Rural Electrification Administration

     In 1935 Franklin D. Roosevelt created the REA to provide low-interest loans to consumer-owned electrical cooperatives in rural areas too remote to be served economically by private power companies. Electrification revolutionized rural life in America. In 1985 when this stamp was issued the REA had provided nearly $60 billion in loans which brought power to 99% of all rural residents. For a state like South Dakota it has brought indoor plumbing, washing machines and refrigeration to say nothing about access to computers which otherwise would have been impossible. It is scarcely possible to imagine life in South Dakota without the REA, although most of us do not recognize its impact.
     The stamp had its first day of issue at Madison, South Dakota.