Work was started in the spring of 1936 to arouse interest in a Rural Electric power line in Texas County. This  was originally planned to cover the entire county, but because of lack of interest, it was cut down to include the following townships: Sherrill, Jackson, Piney, Ozark, Carroll, and parts of Cass, Date and Current.

Mass meetings were held in the parts of the county most interested to start the work. Local leaders then made a survey of the farmers and businessmen in Licking, Raymondville and Summersville. Interest in the possibility of electricity in the rural area grew and soon included the counties of Texas, Shannon, Phelps and Dent. When the total survey was completed, it showed approximately 585 families interested in buying electricity with 153 miles of line necessary to serve these potential members.

Following completion of the survey, the project was submitted to the Rural Electrification Administration in Washington, D.C. A contract was also made to buy electricity from the Salem Municipal Power Company at wholesale rates. The Missouri Utility Company had refused to furnish the wholesale power saying, "it can't be done."  Even so, the project was subsequently approved by the REA with a loan of $142,000 at an interest rate of 2.77 percent.

Success of the project thus far was due largely to the determination and cooperation of a committee composed of W.R. Fisher of Licking, Dr. Leslie Randall of Licking, R.W. Wall of Summersville, Frank Ryan of Raymondville and Luther Johnson of Houston. Others involved included Oscar Meier, J. Warner Pyles, Miss Oneta Liter of the REA, and Kenneth Huff — an Extension Engineer with the Missouri College of Agriculture.

Roy W. Wall once told a newspaper interviewer that when the Missouri Utility Company refused to contract the sale of power to the pioneer group, he admonished them by saying, "You help us, or in ten years, we'll own you." He told the interviewer that the realization of this statement in later years proved to be "one of life's sweetest events."

During the same interview, Mr. Wall shared about visiting West Virginia and how he witnessed poles being raised with oxen. He decided that no ox could outdo a Missouri mule! With renewed enthusiasm, he returned home and hired a staff (W.R. & Mrs. Fisher) without a dollar in the bank. He somehow convinced banker, Otto Johnson to loan money on personal signatures just to meet the meager expenses. 

Keeping the ball rolling in the early days wasn't always easy. Mr. Wall said, "I had to keep a good car to deliver the mail, so we drove it to meetings in Jeff City and Marshfield...Fisher's was too unreliable to travel far from home." The vision and drive of these early cooperative supporters truly set a foundation for the co-op's concern for community.

As they began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Mr. Wall once shared, "Washington sent out a lady auditor to assess the survey work before our first loan was approved. Board members who chauffeured her around 'took a few wrong turns' to create the best impression of the area that they could." They knew the goal of bringing electricity to this rural area was within reach.

And then, on December 12, 1936, fifteen men met, signed Articles of Incorporation, and each subscribed for a share of stock. It was on this day that the vision of Intercounty Electric became a reality.

Those visionary men included: W.R. Fisher, R.W. Day, K.M. Lenox, A.C. Donman, H.W. Lenox, F.W. Carney, Roy W. Wall, Luther Johnson, Frank J. Ryan, J.J. Bowles, D.T. Lenox, O.A. Johnson, Jack M. Reeds, G.C. Buhler, and Leslie Randall.  

The first Board of Directors of Intercounty Electric Cooperative included Roy W. Wall, F.W. Carney, Dr. Leslie Randall, H.W. Lenox, Rank Ryan, Luther Johnson, R.W. Day, O.A. Johnson, and J.J. Bowles.  

Just a few months later, on February 8, 1937, the first regular meeting of Intercounty's Board was held and W.R. Fisher was selected as the first General Manager.

While the first regular meeting of Intercounty’s newly formed Board was in February 1937, it wasn’t until a few months later, in June, that the Board decided to rent the old bank building on Main Street in Licking. This was a wise choice since the building already had a vault. 

