Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative was incorporated in 1940 by a small but dedicated group of people committed to bringing power to our rural area and improving the lives of their friends and neighbors.
Where It All Started
President Roosevelt declared, “The farmer above all should have that power, on reasonable terms, for cheap transportation, for lighting their homes and for innumerable uses in the daily tasks on the farm.” In May of 1935, the Rural Electrification Act (REA) was ordered under Roosevelt authorizing federal assistance to rural America for the purpose of electrification.
During the drought of the late 1930’s the task of soliciting memberships in the Todd-Wadena area began. Membership fees were $5—a sizable investment at a time of such uncertainty. The cost to wire a house or barn was simply out of reach for many. While some farmers viewed the coming of electric power as a saving grace, others considered it just a “pipe dream.” Former Wadena County Extension Agent Miles Rowe said he often wished he had a tape recorder along to preserve some of the conversations in those days. “I recall one meeting held at a farmhouse where the discussion centered on the dangerous aspects of electricity,” Miles shares, “yet I remember how the heat from the kerosene lamp was so intense it was blistering the varnish on the woodwork.”
No one really knew what was in store for us when that first bulb glowed in the home. No one really knew it was to be the beginning of a new way of life. Electricity has gone from being a pipe dream to a status symbol to a necessity of life. Todd-Wadena employees and directors are proud of the cooperative’s rich, 75+ year history and continue to be inspired by a legacy of service that our forefathers founded. Endless possibilities exist where there is cooperation among people.
