WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (AP) -- Army ordnance officials were said by Senator Bulow (Dem., S. D.) today to be giving close attention to several sites in the vicinity of Ardmore, S. D., for an ammunition storage depot.
Bulow said he was informed by Major General C. M. Wesson, chief of Ordnance, that the Ardmore area was among locations under consideration and that information regarding the selection of a site might become available soon.
Ammunition Depot Will Cover 12,000 Acres
____________________________________________________
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (AP) -- Representative Francis Case (Rep., S. D.) predicted today that a $15,000,000 defense development would be located in Fall River county, S. D.
Case said he expected that the development would be located on a 12,000 acre tract, seven miles south of Edgemont and directly west of Provo, and that it would be served by the Burlington railroad.
The undertaking, he said in a statement, would dispossess less than a dozen families and would occupy much land already government owned.
"I think South Dakota will soon have a second major defense project," Representative Francis Case of the Second congressional district, said today, "the 12,000 acre, $15,000,000 ammunition depot in Fall River county."
The congressman stated that he expected it would be built near Provo, about seven miles south of Edgemont, with direct rail connections south, east, west and northwest and interchanging connections in all directions with other railroads at Crawford, Nebr., and Rapid City, S. D., via Mystic, and all trucking connections to U. S. hiways 18, 20, 85 and 16.
"Railroad and climate requirements limited my proposals for sites in Fall River county," he said, "but fortunately, we were able to find one site that has stood up in months of study against others in the general area."
The site will move less than half a dozen families, he pointed out, and will occupy much land already government owned. The project will use huge quantities of sand, gravel and cement.
Availability of labor in western Nebraska cities as well as on the nearby South Dakota Indian reservations and ranches, and abundance of sand and gravel at southern Black Hills points, and lumber mills, the cement plant at Rapid City were among construction factors considered, Case said, but he added that "the fundamental considerations were tactical and technical."
"I had no idea until I got into this last summer," he said, "how many questions of winter and summer climate, altitude, humidity, and the like were important in storage of ammunition. Records of the Rapid City weather bureau and the Ardmore experiment station were of great help to us in presenting the case.
"This project," he continued, "is the second of the two projects on which I made a special trip to South Dakota last summer and which I believed we could qualify for, after I had studied their requirements. The other was the air base for Rapid City, announced last week.
"At the time, I gave out that the trip was to see Mrs. Case, who had broken her ankle while riding horseback. Much as I did want to see her, actually the ankle had been broken a couple of weeks before she left, and what really timed my visit was the coming of the officers of the site boards.
"I went out a few days ahead of them, stopping in Pierre, and arranged with Earl Hammerquist, commissioner of school and public lands, and Millard Scott, rural credit director, to refrain from selling or leasing land in the areas which I had proposed for consideration, and went on to the Hills to make a preliminary examination of sites and arranged facilities for the officers, when they arrived.
"The army board had requested that no publicity be given to the nature of their visit. From Pierre, I called the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce and arranged for a committee to meet with some North Western railroad officials that night of Aug. 1. There we outlined the possibility of the air base - which is not a flight school, as some mistakenly think, but a home station for one of the air corps new bombardment groups - scheduled the data that should be assembled for the airport and investigated sites, water, utilities, and housing facilities. Rapid City was the only city in the district that could qualify for the air base.
"The next day I went to Fall River county, picked up some of the county commissioners and began to drive over the country south of the mountains, looking for an area of the right elevation, drainage, and conditions to meet the requirements of an ammunitions depot.
"The board originally thought Nebraska would be the farthest north they could get suitable temperatures.
"Officials of both the North Western and Burlington railroads worked with us in the meeting.
"We drove trackless lowlands for days in temperatures exceeding 100. We ruined rods in two cars. One day it was 105. We drove into Hot Springs that night, went in the plunge, which aroused the suspicion that I was taking a vacation while congress was in session. After we had seen the cement plant and lumber mills in Rapid City and had obtained helpful personal testimony from construction officers at Fort Meade on the fine record made by South Dakota labor, we got to Deadwood to see the tail-end of the Days of '76 before taking the officials to their train at Newcastle.
Somebody said we were on a vacation. That made a good blind for the real purpose of the board, and everybody was happy.