At that time, the Board also decided to purchase one filing cabinet and one typewriter. A telephone, while needed, wasn’t high enough on the priority list. Accounting supplies, however, were a priority. The co-op didn’t have the money to pay for them up front though; however, with the directors’ word, they were allowed to be paid for later, once funds were available.

On August 21st, the start of work on the co-op’s first section was marked by the raising of an REA sign at the intersection of Highway 32 and 63 in Licking. 

The following Spring, Intercounty’s first truck was purchased from the low bidder at a cost of $854.50. Just a month later, on April 28, 1938, the first section of line was completed and energized. It was only two years prior that work started to arouse interest in the idea of bringing electricity to the area. Mr. Wall’s hard work and dedication had finally come to fruition when this first line was energized. Can you imagine the smile across his face that day?

Eager residents were awaiting connection, but inspections at each location were required before the co-op could energize it. If the member purchased all standard material from the co-op, the inspection was free. However, if the material was purchased elsewhere, an inspection charge of $1.50 was required. If a re-inspection was needed, the member was then charged $1.00.

Mr. J.J. Bowles was appointed as the cooperative's first delegate at the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) on January 20, 1939. Early records show that just like today, Intercounty Electric was always active in appealing to legislators and working to promote legislation pertinent to the operation of the member-owned cooperatives.

The REA was offering an 80 percent loan plan, so the co-op sent letters to unconnected members in the Spring of 1939, urging them to take advantage of the REA plan. The co-op actually took advantage of this opportunity and received a $5,000 “Wiring and Plumbing” Loan to help those who lacked funds to wire their locations. From the beginning, Intercounty has worked hard to look out for their members.

As far as working to get the power to the members, the co-op was using an inspection company out of Virgina and a construction company out of St. Louis, as they were the low bidders for the work. 

Local residents thought too many “outsiders” were being brought in to build the lines, and some problems like vandalism started to occur. The contractor, Stiers Bros. Construction Co., contended that some of their equipment could only be used by their employees who had been trained to use it. They did however agree to use local labor where they could, and the co-op offered a $25 reward for information leading to the arrest of persons damaging or destroying cooperative property. 

Besides vandalism, another problem that arose early on was the soft condition of roads in certain areas where farmers were impatiently waiting for lines to be built. Now that the earliest members were able to “flip the switch,” everyone seemed eager to have electricity at their homes and farms.

Early on, the co-op had to get permission from the REA to place circuit breakers in weatherproof construction on the outside of houses. Initially, the meters were to be installed on the inside of each house, but due to inconvenience, permission was received to place them outside. 

Secretary Virgina (Sharp) Bonitatibus was hired in the Fall of 1939. The co-op is fortunate to have many of Virgina's early records, in one of which she shared, "I was very happy to get the job at the salary of $50.00 per month." Virgina also talked about that first typewriter being her best friend. 

Many years later, once the co-op had telephone, Virgina was the one "on call" during nonoffice hours with a company phone and radio system in her home. During outages, she was the one up at night answering the calls and dispatching the information to the servicemen.

Records from 1940 show that the co-op was receiving applications for service from Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Laclede, Maries, Phelps, Shannon, Texas and Wright counties. Residents in Crawford County were requesting service from Intercounty, but in June of 1940, the co-op decided to turn those applications over to newly formed Crawford County Electric in Bourbon.

By the end of the year, Intercounty knew they would need additional power supply. The present source, City of Salem, would be unable to supply the needed power as the co-op took on new loads. Since Crawford County Electric also needed to find a power source, the two co-op’s worked together with the REA to investigate the matter of a joint power plant.  

The following Spring, a resolution was passed to formally request an allotment and authority to provide the beginning of a joint power plant of suitable capacity to serve both Intercounty and Crawford County Electric. Furthermore, the resolution asked for Intercounty to be authorized to own and operate the proposed power plant.

In 1941, the cooperative faced a major problem as aluminum conductors, which were so badly needed for line repair and completion of construction, were almost impossible to get. Progress was further complicated as there were delays in shipments of copperweld.

