Watford City, ND - McKenzie Electric Cooperative, Inc.

908 4th Ave. NE - Watford City, ND; Outpost - Killdeer, ND; (701) 444-9288 - (800) 584-9239 - www.mckenzieelectric.com
McKenzie County Fair is fun for all!
Above: MEC and RTC served around 700 root beer
floats. Tillie Alveshere, daughter of members Lloyd and
Ardyce Alveshere, gives Lynette Hansen, MEC, a
“thumbs up!” Right: Jaden Quale wins a MEC cooler
packed with MEC giveaways as one of the door prizes
given away during the McKenzie County Fair. Jaden’s
parents are MEC members Mike and Stef Russell.
Nikola Hospson, son of Chassy Kettle, Tennessee, loves
the MEC balloon, while his sister in the background
scoops up her root beer float.
Fun and delicious!
See more on page C4
SEPTEMBER 2010 • McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS—C1

Lest we forget...
McKenzie Electric Cooperative (MEC) is excited
about all the growth in our area and we are enthusiastic
about what the future holds for our co-op and its
members. But with all there is to look forward to, we
feel it is also important to remember our roots — how
we came to be a co-op, who started the co-op, and what
life was like before the wonder of rural electricity.
With each generation, we become further removed
from the reality of what it took to establish MEC. So
“Lest we forget,” will be a feature every month for the
next year. If you have memories of what it was like in
those early days, please contact Brenda Berquist or
Myra Anderson at the MEC office in Watford City.
We want to hear and share your stories.
The beginning
For thousands of years, the hills, buttes and prairies of
western North Dakota changed little through the seasons
and years. The land flowered in the spring and summer
and grew brown and was hidden by the snow of fall and winter.
Only the animals and the wandering Native Americans moved
across the landscape.
As the western migration swept America’s growing population
over the North Dakota prairies, the land began to
change its appearance. Farms and ranches dotted hard-earned
quarters of land, and small towns gradually took form. It was ‘
a change which evaporated with the night, for after dark
the land once again looked large and lonely with only an
occasional kerosene lamp in a farmhouse window to indicate
an inhabited farm.
As the comforts of industrialization became common in the
C2—McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS • SEPTEMBER 2010
cities and small towns, the farms and ranches continued to
operate mainly on the strong backs and arms of the farmers
and their families. The gulf widened the cultural and social
differences of the two lifestyles.
Farmers rose with the sun, pumped water for their livestock
and themselves by hand or using a windmill, heated their
homes and cooked with wood or oil, and after
a long day of work, went to bed early to preserve their strength
and the kerosene in the lamps.
The life of the farmwife was no easier. Her everyday tasks
of cleaning, cooking and washing clothes involved heavy labor.
The washing was done by hand on a scrub board or in a
washing machine which was powered by the farm wife or
children turning the handle. The clothes were wrung by hand
and hung to dry in the summer on the clothesline. In the

winter, the clothes were hung until they were frozen and
brought in to thaw and finish drying in the kitchen, basement
or wherever the housewife could find a place to hang them.
Food was cooked over wood or coal ranges and it was constant
work to preserve the food without refrigeration.
The work on the farm continued to depend on non-electric
power well into the 20th century.
The 1920s brought the Great Depression and the drought,
which wiped out many farms. At this point, the future of a
rural electric system seemed almost impossible. The investorowned
power companies continued to insist that the cost of
stretching power lines across rural America was prohibitive.
Some farms did find power in those years. Farms which
were close to town or on direct lines between lucrative
markets might be added to the power companies if the
farmers could meet the price, and many more remote farmers
put in their own power generating sources. These were either
gas motors or wind-charged generators which produced 32
volts of power. The units had a battery system which was
charged by the generator. They were limited in power and
basically provided some lights and a few small appliances.
During those dust- and despair-darkened days of the ’20s
and early ’30s, the promise of power seemed to slip further
from the farms and hamlets of America.
There had been plans aplenty for the electrification of rural
America. Each and every one had floundered and died before
it could come to fruition. In 1935, the recently inaugurated
president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt received
a memo which outlined the whys, wherefores and hows of a
rural electric system. With pressure from various farm
organizations, the decision was made to establish the Rural
Electrification Unit.
