Here is a feature article from the Spring/Summer, 2006 Issue

UGA exhibit spotlights electrification of Georgia

By Jennifer Whittaker

Its hard to imagine life without electricity

For most Georgians, the only experience we have had living without electricity is storm-caused power outages. But many Georgians who lived in rural Georgia before 1950 have distinctive memories of life without running water, refrigerators, or electric lights.

An exhibit currently on display at the University of Georgia Richard B. Russell Library in Athens chronicles the installation of electricity in rural Georgia during the 1930s and 40s, revealing the grassroots determination of citizens who worked together to electrify their homes and farms. Georgia’s electric co-ops formed from January 1936, starting with Rayle EMC in Washington, to
Troup County EMC members vote at the 1955 annual meeting. Photos and memorabilia documenting the history of the electrification of rural Georgia are on display in the exhibit “Power to the People” until Sept. 30 at the UGA Richard B. Rusell Library. Photo courtesy of Diverse Power.
October 1948 when Tri-State EMC formed in McCaysville.

“The notion that one or two people can achieve change in a community is often lost today,” said UGA Access and Outreach Archivist Jill Severn. “It’s reaffirming to know how farmers and community folks achieved what seemed like insurmountable odds. They really had to believe in their ability to affect change, to be patient and persevere, and to reach out and work together in a cooperative spirit.”

Even though private electric companies provided power to towns and cities around the state starting in the late 1800s, these companies found providing electricity to rural areas too expensive an undertaking because there were too few customers per mile of line. Most people in rural Georgia did not get electricity until President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to bring electricity to rural communities.

Leaders in rural communities convinced neighbors to sign up for electricity and to become members of electric cooperatives. These electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) worked diligently to obtain loans from Washington and to build their network of electric lines. In just over 10 years, 42 cooperatives were operating in Georgia.

Artifacts from EMCs and other contributors include part of a utility pole from one of the first lines strung by Jackson EMC in Jefferson, a “beehive” refrigerator and other early electric appliances. Documents include photos, letters, film footage and Senator Richard Russell’s speech notes from the 1938 dedication of Lamar EMC, now Southern Rivers Energy, in Barnesville, where President Roosevelt spoke before an audience of 40,000 guests.

“We feel Georgia is the birthplace of rural electrification with Warm Springs, the Little White House and FDR,” said Georgia EMC President/CEO Paul Wood. “Our state is a great example of what rural electrification has done in this country.”

Today, Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association that represents the state’s 42 EMCs, Oglethorpe Power Corporation and Georgia Transmission Corporation. Collectively, Georgia’s 42 customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to four million people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area. Georgia’s EMCs serve more customers than any other network of EMCs in the nation.

Staff members of the Russell Library are conducting oral history interviews geared toward capturing the experiences of rural Georgians with the coming of electricity. If you have photographs or memorabilia pertaining to the installation of electricity in rural Georgia or a story you would like to share, contact Severn at (706) 542-5766.

The free exhibit, “Power to the People,” runs through Sept. 30, at Russell Library. The library is located on the west side of the UGA Main Library on North Campus. The exhibit is open Monday-Friday 9a.m.-4 p.m. and the first Saturday of each month from 1 p.m.-4:45 p.m. or by appointment. Individuals or groups interested in arranging a Saturday tour of the exhibit can contact Severn. Parking is available in the North Campus Parking Deck on South Jackson Street. For directions and maps visit www.libs.usga.edu/special_collections/locations or call (706) 542-5766.

Georgia EMC Public Relations Coordinator Gale Cutler contributed some of the material contained in this article.