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and sound action, your Directors pulled Coast Electric through the emergency.
As soon as the War was over and Uncle Sam permitted suppliers to again manufacture all sorts of materials, Coast	1
Electric plunged into the huge task of supplying electricity to the thousands of applicants. It was at this point that your	•
Directors made a historical decision. They would run lines to every home and rural establishment not now having electricity in Hancock, Pearl River and Harrison Counties! They would provide complete AREA COVERAGE!I How well this decision has been carried out will be depicted in further chapters.
Chapter 3 SHATTUCK REPLACES FERRELL After almost ten years of successful management of the Association, Manager Ferrell resigned in July 1948 to enter business for himself. The directors advertised far and wide for a manager and examined a great number of very capable men for this position. Your correspondent spent several days with the directors going over the qualifications of these applicants. Several of them appeared "promising" but we were all interested in obtaining someone who knew the rural electrification business "inside and out". Now that your Association had grown so large, it was apparent to all that careful selection of a manager was of paramount importance.
We were also being assisted by H. H. Shattuck, Assistant Regional Head, REA Management Division, who came down from Washington to help us. By this time your Association had grown into a $1,325,000 business and the section of a capable manager - one who could handle all of the many exacting problems, both technical and administrative, and to carry on further expansion - was a very difficult decision.
Another phase of this question dictated that, if at all possible, the new manager be a person intimately acquainted with Mississippi and local environment. There were a good many applicants from out-of-,jH:ate and the choice was difficult. Finally, Dr. C. W. Fountain, President of Coast Electric, had one of his ^usual sensible', thoughts, "if we could persuade Shattuck to resign