This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 9 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Watauga Democrat
Location
Boone, North Carolina, United States of America
Date
May 22, 1924
Page
7
General Electric aims to electrify 6 500 000 farms, seeking a profitable path to bring high voltage lines and affordable transformers to rural areas. Aims include reducing farm women’s drudgery and introducing highway lighting with the Novalux unit to transform country roads.
Owen D. Young, chair of General Electric, argues for farm electrification to modernize rural life. He cites his own experience in Herkimer County New York and plans to extend power lines to farmers, replacing kerosene with Mazda lamps and enabling electric pumps and motors. Ethnology notes ten factors shaping civilization, including electricity.
A Roxbury Ohio farmer explains how he tunes WGY and other stations to collect live market reports from multiple city markets. He tracks prices in a ledger, compares shipping costs, and uses weather and crop data from broadcasts to predict trends. He notes regular tips yield value in livestock poultry eggs and butter sales.
Eighteen farms five miles from Red Wing Minnesota host a rural electric transmission line test to study electricity use in agriculture. Equipment arrived daily from March to April and progress accelerated. A four farmer five member committee guides the study with observers from General Electric and state ag institutions.
Electricity in a Wisconsin poultry house has dramatically increased hen output to about eighty eggs per day in winter. The new lighting regime reveals the birds’ hidden lay potential and promises higher production for farmers.
The Red Wing Minnesota experiment promotes liberal farm energy use by setting a fixed monthly charge of 6.90 dollars and a two-tier rate of 5 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 30 kWh and 3 cents for excess. It cites an average farm consumption of about 28.7 kWh and argues low rates should encourage higher, more economical electricity use on farms.
A farm living room can be warm and inviting with indirect and local lighting. General Electric guidance favors reflected light from a white ceiling and frosted bulbs to reduce glare. Central glass shaded fixtures offer bright but soft illumination, while additional wall outlets permit reading lamps and radios for cozy, practical evenings.
An Iowa farmer finds that fresh running water from an electrically operated pumping system improves livestock. The article compares pumped water to a natural spring, arguing the device provides a superior water supply for cattle and other animals.
A Michigan Patron letter highlights rural electricity gaps versus city access. A farmer banker who installed farm electricity after a $1,100 spend saw seven carloads of cattle fetch top prices and an average 58 pounds heavier per head, earning about $400 that year. The piece contrasts lantern light farm life with electrified homes and urges broader power reach.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.