LDS Church and Hanford history, 1944-1950

[Note: The following (used by permission), is a fun and entertaining historical background of Hanford and Richland, Washington. It was put together for Hanford's 50 year anniversary celebration on February 20, 1994, by Irene Maxfield and others, who were all close friends of Raphael and Pearl Clement. The others are: Owen Allred, Dee McCullough, Alex Smith, Joyce Karren Rhoten, and Harold Monson. This delightful piece of captured history describes the kind of place Hanford, Washington was in 1943 when Raphael Clement moved there. It highlights some of the things he must have experienced, along with thousands of others living at Camp Hanford.]

Irene: The story begins with a little looked-up history of the pre-Hanford time. Legends tell us that this entire territory was under water at one time, thus creating the distinct ancient river channels which we have now all around us. In ancient days, the Columbia River was known to the Indians as "Winah" and this river stream became a national highway for the seasonal migration of many tribes. With so many Indian tribes wintering here they had to have a council to keep peace among the tribes and it was called the Chemnapum Council - Chemnapum!! Does that sound familiar?

Owen: Of course, our Shamnupum Golf Course - I wondered where they got that name.

Irene: Well, Richland's heritage can be traced back to the early 1800's when the area was called Chemna by the Chemnapum Indians who camped at the side of the "Taptsal", which is today our own Yakima River. 

Dee: So that tells us why so many people found Indian artifacts in this area when we first came here and there has been a marvelous collection on display at the Sacajawea Park Museum.

Alex: I remember reading one time that Captain Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition is credited with being the first white man to look upon the Richland site in about 1805. The first wagon train crossed the Columbia River in about 1853 and traveled northward through Richland enroute to Puget Sound.

Joyce: In the 1800's this area was all in Yakima County. In the early 1900's a bill was passed to divide and make a new county which was called Benton. The first post office opened in 1905 listing the name of the town as Benton. In 1906 the town's name was changed to Richland.

Irene: Well, the pattern of life in Richland was fairly well established by 1920. It was a quiet town, absorbed in producing food crops for sale, proud of its relative isolation and not too concerned about growing any bigger than the approximately 240 people it had.

Joyce: Oh, by the way, the White Bluffs-Hanford area, North of Richland about 25 miles, certainly had its place in this history also. In the mid 1920's and 1930's land sales were promoted here. The Karren's purchased some farm land in a few days with the Williams family (Richard Williams parents). Other families who were members of the church there were the Ruel Rawlins family, Hendricks, Rose and Dave Last family and others.

Irene: Thanks to irrigation, Hanford, White Bluffs, and Richland residents had cherry, peach, and apple orchards, vineyards, poultry, sheep and cattle. They also had stores, schools, and hotels.

Harold: Well, the pattern of life in Richland, White Bluff's-Hanford and other very small communities was due for a very sudden change!!

Irene: Yes, a new wave of settlers would move into this area, changing the course of her history as no one at that time could even imagine. These sleepy little towns in the desert was soon to become the "atom-bustin'" village of the west.

Harold: Early in 1943, residents of these very small farming communities began receiving long brown envelopes in their post office boxes notifying the farmers and small merchants that the government needed this area for an important war project.

Joyce: Now when the government took over, owners were forced out in just a matter of weeks. This small farming center was evacuated and transformed into a modern community designed to eventually house thousands of production workers and their families.

Harold: On March 11, 1943 head lines of the Kennewick Courier-Reporter, weekly newspaper read - "Richland, White Bluffs-Hanford Area to Be Taken by Huge War Industry" and another read "Mass Meeting Called at Richland to Explain the War Projects to Residents." 

Owen: And 11 days later, ground was broken for the "Hanford Engineer Works" H.E. W.

Alex: This was a title which avoided any implication of its Nuclear purpose and the quiet of this agricultural region was no more. Giant bulldozers leveled great tracks of ground, massive trucks roared day and night along country lanes, new roads appeared and factories exploded into being from the desert sands. 

Dee: And the fantastic barracks town of Hanford materialized to house thousands of construction workers.

