Interview with Hugh L. Spurlock, June 2, 1994
Project: John Sherman Cooper Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Hugh Spurlock, who worked on rural electrification in Kentucky with Cooper, begins the interview by detailing his life and background. Spurlock remembers when he first met Cooper through work. Spurlock also discusses his role in creating the East Kentucky Power System. The interviewee reflects upon the dedication of the John Sherman Cooper Power Station in Somerset in 1965. Additionally, Spurlock illustrates Cooper's continued push for the construction of a dam at Devil's Jump on the Cumberland River. Spurlock highlights the resistance of private power companies in Kentucky to rural electrification. Spurlock discusses the vital role of the East Kentucky Power System in influencing other rural electric cooperatives in the U.S. Spurlock talks of federal government interest rates on loans to rural electric cooperatives. The interviewee describes Cooper's bill that was intended to assist rural electric cooperatives with financing. Cooper's attention to rural electrification in the 1960s and 1970s is considered. Spurlock provides a comparison of Cooper's strong support of rural electrification to the positions of other Kentucky Senators. To conclude the interview, Spurlock details the history of rural electrification in Kentucky and assesses the current state of rural electrification.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview LC Subject
Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991 Politicians Politicians--United States Politics and government Spurlock, Hugh L. Spurlock, Hugh L.--Interviews United States--Politics and government Washington (D.C.) Kentucky Kentuckians Somerset (Ky.) Pulaski County (Ky.) Rural electrification Rural conditions. Electricity Oneida Baptist Institute Kentucky Utilities Company Cumberland River, Big South Fork (Tenn. and Ky.) Loans Federal government Interest ratesInterview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Spurlock, Hugh L. Interview by Harry Merritt. 02 Jun. 1994. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Spurlock, H.L. (1994, June 02). Interview by H. Merritt. John Sherman Cooper Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Spurlock, Hugh L., interview by Harry Merritt. June 02, 1994, John Sherman Cooper Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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