SUMMERDALE, Ala. — “Seventy-five years: Times have changed, but the co-op spirit remains the same.”

That sentiment introduces an article in the April issue of Alabama Living, a monthly lifestyle magazine for Baldwin EMC customers. That’s because April 22 marks the 75^th anniversary of the utilities company that serves customers throughout Baldwin County.

Although it was begun in 1937, the idea for Baldwin EMC came two years earlier came when then President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration. According to the co-op’s publication, he did so “to bring light to the more than 5 million farms in the United States without electric service.”

Two years later, an REA loan of $200,000 enabled the launch of Baldwin EMC so it could provide poles and 211 miles of line to serve 700 of those farms.

According to the Baldwin EMC publication, additional funding in December 1938 enabled that customer base to rise to 1,057.

“Although their numbers are few, some residents of central Baldwin County communities still remember the day the lights came on for the very first time,” the magazine article states.

According to the publication, Baldwin EMC works to keep abreast of changes and challenges that occur.

“We’re confident,” the article states, “because, after all, 75 years is a lot of experience.”