Cooperative Living March/April 2021 - 7

TrainingTracks
Being a Good Leader
Norman entered the apprentice program at Northwest
Lineman College, Meridian, Idaho. As soon as he applied
for a job with SVEC, he got it and hasn't looked back.
Norman, who enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time,
has been training at the Palmyra center for four years.
Recently, he completed coursework to graduate from
apprentice to journeyman lineworker.
What he likes best about his job: It's a good-paying job. It's
good, clean work and it's nice to see happy faces when you
turn the lights on when the power is out. People are so happy
to see you. It's just a good line of work to get in. For high
school students who don't know what they want to do,
linework is definitely a good trade to get into.
Where he's restored power: I went to Mecklenburg Electric
Co-op and Northern Neck Electric Co-op when they needed
Our Training Tracks feature spotlights a
trainee from an electric cooperative. Training
is conducted at the Electric Cooperative
Training Center in Palmyra, Va. The stateof-the-art
facility is an ideal learning
environment to serve the needs of
lineworkers, system operators, substation
operators and other co-op representatives.
ThrowBack
Electricity is
a Haymaker
n 2021, you can thumb through
energy-efficiency tips with an app
on your smartphone. In 1946,
you could visit your local electric
cooperative for a pamphlet on how
to dry hay using electricity. In their
own way, both encompassed groundbreaking
technologies.
" Dry Your Hay the Electric Way "
was the catchy title of the booklet,
which co-ops distributed to educate
members on a new method of curing
hay. It met with unanimous approval
as well, as Virginia farmers went from
zero to 10,000 tons of power-cured
hay from 1940 to 1945.
co-opliving.com
I
Matthew Norman
* Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative
* Native of Weston, W.Va.
* Graduate of Lewis County High School, W.Va.
help after Hurricane Isaias. It's a very good experience
to get out there and work on different systems.
What he's learning: It's more about crew leadership because
if you're going to be a first-class lineworker, guys are going
to be coming up to you. You want to be a good leader and
set an example. I've been used to the smaller classes, but
this was larger and when you get a bunch of people in class,
you definitely learn a lot; a lot of questions are asked.
About the training center: The quality of the instruction is
phenomenal. It's very hands-on. This building is definitely
different than the two double-wides they had together.
They've come a long way and made it a nice experience
for everyone here. 
Read about the training center at vmdaec.com/center.
Editor's note: Observing its 75th anniversary in 2021, Cooperative Living
will revisit some of the stories it has published since it got its start in 1946.
" We are entirely pleased
with the hay-drier, " testified
P.H. Fitzgerald, a Nottoway County,
Va., farmer and member of Southside
Electric Cooperative. " The quality of
the hay is superior to field-cured hay
in that the alfalfa retained all its leaves.
The hay is light and green, not sunburned
or weather scorched and
unusually free from
dust. "
A reporter for
Rural Living - this
magazine's name
back in the day -
estimated that more
than 100 hay-curing
systems would come
online in Virginia in
1946 despite a
shortage of lumber and equipment
in the postwar years. Virginia Tech
and the Virginia Farm Electrification
Council even teamed for a two-day
seminar on hay dryer design and
operation. Participants said the new
technology paid for itself in about
a year.
" Delay in securing drier meant
that we had only a half
season experience, "
said J.G. Pollard Jr. of
Lancaster County, a
Northern Neck Electric
Cooperative member.
" But system was
especially valuable last
year when it was so
rainy during haying
season. " 
March-April 2021 | Cooperative Living | 5
COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
http://www.vmdaec.com/center http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living March/April 2021

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