My grandparents in west central Kansas had some sort of generator that would power lights. I believe it came on automatically when you turned on a light switch. It was not 110v.
That was rendered obsolete in the early 50s when REA ran power to rural areas.
Prior to that, they had kerosene lamps. Mom (91 years old) tells me of one time a kerosene lamp was knocked over and started a major house fire. She just escaped the fire, but two of your younger sisters sustained fatal burns.
That would have been late 1930s.
