In the 1880s, electricity commenced its ingress into Texan urban centers such as San Antonio, ushering in illumination, refrigeration, and other modern amenities. Conversely, rural Texas remained devoid of such advancements for an additional half-century.
Holley, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, serves as the "Indigenous Texan" columnist at the Houston Chronicle since 2013. Among his literary works are various volumes, including Hometown Texas—a compilation of his weekly "Indigenous Texan" columns—Hurricane Season: The Memorable Chronicle of the Houston Astros and the Fortitude of a Metropolis, and Sutherland Springs: Divinity, Firearms, and Optimism in a Modest Texan Township, which clinched the Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Institute of Letters for the finest nonfiction opus of the year.
During his appearance on the bigcitysmalltown podcast, Holley shared with host Robert Rivard an anecdote about his mother's graduation from high school in Bigfoot, Texas in 1933. Situated approximately 40 miles to the south of San Antonio, Bigfoot was an unincorporated locality where Holley's grandmother operated a general store and butcher shop. Despite the passage of time, Bigfoot still lacked electricity, lagging behind San Antonio by half a century in terms of connectivity.
The installation of poles and wiring across vast distances to serve solitary customers wasn't financially viable for electric utility companies, hence it remained an unfulfilled prospect.
It required an act of Congress to ultimately illuminate rural communities throughout the nation, materializing in the form of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. This legislation, part of the New Deal agenda, allocated federal loans for the installation of electrical infrastructure in rural regions. Cooperative electric power companies emerged as the conduits for these funds.
Communities swiftly mobilized to establish these nonprofit cooperatives, and presently, 76 such entities cater to over 3 million "member-consumers" across Texas.
Holley, who previously held the position of editor at Texas Co-op Power magazine, played a significant role in shaping its content. Originating in 1944 as a means for co-ops to engage with their members, the magazine, bolstered in part by Holley's influence, now features vibrant and acclaimed narratives covering Texan individuals, cuisine, excursions, history, and heritage.
Tune in to episode 52 of bigcitysmalltown to listen to Holley recount tales of the rural Texans who, aided by initiatives from Washington, D.C., seized the opportunity to electrify their existence.
