This Is Our Town

Alexandra Osborn Spotti

Description

Discover the crucial role a dusty desert encampment played in WWII and how it beat the odds to become Nevada’s second largest city.

With World War II raging throughout Europe, the United States knew it needed to produce magnesium—the “miracle metal”—in prodigious quantities.



Thousands of souls from across the United States heeded the call and traveled to Southern Nevada to build the world’s largest magnesium production plant. Living conditions were harsh in the parched desert encampment that some called Tent City.



But the iron-willed men and women who answered the call would break all records in magnesium production. When the war ended, however, a mass exodus from the settlement left it on the brink of becoming just another ghost town.



In this book, the author offers readers a front-row seat to the development of Henderson, Nevada. In plain, straightforward language, she examines the forces that propelled the small community through the war and how it continued to thrive into the twenty-first century.



Whether you’re interested in World War II, the history of Nevada, or the history of Henderson in particular, this book reveals the powerful impact of a small desert town.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• World War II
• Henderson
• History
• Nevada
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 20 août 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665709842
• Langue: English

Extrait

This is our Town
Those yesteryears in war born Henderson, Nevada




Alexandra Osborn Spotti









Copyright © 2021 Alexandra Osborn Spotti.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.



Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-0983-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-0985-9 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-0984-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021914676



Archway Publishing rev. date: 08/02/2022
















Dedicated to my beloved family,
to history buffs everywhere,
to those who live or have lived in Henderson,
and to all who knew the town back when…



CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. The Road to War
2. The Invasion of Poland – World War ll Begins
3. A Desert Giant
4. Pearl Harbor
5. A Camp Becomes a Townsite
6. Breaking World Records
7. Controversy and Celebration
8. Knowledge is Power
9. A Movie House, Pies, and Tenpins
10. Milestones
11. Old Glory Flies
12. The Auction Block
13. A Flurry of Stores
14. Nevada Test Site
15. Self- Governance
16. Flash Floods, a City Pool, and a Drag Strip
17. Nevada Southern University
18. Root Beer Floats and Smorgasbord
19. Bomb Shelters
20. Bobcats and Other Surprises
21. Earthquakes, A City Charter, and Fishing Stories
22. Howard Eells… The Man Who Started It All
23. A Sungrazing Comet
24. Lake Adair
25. A Walk on the Moon
26. Home Sweet Home

Abbreviations
Translations
Particulars
Awards and Recognitions
References and Further Reading
About the Author



Acknowledgments
Through the course of writing this book, I have traveled on a wonderful journey back in time. Along the path to all those thousands of yesterdays, I have been blessed with much support in the furtherance of my goal to get this book finished and published. For the storied insights and reminisces of my late parents, Floyd and Pearl, two larger than life figures, I will be forever and a day grateful. To my longtime friends and Basic High School classmates Leslie Plamondon Davis, Carol Medina Montoya, Dr. John McBeath, and Pamela Phillips Hall, a heartfelt thank you for the memories. To other friends—both old and new—Cleo Wilson, Anthony Salazar, Janelle DeCorte, the late Angela Monahan, Robby Van Wagenen, the late Betty Wagner Daly, Jim Ullom, the late Winnie Prince, Mark Hall-Patton, Alice Brumage, and Richard Walter, my deep appreciation for information or experiences you shared. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Dana Bullinger, digital projects librarian for Henderson Libraries; Colleen O’Brien, Henderson city clerk; and Patricia Aaron, public affairs officer of the Bureau of Reclamation; each of whom went the extra mile to lend a hand. Many of the images in this book were photographed by me, however the majority were acquired with the assistance of Dana Bullinger and Colleen O’Brien. Dana facilitated my navigation of the library website, making it possible for me to choose from droves of pictures, after which she compiled them in a format I could easily utilize. Colleen searched through the city’s vast digital archives for pictures from the specific time periods I requested. With my choices made, the images were received. Patricia kindly provided me with helpful data on Hoover Dam.
“ Thank you for being an important part of my story.” — anonymous



