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According to the article published in The Pontotoc Progress newspaper on January 19, 1950, “The remodeling job includes a year-round heating and air conditioning system, partitioning of office space, engineering and drafting room, meter laboratory, vault for storage of records, auditorium for seating about 45 people, appliance demonstration room, completely changing the west and south sides into glass exteriors with canopy all around, new flooring, walls, etc. to make the building one of the most modern in the state.” [13]. A photograph of the Pontotoc Electric Power Association building after remodeling is shown in Figure 4.
 Figure 4: Photograph of the Pontotoc Electric Power Association building
at 12 South Main Street in Pontotoc as it appeared in 1950
(Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archives)
The building maintained this outside appearance until it was remodeled again in 1988. The architect for the 1988 remodeling was Bowman and Bowman Architects of Greenwood, Mississippi and the general contractor was Hooker Construction Company of Thaxton, Mississippi. A present-day photograph of the building which reflects the 1988 remodeling is shown in Figure 5.
 Figure 5: Present-day photograph of the Pontotoc Electric Power Association building
at 12 South Main Street in Pontotoc which reflects the remodeling of 1988
On Monday night, January 29, 1951, a devastating ice storm hit Pontotoc Electric’s power system and caused the power to be off and lines down everywhere. Superintendent J. C. Sneed, Jr. announced in the local newspaper that he needed 150 workmen with saws and axes to clear the lines, and that considerable damage was caused at the TVA substation in Pontotoc. Restoring power to some customers took fifteen days [14]. This ice storm was referred to as The Great Ice Storm of 1951. It affected all of north Mississippi, the upper corner of northwest Alabama, most all of west and middle Tennessee, nearly all of Kentucky, and part of southern Ohio. Following the storm the area was covered by several inches of snow. To make matters worse, record cold temperatures came in the days that followed, and travel was very difficult. One difference in the 1951 Ice Storm to ice storms of later years was that most people affected by the 1951 Ice Storm remembered a time before they had electricity, so they were more accustomed to living without the conveniences that electricity provides.
In 1953, a branch office was built in Bruce, Mississippi on South Newberger Street. The contract for the 2400-square-foot brick building was awarded to Luckett Lumber Company of Grenada, Mississippi [15]. A photograph of how the original branch office in Bruce looked is shown in Figure 6.
 Figure 6: Photograph of Pontotoc Electric Power Association’s branch office
building in Bruce, Mississippi, built in 1954
(Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archives)
In 1956, under the leadership of General Manager J. C. Sneed, Jr., Pontotoc Electric Power Association bought the first bucket truck in the state, known by the trade name “Sky Worker.” This bucket truck had a working height of 40 feet [16]. The Association paid $10,000 for it, and a fellow manager of another electric system said, “Sneed has lost his mind spending that kind of money for a bucket truck.” Sneed later said, “We used that first bucket for 14 years and sold it for $9,000. I think it was a pretty good investment.” [17]. A photograph of the bucket truck which appeared in the December 6, 1956 edition of The Pontotoc Progress newspaper is shown in Figure 7.
 Figure 7: Photograph of first bucket truck, known as the “Sky Worker,” purchased by
Pontotoc Electric in December 1956.
(Courtesy of The Pontotoc Progress newspaper)
In 1962, in order to meet growing power demands in northern Calhoun County, TVA increased the capacity of the Bruce Substation from 3,000 kVA to 7,500 kVA at a cost of nearly $100,000 [18]. Another significant improvement was made in 1963 when TVA rebuilt the Pontotoc substation, which included increasing the capacity of the transformers from 10,000 to 60,000 kVA and adding more distribution feeder circuit breakers [19]. In 1968, a 10,000 kVA substation was built at Ecru, Mississippi to provide more reliable service to the communities of Ecru and Ingomar, and also the southern part of Union County and the northern part of Pontotoc County [20]. Also in 1968, Pontotoc Electric paid off its loan to the Rural Electrification Administration and became one of the few rural electric cooperatives in America to become debt free [21].
Shortly after noon on Sunday, January 7, 1973, an ice storm hit Pontotoc Electric’s service territory and by mid-afternoon practically a complete total power outage had occurred. Electric service was restored to approximately 75 percent of all customers by late Monday afternoon and to 90 percent by Tuesday afternoon [22].
In 1974, the Bruce, Mississippi substation was rebuilt with two new 16,700 kVA transformers and more distribution feeder circuit breakers to accommodate the increased electrical growth in Bruce and northern Calhoun County [23]. In October 1975, a new 15,000 square foot warehouse and operations center was completed on Highway 41, southeast of Pontotoc. An additional 5,000 square foot truck parking bay was also part of the facility [24].