Joyce: So the nucleus of a vast, secret plant, born of wartime necessity had been created. White Bluffs was where the reactors were built; Joyce Karren Rhoten's parents home was where 100-D area is located. Hanford housed the construction workers and where the Camp Hanford Military Base was located. Richland became the administrative center of the H.E.W. and the prime residential area for operations personnel. 

[Note: During the early construction period, population of old Hanford soared from 400 to 51,000 persons - the fourth largest city in Washington state. The temporary city was abandoned in 1945].

Dee: The initial choice and the acquiring of this desert site was very, very rapid and just as rapid was the arrival of workers and the start of construction. The demand for construction resulted in a new community called North Richland. Months of feverish activity followed. 

Irene: This area was mushrooming like atomic particles in a chain reaction - Every new building providing space for more workers to labor on new buildings for more workers, etc., etc.. - The joke used to be "I wonder what that new building is going to be used for?" and the answer would be "Oh, I guess it will house all the rumors that we hear about."

Alex: More than 150 barracks to house workers at North Richland came by truck-trailer and from the Pasco Naval Air base by trailer and river barge. There were barracks for men and others for women. None for families.

Owen: During the peak of construction 5,000 single women and some wives of the men were housed in the barracks for women and there were 5 times as many men in the men's barracks. Most men came without their families and lived in the barracks until housing became available.

[Note: Raphael Clement was one of those.]

   

Dee: Some of us found strange roommates upon being assigned a barracks room, but we all pitched in anyway to make the rooms homey with curtains and wall pictures.

Alex: And you have never seen such a sight as the Hanford's 8 large mess halls which fed thousands at one time. They served family style with food in bowls down the center of the table. When the bowls became empty, you held it up until a waitress took it away for a refill. A staff of 50 butchers worked 9 hour shifts and 50 ton of food was served at each meal.

Joyce: Emily Post, a consultant on etiquette, may not have approved of these mess hall scenes but the food was good, there was plenty, and it was filling.

Irene: Well, "Life in Hanford", the town of rumors and secrets began. Signs of secrecy were everywhere. "Zip the Lip" leered from buses, in offices, and on bulletin boards. secrecy was the keynote of every worker. Rumors, the foundation for all conversations.

Dee: Remember - the first few weeks, getting settled, meeting co-workers, and getting acclimated to the hectic boom-town atmosphere?

Owen: Oh yes - and others brought their own homes to Hanford - TRAILERS! Upon arrival, they received a lot assignment from the camp office. The home on wheels was backed onto the plot, and housekeeping began. Over 4,000 families moved into the mile-long trailer village. Trailers just as far as you could see! The biggest in the world!

Harold: Well, Hanford life needed relaxation and entertainment so the H.E.W. formed an Employees Assn. This association was a great boost to education, entertainment, etc. The government gave permission to build an auditorium which was built in just 12 days by the employees on their own time.

Owen: It was a huge 4,500 capacity auditorium. Oh yes, dancers filled that place. Stage shows, boxing, wrestling, safety expositions, church services, etc. were held there, and certainly the huge Christmas celebrations in 1943 and 1944 will never be forgotten.

Harold: Many big name dance bands were brought here. They also held weekly dances. There was a skating rink and a bowling alley. During off hours, people made their own entertainment. They started clubs and they organized hay rides, picnics, costume parties, and plays. 

Dee: Friends were forged that would last a lifetime. Many couples met and married.

Owen: Remember the B-17 Bomber named "Day's Pay" which was christened here and sent on its way to the European battlefront? Every worker had chipped in one day's wages to pay for it. 

Joyce: Well, in early 1944 thousands of new homes, some quite grand by 1944 standards, were going up at a rapid pace. 

Alex: Yes, they ranged from three styles of pre-fabricated houses on a cement slab with flat roofs in the middle of a dirt field to 2 story, three-bedroom homes in the area and along the riverside. There were 8 different styles of houses designated by the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, L, U, V. 

[Note: The Clement family settled into the F style: single, two-story house on 706 Taylor Street. They had their own furniture.]

Harold: Houses came with furniture, electricity, fuel (mostly coal) water and maintenance. Everything was taken care of for free. If they didn't take good care of us, everyone would leave!

