How Electricity Came to the Farm: 18 Years to Light Nine Farms in Ten

In 1935 about one American farm in ten had electricity, while nearly nine homes in ten in the towns and cities were already wired. Eighteen years later nine farms in ten were on a power line. This documentary tells how electricity came to the farm: the farm day by lantern and kerosene lamp, the order of May 1935 that set up the Rural Electrification Administration, the law of 1936, the farmers who signed up their neighbors at five dollars a member, the Pedernales cooperative in the Texas Hill Country, the evening the lights first came on, and the long argument between the power companies and the cooperatives over who should bring the current and at what cost to the taxpayer. Clear narration over photographs, posters, documents and film from open archives. The whole story, told in order from start to finish. Chapters 00:00 The Morning Mail 01:07 Before the Line 03:06 One Farm in Ten 05:19 Two Experiments 06:57 Order 7037 08:01 The Companies Reply 09:39 Norris and Rayburn 11:15 Five Dollars a Member 13:25 The Pedernales 15:01 The Lights Come On 16:39 Irons and Radios 18:16 The Electric Circus 19:53 Rivals and Partners 21:35 War and After 22:43 Two Percent 25:13 What Remains Pictures from Wikimedia Commons, in order of appearance: "Vintage Silvertone Wood Table Radio With Push Buttons, Model 7036-A,…" by Joe Haupt (CC BY-SA 2.0); "Museo radio 31 aug 90" by Cassinam (CC BY-SA 3.0 ch); "Утюг" by George Shuklin (CC BY-SA 1.0); "Peter Rønnings farm, Minnesota, USA (12208414996)" by Åsen Museum og Historielag (CC BY 2.0); "PensacolaAug081920sElectricMeter" by Infrogmation of New Orleans (CC BY-SA 3.0); "James G. Blaine Mansion (55264578621)" by ajay_suresh (CC BY 4.0); "Federal Reserve Bank (9743593608)" by Ben Schumin (CC BY-SA 2.0); "Cotton field outside of Rex" by Gerry Dincher (CC BY-SA 2.0); "Tobacco field in Cumberland County" by Gerry Dincher (CC BY-SA 2.0); "Devil's Backbone (37912277601)" by Nicolas Henderson (CC BY 2.0); "Blanco County Courthouse (2018), Johnson City, TX" by 25or6to4 (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Burnet County Courthouse (2018), Burnet, TX" by 25or6to4 (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Images from Holmstadengen Farm in May 2019 11" by Øyvind Holmstad (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Dietz No. 2 D-Lite Lanterns" by Jphill19 (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Farm P9220164 Dining Room" by Chris Light (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Vintage General Electric Wood Table Radio, Model J-62, Broadcast &…" by Joe Haupt (CC BY-SA 2.0); "Old washing machine (7217088736)" by bluesbby (CC BY 2.0); "Hydrophore and pump at sunset" by W.carter (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Bügeleisen Therma 1930" by Geca001 (CC BY 4.0); "Coolidge Street House Old Jefferson Louisiana Interior Baklite Light…" by Infrogmation of New Orleans (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Trempealeau-Electric-Cooperative-Arcadia-Wis" by FDR Presidential Library & Museum (CC BY 2.0); "Dominion Power 19.9kV - Dahlgren, VA" by Tonyglen14 (CC BY 2.0); "Choptank Electric 7.2kV - St. Michaels, MD (38166286744)" by Tonyglen14 (CC BY 2.0); "Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. 2012" by Another Believer (CC BY-SA 3.0); "United States Treasury Washington DC 5383075936 o" by Tony Webster (CC BY-SA 3.0); "Us-treasury-building" by MeanieHyaena (CC BY 4.0); "Government Accountability Office Building (53840039241)" by ajay_suresh (CC BY 2.0); "Choptank Electric Co-op Barclay Substation (40620015931)" by Tonyglen14 (CC BY 2.0); "A pull switch for a ceiling light" by Jdlrobson (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Incandescent bulb" by Yakubu Abdul Majeed (CC BY-SA 4.0). License texts: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ch/deed.en, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.