by Emily Schilling
EditorBack in February, I noted that the Indiana REMC Act, House Bill 454, was brought before the Indiana Legislature on Feb. 21, 1935. The act, which led to the creation of rural electric cooperatives in Indiana, was signed into law by Gov. Paul V. McNutt on March 9 of that year.
A month later, rural electrification legislation was passed on the national level. Congress approved the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act from which the Rural Electrification Administration was created on April 8, 1935. On May 11 of that year President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 7037 which established the Rural Electrification Administration as an agency charged with initiating, formulating, administering, and supervising approved projects with respect to the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy in rural areas.
Interestingly, Indiana’s electric cooperatives share a diamond anniversary with another government-created Indiana treasure: the Hoosier National Forest in south central Indiana.
The Forest Service was established here in Indiana in February 1935, also under the signature of Gov. McNutt. This legislation was a boon for Midwestern states like ours which needed help reclaiming and managing their marginal forest lands under federal ownership. Due to substantial lumbering in the area throughout the 19th century, most of the forest had been cut down by 1910. The lands had begun eroding and residents were leaving.
After the act was passed, the Forest Service was able to acquire land — generally abandoned farm lands and deteriorating woodlands — which could be used for timber production. Since times were hard with the Great Depression underway, the Forest Service did grant special use permits to those living on the land who had no suitable means of support.
Now, there are over 201,000 acres in the Hoosier National Forest providing abundant recreation and wildlife habitat from the hills of Monroe and Brown counties south to Perry County and the Ohio River.
It is quite a coincidence that 75 years ago, within days of each other, two pieces of legislation were passed which still significantly impact our state and our citizens. The REMC Act and the Forest Service Enabling Act each targeted specific critical needs. Years later, we’re still celebrating their resounding successes.