Dee: Our landlord was Dupont Co. and later General Electric under contract from the Federal Government. 

Owen: At last, as fast as houses were built, some family was ready to move in. No trees, no lawns, no sidewalks, no street signs (at first). It was a very unique city.

Irene: People would often get their housing assignment based on "rank" and size of family much like a military base. You were on a list and you had to wait until your name came up before you were given a house. In 1944 there was only a Post Office, a Bank, 2 Grocery Stores and 2 Theaters, and that was all.

Owen: Because everyone was new in town and everyone was in the same boat it was easy to make friends and there was a tremendous need to bond with each other.

Irene: This area was a melting pot of people from all over the U.S. They came from the Deep South and New England, from Texas and Alaska, from the Ozarks and the Great Lakes and all points in between. They came 90,000 of them. It was a shock to some of us who were pretty naive and had not come in contact with such a diverse group of people.

Joyce: It was also a town of young adults with young families. Trailer loads of household belongings were not an uncommon sight as families themselves, with the help of their neighbors, moved to their newly assigned dwellings.

Alex: If you remember - In 1949, Time Magazine termed Richland, "A model residential city..."an Atomic Age Utopia." 

Harold: Yes, but there was one thing that brought this "Utopia" down to earth - BLOWING SAND.

Dee: That's right, in those pioneering months, with trees few and grass sparse, the desert fought a savage fight against the invasion of highways, water power, industry and man.

Irene: The blowing sands were savage and named, "Termination Winds" as workers would give up and say, "I've had it, I hate these winds and sand storms, sometimes 3 times a week, I quit, I'm going home!"

Dee: May was grass planting time in town as management assisted us villagers in our fight against dust and mud, that constant plague which accompanies a large area of newly constructed homes.

Irene: As we talk about the winds and grass planting - A history of Richland would not be complete without mentioning the lovable character of "Dupus Boomer." He was featured as a comic cartoon - the brain child of Dick Donnell. The cartoon character appeared in each issue of the Richland Villager, the local newspaper, starting in 1945. The name came about by taking the DUP from Dupont (the boss of Hanford) and the US from United States (the big boss) and adding the word Boomer (meaning a wandering worker) and this place was full of wandering workers. So, DUPUS BOOMER visited our homes once a week through 1950. 

Owen: These cartoons were compiled into 2 publications. Many of us have copies of these and still enjoy them.

Irene: Dick Donnell lived in a pre-fab home so he loved to make jokes concerning them and the Termination Winds as Richlanders would find dust by the inches around doors and windows especially in the pre-fabs and very few of us had a vacuum. Occasionally we would have to shake the bedding on the beds before we could retire. 

Alex: Say, you know, I'm remembering that a vital ever-present part of Hanford life was "standing in line." Remember, it was a line-up for checks, a line-up for mail, we stood in line for theater tickets and at the bank, and most of all for groceries. 

Owen: Oh, yes, a line to get in, a line to buy, and even a line to get out again. 

Joyce: Many of us wondered if we would learn patience or run out of it completely. You could certainly meet some interesting people as you stood in line.

Dee: We all went through the war years of rationing - gas, grocery items, etc. This was an experience in itself and it was probably better here than anywhere due to the importance of this project.

Harold: Well, in spite of some of these things, Richland was a wonderful place to raise our families. After construction all who lived here was screened by the F.B.I. based on patriotism and the need to keep silent. We did not lock our doors for years. There was a great pride in Hanford's record.

Alex: Say, do you remember the Chamber of Commerce sponsored celebration of "Richland Days," later called "Atomic Frontier Days"? Our own church had a hamburger stand for years and did well in providing operating funds. 

Joyce: The church also won 1st place for their float in the parade of 1948. That trophy is on display in the foyer of the Jadwin Street building. 

Owen: By the way, do you remember 1948 also as the year we experienced our first bad snow and later flooding of the Yakima and Columbia Rivers. 

Harold: The flood damaged Kennewick and other towns extensively but not much of Richland - thanks largely to high ground and a hurriedly built dike known as the "Miracle Mile". 