The program was seen by Roosevelt and others in Washington,
D.C., as basically a relief
program. It would provide
money to build lines, thus
creating jobs for the unemployed.
The first money for
the program was $100
million from a $5 billion
public works bill.
Within a few months, the
head of the unit, Morris
Cooke, was battling to have
the unit become a separate
agency with permanent
funding. On May 11, 1935,
the president signed an
executive order creating the
Rural Electrification
Administration (REA). After
a pitched battle in Congress,
the Rural Electrification Act
was passed and signed into
law by President Roosevelt
May 21, 1936.
During that time, the form
In 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt , signed an executive order
creating the Rural Electrification Administration (REA.
of the REA as a lending institution for rural electric
construction came into being. It was during the first month
that it became clear that the existing power companies were
not interested in bringing electricity to the remote farms,
thinking the cost prohibitive. What those power companies
deemed unfeasible, many hastily formed cooperatives heralded
as their chance for affordable power. Applications for loan
money began to come into Washington, D.C., almost as soon
as the unit was established.
Reading about the new REA in Washington, D.C., were
far-thinking men in McKenzie County. Over coffee at the
neighbors and around the stores and elevators, they began
to discuss the possibilities of bringing power to this area.
It would take almost nine years for McKenzie Electric
Cooperative to be officially incorporated and almost two
years after that for the first lights to come on, powered by
electricity provided by McKenzie Electric. But this was the
beginning – a beginning we must not forget.
The 1920s brought the Great Depression and the drought, which wiped out many farms.
SEPTEMBER 2010 • McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS—C3
McKENZIE ELECTRIC

McKenzie County Fair
The children loved the “candy drop” that McKenzie Electric sponsored.
With 90-degree temperature, little Kaylee Dewhirst needed a root beer
float to cool off. Kaylee is the daughter of MEC members Kelly and Rachel
Dewhirst of Watford City.
C4—McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS • SEPTEMBER 2010
Reservation Telephone Cooperative teamed up with MEC during the McKenzie
County Fair, giving away root beer floats, popcorn and door prizes.
Janell Lynne, Reservation Telephone Cooperative, gave away several insulated
bags and step stools as door prizes.

Adobe Oil & Gas Corp.
Al-Aquitaine
Exploration Ltd.
Allan, Robert
Allen, Walter
Amarex Inc.
Amberson, Alvin
Aplex Industries
Arellano, Nicole
Arndt, Ronald G.
Ash, Arthur
Baker, Leslie
Baney, Richard
Barber, Greg
Barks, Gary
Barnes, Alan
Bartholomay, John
Baruch Foster Corp.
Batterton, Virgil
Bedor, George
Bell, Robert Sr.
Bell, William Sr.
Bentley, Mike
Berg, Ellison
Bird Bear, Inez
Bird, Rebecca
BKM
Blackfeather, Eugene
Bleckwenn, Stanley Jr.
Blowers, Ellie
Booher, Jane
Bostic, Michael
Bowen, Pam
Brady, Almeda
Bridwell, James
Briscoe, Jeff
Brundidge, Mark
Buckhorn Petroleum
Butler, Herb
Buttram, Buster
C&D Lumber
CAPITAL CREDITS—
Do you have money waiting for you?
The following people have capital credit checks, and we do not have a current address. Please
notify us if you have a current address for any of these people, or if you are entitled to the
capital credits in the case of an estate. Information may be sent to McKenzie Electric, P.O.
Box 649, Watford City, ND 58854-0649; or call toll-free (800) 584-9239 or (701) 444-9288
Candee, Ketih
Canterra Petroleum
Carmona, David and Mari
Carson, Ann
Carson, Terry
Cenergy
Cereck, Robert
Chambers, Clinton
Champlin Petroleum
Chapin, Mildred
Chase, Wallace
Chinook, Roustabout
Christianson, Claude
CNG Production Co.
Cole, Lamont
Con-Energy Explor.
Connell, Byron
Costilla Energy Inc.
