Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 36
Above: Men from the village help unreel wire during the first phase
of the project. Below: Ritnee Smiley, a lineman from North Central
Missouri Electric, may have inspired this young man to become a
lineman. The men made lots of new friends in Guatemala.
36
and down over the hill they went and came back up the
other side."
Climbing poles is nothing new to the Missouri linemen.
However the effort took on another dimension as they first
had to struggle up loose hillsides covered with corn stalks.
Climbing a 35-foot pole is no big deal, but the 500-foot drop
to the bottom of the mountain is downright frightening.
Back home, a power line would follow the road, offering
easy access for construction. In order to keep the expense
down this one would follow the shortest distance between
the two villages. Thousand-foot spans were not uncommon.
In just three days the power line connected the two
villages. Much more work would be required before it could
be energized, however. Now the focus turned to the secondary lines that would connect the homes to the grid. The
excitement could be felt as the villagers realized the dream
of electricity would soon be a reality. They looked up often
from their work drying coffee beans or weaving clothes to
watch wire go up on once bare poles.
The work was brutal for the volunteer
linemen, but to a man they considered it
a labor of love. As they got to know the
people they were helping they understood how desperately the Guatemalans
wanted electricity and were determined
to provide it.
"I had the utmost confidence in our
guys," says Tim. "Every one of them is a
true professional. There was no doubt in
my mind that they were going to get this
project done."
A day in Trapichitos begins at 4 a.m.
with the blaring horn from the first of
the buses that take the villagers on the
trip to Nebaj, the nearest big city. Then
the entire town shakes as a diesel engine
cranks up to power the community corn
grinder. Quickly a line of women forms to
have their corn ground. They will use this
to make tortillas, a staple of every meal.
As the sky lightens above the mountains, some of the men head into the
jungle to pick coffee or cut timber into
boards using chainsaws. Some lead
mules which will haul firewood or
100-pound bags of coffee beans back to
the village.
It's easy to see the impact electricity will make here, starting with corn
grinders in each home instead of the
antique one now in use. When night falls
it's dangerous on the unlit paths. Some
homes have solar panels just big enough
to power small light bulbs, but most use
candles.
The linemen, tired and dirty after a
hard day's work, discover that showers
are not an option unless they are OK
with ice cold water. Instead the villagers
build fires under two large iron pots.
They give the men two buckets: one to fill
halfway with cold water, and the other to
RURAL MISSOURI | MARCH 2020
Guatemala spread final.indd 5
2/7/20 3:36 PM
Rural Missouri - March 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - March 2020
Contents
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - Contents
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 4
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 5
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 6
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 7
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 8
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 9
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 10
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Rural Missouri - March 2020 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - March 2020 - Cover4
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