"Actually, the board members were so impressed by what they saw in South Dakota that the details were not blotted out by the more that 100 sites they visited later on their trip. We got in the running at the outset and stayed there throughout. The first brief which I submitted on the depot was supplemented with a detailed study by the railroad and scores of memos and personal interviews in the weeks following. We survived the first elimination and the site was rechecked by a review board and construction officers. In recent weeks, rates and figures have been checked and rechecked.
"The continental rail and highway connections were basic, but beyond that, climate in winter and summer, rainfall, snows, winds, peak heat and peak cold, warmth of day and coolness of nights, altitude, drainage, availability of troops for protection, distance from town, nearness of housing for permanent employees - a hundred questions like these had to be answered satisfactorily.
"Officials of both the North Western and Burlington railroads, that will haul material to the depots, have been most helpful. The county commissioners in Fall River county were tireless. Mr. Sandell of the employment office at Rapid City and Mr. Hawkins of the REA office at Custer gave important co-operation. John Boland of Rapid City, Lee Craft and Jim Ashcroft of Hot Springs, Clyde Bowell and C. H. Kerr of Edgemont and John Cooper of Oelrichs furnished cars to take the site and review boards on inspection trips. Many others contributed in one way or another, and it is that western co-operation, coupled now with an intense patriotic urge, that I feel confident will result in constructing the ammunition depot with record economy and speed."
The real estate angle of Fall River county's defense project will be handled by the newly established U. S. engineers' office in the remodeled union depot on River avenue.
The work of the office, according to Felix Neff, office head, will be to take care of appraisal of the land and contact farmers in regard to the purchasing of it. Appraisers are already at work, he said, in appraising the 12,000 acres which the government will purchase. About 9,000 acres on the site are already government-owned.
The office will include personnel of eight or ten clerks and workers when it has been completely established, Mr. Neff said. Also in the office at the present time is James Edwards, clerk.
Agnes Johnson left Wednesday morning for Douglas, Wyo., where she will work in a hospital there. She had been visiting her parents and other relatives for a few days.
Old Man Winter surely is here on a long stay, it seems. Sure hard to take this cold wave, as we have been having such mild winters the past few years, but years ago we had such times, so guess we can again.
Eddie Heiser, who has been visiting his sister, Mrs. Charlotte Mitchell, at Craig, Colo., returned here last Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Gow took their daughter, Miss Betty, to Edgemont Tuesday evening, where she took a train to Denver to resume her schooling.
A. C. Soske went to Custer Wednesday to attend the funeral of the mother of Howard Thompson, which was held that day. Grandma will be remembered by many here, as she had visited many times in the home of the Soskes. The many friends are extending their sympathy to the bereaved family.
Murray Henderson left Thursday morning for Camp Claiborne after a visit with his father and family.
Wayne Gow left Friday morning for Cheyenne, Wyo., where he was to meet some friends and from there they will go on to California.
Mrs. Walters, son Ivan and Miss Helen went to Hot Springs Friday on business.
Lois and Alta Mae Johnson left Friday for Madison, S. D., where they will again take up their school work after a two weeks' vacation with home folks and other relatives and friends.
Wayne Berkshire arrived home Saturday morning from Mitchell where he was laid off for an indefinite time.
Louis Saubers came home from Iowa Saturday morning. He was on his way to Edgemont and came this way on account of the roads. He has a two weeks vacation.
A few of the farmers went to Edgemont Friday to attend a meeting with Congressman Case who was there from Washington in regard to the defense project which soon will be started.
Quite a number went to Edgemont Saturday and the roads had to be shoveled both ways, and the cars did not have to be very far apart either.
Junior Soske went to Chadron Sunday after the holiday vacation.
Marjorie Berkshire, Elaine and Merle Johnson, Patsy Trotter and Helen Walters returned back to Edgemont school after holiday vacations.
School started here Monday with most of the children present, but Harry Rickard and John Hoar's children were unable to get here. Miss Taylor came down on the train Sunday to be sure and get here for school.
Freddie Coates started school Monday. He has been going to school at the Lutheran hospital, where he has been for treatments.
Charlie Stearns and wife went to Edgemont Saturday, he to see the doctor about his sore throat, and he couldn't cure it up with home remedies. He is feeling better at this time.
Mr. Baker, en route from Sheridan, Wyo., to Alliance Sunday evening, got stuck in a snow bank east of here and broke something about his car and he spent the night in the home of Frank Piel. Monday he was towed to Edgemont to have his car fixed before he could go on.
J. M. Johnson and C. O. Johnson went to Hot Springs on business Monday.
Land appraisers and surveyors are busy in this vicinity at present, but the deep snow is hindering them some.
