Soil Conservation

     In 1959 the Soil Conservation Society of America met in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Society is concerned with the importance of contour plowing to conserve soil, and the close relationship between agriculture and life in our towns and cities. The Soil Conservation stamp was placed on sale August 26, 1959 in Rapid City to emphasize those concerns.

George McGovern

     George McGovern was born in 1922 in  Avon, South Dakota.  In World War II he was a decorated B-24 bomber pilot. He served as a Representative from South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives from 1957 to 1961.
      In 1960 John F. Kennedy named George McGovern as the first Director of the Food for Peace program, and later as U.S. Director of the U.N. Agencies on Food and Agriculture, and as U.N. Special Ambassador on Hunger.He was director of President Kennedy's Food for Peace program from 1961 to 1962.
     In 1962 he was elected to the Senate from South Dakota where he served until 1980. In 1972 he ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States.