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In 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Yes, electricity is a modern necessity of life (and) not a luxury. That necessity ought to be found in every village, in every home and on every farm in every part of the wide
United States."

It's hard for us to imagine our lives without the modern conveniences electricity provides for us each day, but there was a time, in the not too distant past, when our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents didn't know this luxury. The conveniences taken for granted in cities were simply unknown to farmers and their families.

Eighty years ago a group of visionaries partnered with one another to recruit members for a new electric
cooperative. Their hope was that bringing electricity to the rural areas of Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson and
Washington Counties would improve the lives of their friends and neighbors. Well, it did!

Well pumps, appliances, radios and machinery for the farm began popping up everywhere to help farmers and their families be more productive, have the convenience of keeping food cool and preserved and having lights to read by and radios to listen to in the evenings.

Can you imagine what these farmers and rural electrification pioneers would think of the technology we
now have at the touch of a fingertip? Conveniences and advancements they never dreamed of have been made possible due to the electrification of our country in the 1930s and 1940s.

Membership in this electric cooperative was $5, an amount that was sometimes difficult to scrape together in those days. Today, membership in your cooperative remains just $5. And, even though the conveniences we enjoy due to electricity are somewhat different from the ones enjoyed 80 years ago, we wanted to commemorate this milestone event.

As your electric cooperative celebrates 80 years of providing electric service to our members this December, we will be hosting birthday parties for the co-op at each district office on Tuesday, December 12. These events will take place from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on December 12. We invite  all members and friends to stop by each office to enjoy cake and punch with us during those times. We will also have some door prizes on hand for a few lucky guests. Don’t forget that if you are a WFEC member and turning 80 years old like us, then you are eligible to receive an anniversary tumbler and rain gauge. We hope to see you there!