The history of Wharton County Electric Cooperative is rich with examples of the cooperative spirit at work. Each rural electric system has its own story of the first lines extended, the first poles set in place, the first electric power surging into the homes of its rural consumers. Many still recall with sentiment, “the day the lights came on” . . . the awe that they felt, the absolute amazement of this new force that would revolutionize their world!
Rural electrification has indeed changed the face of rural America. Prior to 1935, only three percent (3%) of the farms in Texas had electric service and these were in most cases in suburban areas on the edge of cities and towns.
The movement to secure rural electric service in Wharton County and adjacent areas began in the latter part of 1937 at a farm meeting in the Danevang Community Hall. At this meeting, the first Rural Electric Administration (REA) bulletin explaining the method of organizing a rural electric cooperative and how to construct a rural electric system was read. J. B. Putman, who lived northwest of El Campo had secured this bulletin.
As a result of this meeting, a committee was appointed consisting of leaders in different areas of the county to consider further steps toward the organization of a cooperative in this area. This committee consisting of the following gentlemen, R. E. Meek, H. D. Madsen, A. E. Schoeneberg, J. B. Putman, A. E. Berndt, Alfred N. Nilson, and Victor T. Jurasek met in the law office of Edwin Hawes, Jr., in Wharton and adopted the Articles of Incorporation. An application was made to the State of Texas for a charter. This was granted in February 1938.
On March 18, 1938, the first official meeting of the incorporators of Wharton County Electric Cooperative was held in El Campo at the office of E.G. Petersen. Meek reported that the articles of incorporation had been filed and approved, and the incorporators proceeded to establish the board of directors, followed by the election of the officers.
Elected that evening were: Meek, president; A.E. Berndt, vice president; and Madsen, secretary/treasurer. Commercial State Bank of El Campo was established as the cooperative’s financial institution.
The cooperative contracted the services of Petersen for $5 per day to solicit and receive signed membership applications. The membership fee remains the same in 2018 as it was in 1938—only $5!
Petersen’s office in El Campo was established as the branch office of the cooperative, with the principal office located at the cooperative store in Danevang. The next meeting was then set for March 31, and the first meeting of the board of directors was adjourned.
At the next meeting, the bylaws of the corporation were adopted and signed by the president and secretary. Petersen reported that 147 members had been signed up and their memberships paid. A goal of 300 members was set for April 15, 1938, so that the project could be approved and the engineer could begin staking the line.
Late in 1938, after a year of hard work, a loan of $162,000 was made by REA for the construction of the “A” section. The lines were first energized on July 24, 1939.
First headquartered on East Jackson Street in a small white frame structure next to the present Lively Associates Building, WCEC personnel made two moves before settling in its present site on Highway 59 East. WCEC celebrated with an Open House in 1971 when it moved into its new headquarters.
During the 40s and 50s, WCEC continued to grow and was almost constantly in conflict with the independent utility companies (IOUs) for serving customers. This placed them in a position of having to buy wholesale power from their competitor. It became obvious in the early 1960s that this was not a good arrangement. The South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) was formed to provide generating and transmission services to six south Texas cooperatives. Service began in 1962.
At the end of 1963, WCEC had 2,623 members that were using 400 kWh per month and the wholesale power cost from STEC was .8 cents per kWh.
In 1977, twenty-six electric cooperatives extending through the center of Texas from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico had the foresight to form the San Miguel Electric Cooperative (SMEC) for the purpose of building a 400-megawatt generating plant south of San Antonio to burn low-grade lignite. This project was completed in 1982 and has been a tremendous success.
The board began strategic planning in 1989 and following several detailed sessions by employees, management and the board of directors, the Cooperative’s philosophy was stated in the following mission statement:
“The Mission of Wharton County Electric Cooperative, Inc. is to provide economical and reliable electric energy service to our members and to provide products, services, and leadership that will have a positive influence on the economy of the area that we serve.”
From the original incorporators to the current board of directors, the loyalty and dedication of such men and women have contributed to the successful operation of WCEC.
Leadership has changed hands during the years. Emil Petersen served as the first superintendent until 1941 when L. B. Walker took over as manager. In 1944, Jehu Murrah became manager. From 1946 until his death in 1967, K.A. Crawford was manager. Frank Stubbs took over the management of the cooperative in 1967 and retired twenty years later in 1987. Donald D. Naiser, P.E. served as General Manager/CEO from 1987 through October 31, 2010. Upon Naiser’s retirement, Gary L. Raybon was selected as the current General Manager/CEO.
On the board, W.M. Wilbeck replaced R.E. Meek as president in 1948. Meek was one of the original founders of WCEC and had served as president until that time. Verner Petersen became board president in 1949 and continued to serve in this position until 1963 when Kenneth Meek replaced him.
Other presidents have included Jerry Bilicek, Wilfred Kainer, Arvid Schoeneberg, Harlan Nelson, Edward Wendel, Leon H. Cranek, Joe A. Zalman, Jr., Kenneth Christensen, Carl A. Schoeneberg, Victor Wiesner, Herman Mauch, Jr., Joe E. Strack III, Dwight Holub, Daniel Hrncir, Leroy Kaspar, Kathy Meek Smith, followed by Edward Korenek, Gerry Graham, Robert B. Little, and Keith A. Bram.
Leroy Kaspar is the current president.
Many events of significance may not have been included in this article due to limited space. Many individuals who contributed unselfishly of their time and talents toward the success of WCEC also may not be included in this history because they are too numerous to mention. These people who were the pioneers of rural electrification in our community took on a job that many people said could not be done.
Well . . . they did it! And, the legacy which they created and the sound foundation on which Wharton County Electric Cooperative is built will continue into the future.
This brief history of WCEC was written primarily by Carolyn Woodyard who worked for WCEC from 1975 to 2003.