LEFT: L. W. CHALCRAFT, "—THE FIRST POLE HERE— LINES WILL 



BRANCH NORTHWARD." 



Above: A brief itory of the Menard Electric Co-op. 





W. H. MARPLE AND W. McLAUSHLIN 

 "This is the beginning of a new era — " 



On ike tVc 



a 



J 



yi N HISTORIC Sangamon county 

 l/l recently 1 50 farm folks gathered 

 V^^ under a friendly sun on wind- 

 swept route 66 north of Springfield to 

 witness the setting of the first pole in 

 the 120 mile power line system of the 

 Menard Electric Co-operative. Most of 

 those who saw the pole lifted and set 

 into place have been looking forward 

 eagerly in the last few months to the 

 day when abundant power will flow 

 silently into their homes to make their 

 lives brighter and fuller. 



There was more to that event than 

 anyone present saw, except, perhaps, in 



his imagination. A few of the group 

 may have looked into the future as the 

 tall creosoted pole thudded into its hole. 

 Those whose thoughts wandered may 

 have seen other p>oles, miles of them, 

 supporting slender cables carrying elec- 

 tric energy into most of the rural homes 

 in the state. 



Until February 24th a cloud of doubt 

 hung heavily over lines built by co- 

 operative companies in Illinois. The 

 legality of putting mutually-owned lines 

 on state highways had been questioned. 

 In some cases there was talk of pulling 

 down all electric power poles not owned 



^peedt (2on5ttuctton Wotk in AienatJ and 



Sanqamon bounties on rit5t So-opQXativs 



X'ourat ^ine In StaiQ 



and maintained by public utilities. Quite 

 naturally co-operative groups interested 

 in getting power to their homes and 

 farms delayed their line building activ- 

 ities until they could be certain that the 

 lines would be legally authorized. 



Applications for permission to erect 

 lines along state highways had been 

 filed with the state by rural power co- 

 operative groups in several counties. The 

 state department was not certain that it 

 could legally grant permits which would 

 allow non-utility groups to build power 

 lines on either state or state-aid roads. 

 The Attorney-General was asked about it. 

 He pointed out in his opinion on the 

 question that when lines are erected on 

 public highways by mutual companies, 

 two interests are involved, that of the 

 public and that of the abutting property 

 owners. He explained that when lines 

 can be built and maintained which do 



I. A. A. RECORD 



