabeth Citv Edenton. Hertford and tlm rural areas, Surely, no eminv so varied 111 interest have found a more common cause and worked so hard to accompli h their aim RFA approved a loan of 5685,- tHWi for Albemarle Electric Mem bership Corporation on May 24. 1945 During 1945 contract y.,s let for the construction of 47 5 miles of line in the South Mills area for the cost of $65,600. which was completed and put in service in August. 1946. Bv the end of the year the average monthly ose per member was 53 KWH. This same area now is using over 300 KWH per mem ber The Albemarle Electric Memfierslup Corporation has constructed 640 miles of lines serving 4.4 consumers per mile They have borrowed from RF\ for this construction $1,437 000 and returned to REA $464,000 of , which $206,000 was interest and $258,01X1 on principal. They' I also have $85,000 paid in ad -1 vance. Tlie Albemarle Electric Mem -1 hership Corporation employs an average of 16 employees with an annual pav roll of above $50,000. The Cooperative is under th* control of nine directors elected for a one-year term by th® members. A. T. Lane is president; J. A. Wiggins is vice president; Floyd Mathews, secretary; Charles E. White. Sr., treasurer. Tommie Temple and W. R. Lowrv are directors from Pasquotank Coun ty; J. A. Whitehurst and J. W. Hastings. Camtkpijad John N, Bunch from ChowJK

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