Petrolia Additional Historical Information

The good old days bring to mind a much simpler lifestyle than the pressure and stress of the present decade. While it may have been less complicated, it certainly wasn't any less difficult. In fact, the workload our forbearers had to endure makes the typical eight-hour day seem tame. Life was hard for rural America. The conveniences we often take for granted were milestones in rural American history. With the advent of electricity, this much-neglected part of our country now voiced a desire to upgrade their standard of living through technology. While this can be remembered as an era of nostalgia, rural Americans remember it for the burden of hand chores and primitive conditions.

By January 1938, Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) was ready to start building its electric distribution system. In December 1937, CEC hired Gibbs & Hill of New York to be their electrical engineering firm and on Jan. 5, 1938, Miller-Baxter Company started staking CEC's first substation. 

Then, on Aug. 18, 1938, a switch was closed on the substation near Petrolia permitting power to surge through lines of CEC for the first time. To hundreds of families in the rural areas of Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Forest, and Venango Counties, closing that switch meant the beginning of a new way of life -- a change from pitcher pumps, ice boxes, washboards, and kerosene lamps to modern plumbing facilities, electric washers, and lights! 

The lucky member who became CEC's first member to receive power was Mr. Pierce Shakely, who resided in Fredricksburg, Perry Township, Armstrong County. The rural residents of Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Forest, and Venango counties were the next members to receive electricity. 

Another historical moment that occurred in the Petrolia area, was in 1948 when CEC became the first co-op in the state to use two-way radios for communication between field staff and the office. This was a big step for CEC (and co-ops in the state) as it sped up office-to-crew communications becoming a major efficiency for the co-op.