Cotton Petroleum
Cox, Edwin
Crighton, Marjorie
Crows Breast, Linda
Crows Heart, Edgar
Cuny, Wade and Bertrille
Dahna, Richard
Davis, Gene
Decoteau, Don
Degagne, Joe
Delta Underground
Demary, Alan Jr.
Denver, Alaska
Detienne Assoc.
Dietzler, William
Donham Oil Tool
Dozier, Danny
Dubois, James
Dutton, William
Earles, Christine
Ecological Engineering
Services
Eland Energy Inc.
Elmore, Gene
Enney, Tom
Enzminger, Jeff
Erickson, Carl
Eriksen, Steven J.
Exeter Exploration
Fairfield, Scott/Jane
Fargher, Ellen
Fendrick, Alma
First American
Fisher, Mike
Flynn, Rory
Fort Berthold Utility Co.
Fox, Bernie
Fox, Sidney
Fox, Vincent
Frisby, James
Frounfelter, Les
Fuchs, Leo
Garber, Charles
Garchow, Walter
Gefroh, Kurt
General Atlantic Eng.
Genz, Paul
Geolinear Company
Gilbertson, Jerry
Gilchrist, Kevin
Glasser, Ray
Goddard, Linda
Goebel, Russ
Grant, Helen Dr.
Great Plains Petro
Grimm, Rick
Grondahl, Mike
Groves, Louis
Gruss Petroleum Mgmt.
Gunderson, Bruce
Gwin, Dora
Hager, Tim
Hagerud, Darol
Hall, Robert K.
Halter, Duane
Hammers, John
Haney, Bill
Hanson, Albert Jr. estate
Hanson, James
Harmel, Eugene
Head, Anthony
Head, Charles
Henrikson, Earl
Hernandez, Filipep
High Elk, Carolyn
Holden, Randy
Holen, Svea
Howard & Olson
Huber, Brady and Toni
Huck, Anthony
Huffman, Carl
Hugg, Howard
Hunter, Truby
Ihli, Dale
ITR Petroleum Inc.
Jefferson, Larry
Jilek, Larry
Johnson, Gary
K&J Oil Company
Kahl, Gene
Kari, Ross J.
Kerschitz, Leo C.
Kessler, James E.
Keys, Dorothy Reardon
King Communications
King, Jane
Kirchoff, Tom
Klein, Wayne
Kleinsasser, Paul E.
Koch, Service
Kohler, James
Kubik, Russell
Lachance, Norman
Larsen, Stephen
Larson, Scott
Linseth, Savern
Little Owl, Ida
Little Owl, Ronald
Little Swallow, David
Lone Bear, Lester Jr.
Longre, Cliff
Loyas, Jackie
Lyche, Scott
Lynn, Randy
Lytle, Greg
M&O Construction
Main Energy
Manhattan Oil Inc.
Mapco Production Co .
Martin Oil Co.
Martindale, Fred
Matador Pipeline
Matador Services Inc.
Mathis, Joe
Mathis, Weller
Mckeown, Alvin
Mead, John
Meder, Daryle
Continued on page C7
SEPTEMBER 2010 • McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS—C5
McKENZIE ELECTRIC

McKENZIE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
mind’s meanderings by Myra Anderson
It never tastes as good as when Mom made it
Our 3-year-old grandson,
Drew – more commonly
known in the family as
Drew Bear – had to have his
tonsils out this summer. As his
private nurse for the week that
he was recovering (the child
does know how to make the
most of any situation), it was
my job to find foods that he
could and would swallow.
The first foods and the ones
he was promised before his
surgery were ice cream and
pushups. I quickly added root beer
freezes to that list because Drew Bear
loves a root beer freeze and no sore
throat was strong enough to keep him
from that. Soft scrambled eggs were
next on the list – those were a little
harder to swallow, literally.
While I was planning my food
strategy, I thought about the times
when I was little and needed comfort
food. The first and best thing on my
list was custard. That was Mom’s
answer to all of life’s ills. And my
family loved it. When someone was
sick and Mom started making custard,
you could be sure that the rest of us
would begin to complain of aches and
pains as well. Mom always made
enough for all of us, but the extra
dishes were for the “sick kid” even if
the “kid” was Dad. I still can’t explain
why custard was so wonderful.
