Yesterday

At a meeting held in the Morrison Hotel in Anthony, Kansas in September, 1951, interested farmers and members of the Anthony Chamber of Commerce discussed the possibility of forming a rural telephone cooperative in that section of the state. Its purpose would be to give better service to farmers and towns in the area than had been possible previously, under the system of separately owned rural lines. Those attending that meeting included: K.G. McGovney, Neal Jordan, W. J. Greve, Luke Kruse, A. A. Fisher and W. D. Herst, all of Freeport; Dean Hughes, Waldron; Claude Meade, George Harmon, Jim Pitts, Wood Runyan, J. E. Jacobsen, Anthony; J. B. Payne of J. B. Payne and Associates, consulting engineers, Enid; and R. L. Thomas, Loan Appraiser for the REA, Washington, D.C.

A temporary board was elected at the meeting, made up of Dean Hughes, chairman, Waldron; Casper Rife, secretary/treasurer, Anthony; W. J. Greve, Freeport; Clyde Downing, Anthony; and George Harmon, Anthony.

The Harper County Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. was formally organized and incorporated in December 14, 1951.

At the request of the R.E.A., the company's name was changed to Harper County Rural Telephone Association, Inc. in 1954. That same year the exchanges of Corbin, Freeport, Perth, South Haven, and Waldron were acquired. The first permanent Board of Directors elected included: Dean Hughes, president; Morris Redfern, secretary/treasurer; Ivan Frazier, Arlyss Debuhr, and W. J. Greve. Business began with five exchanges and approximately 824 subscribers.

E. J. 'Jim' Salter was hired as the first Manager, in 1955. The company rented office space in Anthony. The Hunnewell exchange was also acquired that year. 1956 brought the acquisition of the first Oklahoma exchange of Braman. The Bluff City exchange was acquired in 1957, and the company's name was changed to KanOkla Telephone Association, Inc. That year also brought the conversion to dial for five exchanges. The Geuda Springs and Mayfield exchanges were added in 1959, and Danville, and Hardtner exchanges in 1960. KanOkla moved into their new Headquarters Building in Anthony in 1961, and acquired two more Oklahoma exchanges, Capron and Manchester. The Jet, Oklahoma exchange was acquired in 1967, and in 1968 was converted to all buried cable, and furnished one party service to the subscribers. The Goltry exchange was acquired in 1969, and went to all buried cable, giving one party service.

In 1975 and 1976, all Kansas exchanges were upgraded to one party service. By 1978, the rest of the Oklahoma exchanges had been upgraded to one party. The business office and warehouse were expanded in 1979, to provide more room for the growing company. The Caldwell and Renfrow exchanges were acquired in 1984, and a digital switch was placed into service at Jet.

1986 brought the placement of fiber optic cable. All exchanges were converted to digital by May 1990.

KanOkla moved its headquarters to 100 KanOkla Avenue in Caldwell, KS in March of 1991.

Fiber optic cable was buried to the Caldwell Schools in April 1992, allowing Interactive TV (ITV) access with Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City and schools in Oxford, Conway Springs, and Udall. South Haven Schools were added to the ITV loop for the 1996 school year. In 2003, the ITV equipment at Caldwell and South Haven was replaced by IP based equipment. This upgrade allows the schools to access more sites than they could originally. In the fall of 1998 through a partnership with another phone company, KanOkla Telephone was instrumental in plowing fiber to the school in Cherokee, OK for ITV and Internet accessibility. Local number access to the Internet was provided FREE to all the schools and libraries in KanOkla Country in early 1996.

KanOkla Telephone was awarded the Achievement Award for Service in South Central Kansas by the Kansas Department of Commerce & Housing in 1997 and 2001. This award honors companies that promote a positive business environment through economic opportunity.

Keeping in pace with today's progressive technology, KanOkla opened a retail computer store in downtown Caldwell in July 1998. The KanOkla Technology Store offers computers, computer software, service, training, and accessories. The store offers our rural customers the resources and tools necessary to compete successfully in the ever-changing world of technology.

In May of 1999, KanOkla upgraded the telecommunications infrastructure to the Hospital District #1 of Sumner County in Caldwell. Through an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line, the hospital now has the adequate infrastructure to receive telemedicine services from the South Central Kansas Regional Medical Center of Arkansas City.

Today

The current Board of Directors is made up of Scott Bannister, president; Randy Lanie, vice-president; Sue Schwerdtfeger, secretary/treasurer; Harold LeValley, Carol Peterson, Kim Miller, John Showman, J. C. Feist, and Mark McEachern. The CEO is Greg Aldridge.

KanOkla Telephone Association, Inc. is an independent telephone cooperative with headquarters in Caldwell, KS, serving areas in South Central Kansas and North Central Oklahoma since 1951.

KanOkla Telephone serves both residential and commercial customers in our rural communities with quality telecommunications services at competitive rates. In addition to basic telephone, KanOkla provides long distance services and local number access to the Internet. KanOkla Country customers can receive voice mail, caller ID, automatic recall, call waiting, call forwarding, speed calling, etc.

Being a vital part of the communities we serve is very important to KanOkla Telephone. In 2001, the KanOkla Community Development & Assistance Program was designed to provide area communities an avenue to enhance the quality of life, safety, or other causes that assist community growth and sustainability. KanOkla supports our communities by awarding eight $1000 scholarships to seniors annually, sponsors two junior representatives to Washington D.C. for the Foundation for Rural Services Youth Tour, and many other contributions of time and money by both the company and employees.

The cooperative employs 48 full time people, and serves approximately 3,000 access lines in 20 exchanges. The service area covers over 1,400 square miles. KanOkla has 1850 route miles of cable and 619 miles of fiber.