JUM  RIVER

Providing electric service to the rural
areas in parts of Barron, Chippewa, Price,
Rusk, Sawyer, and     Taylor Counties,
Wisconsin.
BIRTH-NAME PLACE
It all started at an Annual Town Meeting
in Jump River, Wisconsin, in April, 1938,
when the Town Chairman, D.C. Boeckler,
appointed four local residents, Lucian Cur-
tis, Farmer; Norbert Scheuer, Merchant;
Ward Herrick, Mail Carrier; and Frank
Skabroud, Cheesemaker, to check and see
what could be done about providing electric
service to the Jump River area.
Through a series of meetings, they
discovered no utilities were interested in ex-
tending electric service to the area. They
then decided to form an electric cooperative
with financial assistance from the Rural
Electrification Administration, a Federal
Agency established by Presidential Ex-
ecutive Order, on May 11, 1935.
The first Articles of Incorporation were
subscribed on November 10, 1938, and
issued on November 23, 1938.
The first meeting of the Incorporators was
held on November 23, 1938, in Jump River,
Wisconsin, where the headquarters was
established. The original incorporators were
Ward Herrick, Norbert Scheuer, Bertha
Krueger, Albert Zastrow, Catherine Mar-
tin, Ernest Skistad, Eugene Lambert, Frank
Skabroud, Jr., and John L. Konsella.
COUNTRYSIDE LIGHTS UP
Through the disappointments, efforts, and
determination of the Incorporators and with
the help of other local people desirous of ob-
taining electric service, their dreams finally
paid off when on January 30, 1940, the
system was energized and provided electric
service to 179 members on 150 miles of line.
The first month of operation, these 179 con-
sumers averaged    29  kilowatt hours
(KWH's) of usage.
PRIVATE UTILITY

1102 W. 9th Street North  P.O. Box 99  Phone 715-532-5524
LADYSMITH, WISCONSIN - 54848

PURCHASED
By the spring of 1940, Cooperative con-
struction crews planned to build a "stub"
line through the village of Hannibal to reach
customers beyond; however, they ran into a
"private utility." Hannibal was being served
by H.N. Deuel, who operated a small diesel
unit. His "utility" served 17 customers.
Deuel's equipment was inadequate, and
the village residents and farmers beyond the
village preferred the Cooperative's services.
The Public Service Commission, which
has charge of private utilities in the State,
did not become aware of the electric service
in Hannibal until one of its field men
stumbled on the situation. At the Commis-
sion's request, Deuel filed rates and a formal
application to operate a private utility.
Deuel was willing to sell his utility to the
Cooperative; so, on June 5, 1940, the
Cooperative acquired the utility and 17 con-
sumers for $469 for meters and equipment
and $500 for GOOD WILL.
MOVE TO LADYSMITH
By 1942, the Cooperative was serving 600
consumers; however, the service area had ex-
panded in a lopsided manner to the west,
leaving the headquarters on the eastern
fringe. There was no regular mail or rail ser-
vice to Jump River, and the bookkeeper had
to send cash receipts to a bank in Chippewa
Falls. Line material, trucks, and other
equipment were scattered over two counties.
Office help either was not available or could
not be housed in the village.
On May 14, 1942, the Project Superinten-
dent first suggested to the Board that they
consider moving the headquarters to a more
centrally-located community.
The Directors were unanimously opposed;
however, the importance of a central head-
quarters location was becoming more promi-
nent, and the issue of relocation was the
main topic of discussion at Annual Meetings
in 1942 and 1943.
During  this period, several of the
surrounding communities were contacted
and surveyed as to office space. Businessmen
in Ladysmith wrote letters to the Board sug-
gesting that they drop in to discuss the
relocation problem. A few even offered of-
fice space and clerical help. For example,

the Ladysmith Agency, Inc., had "a very
good location available for $45 per month."
At the Annual Meeting held February 2,
1944, the Membership finally approved the
Board Resolution to move to Ladysmith;
but, disgruntled members from the Jump
River area threatened to obtain a court
order the next morning to halt the move.
At 3:00 a.m., however, the Manager and
several directors drove up to the back of the
Jump River Office, loaded the records and
office equipment into the truck and drove off
to the rental office in Ladysmith.
EXPANSION AND GROWTH
By 1946, the Cooperative was serving
around 1,200 members; and, about this
time, the Board was approached by people
living in the rural area of Sawyer County
about obtaining electric service in that area.
In 1947, through the combined efforts of
the Board, the Rural Electrification Ad-
ministration, and the people in Sawyer
County, the Cooperative began building
lines in that area. Today, the Cooperative
now provides electric service to over 2,400
members in Sawyer County on 420 miles of
line.
By the early 1950's, the Cooperative had
outgrown the rental property that had been
used  for the Headquarters Office in
downtown Ladysmith; and, with several
warehouse locations scattered throughout
the City, the Board of Directors decided it
would be economically advisable to locate
the Cooperative's general plant facilities at
one central location.
In March, 1953, the Cooperative opened
its new facilities in the Township of
Flambeau just north of the Ladysmith City
Limits on Highway 27 about one mile north
of the Junction of Highways 8 and 27, which
still serves today as the headquarters for the
Cooperative.
Today, the Cooperative, with its head-
quarters in Ladysmith, a Branch Office in
Hayward, and a warehouse at Hannibal
serves over 5,500 members on 1,162 miles of
overhead   lines and   191 miles of
underground  lines. There are   1,800
members in Rusk County on 570 miles of
line.
The average monthly consumption per
member has grown from 29 kilowatt hours
back in 1940 to 775 kilowatt hours per
month today.

LIGHTING THE COUNTRYSIDE TO 5500 RURAL MEMBERS