C. K. Calland and Jimmie Coates came down from Burdock Saturday and took home a load of articles from their place. Mr. and Mrs. Calland and Clarence were down again Sunday and got more of their belongings.
Editor Kopriva and family and his father of Edgemont were callers here Sunday, also to view the munitions dump site west of town.
Mrs. Bertha Bennett and some friends from Martin were callers here Monday. She was making a deal to sell her property here.
Major John C. Lowry, who has been in charge of construction of the large ordnance plant at Burlington, Ia., accompanied by two clerks and two secretaries, arrived here Thursday to consider possible office space and living quarters in connection with the Provo defense project, on which Major Lowry will be construction engineer.
Major Lowry was accompanied by R. Johnson and O. W. Allender, clerks and Feda Martin and Frances Johnston, stenographers, all of whom were also employed on the Burlington project. They looked over the city auditorium as a possible office site and appeared pleased with it, according to city officials who accompanied them. Major Lowery left today for his base headquarters at Fort Peck, planning to return here Sunday.
The men are also making tentative arrangements for housing 171 clerks and their families, the personnel of the construction engineering office. Equipment for these offices is packed at Burlington and ready for immediate shipment, as soon as an office site is picked, Major Lowry said Thursday.
Major Lowry suggested that screens might be placed in the auditorium to divide it into office spaces. He inquired about light and heat.
The Burlington shell loading plant, built under the supervision of Major Lowry, employed 12,000 workers at the peak of construction and cost $40,000,000.
Major Lowry said the Provo project would probably start with the building of railroad spurs, the construction of a sewage system and the drilling of wells.
He expects the peak of construction to be in June, July and August.
In preparation for the increase in men here soon, the Chamber of Commerce is making a canvass of all possible living quarters in town and will list them in order to enable men coming here to work to find living quarters quickly and easily.
Persons who have available living space to rent are urged to co-operate in this survey.
Take it straight from businessmen in Edgemont, the recent stories about rents in that town having doubled and tripled since the Provo defense project became a surety are "greatly exaggerated," to say the least.
Rents have gone up, it is true, one businessman told The Star, but they were too low in the first place. Rents hit bottom during the depression, and for landlords the bottom was at such an unprofitable level that many of them couldn't pay their taxes, let alone take care of the upkeep on the buildings.
The raises which are now taking place, he said, will put rents where they were before the business collapse and the drought of the 1930's. Landlords will now be able to pay their taxes, keep their buildings in shape and perhaps make a reasonable profit, but no more than that, this businessman insisted.
One story which is being repeated with gusto outside of Edgemont is about a railroad man who had his room rent boosted from $15 to $30 a month, with a notice from the landlord to pay the increased rate or move.
An investigation revealed that five railroad men use this particular room and that the linen had to be changed every day.
"Besides the trainmen got a pay increase recently," said an Edgemont citizen, "and it is only fair that they pass some of it on to the landlords."
Edgemont people have been told they will never be able to feed the hundreds of workers who will be employed on the defense project when it eventually gets in full motion, but they are manfully making preparations to do the best they can.
Two new restaurants are planning to open up for business there in the next few weeks. The old Wallace newsstand location, in the Cowhig building, has been rented to Wilma Hill of Deadwood for an eating establishment. Two Newcastle women are reported to have a lease on the old Tribune building for an eating place. Both locations are on Edgemont's main corner.
The Cowhig building, recently purchased by William Schoonmaker and Guy Stickney, will have all new tenants. Besides the restaurant in the corner, there will be a pool hall or some other establishment in the remainder of the building. Two Casper, Wyo., men have the lease on the later. Edgemont citizens were a trifle in doubt about the type of business the Casper men were planning to embark on, but they thought it would be a pool hall or some related business.
To illustrate the new rent level in Edgemont, one man cited two business locations which rented for $60 before the Provo project, but which will now rent for $95 for both.
The Kearns drug store, now in the Cowhig building, will move soon to the Bartlett building, to make way for the institution to be started by the Casper men.
All business places in Edgemont are now under lease, except one and it is under option.
One Edgemont man called attention to the schedule of rents "set" in Hot Springs by the Chamber of Commerce. Edgemont rents have never been that high, he said; in fact, after necessary adjustments to take care of the Provo demand, they still won't be as high as those in the county seat town - or no higher, at least.
