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About Eugene register-guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1930-1983 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1954)
Jffjtoffi'figADusty Hamlet Now City of 28,000 -J FRIGIDAIRE Electric Range k Only 30" widel ir Bakes 6 pies at once! ic Porcelain finish inside and outl See if now . . . at GARRETT Appliance Company 136 K. Broadway "HOME OF FRIGIDAIRE" Richland Booms as Atom City RICHLAND. Wash. UV-Spawn- ed by the atom and nurtured by a frantic nuclear weapons race be tween East and West, this once sleepy little farm village is today a Bustling, booming city. To neighboring communities, which a scant 11 years ago knew Richland as a dusty little hamlet ol only 240 people, the boom seems fantastic. The town now boasts a population of 28,000 and it's still climbing. Its streets and shops are jammed with construe. tion workers, scientists, soldiers ana their families. BIO CHANGE The big change look shape when the government first eyed this patch of desert, inhabited only by jackrabbits and coyotes, as the site for a new kind of fac tory the first of its kind in the world. In 1943, with World War II ap proaching climactic stage, the government bought the land on which Richland stood and started construction 'of an atomic energy plant. More land was added lalcr un til it eventually took in a 600- square-mile tract, more than half the she of Rhode Island. Within its boundaries was the village of SMISLIEIK'S FOOD MARKET Groceries Fresh Produce Meats Mixers Beverages Magazines Ice Cream .....TILL 11:00 Mp: OPEN FROM 9 A.M. DAILY & SUNDAYS . 13th at High St. Dial 4-1342 Hanford, 30 miles north of Rich land, Hanford at first was the focal point of the entire atomic reser vation. As the giant atomic plant grew out of the desert, Hanford became a king-size construction camp. TOWN BOOMS Abruptly, as the factory neared completion, Hanford was aban doned and the center of opera tions shifted to Richland, The little town was expanded. New houses went up for 16,000 atom plant employes and their families. A few businessman came on the scene. The government constructed the new houses and backed the busi nessmen. Other, more skeptical, business men called Richland a "flash in the pan." They turned down gov ernment offers of buildings and financial backing to open up in Richland They argued that Richland, at war's end, would fold and so would (he big atomic plant at Hanford. But, when the war .ended Americans quickly discovered the smile on Stalin's face did not necessarily reflect his thoughts. The United States was in the atomic energy business for keeps. i FEVERISH GROWTH Richland continued to grow at a feverish pace. The Atomic En ergy Commission decided to pump new life into the town's business community, There was a need not only In meet the normal de mand for goods, but for competl Motor Firm Reports $10 Million Loss in '53 DETROIT Wl Hudson Motor Car Co. reported Saturday a loss of $10,411,060 in 1953 as com pared with a profit of $8,307,847 in 1952. A. E. Barit, president of Hud son, told stockholders: "The loss for 1953 was caused by numerous problems among which was the inability of dealers to handle the anticipated volume of cars due to a combination of wholesale credit restrictions im posed by finance companies and overstocked new and used car markets. tion to make shopping more at tractive. The government promptly of fered to sell the business build ings it owned to the operators along with fixtures ana inventories. Businessmen In government- owned Buildings were given uie green light to improve and en large the properties they were leasing. A whole new business district was a sagebrush-jammed field a half mile north of the town. A creek lined with willows ran through it. , SHOPPING AREA Men and bulldozers quickly transformed the plot into a mod ern shopping area. Storm sewers, water lines and utility, poles re placed the sage and willows. Con crete sidewalks appeared where the banks of the creek had been. Still, outside business interests balked. "It's taking a chance on a city that can turn into a ghost town overnight," one complained. The General Electric Co., the prime contractor operating both the atomic energy plant and the town of Richland, sent two ex perts, R. J. Pederson and M. L. Blum, on a coast-to-coast trip to drum up businessmen willing to invest in Richlands future. Their Biggest trouble was de scribing the place to potential investors. "How were we going to talk up a new town in the desert as a boom town, with tremendous po tential for growth and ex pan to see the great possibilities cradled in the rapidly growing town. New businesses moved in and grew with the city. Today there are more than ZOO In the town, School construction also jumped. Before the government moved In, Richland had a total school enrollment of around 333. Last year the enrollment was 7,- 721 and growing. There are bright new apart ment buildings, handsome homes for rent, entertainment facilities and landscaped streets and very few jackrabbits in the thriving town of Richland today. An offshoot of Ihe atom, Rich land doesn't anticipate any trouble in selling itself to poten tial investors from now on. sion," Pederson recalls. "It might seem to have advantages to one prospect, but look like a com plete waste of time for another.' TALKING POINTS They finally settled on these talking points: Richland had ideal location for municipal facilities. There was certainly plenty of parking space. There were good streets, ex cellent fire and police protec tion. There was a large and steady payroll at the atomic energy plant. There was plenty of room for competition since Richland had only about 45 businesses. Businessmen gradually came Discuss Indochina WASHINGTON Wl President Eisenhower conferred for more than an hour Saturday on the In dochina situation with Secretary of State Dulles and defense chiefs. No announcement was forthcom ing after the meeting. The Presi dent held a similar discussion with Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Thursday. For Fool Troubles See Eugene's Leading Foot Specialist Dr. Handshuh 871 Willamette Ph. 4-3133 18 Years in Eugene Examination Free ALL-FLEXALUM , Venetian Bll. ' , . . . . . w v j Ki'pl 'I v. v ' .EJ ggg iEf mm .I,,;. Z ZZZ. ', J -V . Drop-In l , .humi.fmxmi y ' " ' ,' r Combl' Phone fPQjtffilOSb 2.'2r.. v- ,M' 5-1571 "- .inrrt'3 -fi,,,, Tj ' if ' r HifHMnnr . - m " ' ; lor a kte ji ij- ,.fii:-,.j.f.,;a.!.. ' ' - fr- J ; : Estimate 'am"mmt,Jti ; V" ';;, srn I"" mi jiiiirwiM fwM.j - j I Mmm4 ."2 - : - - ! ; ..nmwrraii mrffifflat ijo,.. . i i i " mttuft, j y'-i- W ' ' " fW Willamette M g MJ . . . We Specialize In Complete Installations Iust, dirt, grime, . 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