DISCOVERING A LEGACY
Central Rural Electric Cooperative’s director of member services Tara Crawford did not know the legacy she would discover when Henry and Melva Stevenson walked through the cooperative’s front doors.
“They came in to update some account information,” Crawford said, “and I was immediately intrigued by Henry’s father’s membership number. It was the lowest number I have ever seen. Naturally, I was curious.”
It turns out, Henry’s father, Iley Stevenson, was one of Central’s first 1,200 members. Not only does Henry remember the transformation electricity brought to the family farm, but also he can still recall the days before.
“[Before electricity] my job was to ready the coal oil lamps before my dad got home,” Henry Stevenson
said. “He was a minister and would read the Bible and prepare for his sermon by the lamp’s light.”
When Henry’s dad was not preaching, he was transforming their potato farm into a cattle, cotton, corn, pea and pear operation.
“We would ride our horses and drive our cattle to Crescent and Guthrie,” Stevenson said. “It’s where I learned all of my skills.”
In 1950, light came to the farm, changing everything for the Stevenson family.
“I believe the first appliance we got was a refrigerator,” Stevenson said. “Before we had electricity, we had an ice box, and the ice man would come and fill it with ice.”
Henry has seen quite a bit of change during the 74 years he has lived on
Central’s lines, noting the impact of some of the major weather events.
“I remember the bad ice storm and several tornadoes,” Stevenson said. “The 1999 tornado whipped all our fences into balls, and we didn’t have electricity for a month.”
Henry, and his wife Melva of 60 years, still live on the farm today. Their son Edward continues most of the farm work now, which produces wheat, while Henry works in the research department at Langston University.
“I wouldn’t trade our farm to live in town,” Stevenson said. “We’ve worked hard, and I know my father would be proud of me and the farm.”
Melva and Henry Stevenson on their family farm near Guthrie.
YOUTH TOUR TAKES ON WASHINGTON, D.C.
Each year Central hosts a contest for high school juniors living within Central’s service area to attend Youth Tour in Washington, D.C.
sights, Smithsonian museums and cruised the Potomac River on a river boat dinner cruise.
Central Board of Trustees:
Carol Dvorak, President (District 3)
James Wells, Vice President (District 6)
Greg Tytenicz, Secretary/Treasurer (District 2)
Randy Wedel (District 1)
Sid Sperry (District 4)
Ken Starks (District 5)
Randy Ethridge (District 7)
Hunter Robinson - Chief Executive Officer
Empowered Editors:
Jillianne Tebow - Vice President of Business Development and Marketing
Larry Mattox - Director of Communications
AUGUST 2024 Central
Kory Bowman - Marketing and Communications Specialist
Ivy Swan - Marketing and Communications Specialist
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3305 S. Boomer Rd. | P.O. Box 1809 Stillwater, OK 74076
This year Annelise Ochsner from Stillwater and Hadleigh Stierwalt from Pawnee were selected as winners and visited Washington, D.C. in June with other winners from cooperatives across Oklahoma.
Central’s strategic account representative, Kelly Naas, joined the week-long trip as a chaperone.
“It was an incredible experience, and I loved seeing Oklahoma represented at our Capitol,” Naas said. “My favorite part of the trip was watching our youth take such an interest in our national political environment and history.”
Ochsner, Stierwalt and Naas met U.S. Senators, visited Baltimore, national monuments, historical
The participants competed against other high school juniors in an essay contest. The top five finalists were interviewed with Ochsner and Stierwalt winning the week-long, all-expense-paid trip, and the three runner-up applicants receiving $1,000 scholarships.
The Youth Tour competition for 2025 will open to current high school juniors in November. Those interested in applying or who want to learn more can do so at mycentral. coop/youthtourinterest or by scanning the QR code.
YOUTH POWER ENERGY CAMP
Danielle Turner and Krish Gupta were selected as winners of the Youth Power Energy Camp competition hosted by Central and attended the camp in May.
The four-day summer camp is designed to help students with leadership development through interactive team-building activities.
Cooperatives across Oklahoma sponsored students to attend. Participants learned about rural
electrification and electrical safety, climbed a pole in lineman hooks and rode in a bucket truck.
Energy camp is open to current and incoming eighth-grade students. Learn more at mycentral. coop/ youthprograms or by scanning the QR code.
EV CHARGING STATION SAFETY
Installing an electric vehicle (EV) level 2 charging station is not a do-it-yourself project. It is important to have a charging station installed by a specialized licensed contractor. This will help protect the integrity of your EV and your home’s wiring.
Here are some basic charging station safety tips:
⚠ Read and follow the car manufacturer’s instructions.
⚠ Use charging equipment that is sold or endorsed by the EV manufacturer.
⚠ To prevent a home fire or other hazards, have the charger installed by a licensed contractor.
⚠ An inadequate power supply can cause an electrical circuit overload and cause an electrical fire.
⚠ Keep charging components out of children’s reach.
Notify Central at 405-3722884 before installing a level 2 charger.
Learn more about electrical safety at safeelectricity.org