Five room houses in Edgemont have been renting for $15 to $20 a month, this man said. These houses will probably rent, "for the duration," for $25 to $30. There are not many empty houses in Edgemont right now, he added.
J. Harve Cole, who has eleven houses in Edgemont, hasn't raised the rents on any of his tenants yet, he told The Star.
Edgemont already is feeling the impetus of the defense project. Thirty-five government men already are making their headquarters there. These men are surveyors, who have been on the scene for two or three weeks, making a topography map of the land. Undoubtedly they won't stay much longer.
But when they go, others - probably thousands - will troop in, to begin actual construction. The peak of construction will be reached during the summer, it is said, and no one knows how many men will be employed then. But it will be more than Edgemont can comfortably accommodate. Many of them will have to live farther from the site - in Hot Springs, Crawford, Ardmore, Lusk, and even in Chadron.
After the project is completed, probably 300 to 500 men will be required to maintain it, one Edgemont citizen told The Star.
Chadron was bitterly disappointed because it did not get the project. Edgemont businessmen say; in fact, Chadron hasn't yet given up hope of getting it away from Fall River county.
One report, wholly unverified, is that Chadron has sent a high-pressure representative to Washington in an attempt to pull a "fast one" on this region. Little credence is placed in the report, however.
It is thought that if Chadron is still fishing for a defense project, it is for another project, and not the one which will be constructed in this county.
Edgemont business people realize that the defense development will make their town a "boom town," and they are not at all displeased at the prospect. But they realize, too, that the boom will not last forever. It will be short-lived, comparatively speaking.
One man thinks it will last only three months; another said the peak would be over in six months; while a third believes the construction will last well into 1942.
A similar project in Oregon was several months longer in the building than originally planned, due to the fact that the government kept increasing the size. This thing could happen at Provo, since land for an enlarged project can easily be acquired by the government on all sides of the present site. Everything depends on the war.
After the development is finished, the boom will be over, and Edgemont then must return to normal size. The businessmen are fully aware of the consequences of an uncontrolled boom. They will strive to keep their prices in line with prices in other towns. They know they can drive their regular customers away by "boom town" prices. They will bend their efforts to keep from doing this.
Business will be brisk in the Burlington railroad town during the coming months, but it will not be so brisk that prices will go into an uncontrolled spiral. Business leaders will see to that.
The crack of the hammer and the rasp of the saw were heard even on Sunday in Edgemont's business section, as carpenters labored to put long empty business places back in condition for new tenants.
Loaded trucks were backing up to business places.
On the faces of Edgemont citizens could be seen expressions of hopeful expectancy, of belief that better times are in store for them.
And who will say, after several years of lean business, that they don't deserve the "break" which is coming their way!
SCHOOL SYSTEMS in Hot Springs and Edgemont will have a real problem on their hands next fall - if the thousands of defense workers who come here to work on the Provo project bring their families with them.
School officials are scratching their heads over the problem of caring for an increase in enrollment which may come with the influx of 4,000 to 8,000 workers to the county, and are wondering how to meet it.
No one knows, of course, how many of the workers will bring their families with them, and how many children of school age will be in the families. But if only a thousand of the workers bring families and if each family has one child, a tremendous strain will be put on the schools of Edgemont and Hot Springs.
Additional teachers will have to be hired. Additional school rooms will have to be provided and equipped. A way will have to be found to finance the expansion. The school districts are not financially able to handle a sudden expansion program of a size sufficient to take care of hundreds of new pupils.
Other school districts with similar problems have found federal aid to be the solution, and Fall River county school districts probably will be able to get relief in this way, if a showing can be made that relief is necessary.
Ankeny, Ia., a town about the size of Edgemont, has obtained a federal grant of $10,100 for maintenance and operation of its schools. A consolidated school nearby has received a grant of $2,500. Ankeny has a small arms manufacturing plant under construction, employing thousands of workers. Most of them live in Des Moines, but some of them live in trailers and temporary homes near and in the town.
ACTIVITY around the Provo project continues to move apace. A Martin man and a Deadwood man have acquired town lots at Provo and are offering them for sale. Unquestionably there will be a big demand for lots in the vicinity of the project - for businesses and homes and for trailer sites. It is not surprising that speculation is taking place in property there. Such activity always follows in the wake of big developments - government or private.
This newspaper has tried to be as restrained as possible in speaking of the Provo project. The government doesn't want too much printed about its size and character. It believes that some of the information might fall into the hands of enemy saboteurs, and has asked newspapers not to publish details about defense developments.
