Rural Missouri - February 2023 - 5

Missouri
RURAL
Volume 76 | FEBRUARY 2023 | Number 2
EDITORIAL STAFF:
Caitlin Whaley, VP communications
cwhaley@ruralmissouri.coop
Jim McCarty, editor
jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
Paul Newton, managing editor
pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop
Megan Backes, creative director
mbackes@ruralmissouri.coop
Zach Smith, field editor
zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
Angie Jones-Wheeler, designer
ajones@ruralmissouri.coop
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mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop
573-659-3400
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Rural Missouri (ISSN 0164-8578) (USPS 473000)
is published monthly by the Association
of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, 2722 E.
McCarty Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101, Caleb
Jones, CEO/executive vice president. Individual
subscription rate: $12 per year or $25 for three
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member. Delivery as specified by subscriber. If not
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offices. Copyright 2023, Association of Missouri
Electric Cooperatives. Call for reprint rights.
Circulation of this issue: 581,152
RM | PERSPECTIVES
The 'real' housewives
by Caleb Jones | cjones@amec.coop
A
couple nights ago,
Lindsey and I got the
kids to bed and we sat
down on the couch to
watch some TV. I started to flip
through the channels trying to
find something we could agree
on. On the screen was a show
called " The Real Housewives
from Somewhere or the Other. "
I watched a few minutes and
figured out pretty quick whoever
made this show has a different
idea of what " real " means.
That's when it hit me - I
am going to start my own show
called " The Real Housewives of
Rural Missouri. " After hearing
my pitch, Lindsey was sold. She
even offered to run the camera
for me. She didn't think I would
find a cameraman who would
be willing to put on Muck boots
and get up before the roosters
to film women out feeding cattle
with one child on their hip and
another toddling behind.
We started talking about everything
we would have to film to show
what being a wife in rural Missouri
means. It could be bottle-feeding a
lamb that needs a head start or going
to school to deliver that clarinet one
of the kids forgot.
Meanwhile they are keeping the
books for the farm, picking up parts
for a combine and trying to figure out
how to pay for a new set of tires for
the pickup.
Feeding the cattle and then baking a pie will be no
problem for the " real " women in my new show.
nity, leading everything from Sunday
school to the rural fire department.
Come to think of it, without these
Or they could be making sure they
keep their Century Farm in the family
by commuting to a job in St. Louis or
Kansas City.
Lindsey told me I may have trouble
picking a cast for my Real Housewives
series given the many hats
rural women wear.
They are mothers - and sometimes
fathers as well. They are
nurses, teachers and veterans. They
own their own small business or sit
on boards of large corporations.
Just about every one of them
makes a real impact in their commureal
housewives many rural people
would still be living in the dark. I've
been told that most of the $5 membership
fees that got electric co-ops
off the ground came from egg money
dug out of an apron pocket.
These days, rural women like
Barry Electric's Jennifer McBroom
and Howard Electric's Amber Overfelt
are CEOs of electric cooperatives.
Others, like Boone Electric's Kim Ponder,
serve on their local electric co-op
board.
After thinking this through, I may
have to put my show on the back
burner. If some fancy Hollywood producer
comes calling, I'm not sure if I
could fit everything that rural women
accomplish into one season.
Be on the lookout for a casting call,
if I manage to lock in a multi-season
deal.
Caleb is the executive vice president
and CEO of the Association of Missouri
Electric Cooperatives and a member of
Boone Electric Cooperative.
FEBRUARY 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 5
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Rural Missouri - February 2023

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