Y-W ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
[Y-W News] IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE WE LIVE BY TERRY HALL || GENER AL MANAGER
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This time of year I can’t help but watch those classic holiday films like “Miracle on 34th Street,” “A Christmas Carol” and, yes, that hilarious 1940s tale about a boy named Ralphie who, despite the countless warnings about shooting his eye out, wants nothing more for Christmas than an “official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.” But the movie that always tugs at my heartstrings during the holidays has to be “It’s a Wonderful Life.” This tale about despairing businessman George Bailey from Bedford Falls and the guardian angel who shows him what life would be like if George had never been born imparts to me an immense feeling of gratitude. It’s a gratitude for family, friends, community and the forefathers whom I never met. I never had the privilege of shaking their hands to thank them for their part in helping to shape the powered-up world we all experience today, and oftentimes take for granted. Think about it: Prior to 1945, the good folks in Washington and Yuma counties used washboards and a bar of soap to clean laundry, a wood-burning cookstove
WRAPPED IN SAFETY After you pull out that electric blanket for its first use of the season, give it a good inspection. Be sure the wiring is snug and free of damage and discoloration. If you’re unsure of its safety, discard your electric blanket and snuggle up to a new, ULcertified one you’ll love for winters to come.
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to make their meals and candles and oil lamps to light their homes. And that whole time they knew that those in the nearby towns and cities were enjoying the luxuries of electricity. Our rural folks wanted the Terry Hall amenities electricity had to offer, but the bigwigs providing the electricity didn’t find it profitable to send their men to erect the poles and string the cable through the vast country where homes and businesses were spread far from each other. That’s when Y-W Electric Association, Inc. came to be. In 1945, the people of Washington and Yuma counties pulled together their resources and came up with a game plan to bring this valuable thing called electricity to our area. Through the power of community, they took on the difficult task of doing what no one else would. Fast-forward to 2018 and Y-W Electric’s linemen can erect poles and string power lines at rapid, yet ultrasafe, speed. When the power does go out, our community rarely experiences significant inconveniences. In the rare instances in which power does go out for
an extended period of time, those same linemen battle the same conditions in which the outage occurred to begin with: snow, ice, rain or fire. Today, it’s difficult to imagine what life would be like without this valuable resource — how many times today alone did you flip the lights on and off, surf the internet, cook something hot or watch your favorite holiday shows? And when it comes to your holiday shopping list, how many of those items need an electric outlet to be enjoyed? Had George Bailey never been born, his little brother Harry may have succumbed to a different fate. Had the people in our rural community not been around in 1945 with the same desire and willpower for an electrified life, would our community have had a different destiny? In the movie, Harry toasted his brother as “the richest man in town.” Knowing my family, friends and community will stay warm and enjoy all the gifts of electricity, I have to say I feel pretty fortunate, too. After all, it truly is a wonderful life full of light. Have a safe and happy holiday season. [Glen L. Trute, 740300400]
OFFICES CLOSED DECEMBER 24 AT NOON & ALL DAY DECEMBER 25 in observance of
Christmas
ALL DAY JANUARY 1, 2019, FOR
New Year’s Day
DECEMBER 2018
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