Introduction
While the world was being shattered by war, thousands of brave souls uprooted themselves from the comfort of their homes to journey to the unpityingly hot and bleak Southern Nevada desert. In this remote location, they would perform grueling work in the harshest of conditions to achieve the phenomenal feat of constructing the world’s largest magnesium production complex in defense of America and its Allies. During a time of grave uncertainty, a spirit of hope and, to put it plainly, the resolute gumption interwoven into the character of each of these leading lights propelled them, against all odds, to also build a community. From what has been referred to as “tent city,” a school system and a public library were founded, businesses were launched, churches were established, and civic activities were organized. Little did they know then that they were laying the foundation from which the second largest city in Nevada would one day spring. That same intrepid can-do attitude guiding these men and women as they made a home in the desert fostered their mastery in the production of magnesium, the “mystery” metal. The record-breaking output of refined magnesium manufactured by this workforce would play a critical role in safeguarding the future for people all across the globe—those who might otherwise not have had a tomorrow.












The tasks that we Americans now face will test us to the uttermost. Never before have we been called upon for such a prodigious effort. Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much…
—President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1942
The year 1943 will challenge every American--on the battlefront and on the home front. We shall be called upon to sacrifice as we have never sacrificed before. To us at BMI one major task is assigned—to make magnesium—fast and in quantity. We must not-we cannot-we will not fail.
— The Big Job 1942



1
The Road to War
I t was a race against the clock as one hundred sixty-two million cubic feet of earth was gouged, scooped, tunneled, hollowed, and bulldozed out of thousands of acres of parched ground. It happened in the distant past, or was it that long ago? The year was 1941. The setting was a barren Southern Nevada desert scorched by the unrelenting sun, but a project codenamed Plancor 201 was about to change the landscape forever.
Let me tell you the story.
World War II (WWII) had begun two years earlier when Germany’s chancellor and supreme commander of the armed forces Adolf Hitler ordered one million five hundred thousand land troops, thousands of fighter and bomber aircraft, and a great massing of armored tanks to attack Poland.
Hitler had long harbored a seething outrage over Germany’s defeat in WWI. His embitterment was fomented by the terms laid out in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which ended the war, and the Locarno Pact, signed in 1925. Integral to the Treaty of Versailles was the requirement that Germany accept responsibility for WWI, pay war reparations to the Allies, limit the size of its army and navy, and maintain no air force. The treaty also restricted, in some cases banned, Germany’s manufacture and use of war armaments. It further prohibited German troops from entering the Rhineland (a strip of land that served as a buffer zone along the Rhine River in the western portion of Germany and east of Germany’s border with France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), and forbade any placement there of German military munitions. One stipulation in the Locarno Pact was that the Rhineland would remain permanently demilitarized. Hitler viewed the treaty and pact as grievous humiliations meted out to Germany, and his vow to one day govern Germany and renounce both would prove prophetic.
Hitler’s rise to power began in 1921 with his ascension to the leadership role in the far- right Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei Party (NSDAP). Translation: The National Socialist German Workers’ Party (and known as the Nazi Party). The NSDAP was originally named the German Workers’ Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei —DAP). When President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler the chancellor in January 1933, Nazification (Gleichschaltung) swiftly took over and transformed Germany into a one-party barbaric dictatorship. President von Hindenburg passed away August 2, 1934; thereupon, the Reich Legislature (Nazi Reichstag) immediately adopted a law drafted by Hitler that mandated the dissolution of the position of president. All authority previously conferred on the office of the presidency would thenceforward be assumed by Germany’s chancellor — Adolf Hitler.
On August 19, 1934, a referendum (plebiscite), rife with reports of voter intimidation practices, was held. When the ballots were tabulated, the majority revealed a yes vote for the merging of the two positions. On August 20, only one day later, members of the German military and all public officials were required to swear an oath of obedience. It was not a vow of loyalty to Germany (referenced as the