It was creamy and smooth, rich
with a hint of nutmeg. It slid down
your throat and filled your tummy.
But the real appeal was that each custard
came in its own little glass dish.
Most desserts back then were served
in pie plates or 9- by 13-inch cake
pans. Custard was individualized. It
was a dish just for one person. I didn’t
know until I was well grown up that
you could make custard in a common
pan and call it flan. The first time I
C6—McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS • SEPTEMBER 2010
saw that on a dessert buffet, I was
more than amazed. But somehow,
though I tried it often when it was on
a buffet, it never tasted as good as
custard in an individual glass dish.
Once I got thinking about custard,
my mind immediately went to milk
toast. I don’t know how many others
make that connection. But that was
the other cure-all in the Marshall
house. I haven’t made milk toast
since the first year of my almost 40year
marriage. Ron was sick and
being the attentive and devoted wife
– remember we were newly married –
I took it upon myself to make a nice
bowl of milk toast.
For those of you who didn’t have
the milk toast remedy growing up, it
is simply toasted white bread which
you butter and break into small
pieces and then cover with scalded
milk. It, too, is made one bowl at a
time. Others might have added cinnamon
and sugar or so I have been told,
but we ate it plain. Again, when Mom
was making milk toast, we all wanted
some. It was delicious!
When I brought my steaming bowl of
milk toast into Ron, he looked at it with
undisguised disgust and demanded to
know what that mess was and why I was
trying to poison him with it. I was hurt
and decided that he could get well by
himself. I never made him
milk toast again, and to tell
the truth, I forgot about it.
So my boys never had the
pleasure of milk toast
either. I never even suggested
another favorite
from my childhood –
saltine crackers crumbled
into a bowl of milk.
I decided that Drew Bear
wouldn’t like milk toast, it
is better for a stomachache
than a sore throat. We
stuck with the ice cream and freezes
along with popsicles and Jello and
pudding. I did think about custard,
but with the individual pudding packs,
the thrill of an individual portion has
been lost.
And I couldn’t even find any custard
cups – the young gal at the hardware
store suggested I look at the mugs they
had. It reminded me of when my Mom
sent me to one of my aunt’s neighbors
in California to see if they had a donut
cutter when we were out there in 1966.
The neighbor looked at me as if I were
crazy and told me that out there, they
ate them whole.
I think we have lost a lot of the
old comfort foods or they have
changed so drastically that they are
unrecog nizable. When was the last
time you had a slice of homemade
bread spread with jelly and covered
with cream? I don’t even want to think
about how many Weight Watcher
points that would be or the fat level.
Yet Ron’s dad, John, had that as a
nightly treat for most of his life and he
was still wearing a 32-inch waist jean
when he passed away, and he never
had any cholesterol problems either.
I still make bread pudding when I
have leftover bread that’s going stale.
That was another favorite dessert at
our house. My mom’s generation

grew up with bread pudding in the
Great Depression. It was one
dessert that could be made almost
completely with what Grandma had
on the farm, leftover homemade
bread, eggs and cream, and a little
sugar and cinnamon. Our family
just loved the taste – Mom added
raisins and served it warm.
Now it is a high-priced dessert at
fancy restaurants. The one time I
tried it, I was sorely disappointed. It
might have been made with day old
brioche – whatever that is – and
served with a brandy sauce. One
portion cost more than an entire
bread pudding for a family of 10 or
maybe a whole meal back when I was
enjoying it as a kid. And that dessert
in the fancy restaurant simply didn’t
taste as good as the bread pudding I
ate around the kitchen table on the
farm when I was a kid.
Maybe it’s the memories of
those meals that makes them so
impos-sible to duplicate. It is the
images of our family laughing
together and talking and being a
kid when it seemed that nothing
would ever change around that
table. Maybe that’s why the custard
and the milk toast and the bread
pudding tasted so much better
back then. That’s probably why I’ve
never been able to replicate Olga’s
(Ron’s Mom) beef and potato soup.
Or why Olga and I could never
make Fatiman that tasted as good
as John’s mom’s. And my boys
think that no one can make Swiss
steak or meatloaf like I do. And who
knows, maybe when Drew Bear has
grown to be a man, he’ll remember
that no one could open a pudding
pack or spoon feed him a root beer
freeze like Grammy Myra.
