As part of the national effort to bring electric power to American rural communities during the Great Depression, the Glengarry Community in Fergus County approached Montana Extension Service Agent H. Ralph Stucky about federal support for rural electrification in 1936. By June 20, 1938 there was sufficient organization and interest for an application to Washington D.C. for approval of a rural electric association. The Fergus County Cooperative was formed by 1939, one of its founding members being T.C. Carter who served as a director. Work continued with the Extension Service to educate rural peoples on proper usage of electricity, including Home Demonstration Agent Marion Moline during the 1940s. An initial power line spanning eighty-eight miles in 1938 expanded to service 3,778 miles by 1986. A number of citizens served as directors and board members during the organization's development, including Paul D. Hodge who served from 1951 through 1981, and Richard Peck, the general manager of the cooperative from 1978 to 1986.
Original audiocassette recordings and typed transcriptions of these interviews were done at the request of the Fergus Electric Cooperative for the 50th year of their cooperative to be celebrated in 1988. The collection consists of five oral history interviews conducted by Anna Zellick or Richard Peck, Fergus Electric Cooperative general manager in 1985 and 1986. The first interview with H. Ralph Stucky was done on July 15, 1985 with Anna Zellick. Later that same day, Zellick interviewed both men. The third interview was conducted by Richard Peck with Paul D. Hodge at an undetermined date. Several different transcriptions have been included with this interview since it does not appear to have been finalized after proofing. The fourth interview was conducted by Anna Zellick with Clark Carter, a construction worker and son of the first director T. C. Carter, on November 18, 1985. Zellick also conducted the final interview in this collection with Marion Moline, former Home Demonstration Agent, on June 3, 1986. The interviewees described the development of the organization from the standpoint of public education, physical construction, and the political maneuvering necessary for success. In addition to the transcripts and audiocassettes, the collection includes correspondence documenting the interview process and general history of the Fergus Electric Cooperative. A web archive begins in 2020.
This collection is open for research.
Original oral history interviews commissioned by the Fergus Electric Cooperative of Lewistown, Montana were donated to Montana State University by Anna Zellick on December 12, 2000.
This collection was processed 2018 November 5
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT