In the early 1930s, fewer than one out of ten rural families in Wyoming had electric power. Electric service was widely available in town, but rural residents struggled, having to bring water to their homes in buckets and their children studying by the light of smoky kerosene lanterns.
In 1936, Gone with the Wind was published. Germany started building the Siegfried Line, "I'm an Old Cowhand (from the Rio Grande)" was a popular song, and Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Olympics in Berlin.
On May 6, 1936, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act. Cooperatives were formed by people who were determined to have electricity even though many thought it was not economically practical to build and maintain lines to isolated farms and ranches. By August 7th of that same year, the Wyrulec Company had filed for its Articles of Incorporation. On October 6, 1936, the bylaws of the company were signed and the first official meeting of the board of directors was held on October 9, 1936.
The first meeting of the members of the cooperative was held on December 22, 1936, with 31 members present. The purpose of the meeting was to request a loan in the amount of $29,000 to be used to build approximately 25 miles of line for serving 78 customers. That same amount today would build approximately 1.25 miles of single phase line. Lines and a 150 kVA substation began serving 101 members on December 5, 1937.
The first office was rented for $8 per month, and the first truck of the system cost $783. The first substation was installed near Lingle and had a capacity of 150 kVA.
Historically, rural areas were the last to get electricity service because they were going to be the most expensive to serve. Rural areas are still the most expensive areas to serve.
The cost of a mile of line in a town or city is offset by the income from an average of 35-46 meters. The cost of a mile of line in Wyrulec's service territory is offset by the income from an average of 2-3 meters.
Clearly, steady leadership has to play a strong role in such a business because cash can't. Wyrulec has always had such leadership.
L.R. Brewer, one of the incorporators, was named the first manager of the cooperative on July 1, 1937, at a salary of $100 per month. He served as both manager and director until being replaced as manager by Grover Hartman on September 29, 1937.
Since 1952, Wyrulec has only had three managers, Ivan Whipple, from 1952 to 1976, Jim Hudelson, 1976 to 2006, Rollie Miller, 2007 to today. Ferd Zimmerer sat on the Wyrulec board for 35 years, Oscar Yoder for 27. Two father/son pairs have served on Wyrulec's board, George and Howard Haas and Clyde and Bob Yeik.
Wyrulec Company currently has about 30 MW of annual load and 1,952 miles of line to serve the 4,704 accounts of its 2,200 members.
