Indian Electric Cooperative Inc

Indian Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a member-owned, non-profit distribution cooperative, that supplies electric service to its members in seven north-central and northeastern Oklahoma counties including Pawnee, Osage, Creek, Payne, Noble, Kay and Tulsa.Incorporated on August 1, 1939, IEC now provides almost 14,000 members with service to 18,245 homes and businesses through 3,516 miles of distribution line covering a service territory of 2,500 square miles. IEC employs 81 people and has headquarters in Cleveland and a district office in Fairfax. IEC is governed by a board of trustees from each of its seven districts. Each trustee serves a three-year term. All cooperative members have equal voting rights and have the opportunity to vote at IEC’s district and annual meetings.

The YouTube video The Electric Cooperative Story, features a fast-action hand-drawn guide to the history, structure, and purpose of rural electric cooperatives.

IEC continues to dedicate time, energy and resources to accomplishing its mission – to enhance the quality of life of member-owners by promoting a positive economic, political, social and regulatory environment.

IEC History

In the late 1930’s, rural residents of this area were like those in many other areas and unlike their cousins who lived in cities, towns and villages nearby. They had no electrical power to provide them with lights, heating and other advantages that their city cousins enjoyed.During the spring of 1939, a group of residents of the Sinclair-Prairie oilfield camp and farmers from the surrounding area met one night at the Scrapping’ Ridge schoolhouse five miles south of Cleveland to see what could be done about getting electricity to their area.

They attempted to solve the problem by turning to public utility firms but this did not provide the answer as they were told by the nearest privately-owned power company that they were too far out to be reached by the companies lines. The group was forced to look elsewhere.

An alert Cleveland Chamber of Commerce quickly saw the benefits that could be achieved by extending central station electric service in the rural areas. They offered their assistance and started the ball rolling at the Chamber of Commerce meeting on Monday evening, April 10, 1939.

Homer Richards, a resident of Cleveland who had worked on construction of lines for newly organized rural electric cooperatives in other parts of Oklahoma, was the speaker at the meeting and suggested the possibility of organizing such a cooperative in the area. The Chamber agreed to look into the matter and Bob Breeden, editor of the Cleveland American, was chosen to head a committee to determine the interest.

Four days after that Chamber of Commerce meeting, Oklahoma’s Seventeenth Legislature approved Senate Bill SB141 on April 14, 1939. The bill was known as the “Rural Electric Cooperative Act” and was an act providing for the organization of electric cooperative, non-profit, membership corporations to engage in rural electrification in the state of Oklahoma.

As a result of the Chamber of Commerce investigation, a meeting of interested farmers in the Cleveland area was held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, 1939 in the Arlington Hotel at Cleveland. Those in attendance were Lester Findley, W.J. Comer, J.O. Bunch, J.C. Byers, Neil Swan, Len Callison, W.N. Kenny, E.L. Kelso, M. L. Gibbons, B.O. Moore, N.V. Wilcoxson, Roy Brodell, J.M. Hamilton, A.G. Monforte, Frank Smith, E.G. Findley, D.A. Bunch, E.M. Findley and A.C. Gibbons.

Speaking at the meeting was F.E. Stanley of Tulsa who had assisted other cooperatives in getting started. The interest of those in attendance was such that second meeting was called June 3 in the old Arlington Hotel in Cleveland. The speaker at this meeting was C.C. Bledsoe of a Tulsa engineering firm who was in charge of several Oklahoma projects financed by the Rural Electrification Administration in Washington, D.C.

A special meeting was then scheduled for farmers and landowners in eastern Pawnee County. This meeting was held in the Cleveland High School auditorium on the night of Saturday, June 24 and was attended by about 50 people. Mrs. Roy Brodeu of Keystone and B.O. Moore of Southfield were instrumental in setting up this meeting. Speakers were Richards, Bledsoe, County Agent A.R.Garlington, and Wilbur L. Morse, a Vinita attorney who was assisting with the organization of cooperatives in Rogers and Craig counties.

Another meeting was held on July 2 for the purpose of making plans for formal incorporation of the cooperative and selection of nine incorporators who would have the responsibility of carrying the project through to its completion. About 30 people attended this meeting and the name Consumers Electric Cooperative was chosen. The incorporators were chosen and Morse was named as legal counsel to assist them in organizing the cooperative.

On July 7, a pre-allotment survey was approved by the R.E.A. (Rural Electrification Administration in Washington, D.C.) for a 60-day period to determine how many rural residents wanted electricity to their homes. The area assigned to the new cooperative was the unincorporated area lying between three other cooperatives located in Collinsville (Verdigris Valley Electric Cooperative), Stillwater (Central Rural Electric Cooperative), and Blackwell (Kay Electric Cooperative). This area included portions of Pawnee, Osage, Creek, Payne, Noble and Tulsa counties. Several years later, a small comer of Kay County would be added to the territory served.

On July 22, the persons selected as incorporators met to complete plans for the survey and incorporation By this time, it was discovered that there already was a cooperative with the name Consumers Electric Cooperative so the group had to select another name for the new cooperative. Mrs. Jack (Ida) McCollom suggested the name Indian Electric Cooperative, since the area to be covered was in the heart of what was once known as Indian Territory. The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce made arrangements to provide office space and Cleveland was designated as headquarters.

Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State at 4:00 p.m. on August 1, 1939. Charter members who read the Articles of Incorporation were Ben 0. Moore of Cleveland, Mrs. Roy (Marie) Brodell of Keystone, A.L. Bishop of Cleveland, Mrs. Jack (Ida) McCollom of Keystone; Mrs. Jake (Pauline) Smedley of Cleveland, J.0. Bunch of Cleveland, Charles Green of Mararmec and W.H. Rogers of Pawnee.