Maybe it’s the love we tasted
that we remember that flavored
those foods so they can never be
quite as good again.
Meservey, Lee
Moore Trucking
Mord, Les
Moredock, Gerald M.
Mortvedt, Alfred
Mothershead, Jim
Motorla Inc.
Mountain Production
Myers, Don
National Oil Co.
National Oil Well
Nelsen, Fred A. trust
Nelson, Loren D.
Nelson, Roger
Neu, Wayne
Nichols, Parker A.
NL Well Service
Nordquist, Scott
O'Brien, Larry
Oliver, Rhonda
Olson, Clarence D.
Olson, Frank
Olson, Larry
Osborn, Tim
Pacific Enterprises Oil
Company US
Paladijczuk, Ted
Palmer, Kenneth
Parkway Petroleum Inc .
Paullin, Robin
Pike, Mark
Pinto, Martha
Pippin, Dennis
Polumbus Company
Porter, Randy
CAPITAL CREDITS....continued
Presidio Exploration Inc.
Producers Disposal
Services
Protector Inc.
Puma Oil
R Place
Rabbithead, Melvin
Ranger Oil Co.
Rehak, Jim
Sage Energy
Sanderson, David
Schneider, Dan
Schoenhoff, John
Schweitzer, Alden
Service Enterprises
Skjoldal, Bryan
Smith, Charles
Smith, Rhonda
Snow Bird Chapel
Snyder Oil Co.
Sorenson, Sherman
Sorenssen, Allan
Spencer, Roger
Steady, Jess
Stende, Victor
Straka, Gerald
Swaine, Thelma
Swenson, Clayton
Tangedal, Don
Tenneco Oil Co.
Texaco Pipeline Inc.
Texas Gas Ex. Corp.
Texas Oil & Gas
The Superior Oil Co.
Thompson, Myrna
Thompson, Robert
Topp, Gerald
Torgerson, Ron
Touchine, Yazzie
Transco Expoloration
TXP Operating Co.
Underwood, Richard
Union Pacific Res.
Union Texas
UPG Falco
Utex Oil Company
Vettleson, Martin
Voegele, Ray
Waldera, R.J.
Walker, Don
Walker, Foster
Waller, Morris I.
Walstad, Don
Warmuth, Beverly
Warren, Steve
Wassink, Don
Wee, Richard D.
Weflen, Dennis
Wessely Energy Corp.
West Hazmat
Companies, Inc.
White Owl, Eugene Mrs.
Whiting, James
Wilcox, Scott
Wild, Jeff
Williamson, Allyn
Williamson Trucking
Willis, Tom
Remember to practice
safety when harvesting!
SEPTEMBER 2010 • McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS—C7
McKENZIE ELECTRIC

BOARD
OF
DIRECTORS
Thompson
Link
Hanna
Monsen
Wasem
Aamodt
Houghton
Johnson
Tescher
board minutes report
July 27
The regular meeting of the McKenzie Electric Cooperative’s (MEC) board
of directors was held at the headquarters building in Watford City.
Directors present were: Travis Thompson, Rondee Hanna, Ray Tescher,
Dennis Johnson, Glenn Aamodt, Tim Wasem, Donald Link, Clayton Monsen
and Glen Houghton.
Also present were: Cooperative General Manager/Chief Executive
Officer John Skurupey, attorney Dennis Edward Johnson and several
staff members.
Preliminaries: The agenda for the meeting was approved by the board of
directors. Minutes of the June board meeting were reviewed and approved.
Directors’ issues: Director expenses presented for payment
were approved.
Office report: The financial and statistical reports for June were reviewed
with the board. Kilowatt-hour (KWH) sales reported for June increased 7.9
percent over June 2009; year-to-date KWH sales have increased 14.52 percent
over the same period in 2009. The board reviewed the comparison of
actual-to-budget expenses for the month; year-to-date expenses continue
to remain within budget guidelines. Special capital credit retirements
were approved by the board and the status of delinquent accounts
were reviewed. The board and management continue discussions concerning
the cash flow needs given the current construction environment.
