There is a great rivalry nowadays between big cities on one side, and small towns and rural areas on the other. Seventy-five years ago "in town" was the place to be. That is where the jobs and stores were. The best schools. Factories and mills. Except for farming and forestry, the jobs were in town. And electricity. In the 1930's only 10% of farm families had electricity. The Rural Electrification Act of the 1930's is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and Habersham EMC has produced a book in which Emory Jones has interviewed a number of people who have lived in that coops service area from "a 40-watrt bulb hanging from the ceiling" to today. It is classic mountain history. 75 years ago there was a standing battle between Atlanta and the rest of Georgia. Not only did Atlanta have electric power, it also had the political and economic power. Things have changed. Industries and their jobs moved out of the inner cities. Retailers followed people to the suburbs. You know the drill. The Atlanta Falcons are a great example. They play their games in Atlanta where they can draw people from all over, but their headquarters is in Hall County. America's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, was started in a small town.. The broiler capital of the world is Gainesville. Big cities are still important, but they do not have the economic and political clout they once had. The EMC.s started something 75 years ago