In December of 1941, Intercounty became a member of Sho-Me Cooperative, and therefore increased Sho-Me's need for power. By the end of 1942, the co-op had 755 miles of line and had joined the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn. (NRECA).  

If you’ll remember from last month, The Missouri Utility Company had initially refused to furnish the co-op’s wholesale power, saying “it couldn’t be done.” Well, in 1942, Sho-Me purchased Missouri Electric. Mr. Wall’s statement of “You help us, or in ten years, we’ll own you,” wasn’t exactly right…it only took six.

World War II brought complications to the co-op. Employees had been reading meters and it was necessary to take board action to determine if gas rationing and tire situations would cause this policy to cease. At the Annual Meeting in 1943, the co-op provided much requested information concerning “War Regulations.” Interest was building among the farmers to add milking machines, milk coolers, brooders, and incubators.   

The War Regulations specified limited line extensions and use of material for providing this much wanted additional electric service. However, the vast majority of line extensions ended up being made possible under the War Food Program. In late 1943, the co-op’s bookkeeper was even called to the Army, which meant there was some scrambling to make sure the work got done. 

During 1946, obtaining a sufficient supply of poles became such a problem that the records show contact was being made out-of-state with a party who had a good supply of timber to determine if a contract with them could be obtained. However, by Spring of that year, a contract was executed with an individual at Raymondville so that work could start on getting poles out of his timber. This pole program made good progress with the workers being able to get out as many as 75 to 82 poles a day!

Next came the skidding problem and the debatable decision of whether the co-op should purchase a jeep, hire one, or hire a man with a horse. The manager was given the authority to experiment for a week with a jeep compared with a horse. However, we’re unable to find any records of who won—the jeep or the horse!   

After the poles were out, it was then necessary to ship them by rail to Kansas City to be creosoted and then returned by rail. 

Maybe not as important as getting poles for constructing line extensions, the office experienced a big change in 1946 too…the first posting machine was purchased for the monthly billing.

The following year Intercounty sold the portion of the system serving the City of St. James to the city and they took over serving that area. 

In 1949, lots of exciting changes were happening at the cooperative. Two full-time meter readers were employed. The first two-way radio system, a Motorola with six mobile units and a fixed station, was purchased. The cooperative also started looking for a new headquarters site. There were offers of sites from the City of Houston and the City of Licking. The decision was to accept the free site consisting of just under four acres on Maple Avenue in Licking. Despite hiring the two new meter readers at the beginning of the year, the cooperative changed to a complete member-reported reading system by the end of 1949.

The birth of our rural electric mascot, Willie Wiredhand, was in October 1950. Willie was designed by a freelance-artist working for NRECA in Washington, D.C. during the days when other lovable characters such as Mr. Clean, the Jolly Green Giant and Elsie the Cow were popping up in advertising. Willie Wiredhand is still a common sight at cooperatives across the nation.

The following year, the co-op accepted architects’ plans for the headquarters building and Joseph T. Stryker was selected as the low bidder for construction. The co-op also purchased a substation site in the St. James area. The construction of a warehouse in Houston was approved in 1951.

It was also in 1951 that the first Annual Meeting was held under the “big tent” at the Licking City Park. Prior to this, the meetings were first held in the office, in the Licking High School Auditorium, and then in the Licking Grade School Gymnasium. 

In its heyday, the event spanned a two-day period and was truly a dress-up affair with women in their best dresses and hats and the men all cleaned up in their suits. 

There were many years when the co-op even shared their Annual Meeting space with the Licking Fair. It's been 75 years since that first meeting at the park, and we'll be there again this year! We hope you all join us at the park for our 90th birthday on Friday, June 26th.

