RM | NEIGHBORS Laclede Electric Cooperative lineman Larry Taylor uses broken poles, obsolete insulators, barn wood and hardware removed from service to create his line art. These pieces honor linemen he's worked beside in his 29 years with the co-op along with other employees from electric utilities. LARRY'S LINE ART Laclede Electric lineman makes art from cast-off poles by Jim McCarty | jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop W ith a wide sweep of his hand, Larry Taylor gestures toward the pile of raw materials in his shop near Hartville. " All of this was headed to the trash, " Larry says. He's talking about the stack of wood cut from old poles and crossarms replaced in his job as a lineman for Laclede Electric Cooperative. Only a fellow lineworker would appreciate these power line relics that were changed out after being damaged by 12 RURAL MISSOURI | OCTOBER 2023 storms or otherwise reaching the end of their useful life on the co-op's lines. That is, until Larry works his artistic touch on them. Using hand techniques and computer-controlled equipment he's just beginning to appreciate, Larry combines the detritus that comes from repairing power lines into works of art that are " Taylor made " for retiring linemen and other electric co-op employees. He calls his creations " line art " and his side gig L.T. Line Art. " It all started with those old REA poles, " Larry says,