 Figure 8: Photograph of the Pontotoc Electric Power Association Construction and
Operations Warehouse (front view) on Highway 41, southwest of Pontotoc
in 1975. (Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archives)
 Figure 9: Photograph of the Pontotoc Electric Power Association Construction and
Operations Warehouse (truck bay) on Highway 41, southwest of Pontotoc
in 1975. (Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archives)
In September 1982, a new substation was placed into operation with two 25,000 kVA transformers in the Bankhead community along State Highway 6. The Bankhead Substation serves the eastern part of Pontotoc County, including the communities of Bankhead, Chesterville, Endville, Furrs, Locust Hill, Longview, Valley Grove, and Zion.
On Wednesday night, February 9, 1994, a devastating ice storm swept across North Mississippi and knocked out electrical service to over 15,000 of Pontotoc Electric’s customers, and to every circuit except one on the entire power system. The following Monday, an estimated 3,000 customers were still without power, although power had been restored to most all critical loads, which included hospitals, nursing homes, schools and factories. Getting power restored to some customers took up to eleven days. An article in the local newspaper described the storm to be the worst winter storm to hit North Mississippi in 43 years [25]. A photograph taken during the 1994 Ice Storm showing damage to a transformer bank pole is shown in Figure 10.
 Figure 10: Photograph of broken pole with a three-phase transformer bank
attached during the 1994 Ice Storm.
(Courtesy of The Pontotoc Progress newspaper)
In the spring of 1998, a new substation was built west of Pontotoc in the McGregor’s Chapel area along what was then State Highway 6, now Veterans Highway West. This 161,000-volt substation would serve the communities of Buchanan, Buckhorn, Judah, Lone Star, Macedonia, South Pontotoc, Springville, Randolph, Robbs, Shady Grove, Toccopola, West Pontotoc, the Pontotoc County Industrial Park, other rural areas on the western side of Pontotoc County, and the Spring Hill Community in southeastern Lafayette County. A dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the 1.8 million dollar substation was held on Tuesday, November 17, 1998 with directors and employees of Pontotoc Electric, public officials, TVA officials, Mississippi National Guard Color Guard, Mississippi Highway Patrolmen, Pontotoc High School Band members, area power distributors, economic development officials, engineers, contractors, and the general public attending the event [26]. Although the new substation had previously been tested, the substation transformers were ceremonially energized during this event, followed by lunch served to all those attending. A photograph taken during the dedication and ribbon cutting event is shown in Figure 11.
 Figure 11: Photograph of the McGregor’s Chapel Substation dedication and ribbon
cutting ceremony held on Tuesday, November 17, 1998
(Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archives)
On December 23, 1998, an ice storm struck much of north Mississippi, but due to increased efforts in trimming trees along the power line rights-of ways, only 5,500 of Pontotoc Electric’s 15,500 customers had their power interrupted. All but approximately 35 customers had their power restored within two days, and these remaining customers had their power restored on the third day.
A special honor bestowed on Pontotoc Electric Power Association occurred on Wednesday, April 19, 2000 when the Tennessee Valley Authority chose to have their monthly Board of Directors meeting in Pontotoc, Mississippi at the Conference Room of Pontotoc Electric Power Association. The event began at 9:00 a.m. that morning. This was one of the first times that the TVA Board of Directors chose to hold their Board meeting outside of their corporate headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. A reception was held the evening before at the Pontotoc Community House with several high level TVA officials, power distributor officials, community and economic leaders from all over Northeast Mississippi, and public officials including United States Congressman Roger Wicker. The TVA Board was composed at that time of Glenn L. McCullough, Jr., Chairman, Director Skila Harris and Director Craven Crowell. A large crowd attended both the reception and the Board Meeting. The TVA Directors were extremely complimentary of how they were welcomed by the community. At the reception, each of the three TVA Board Members were presented a framed copy of the “First TVA Pole” set on January 22, 1934 at the location southwest of Pontotoc, compliments of Pontotoc Electric. A photograph of the Board Meeting is shown in Figure 12.
 Figure 12: Photograph of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors Meeting
On Saturday night, February 24, 2001, at approximately 10:00 p.m., an F4 tornado did major damage over a path twenty-three miles long in Pontotoc County, causing considerable damage to Pontotoc Electric’s power system. With the help of several neighboring cooperative and municipal power system crews, and having tie lines in place which allowed portions of the power system to be fed from alternate substations, nearly all customers that could receive power had their electric service restored in no more than three days. However, it took several weeks to restore the power system from the damage caused by this tornado. Two photographs of the tornado damage and the restoration of the power system along Highway 41 South and Highway 15 South are shown in Figures 13 and 14.
 Figure 13: Photograph of power line reconstruction following a tornado that
struck Pontotoc County on February 24, 2001. Scene is along
Highway 41 South looking toward the northwest.
(Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archieves)
 Figure 14: Photograph of power line reconstruction following a tornado that
struck Pontotoc County on February 24, 2001. Scene is along
Highway 15 South looking toward the north.
(Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archieves)
Although much less severe than most of Mississippi, Pontotoc Electric did not escape the damaging effects of Hurricane Katrina on Monday, August 29, 2005. Though the hurricane had weakened in intensity by the time it reached North Mississippi, it was still classified as a Category One Hurricane as it passed across Pontotoc Electric’s power system. Winds from the hurricane began to cause damage around 5:00 p.m. and appeared to be at their worst around 8:30 P.M. on that Monday evening. By midnight, the damaging winds had subsided. The restoration from Hurricane Katrina on Pontotoc Electric’s system was completed by Thursday morning on September 1, 2005.
The front of Pontotoc Electric’s branch office at Bruce, Mississippi was completely remodeled in 2005 and a public open house was held on Tuesday, August 30, 2005. Employees had been up most of the night dealing with the power outages caused by Hurricane Katrina, but were far enough along to have the open house as scheduled [27]. A photograph of the Bruce Branch Office after the 2005 remodeling is shown in Figure 15.
 Figure 15: Photograph of Pontotoc Electric Power Association’s Bruce Branch Office
after remodeling the front of the building in 2005
(Courtesy of Pontotoc Electric Power Association archives)
Since 1935, Pontotoc Electric Power Association has had only five general managers, and one interim manager. These were Wilbur M. Dent, (March 1935 – December 1938), L. E. Price (first quarter 1939 – August 1940), James Cyrus “Cy” Sneed, Jr. (September 1940 – June 1977), William Raymond “Bill” Jackson (July 1977 – June 1998), and Lawrence C. “Chuck” Howell, Jr. (July 1998 – present). K. L. “Bill” Frantz served as interim manager during Sneed’s term of military service during World War II from July 1942 until after the end of the war in 1945 [28]. Cy Sneed was one of the founding members of the Central Service Association in Tupelo in 1938. Central Service Association serves as an outsource provider for customer billing and computer services for most of the Tennessee Valley Authority power distributors. He was also one of the founding members of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association (NMIDA) which was established in West Point in 1951 to seek industrial recruitment for North Mississippi. Mr. Sneed also was one of the leaders in the formation of the Pontotoc County Development Association. A photograph of Bill Jackson, Cy Sneed and Chuck Howell taken at the 50th Annual Meeting of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association on October 30, 2000 is shown in Figure 16.
 References 1. Cooke, Morris Llewellyn. “The Early Days of the Rural Electrification Idea: 1914 – 1936.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. XLII, No. 3, June 1948, p. 444. Cooperative Services Division of the Electric Power Associations of 1914 – 1936.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. XLII, No. 3, June 1948, p. 436. Electric Power Associations of 5. Code, Sec. 831 et seq., 1940). 1914 – 1936.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. XLII, No. 3, June 1948, p. 443. 7. Cooke, Morris Llewellyn. “The Early Days of the Rural Electrification Idea: 1914 – 1936.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. XLII, No. 3, June 1948, p. 443. newspaper, Thursday, January 11, 1934, p. 1. Thursday, January 25, 1934, p. 1. 10. “A Look Back to 1934 … First TVA Pole Erected in Newsletter – The TVA Retirees Association, September 2003, p. 1. 11. “PEPA Marks Anniversary With Almost 8,000 Electric Customers – Eight Fold Growth Heralded in Special Progress Section.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, April 8, 1965, p. 1. newspaper, Thursday, September 16, 1937, p. 1. October 7, Rankin To Speak.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, Thursday, October 5, 1933. Domestic – Information. Mississippi Secretary of State Business Services. Retrieved from https://secure.sos.state.ms.us/busserv/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?23231 on March 31, 2008. Electric Power Associations of Electric Power Associations of Electric Power Associations of Electric Power Associations of Information. Mississippi Secretary of State Business Services. Retrieved from https://secure.sos.state.ms.us/busserv/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?23239 on March 31, 2008. Next Month.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, June 10, 1937, p. 1. Line to 22. “T.V.A. Line Completed – August 19, 1937, p. 1. Numbers of New Customers.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, May 22, 1947, p. 1. Growth Heralded in Special Progress Section.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, April 8, 1965, p. 8. January 19, 1950, p. 1. The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, February 1, 1951, p. 1. September 10, 1953. 28. “Up Go the Lights.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, December 6, 1956, p. 1. recalls the ups and downs of his 37 years at the consumer-owned cooperative.” Today In July 19, 1962, p. 1. 31. “PEPA Expansion Set To Boost Power Capacity In Area Six-Fold.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, December 27, 1962, p. 1. April 4, 1968, p.1. 33. “Debt Free With Expanded System – Pontotoc Electric Power Association Makes Final Payment To REA.” The Pontotoc Progress newspaper, October 24, 1968, p. 1. 34. “ newspaper, January 11, 1973, p. 1. newspaper, April 25, 1974, p. 2. 1975, p. 1. 37. “ Progress newspaper, February 17, 1994, p. 1. newspaper, November 18, 1998, p. 1. 39. “PEPA Open House.” The Calhoun County Journal newspaper, September 1, 2005, p. 3. Cooperative Services Division, Electric Power Associations of recalls the ups and downs of his 37 years at the consumer-owned cooperative.” Today In |
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