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Your cooperative
was formed in 1937 to bring central station
electricity to the rural homes of the Pennyrile
area. The first organizational meeting was held
in Elkton, Kentucky on March 18, 1937 under the
leadership of Mr. Stewart Brabant, who was the
County Agent for Todd County. The Cooperative
came officially into being on September 23,
1937, when a Board of Directors was elected.
This original Board consisted of: John L.
Thurmond, Gracey, KY; W. E. Lacy of
Hopkinsville, KY; G. W. Latham of Trenton, KY;
Thomas J. Lyne of Olmstead, KY; and John Stovall
of Adairville, KY. Mr. W. E. Lacy was elected
to be President, a post that he held until
January of 1972.
On December 20,
1937 the infant cooperative was granted a loan
in the amount of $197,785, by the Rural
Electrification Administration (REA), to
construct approximately 285 miles of line to
serve approximately 600 members. The
Cooperative was dedicated on the night of
September 2, 1938. More than 600 members
gathered at the Andy Haile farm near Herndon,
KY, to witness the dedication ceremony and the
throwing of a switch that would energize 93
miles of line to 175 homes in the southern part
of Christian County. The speaking program
started just at dusk and the group listened in
darkness to speeches by James E. Broaddus, a
consulting engineer; J. E. VanHoose, engineer of
the REA in Washington; J. T. Warren, project
supervisor; J. L. Thurmond, and Judge Oglesby
Soyars. A cheer went up as the switch brought
on the lights while Ben Kilgore, executive
secretary of the Kentucky Farm Bureau, was
speaking. By the end of that year the
cooperative was serving 600 members, on 285
miles of lines and during the month of December
purchased 19,713 kilowatt hours, for an average
of 32.9 kWh per member.
In 1940 the office
was moved from Elkton to the Elks Building, on
the corner of 9th and Bethel Street, in
Hopkinsville, to provide a more central
location. It was later moved to the Bostick
Building on West 9th Street, where it remained
until 1957, when the office facilities were
built at the Cooperative's present location on
Harrison Street.
The bringing of
central station electricity to the rural
sections of the Pennyrile improved the quality
of life on the farm more than any other event in
history. Over the years the Cooperative has
grown until it now serves over 43 thousand
members in 9 counties. It has branch offices in
Cadiz, Elkton, and Russellville, and is staffed
by 123 employees.
From 1937 to 1942,
electric power was purchased from the Kentucky
Tennessee Light and Power Company and was
generated at the Bowling Green steam plant. The
Cooperative has purchased its electrical power
from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) since
1942.
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