Formal and official organization was completed at a meeting held in the Arlington Hotel in Cleveland at 8:00 p.m, August 5, 1939. The first Board of Trustees consisted of the nine original incorporators. All of the trustees, with the exception of A.L. Bishop and Ida McCollom were present at this first meeting- Original officers elected at the first meeting were Charles Green, president; B.O. Moore, vice president; and Pauline Smedley, secretary-treasurer. Other business conducted at the organizational meeting included adoption of bylaws and a corporate seal in addition to other necessary business which included the selection of Midwestern Engineering and Construction Co. of Tulsa as the project engineering firm Wilbur L. Morse of Vinita was confirmed as project counsel.

At the end of that first board meeting, W.H. Rogers became the first member to resign. In submitting his resignation, he explained that his father had been critically injured in an automobile accident and that he would not be able to devote the time necessary to serving on the board. In a subsequent meeting on September 15, 1939, the board discussed the need for having representation on the board from other communities of the large area to be served in Indian Electric. As a result of the discussion, several trustees expressed their willingness to resign in order to make room for representation from outlying districts by persons selected by residents of the outlying communities. First board member to do so was Marie Brodell who resigned at the following meeting on September 23. At the same meeting, E.C. Bryson of Pawnee was named to replace W.H. Rogers and H.G. Matherly of Olive was chosen to fill the vacancy created when Mrs. Brodell resigned. The board also accepted the resignation of A.L. Bishop at the November 18 meeting and named H.P. Laird of Morrison to replace him.

For the past several months, an intensive effort had been made to obtain 600 signatures of persons who wanted electricity. The goal was to build 200 miles of line to serve at least three families per mile. To sign up, the farmers would agree to purchase power from the cooperative for a period of one year and pay a minimum charge of $3.25 per month once the lines were extended to their residence. It seemed like an almost impossible task and several methods were used in getting signers. Several persons were hired as coordinators and survey workers to reach people in the area to determine how many wanted electric service and to get them signed up. In addition, the board members and other interested persons would go from farm to farm signing up persons for membership. The fee for membership in Indian Electric was $5.00, which was hard to come by in those days.

In order to meet a deadline of the R.E.A., the board at their December 9 meeting instructed the project engineering to prepare maps and data necessary for a loan application to the R.E.A. for sufficient funds to construct whatever distribution system the engineers found to be feasible on the basis of applications completed in the consumer survey as of December 13, 1939.

At their following board meeting on January 20, 1940, the board was advised that the R.E.A. had received the application and approved of any effort on the part of Indian Electric to secure additional applicants who could be served by the proposed distribution system as presently designed, and that the cooperative could submit a supplement to its present application to cover any extension of the lines which might be worked out in the immediate future.

The resignation of E.C. Bryson from the board was also accepted at the January 20 meeting and Cleo Eaton of Marland was named as his replacement at a meeting held On February 10, 1940 after having been selected by applicants in Noble County to be their delegate.

On June 1, 1940, the board passed a resolution to update the loan application with the R.E.A. by the addition of several more miles of line to serve other families who were anxious to receive central station electric service. This addition to the loan application completed the Project “A” application and was for approximately 178 miles of line to serve 491 families. It consisted of line territory – the Morrison-Watchhorn-Lela area in Western Pawnee County, the Drumright-Olive area in Creek County, and the Cleveland- Keystone area in eastern Pawnee County. A number of scattered applications had been received but that much more work needed to be done in order to achieve the desired density of three residences per mile. As soon as possible, these areas would be worked in an attempt to submit an additional loan application for a Project “B” whenever it proved feasible.

When the loan application was being processed, workers turned their attention to obtaining right-of-way easements for the lines and other important matters. The project engineering firm, Midwestern Engineering and Construction Co. of Tulsa, assigned C.D. Drake as their resident engineer on the project to plan where the lines would go and in what order – Surveying and staking began near Morrison on August 5, 1940 and moved into the Cleveland areas on Monday, September 16.

The big news came in early August and President Green advised the board at their August 10, 1940 meeting that an allotment of $140,000 had been granted by the R.E.A. for a period of 25 years at 2.46 percent interest to be used in construction of power lines and related facilities on Project “A”. The dream, which began 18 months earlier, was nearing reality.

Things really began moving fast now as the board turned their attention to setting up an office and hiring personnel. Offices were set up in the Thorne Building at 117 North Broadway in Cleveland with rent for the first year being paid by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. The board employed Carl A. Zink of Barnsdall as the first project superintendent and he began his full-time duties on August 12, 1940, at a salary of $150.00 per month. Bert R. Ness of Cleveland was chosen as bookkeeper-stenographer and he also began working August 12.

Five contractors submitted bids for construction of the “X” section of the line with bids being opened in a meeting at the Arlington Hotel on August 20, 1940. The Reinhart and Donovan Company of Oklahoma City was awarded the contract on their bid of $95,307.31.

Loan papers on the $140,000 allotment were prepared by the R.E.A. on September 5 and forwarded to Indian Electric for signing. Officials of Indian Electric affixed their signatures on September 21, 1940. At this time, a debt ceiling of $150,000 was established.

Arrangements were made by the board on September 28 for obtaining a truck and purchasing hand tools for use by crews in connection with right-of-way clearing. The first truck was a second-hand 1930 Model “A” Ford 1/2 ton pick-up, Motor No. 906255, which was initially rented at the rate of .04 cents per mile and later purchased by the cooperative for use in right-of-way clearing. A few months after, a second vehicle was purchased for use as a maintenance truck. The new GMC 1/2 ton pickup and related equipment was purchased in 1940 from Alexander Motor Company of Cleveland at a cost of $585.65 and a custom-built body complete with extension ladder was added to properly equip it for its job.