Between Dec. 7, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and V-J Day (Sept. 2, 1945), electric cooperatives, like many other industries dependent on materials diverted to the U.S. war effort, including steel, copper and concrete, had to bide their time until they could build their first line or extend an existing one.

Twin Valley Electric Cooperative in Kansas found itself in that situation after splitting off from neighboring Sekan Electric Cooperative. Sekan had completed 315 miles of line in its A and B sections by 1941 but had to postpone construction of its C section.

Sometime during the war, L.F. (Joe) Jenness, a Rural Electrification Administration field agent, and Maurice Wyckoff, the Labette County agent, arranged for Twin Valley to acquire 300 Sekan membership applications from the Altamont area of the county.

Twin Valley was ready to go nine days after V-J Day, with incorporation papers filed and an REA loan application ready for mailing.

Twin Valley was among eight Kansas electric co-ops organized in 1945. Another organized in 1946. Before the war, 28 Kansas electric co-ops had already organized and begun serving members.

Twin Valley's board of directors hired W.K. Dillenberger, who had prepared the incorporation papers, to be the co-op's attorney. Frank Horton & Company, a prominent Midwest engineering and construction firm, was hired to design and build the distribution lines. The firm worked closely with the REA on a number of projects.

REA approved a loan of $250,000 in November 1945 to build 217 miles of line, and the construction contract was awarded almost immediately. Tree and brush clearing began in February 1946 and took 10 months.

But Twin Valley hit a snag before the loan funds were advanced; there was a legal problem with the co-op's bylaws. The way they were written, only the nine directors were eligible to vote at annual meetings. This was resolved on May 10, 1946, and the funds were deposited in Twin Valley's bank account.

That same month, the co-op signed a power supply contract with Kansas Electric Power Cooperative.

War-related materials shortages continued into 1948, and Twin Valley wasn't able to energize its first circuit of 60 miles (the A section) until December 1947. The materials shortages meant that there were times when construction crews had to be paid when there was no work to do.

The co-op continued building its B, C and D sections even after a severe ice storm in January 1949 knocked 80 miles of line to the ground. By the end of 1950, the co-op was serving nearly 1,600 members, and by November 1952, more than 1,700.

Today, the Altamont-based distribution system has 1,948 members and 2,866 meters, according to CEO Angie Erickson. She added that 673 of these meters serve small commercial accounts.

Most of the meters, residential and commercial, are in Labette County. The remainder serve rural areas elsewhere in Kansas.