Member service report: The written member services report was
reviewed by the board. A recap of annual meeting expenses were reviewed.
MEC and RTC cosponsored a booth at the McKenzie County Fair and
reported nearly 700 consumers stopping by. A brief update was given on
the N.D. State Energy Rebate Program.
Operations report: The operations department report was given. Completed
construction projects included 29 oil related connects and 27 nonoil
connects. Oster Brothers Construction is building line in the Killdeer
area and south of Johnson’s Corner. 4T Construction has been working
across the northern half of the system. Badlands Electric is working on various
projects systemwide. Hamlin Construction is working on the transmission
line between Alexander and Indian Hill. Construction is going well
on the Blue Buttes Substation rebuild. MEC crews continue building and
installing new connects, retiring line and the numerous day-to-day projects
that keep operations and maintenance moving forward. The process
of changing water well meters to automated meter reading is continuing.
Engineering report: The written engineering department report was
reviewed by the board. Updates were provided on the Alexander to
Indian Hill transmission line, Moccasin Creek line and the Blue Buttes
Substation rebuild.
General manager/CEO report: General Manager/CEO John Skurupey
reported on several items, including wholesale power issues and management
items. He reported that MEC will be utilizing Upper Missouri G&T
Electric Cooperative’s mobile substation until such time the Fancy Buttes
Substation is energized. Skurupey also reported on a recent Basin Electric
Power Cooperative Manager’s Advisory meeting he had recently attended.
Associated organizations report: Director Link reported on a recent
North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) board
meeting. Gov. John Hoeven visited with the NDAREC board regarding
energy policy and energy development in the state, and what is being done
to meet infrastructure needs — including more funding for roads in western
North Dakota. In supplementary business, Link was appointed by the
MEC board as the voting delegate to the National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association and Cooperative Finance Corporation Region VI meetings.
The board cast their vote in the CoBank board election.
Power supply: The board viewed the Basin video report. Tescher reported
on the recent Upper Missouri board meeting. Basin Electric has
announced an increase in its wholesale power rates for 2011. Western Area
Power Administration will not be adding a drought adder in 2011.
Next meeting date: The next meeting date was set for August 25 at the
Watford City headquarters building.
Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was
adjourned.
C8—McKENZIE ELECTRIC NEWS • SEPTEMBER 2010
908 4th Ave. NE
Watford City, N.D. 58854
Phone: (701) 444-9288
Toll-free: (800) 584-9239
Web page:
http://www.mckenzieelectric.com
E-mail:
mec@mckenzieelectric.com
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS:
Travis Thompson, Chairperson
Director, District 1C, Charlson..............675-2373
Upper Missouri G&T Director
Donald Link, Vice Chairperson
NRECA Director, Statewide Director
Director, District 2A, Alexander............828-3427
Rondee Hanna, Sec.-Treas.
Director, District 2C, Watford City.......675-2516
Glen Houghton
Director, District 3B, Grassy Butte........863-6606
Glenn Aamodt
Director, District 1A, Alexander ............572-3066
Dennis Johnson, Alternate Statewide Director
Director, District 1B, Watford City ........842-2055
Tim Wasem,
Director, District 3C, Halliday ...............938-4376
Ray Tescher, Director-At-Large
Director, District 3A, Beach ...................565-2342
Clayton Monsen
Director, District 2B Arnegard ..................586-3336
GENERAL MANAGER/CEO:
John Skurupey
(701) 842-4848
MEMBER SERVICES DEPARTMENT:
Brenda Berquist, Member Services
Coordinator................................................444-4033
Myra Anderson, Contributing Editor.......675-2267
TOGETHER WE SAVE
tips of the month
• Set water heater no higher than 120°F.
• For households with one or two members, a
115-degree setting may work fine.
• Install water heater wrap per manufacturer’s
instructions.
• Drain one to two gallons from bottom of water
heater each year to reduce sediment buildup.
• Install low-flow showerheads.
• Turn large-screen TVs off completely when not
in use.
• Verify livestock water tank heaters are off when
not needed.
• Unplug battery chargers when not needed.
• Ensure all new appliances you purchase are
Energy Star-approved.