The History of OEC

With little more than a dream and a pioneer spirit to see the lights turned on, a group of farmers in Cleveland and McClain counties banded together to form an ad hoc committee to pursue the formation of an electric cooperative in central Oklahoma. They held meetings and went door-to-door seeking interest and commitments from their neighbors. Their courage, determination and hard work paid off: On Jan. 13, 1937, upon meeting the requirements to acquire a loan from the Rural Electrification Administration, Oklahoma Inter-County Electric Cooperative became recognized as a full-fledged rural electric cooperative.

During the first year and a half, the elected Board of Trustees dedicated their time to purchasing equipment, hiring employees and handling legal matters. The fruits of their labor was realized when line construction began in May 1938.

The co-op’s first linemen worked out of pick-up trucks and did everything by hand using a few crude tools. The men worked from dawn to dusk, six days a week, and spent many nights sleeping in pastures, but they believed the co-op was the finest thing that ever happened and they persevered. The first cooperative power line in the area stretched south of Noble—from Bailey’s Corner at Highway 77—to Slaughterville. By the end of 1938, over 260 miles of line was energized, bringing electricity to 428 members. The night the lights came on, OEC’s board president, E.E. “Doc” Hardin, hosted a “Turning On” party to mark the beginning of a new era for farming families. The crowd that gathered to watch Doc ceremoniously throw on the switch to a single electric light bulb probably did not foresee the tremendous impact the electric cooperative movement would have on rural America. Cooperatives brought an urban standard of living to those in the country and changed the face of the national economy by promoting progress in the rural sector.