In a code of wartime practices for the American press, which is a list of things newspapers are asked "not to publish except when such information is made available officially by appropriate authority," is this paragraph which applies to war production units of the government:
"Specific information about the location of, or other information about, sites and factories already in existence, which would aid saboteurs in gaining access to them; information other than that readily gained through observation by the general public, disclosing the location of sites and factories yet to be established, or the nature of their production."
It will be seen that this paragraph applies to the Provo project, and so The Star - or any other newspaper - cannot say as much about it as it would like. What has been printed has been put out by official sources, or is information readily observed by the general public.
But it is quite plain, even to the most casual onlooker, that Provo, Edgemont, and Hot Springs are on the verge of a sensational development, which will affect every line of business and every institution. Such a development cannot be hidden, even though very little work has been done on it as yet. People know about it, are talking about it, and are planning to meet the new problems which will arise because of it. The project is the greatest single thing to come to this region since the days when the railroads were built.
Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon of Edgemont came out Tuesday to visit the home of his daughter, Mrs. Clarence Crowe.
Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Hoar, Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar and Fred Coates went to Hot Springs Friday on business. Mrs. Aaron Hoar and son accompanied them to the Springs from Edgemont.
Mr. and Mrs. William Erschen and son, Philip, were transacting business in Hot Springs Friday.
Word was received from Mrs. Soske, who is in Omaha, saying she is gaining in weight, although she is bedfast most of the time. She feels better, which is good news to her many friends.
Margaret Piel was a passenger to Thedford, Nebr., Saturday morning to visit in the home of her sister, Mrs. Roy Attwood. She returned home Monday.
Mrs. Dunbar spent Sunday with her mother at Edgemont. She had a slight cold, but by evening she was feeling much better.
Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Hoar spent Sunday in the home of their son at Edgemont.
A number of folks were here Sunday to view the site for the defense project.
Mr. Barrett of Winner was here Sunday looking around.
M. M. Inman of Ardmore was here Friday, looking up jobs for house-moving. Seems there will be a lot of it soon, but as yet most of the folks do not know where to go.
Allan Coates came out from Edgemont Monday and brought his father some lumber, and Charlie Petro was able to come out with him for a short visit, as Allan took back a load of hay.
Icing was the order of the day last week, but most every one has their ice put up. It was very nice and clear this year.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Lewis came down from Upton, Wyo., for a visit with her father and brother.
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Stearns came down from Riverton, Wyo., Sunday for a visit in the home of his mother and other relatives.
Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Gow made a business trip to Edgemont Monday.
Emil Eisenbraun of Hot Springs was a caller here Monday evening.
Mrs. Johnny Koller and Mrs. John Koller were supper guests Wednesday evening with Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar. Mrs. Johnny Koller had taken her mother to her old home, Ravinia, S. D., from California, where she had been visiting and was on her way back home.
Quite a number of the guard boys from here are now in New York.
Major John C. Lowry, in charge of construction of the Provo defense project, left this morning by car to spend a few days on government matters.
Major Lowry was in charge of the construction of the shell loading plant at Burlington, Ia., recently completed. Thousands of men were employed there during that period.
No official announcement has yet been made regarding the location of headquarters for the Provo project, but it is understood now that an attempt will be made to find a suitable location near the site, possibly at Edgemont.
Most of the 171 employees in the headquarters office will live in Hot Springs, it is believed, since available housing facilities in Edgemont are said to be taken up.
Major Lowry has advised local people to start thinking about the sanitary angle of the defense project. Most of the workers who will flock here will live in trailer houses, and it will be necessary to provide sanitary arrangements for them, such as pure water and adequate means for disposal of sewage and garbage.
A birthday cake, bearing twenty-seven candles, was served at the Kiwanis luncheon Tuesday in observance of the organization's twenty seventh anniversary. Don Eibert blew out all twenty-seven candles with one blow. The Rev. R. A. Hallett of Rapid City, Felix Neff, and Major John C. Lowry were guests. Charles Schmalz, accompanied by Mrs. Wesley Haines, sang two selections.
Major John C. Lowry, area engineer of the Provo project, told the club that there would be enough workmen on the project to occupy all of the available rooming space in Hot Springs, Edgemont, Chadron, Crawford, and the rest of the towns in this territory. He also said there would be trailers, and cautioned that trailers be kept within ordinances, in order to insure sanitary conditions.