In 1952, construction of the new headquarters building in Licking was completed—the same headquarters office that the cooperative operates out of today. The co-op sold lines in Laclede County to Laclede Electric that year too. It was also in 1952 that the cooperative started their first promotion of selling more electricity. Members purchasing an electric range or water heater could get free installation, including a multi-breaker inside the house.

In 1952, Mrs. W.R. Fisher published an article in the local newspaper titled “How We Got Our Electricity.” The purpose of this article was to inform the area’s younger residents of what it was like to have been without electricity, as they had no recollection of the challenges before Intercounty was formed. In it, she explained how the name Inter-County was adopted. The original project was named “Texas County—18” by the R.E.A. However, the original founders quickly learned it would include other counties outside of Texas. She said they learned there would be a line built from Salem to Summersville that would pick up members all along the way, and that some of the most persistent applicants were at Lake Springs and even in Phelps County. And so, they decided the co-op would be called “Inter-County.”

A few years later, the cooperative decided to build a warehouse in Salem as crews there were having to keep necessary materials at their own personal residences. The co-op also received approval in 1954 to build a warehouse near the office building in Licking, though official plans and construction didn’t start until four years later. Crews were excited about all the additional space.

As the co-op became more involved in the community, employees were being sent to electrical fairs, 4-H groups, and schools.

First Safety Program

It was in 1959 that Intercounty first instituted a safety program for the outside employees. Today’s safety program is held with the highest regards, and safety compliance has become a part of the cooperative culture.

First Rural Missouri

A big first came at the end of 1960, when the initial Rural Missouri from Intercounty Electric was published and sent to members. We’re lucky to still have a copy of that very first publication.

Interestingly, members were instructed to “Phone Collect Licking 32” if their power went out. They were informed via the magazine, “If we refuse your collect call, we have already been notified and have dispatched crews to the area.” We’re certainly grateful for the advancements in telephone service, outage tracking, and even the addition of our SmartHub app that have occurred since the days of collect calls to report outages.

1963 was a busy year for the co-op. Two new tracts of land were purchased—one in St. James for a warehouse and one in Licking to be used for a pole yard. A contract was awarded for construction of the addition to Licking’s headquarters, which consisted of the auditorium with kitchen facilities. The Ladies Auxiliary of Intercounty was also established in 1963, consisting of the wives of the board directors, the manager's wife and his secretary.

First Computer System

A really exciting year for Intercounty was 1964. It was this year that the co-op had their first IBM computer equipment installed. There were seven machines installed which was necessitated because more information was having to be filed and the number of members was increasing every month. The computer equipment allowed the co-op to revise the format of member bills. Instead of just returning a meter reading card, members would get a bill with a stub they could separate and return with their reading and payment.

First Youth Tour Essay Contest

This was also the first year the cooperative participated in the Youth Tour program. In 1964, Intercounty held its first essay contest and sent Elaine Grogan and Dennis Jennings (Houston High School) to Washington, D.C. During these early years of Youth Tour, the students were able to visit with President Lyndon B. Johnson, right on the Capitol lawn!

In the February edition, we shared how the co-op decided to rent the "old bank building" on Main Street in Licking because it already had a vault. Thanks to former employee and local historian, Sharon Kay Stephens, that common misconception has been cleared up. The building never was a bank, but it was a jewelry store!

E.H. Smith built the cobblestone building in 1931. He opened a jewelry and shoe store there, with the vault being installed as a place to safely store the jewelry. Mr. Smith was from Edgar Springs, and moved here after his original jewelry store had burned.

Interestingly, some of you may remember the old, two story house that used to be behind the cobblestone building. That house originally sat where Woody's is today. Mr. Smith hired Bill Clouse and Ray Boren and their team of mules to "wrench" it back. Mr. Smith and his family lived in the two story house and built the cobblestone building in front of it for his jewelry/shoe store.

Between 1965 and 1972, approval was granted for construction of metal warehouses in Houston, Summersville, Salem and Roby. Land was purchased in Summersville, Roby and Salem during this time as well.

