Meet the Mascot

Willie Wiredhand will turn 75 years old this year. Willie is the longtime mascot of America’s electric cooperatives, and he’s been working hard for us since 1950. Willie’s official “birthday” is Oct. 30, the next-to-the-last day of National Co-op Month. As we approach this milestone anniversary, let’s take a look at how Willie came to be and how he has worked for us all these years. 

BEFORE WILLIE 

After the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, electricity gradually worked its way into American businesses and homes, predominantly in urban areas. By 1926, another mascot — Reddy Kilowatt — appeared as a cartoon “electrical servant” that served as a spokesman for electricity generation. As the brainchild of Ashton B. Collins, Sr., Reddy Kilowatt had lightning bolt arms and legs wearing safety gloves and shoes. His friendly face featured a lightbulb nose and outlets for ears. Alabama Power Company, where Collins worked, was the original copyright owner, and they gave the rights to Collins in 1933 so he could be granted the trademark. 

Electrification was suppressed by the Great Depression in 1929, and rural electrification was slow. As late as the mid-1930s, nine out of 10 rural homes were without electric service. Factories and businesses, of course, preferred to locate in cities where electric power was easily acquired. For many years, power companies ignored the rural areas of the nation. 

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION 

The idea of providing federal assistance to accomplish rural electrification gained ground rapidly when President Roosevelt took office in 1933. On May 11, 1935, Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 7037 establishing the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). It was not until a year later that the Rural Electrification Act was passed and the lending program that became the REA got underway. 

Within months, it became evident to REA officials that established investor-owned utilities were not interested in using federal loan funds to serve sparsely populated rural areas. But loan applications from farmer-based cooperatives poured in, and REA soon realized electric cooperatives would be the entities to make rural electrification a reality. By 1953, more than 90% of U.S. farms had electricity. 

THE FORMATION OF NRECA 

False claims that electric cooperatives were hoarding copper wire during World War II brought cooperative leaders from different states together to defend themselves. As a result, in 1942, America’s electric cooperatives formed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to provide a unified voice for cooperatives and to represent their interests in Washington, D.C. NRECA was founded in 1942 as a trade organization to represent these rural co-ops and provide additional services, which were too expensive individually. 

Willie Wiredhand was created when NRECA was unable to license the Reddy Kilowatt mascot from Collins. He intended Reddy to be used to promote investor-owned utilities, who did not find it sufficiently profitable to build electric infrastructure in rural areas. 

In 1948, Collins refused to license the Reddy Kilowatt character to rural electrical co-ops, on the grounds that it would harm the reputation of the investor-owned utilities to be associated with the federally subsidized rural programs. In response, NRECA had a contest to design their own mascot. 

The mascot contest was announced in Rural Electrification magazine in December 1948, with a $50 prize for the best design. Freelance artist Andrew “Drew” McLay designed Willie Wiredhand with a lightbulb socket head, a wire torso, a pushbutton nose and a two-pronged power plug for his hips and legs. He wears the thick gloves of a lineworker. The name is a play on the phrase “hired hand” and the character was chosen as the contest winner in 1951. He advertised electricity as “the never-tiring, always available hired hand to help the nation’s farmers.” 

Everything about Willie was symbolic of rural electricity. He was small and wiry, a hard-working, friendly icon with a big, determined smile. One magazine story describes Willie as, “the friendly and inspirational golden boy who symbolizes dependable, local, consumer-owned electricity.”

THE LAWSUITS 

Collins challenged NRECA’s right to its own mascot as soon as the contest was announced, claiming that he was “the originator and owner of figures symbolizing the use of electric energy.” 

In essence, Reddy and his legal henchmen were trying to pull the plug on Willie. From their beginning, co-ops had constantly fought skirmishes with private power companies attempting to thwart the success of non-profit utilities over territory and power supply. Appropriately, the battle between Willie and Reddy was symbolic of the David vs. Goliath struggle between co-ops and private power companies. 

Although Collins had already legally eliminated other mascots such as The Willing Watts, Eddie Edison, Elec-Tric, Mr. Watts-His-Name and Mr. Watt-AWorker, Willie Wiredhand proved to be a more formidable foe. The lawsuit and all subsequent appeals were decided in the co-op’s favor, holding that there was no trademark confusion, the names were entirely different, and the figures did not look alike. NRECA successfully countersued for their legal fees, and Willie Wiredhand was granted his own trademark in 1957. 

Incidentally, the case also ended Reddy’s monopoly over other power companies. Testimony during the trials revealed that Reddy’s syndicate often acted like B-grade movie gangsters using threats of lawsuits and intimidation to keep other private power companies from creating their own spokes-characters. 

Though Willie symbolized co-op friendliness, he also embodied co-op spunk, willing to stand up for what was right in the face of impossible odds. “He’s small, but he’s ‘wirey’” became part of Willie’s trademark and allowed him to become the beloved character he remains today. 

WILLIE GETS TO WORK 

As an advertising mascot, Willie appeared consistently in advertisements and newsletters for NRECA’s members. Beginning in 1956, Willie was the face of a cooperative group of electronics retailers who could advertise as official “Willie Wiredhand Dealers.” Willie was dressed as a minuteman and appeared on stage behind Senator John F. Kennedy for a political campaign called “Minutemen for Rural Electrification” at an NRECA event in Washington, D.C., in 1959. 

In the 1960s, a family group of musicians known as the “Willie Wiredhand Serenaders” hosted a local television show in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri that was sponsored by several electric cooperatives. The group also gave touring performances. 

Two comic books starring Willie Wiredhand were published in 1967 and 1968. “Cousin Johnny Discovers Power in Rural America” and its sequel, “It’s Annual Meeting Time for the Davis Family” were distributed by member cooperatives. 

A 5-foot animatronic mascot at the office of the Electric Power Associations of Mississippi could move its arms and speak. Branded items, including Willie Wiredhand wristwatches and aprons were given as prizes at local events sponsored by the cooperative. Some cooperatives created “Watt’s Cookin’?” cookbooks featuring Willie with member recipes. 

NRECA produces an annual Christmas ornament of Willie, and other items have included bobbleheads, lapel pins, and handmade wooden pens.