Approximately the following housing facilities have been listed to date with the Chamber of Commerce and Provo construction engineer: Apartments, 30; houses, 20; cabins, 25; hotels, 5; trailer camp for 25 or more; rooms, 50. These, outside the trailer camp, will accommodate around 500 persons. It will require a lot more rooms than that. Residents with housing are urged to list it right away. It is expected that working people for the project will be coming in from February to March.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (AP) - Representative Case (Rep., S. D.) has suggested the national defense development at Provo, S. D., be called the "Black Hills ordinance depot."
"Selection of the name is made by the war department and whatever they decide probably will be announced in due time," Case said.
Prospect of increased population in Fall River county towns because of the defense project brought greater demands and higher prices this morning in sale of lots and buildings in Ardmore and Edgemont and other county land by the board of county commissioners.
Because of the greater demand for land in these two towns, buildings in Edgemont brought from $500 to $2,500 and lots sold from $25 to as much as $150 each. An Ardmore building sold for $300, and lots in that town brought as much as $100.
There was more competition in this morning's selling than usual, and some land that the county has been unable to sell for a long period of time was sold easily.
ACTIVITY should start most any day now on the ordnance depot to be constructed at Provo. Engineers have been on the scene for several weeks, making a topography map of the site. The next step presumably will be establishment of a headquarters office, from which plans can be made for the inauguration of actual construction.
If the Provo project (or the Black Hills ordnance depot, as Congressman Francis Case has proposed it should be called) is to be built as other defense projects have been there will be a spurt of construction activity here such as the people of this county have never before seen.
Hundreds of workers will come trooping in from all parts of the middle west. Some will bring trailer houses with them; others will plan to rent houses or rooms to live in for the duration of the construction. Estimates of the number of workers who will come here run as high as 8,000 - and some will bring their families!
If only 4,000 people are attracted here to work on the depot (a figure which is considered conservative), Fall River county towns will be faced with many difficult problems and unusual situations. Undoubtedly these problems can and will be circumvented, but there may be some trying experiences before solutions are found.
To get some idea of what the influx of workers will mean to this county, it should be remembered that the total population of Fall River county in 1940 was only a little more than 8,000. If this population is increased by 50 to 100 percent almost overnight, some radical changes will come in the lives of the towns nearest the depot.
Edgemont already reports all homes and business places one hundred per cent rented. In Hot Springs, there are still plenty of houses and business locations to be had. The boom hasn't struck here yet, but observers claim it won't be long in coming.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Rickard and children spent last Thursday in the home of her brother, John, near Minnekahta.
The extension club met in the home of Mrs. Roy Johnson last Wednesday, and members from this vicinity were present. All report a good time. The ladies presented Mrs. John Hoar with a stork shower and she received many nice gifts.
Mrs. Charlie Stearns and two small daughters were at Edgemont Tuesday on business, also visiting.
Mrs. A. D. Gow left Edgemont on Wednesday evening for California to visit her sons, Kenneth and Wayne. She will stay until after Kenneth is married, which will be the last of the week. His many friends are wishing him and wife a long and happy wedded life. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Rickard are staying in the Gow home while Mrs. Gow is gone.
Leonard Rickard assisted Fred Coates in remodeling the post office the first of the week, and the last of the week he assisted the Dunbars in making some tables, which they will use when they change the furniture around.
Mr. and Mrs. Hudson of Chadron brought their son, Floyd, back to school after a sick spell. He goes to the Erschen school.
Mr. and Mrs. Rejwitch came from Weweela, S. D., Wednesday and brought Ray Fales for a visit in the home of his sister. Also he will clean up the premises and get the house ready to rent. Mr. and Mrs. Rejwitch returned Thursday, but Ray will be here for an indefinite time.
Marcus Dunbar and brother, Allen, came over from Oelrichs Thursday, Marcus to visit during the afternoon, but Allen stayed until Sunday, when he was a passenger to Alliance, and went from there home to Almeria, Nebr., with his cousin, Mrs. Wayne Jackson. She had come to Alliance to spend the week-end with her husband, who had undergone an operation for appendicitis, and is getting along fine.
Louis and Leonard Rickard and L. Soso put up ice the first of the week. Bill Terry did the hauling for them.
Clyde Bowell was a business caller here Sunday.
Quite a number from this vicinity attended the president's ball Friday evening. All report a good time.
Mrs. Joe Ashton of Hill City called here Monday on business.
Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Fulton and children and Miss Agnes Johnson came over from Shawnee, Wyo., Sunday and spent the night in the home of the ladies' parents. They returned Monday morning, as Miss Agnes was to be on duty in the afternoon Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Piel left Saturday for Bladen, Nebr., to visit the home of his mother and sister. They spent Saturday night at Thedford, Nebr., in the home of their daughter. They will return home the middle of the week.
Mr. and Mrs. C. O. Johnson and family were supper guests at Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Johnson's Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Cherry of Martin, S. D., were business callers here Monday.
F. E. Neff, acquisition project manager of the Provo defense development, has gone to Kansas City on business and is expected to return to Hot Springs Monday.
Major John Lowry spent today in Rapid City on business.
A frame building will be constructed at Provo as headquarters for army engineers who will build the munitions depot, thirty-seven miles southwest of Hot Springs, Major John Lowry, area engineer, announced this morning. Size of the building and other details on its construction are not yet determined.
About thirty civil service engineers are busy at present surveying for a railroad right-of-way for a spur from the main Burlington line to the proposed ammunition depot.
Two high army officials, Colonel Beson of Kansas City, division engineer, and Lieutenant Colonel Selee of Fort Peck, Mont., district engineer, conferred here Tuesday with Major Lowry.
Establishment of headquarters at Provo will not mean, however, that officials will live there, the major stated. He and his personnel of about 150 aides will make their homes in Hot Springs. Nor has any appropriation yet been made for barracks for laborers at the site of the defense development.
Contract for the erection of the plant has not as yet been let. When it is, the head contractor will likely have his office in Hot Springs temporarily, or until he can locate it permanently. He may decide to locate here permanently. It is said that his office personnel will be several times as large as that of Major Lowry's, which is around 170.
Listing of available housing in Hot Springs continues at the Chamber of Commerce office. These listings are carefully recorded in two books, loose leaf binders. Major Lowry keeps one binder in his office; the secretary of the local Chamber of Commerce keeps the other.
Each evening the major's copy is brought back to Hot Springs, and rooming space which has been taken up during the day is checked off the secretary's book here. In other words, most of the assigning of rooms, houses, apartments, etc., will be done directly from Major Lowry's office.
In the meantime, people connected with the project are reporting at the local Chamber of Commerce secretary's desk, where they get lists of what they want. The secretary will appreciate it if housing owners will report back to him as fast as their available space is taken, especially by the persons whom he sends out in quest of rooming space.
Available Fall River county labor will be employed at the Provo munitions depot as much as possible, Major John Lowry stated today. In order to relieve the housing problem, which will be acute with an increase in the county's population of nearly 40 per cent, all qualified free help will be used, since local people already have their homes here.
Many farmers, the major, area engineer on the project, said, are good carpenters. Contractors call them "hammer and saw" carpenters, and they receive the same wages as other skilled carpenters. Plumbers and steamfitters are harder to find and are in demand in all parts of the country.
Asked if Hot Springs would have a complicating policing problem with the influx of several thousand people, the official said that 50 per cent of the workers of the country are married and have families, and that for the most part, workers are interested in their work and in the problem of making a living.
The county seat's major police problem, he said, would be a traffic problem, particularly at the time of changes of shifts, although Hot Springs' distance from the project would tend to level out the traffic to some extent.
Other defense projects have been built by men working in three eight-hour shifts, seven days a week, and it is expected that the Provo plant will be constructed under like arrangements.
Speaking from two years' experience in defense construction work, during which he has worked seven days a week in half a dozen states from coast to coast, Major Lowry suggested that sanitation problems might be handled most satisfactorily if statues were on record governing trailer camps, not only in towns but also in rural communities.
Workers who live in trailers look for a campsite near drinking water and such sites are usually privately owned. Landowners who wish to establish trailer camps in rural areas might be granted some sort of county permit, providing for adequate toilet and garbage disposal facilities, as well as drinking water approved by the state board of health, and then charge a fee for the accommodation of trailer house families.
Mrs. John Lowry arrived Thursday to join her husband, Major Lowry, area engineer of the Provo munitions depot. She was accompanied by their daughter, Phyllis, a high school freshman, and a young son, John. An elder daughter remained in Burlington, Ia., to complete her junior year in high school. The family has an apartment at the Evans hotel at present.
tested in Internet Explorer 8
tested in Mozilla Firefox 3.5.7
tested in Google Chrome