The same storm that blanketed Oklahoma with 10 inches of snow in January swept into northern Mississippi, leaving a trail of ice and widespread devastation. At the height of the storm, nearly 90% of the Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association’s system was without power. More than 26,000 meters sat in the dark at the peak of the outages.
States away, Central Rural Electric Cooperative crews were loading trucks ready to help.
“It looked like the ice had wadded up the line and thrown it down,” said Jerry Cundiff, Central lineman. “All we saw while coming in was ice, snow, broken crossarms and downed lines.”
The drive to Batesville, Mississippi, took the crew 16 hours as they made their way through icy conditions.
Once there, their first night was spent at an armory where they stayed on cots alongside 60 other linemen before rising bright and early to start restoration efforts.
The storm did not simply knock lines down; it destroyed infrastructure. Poles were snapped, lines twisted and tangled, crossarms shattered, and power equipment was destroyed. In many locations, there was nothing left for crews to fix. Much had to be rebuilt and reconstructed.
Much of the restoration was done the old-fashioned way, “off hooks,” climbing poles and working by hand. Getting to the job sites, however, was often as difficult as the repairs themselves.
“It wasn’t really mud; we called it gumbo,” Cundiff said. “It was different mud than what we have here. Our mud is sandier, not as sticky. This mud stuck. While we were digging a hole, water was coming back into it; all the gumbo, whatever it touched, was hard to get off. It stuck to the shovels, to our boots and to the truck. It was marsh conditions.”
Despite the destruction, what stood out to Central’s linemen was the generosity of the community.
“The farmers were very generous, patient and incredibly helpful,” Cundiff said. “On the third day, we had a farmer follow us with a tractor and helped us get in and out of some locations so we could restore power.”
Cundiff stated that the farmers were a big part of helping Central’s linemen work. If it wasn’t for the locals’ help, it would’ve taken longer to restore power.
Members of the Mississippi cooperative frequently stopped to offer help, purchase meals, or simply say thank you, despite being without power for weeks.
After all the long days and difficult jobs, one moment remains especially meaningful to the linemen.
The crew had visited a home that needed more materials when they met a roughly 18-month-old girl who was picking up sticks with her mother and father.
“She didn’t speak much, but she would sign to us,” Cundiff said. “As soon as their power turned on, she lit up with smiles.”
When disaster strikes, electric cooperatives across the country rely on longstanding mutual aid agreements. These agreements ensure that when one cooperative is overwhelmed, others step in to help.
Importantly, the cost of mutual aid is not paid by Central’s members. Expenses are covered by the cooperative and the state, receiving assistance.
By the time the first crew returned home, after 16-hour days for 14 days, outages at Tallahatchie Valley had dropped to fewer than 2,000 meters. A second crew from Central deployed on February 11, serving nine additional days, including assisting with fiber restoration.
In the end, mutual aid isn’t just about rebuilding lines but about neighbors helping neighbors, even when those neighbors are states away. It’s about the farmers, co-op and line workers working side by side until the lights come back on. It’s proof that while storms may tear down poles and wad wire, they also reveal something stronger, the power of community.