Raleigh, N.C.—Darkness and dreariness are being removed from the rural homes of Cleveland County through the building of community light lines. Over 15 communities have already put in lines and four others are interested in the movement, reports County Agent R.E. Lawrence.
“This movement was begun early in 1924,” says Mr. Lawrence. “At that time, we decided at a meeting of our County Board of Agriculture that Cleveland County needed electric lights and power in the rural homes, and planned that we would encourage the movement if crops were good that year. Crops were good, and we went to work. A number of meetings were held to give encouragement to the movement and as a result of several months of work, there were 15 communities which put in the lines that fall and winter. We expect to add four more communities to this number this fall and winter and when three more communities are added, we will have a main light line going into each section of the county. Then all we will have to do to completely electrify the county is to build short branch lines from these man lines.”
Mr. Lawrence states that all of the leading citizens of the county are interested in the project and that the good farmers have found that it pays to use the surplus crop profits in building a better rural section. Ninety miles of lines were built during the campaign. There are 483 homes lighted by electricity and some of the liens are furnishing power to run machinery. The power if furnished by some of the manufacturing plants in the county and by the local service company.
The cost of establishing the lines, states Mr. Lawrence, was from $90 to $200 per home, according to the number of homes receiving the service. Each community formed a stock company with each man taking his pro rata share of the expenses. The community companies are operated on a nonprofit basis and farmers are using the power to light homes, pump water, churn, separate milk and do the ironing.
From the front page of The Franklin Press, Friday, Nov. 27, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92074069/1925-11-27/ed-1/seq-1/
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