Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative oral history project

Collection

Identifier: 70.100-GVEC

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Many of the interviewees were charter customers and employees of GVEC and remembered a time before electricity was available to the residents of the Guadalupe River Valley. Interviewees were asked to comment on how their lives changed as a result of the availability of electricity, their level of satisfaction with the service provided by GVEC, and their opinion of GVEC’s intention to provide additional services such as satellite television or waste management.

The GVEC collection contains complete transcripts of all but one of the twenty-seven interviews. In addition to the transcripts, each folder contains release forms, copies of correspondence, and biographical information on each interviewee. A second box contains all the extant audio copies of the interviews on audiocassette. Audio copies exist for thirteen of the twenty-seven interviews. Materials arranged alphabetically.

Most of the interviews were conducted by Southwest Texas graduate student Karen Yancy, who used the interviews in her master’s thesis, And Then There was Light: A History of Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative 1963-1988.

Dates

1986-1987

Creator

Southwest Texas State University. Department of History (Organization)
Brown, Ronald C., 1945- (Person)
Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

The oral histories held by the Special Collections and Archives are protected by copyright. No permission is required for research or educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission. Special Collections and Archives has obtained the consent of both the interviewer and the interviewee to make these oral histories available for research and educational use. If you are a copyright owner with concerns about an oral history featured here, please contact univarchives@txstate.edu.

Historical note

The Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative was established in 1938 with funds from the Rural Electrification Administration. Its purpose was to provide electricity to rural areas in the vicinity of Guadalupe and Gonzales counties, east of San Antonio, Texas. In 1986, the board of directors of the Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative, desiring to record the history of their organization, requested assistance from the history department of Southwest Texas State University. GVEC provided a list of long-time customers, employees, and board members who they felt would be good sources of information. Students in Professor Ron Brown’s oral history courses conducted a series of twenty-seven interviews from November of 1986 through December of 1987.

Extent

1.67 Linear Feet (One document case, one cassette box )

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC) was established in 1938 with funds from the Rural Electrification Administration. Its purpose was to provide electricity to rural areas in the vicinity of Guadalupe and Gonzales counties, east of San Antonio, Texas. Many of the interviewees were charter customers and employees of GVEC. Interviewees were asked to comment on how their lives changed as a result of the availability of electricity, and their experience with GVEC services.

Physical Location

Materials may be stored off-site. Advance notice may be required for use. Transcript PDF's are available at Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative Oral History Project Collection

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transfered by Ron Brown at unknown date.

Related Materials

Most of the interviews were conducted by Southwest Texas graduate student Karen Yancy, who used the interviews in her master’s thesis:

Yancy, K. A. (1988). And there was light: A history of Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative 1963-1988 (Unpublished thesis). Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/12234