Basin Electric original incorporator Walter Smith
Smith was drafted to serve as a temporary manager of Northern Minnesota Power Association in 1960. During this service Smith became an incorporator of Basin Electric.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
- November 4, 2011
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| Walter Smith |
Walter Smith was born Dec. 13, 1913, in Litchfield, MN, the son of Harry C. Smith and Emma Smith. He was raised on a farm near Litchfield and graduated from Litchfield High School. He received his first experience in electrical work as an employee of the municipal power plant at Litchfield.
Smith was the second manager of Dairyland Electric Cooperative Inc., Grand Rapids, MN, starting on May 19, 1947. He came to Grand Rapids from Brainerd, MN, where he had been employed as line superintendent for eight years by Crow Wing Cooperative Power and Light Company. During the great depression of the 1930s, he enrolled in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and was assigned to a camp at Grand Marais, MN. There he spent about a year planting trees and building roads. After his CCC days, Smith was employed by contractors building transmission lines in various Minnesota counties.
One of the problems facing Dairyland was the matter of securing wholesale power at a reasonable rate. Dairyland had been served by Minnesota Light and Power Co. with its main offices in Duluth. Seeking a more favorable bargaining position, it banded together with several other rural electric systems in northeastern Minnesota to form Northern Minnesota Power Association (NMPA).
Organized in 1953, it became increasingly apparent to the members of NMPA that a concerted effort would have to be launched to find an answer to get low-cost power for its members. One of the immediate tasks was finding someone willing to serve as manager on a part-time basis. With his board’s approval, Smith was drafted to serve as a temporary manager of NMPA in August 1960. It was during this time Smith became an incorporator of Basin Electric.
Various alternatives to the possibility of constructing a generating plant were studied, but no decision was made. As the pressure of his duties began to intensify, Smith suggested to the NMPA board that a full-time manager be employed. In 1962, Abner Thoreson, who had been serving as manager of Northern Electric Cooperative at Virginia, MN, was engaged as NMPA manager. Smith was commended for his efforts by the NPMA* board
Smith was married to Wanda Cramer of Litchfield. They had one daughter, Virginia, and two sons, James and Donald. Smith retired as general manager of Dairyland in 1981. Dairyland became part of the three-way consolidation that is now Lake Country Power, Grand Rapids, MN.
He was an avid trap shooter and served on the board of Grand Rapids Industrial Foundation, an organization set up to assist local industries. Smith died on March 6, 2000, in The Dalles, Oregon.
Editor's note: Thanks goes to Lake County Power and a book, “The night they turned on the lights,” by Harold Severson, for the information in this profile.
*NMPA officially withdrew its membership from Basin Electric in October 1964 because Northern Minnesota was not connected to the federal system and additional transmission would be needed for Basin Electric power to reach it. NMPA, Rural Cooperative Power Association and United Power Association merged to form United Power Association in 1972. Cooperative Power Association and United Power Association merged in 1999 to form Great River Energy.
On May 5, 1961, 69 people from several states gathered at the Patterson Hotel in Bismarck, ND, to sign Articles of Incorporation for Basin Electric. Their names are on a brass plaque immediately outside of the main entrance to the Headquarters building. Kathi Risch, Basin Electric senior staff writer/editor, has been seeking information about the original incorporators and compiling these profiles.
In the next several months, prior to the cooperative’s 50th anniversary celebration to be held at the 2011 annual meeting on Nov. 9, Risch will share what she has uncovered. If you have information you would like to share about a Basin Electric original incorporator and you haven’t been contacted, please call Risch at 701-557-5606 or send information, photo scans, etc. to krisch@bepc.com.
See all the original incorporators profiled to date.
Headquarters
1717 East Interstate Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58503-0564 USA
Phone: 701.223.0441
Basin Electric Power Cooperative will provide cost-effective wholesale energy along with products and services that support and unite rural America.