The 1970s presented several challenges in the co-op’s efforts to keep rates as low as possible. The oil embargo in 1973-74 and the coal strike in 1978 are two such examples of when Intercounty saw increased wholesale power costs.

Co-op records note that during this time there was also a nation-wide energy conservation move which lessened kWh sales. Unfortunately during those economically difficult times, the co-op reported an increase in meter tampering issues.

The co-op struggled with several severe weather events in the late 70s and early 80s. Records state the system was hit by severe weather such as crippling ice storms, snow storms, wind storms, and tornadoes.

One such spring tornado devastated a portion of the co-op’s area between Cabool and Licking. The EF3 tornado traveled a total of 35.4 miles. It wasn’t just Intercounty’s system that suffered damages though. NOAA records show nine individuals were injured during the tornado and a total of $2.5 million in property damages occurred due to the tornado.

One of the most severe snow and wind winter storms during this time struck the northern part of Intercounty’s system in 1983. For the first time in the co-op’s history, a helicopter provided by the National Guard was used to transport our employees to find damage and repair lines they could not travel to by any other means because of the snow drifts. Farm tractors, log skidders, dozers, and snowmobiles were also used in efforts to restore power during this winter storm.

It was also during this time that administration in Washington, D.C. felt the rural areas no longer needed the REA or access to their loan programs. Grassroots efforts from the cooperative were very important during this time, as leaders continued the “fight” to keep the program going by getting pertinent and correct information to Senators and Representatives in Congress. Intercounty was represented at each annual Legislative Rally in Washington, D.C. and kept in close contact with legislators to further this effort.

Intercounty still works on the behalf of rural electric members to ensure elected officials understand the needs and challenges of this area. Grassroots efforts do make a difference, and we're just as proud today as we were back then of our efforts to ensure Senators and Representatives have accurate and relevant information.

In the early 1980’s the co-op installed a comprehensive Digital computer system which replaced the previous IBM equipment. This new computer system allowed the cooperative to store records and generate back-up disks that could be stored off site. The co-op also started using microfilm equipment during this time. This computerized equipment replaced early posting machines which were preceded by hand-written bills. By this time, manual typewriters and hand-cranked adding machines were no longer in use by co-op employees.

Carbon paper was no longer necessary since the copy machine had been invented and implemented at the cooperative. Co-op records from 1985 state, “A bottle of ink cannot even be found in the office since ballpoint pens, flair pens, felt-tip pens, etc. have replaced the old ink pens.”

Another advance in technology that was in place by the mid-1980s at the co-op was the telephone. How could those early co-op pioneers, who first debated whether a telephone was important enough to spend the money on, ever dream that 50 years later the co-op would have their own central terminal for dispatching calls, two toll-free lines in operation for members to use, and telephone equipment that enabled the co-op to control peak loads at each substation.

In 1984 the headquarters building was remodeled. Records state “togetherness” was truly exemplified during this long remodel as all offices were moved to the auditorium during the project. It wasn’t until spring 1985 that the employees got to move back in and the newly remodeled front portion of the headquarters building was opened back up.

During the early part of 1985, the cooperative began negotiations with Sho-Me Power for the purchase of the Mountain Grove electrical facility.

By that summer, the change of ownership of the facilities was finalized. With the purchase, Intercounty gained approximately 2,000 new members.

By 1985, Intercounty had eight digger trucks and four bucket trucks in their fleet. Quite the improvement for outside crews, who didn’t see their first digger truck until 1963 and first bucket truck until 1970. Holes for poles in those early years were placed after being manually dug, then came the use of dynamite, and then finally augers on trucks with trailers and winch trucks to move and hoist the poles. Prior to having the bucket trucks in the 70’s, linemen could only work with energized lines by using hot sticks.

Adding the bucket trucks to the fleet provided the linemen with a more efficient option to work on energized lines and keep outages to a minimum.