On Sunday, November 5, at 1:30 PM, the Wilmot Historical Society will hold their annual
meeting and election of board of directors in the Wilmot Town Hall at 9 North Wilmot Road.
The agenda will include proposals for bylaw updates, information about current projects, and a
tribute to Walter Walker. Come early at 1 p.m. and enjoy refreshments and conversation before
the meeting.
At 2 PM, NH Humanities speaker, Steve Taylor, will speak on the impact of electricity on rural
New Hampshire. His talk is entitled “Late in Arriving, How Electricity Changed Rural New
Hampshire Life.” This presentation will explore how developments changed civic and social life
in New Hampshire’s countryside and will touch on the ways that the disparity of broadband access in the state today echoes these earlier struggles. 

In New Hampshire, during the first half of the 20th century, residents of developed communities
enjoyed the transformative benefits of electric power while those in the sparsely populated
regions lived and worked in conditions little changed from the 19th century.

It took the coming of the New Deal’s Rural Electrification Administration in the ‘30s and a
determined band of farmers to overcome opposition from the established private utilities to
create the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative in 1939.

Despite labor and material shortages during World War II, within a decade, power came to
almost all of the previously unserved areas of the state. For thousands of households, this meant
relief from the drudgery of the wood-fueled cookstove, the washboard, and the kerosene lamp.
Reliable electric power similarly brought new ways of life to farmers and artisans.
If you need more information please email Liz Kirby at thekirbys172@nullgmail.com or call her at
603 496-4883.