[Note: Raphael, his sons and Grandpa Clement turned out  to assist in building the dike.]

Alex: Yes, that equipment roared for 5 days round-the-clock hauling loads to build the dike around Richland. 

Joyce: Richland was completely cut off from the outside world. Roadways were flooded to West Richland and Kennewick when the rivers reached their highest level in 50 years. Some workers had to be brought in by air.

Harold: Well, this area grew like topsy with the building of stores, a library, new schools, churches, etc. and becoming self-governing.

Joyce: Hometown talent came to the front with the forming of a symphony orchestra and singing groups. The men's called "The Meistersingers" and the women's "Treble Clef". A "Light Opera" group came into existence and also the "Richland Players".

Dee: We have never lacked for cultural events in this area.

Joyce: Oh yes, life in Hanford was thrilling and don't forget - Richland was officially proclaimed an All American City for 1960.

Harold: Being named All American City seemed to set the mood for the coming years as Richland continued with a secure sense of ambition and confidence in the future.

Alex: Perhaps we should remember that we had 2 Prisoner of War Camps here. One was near the Horn Rapids Dam where conscientious objectors and those who broke war-time laws were held and the other was where the Port of Pasco is now. Held there was mostly Italian prisoners of War. They were recruited to help with farm work in the area which they loved to do in this free country.

Dee: Another remembrance is that Richland and Hanford had the privilege of welcoming 2 U.S. President - President Nixon and Kennedy. A third one, President Reagan, also came but it was before he won the election. He was an ambassador for General Electric Co.

Harold: Well, the government eventually diversified and allowed other companies to come into this area. The H.E.W. (Hanford Engineer Works) had played a most significant role in the American development of Atomic energy with its shortening of World War II and its potentialities for good. Now Richland can boast of being "home base" for an internationally known center for technological achievement - HANFORD!

Owen: Richland remained an entirely government owned city until 1957 and 1958 when we were given the opportunity of purchasing our homes from the government.

Irene: Well, we have talked a lot and taken a quick look at Richland's past. So much of importance has taken place that it is like a condensed review and any of us could spend an entire evening reminiscing on any one subject we have talked about tonight.

Alex: But now our remembrances would not be complete without mentioning the Church's growth in this area.

Dee: That's right - In February, 1944 a few who lived in the barracks of North Richland decided there was a great need for the Church here. The branch in White Bluffs and Hanford had been disbanded. 

Owen: Yes, we made flyers inviting those who might be interested. We placed a notice of time and place for a meeting in the barracks and on windshields of cars with Utah licenses, as many from Utah were transferred here from the Remington Arms Plant in Kearns, Utah.

[Note: Raphael Clement was one of those who transferred from the Remington Arms Plant in Kearns, Utah to Hanford. Raphael arrived in Hanford In November 1943. The family followed 16 March 1944.]

Harold: The first meeting was held February 20, 1944. Fourteen people came: James V. Thompson, Raphael Clement, O. David Merrill, Paul E. Lowe, Donald D. Drake, Elaine Drake, Thomas A. Morton, Jesse Dee McCullough, William Timmerman, Owen C. Allred, Woodrow G. Barnett, Sterling L. Nelson, Richard G. Jones, and Ethan Hansen.

Dee: The meeting was held in the old Columbia High School. We petitioned for a branch of the church and became the Richland Branch of the Yakima District of the Northwestern States Mission with headquarters in Portland, Oregon. James V. Thompson became the first Branch President.

Joyce: The Yakima District was very large. It went from Walla Walla to Yakima - Hepner, Hermiston and Umatilla in Oregon to the Columbia Basin Area, and also Wenatchee, Washington.

Alex: By the end of 1945 the Richland Branch numbered about 315. Sunday School was organized, also Relief Society, Primary and the Mutual Improvement Assn. for the young people. Soon a choir and a scouting program was started. By the end of 1945 the 315 membership had more than doubled. It became over 1,000 by 1948 and by 1950 the count had increased to about 1,265.

Harold: Many who had been sort of semi-active in the church became very active and the church became our refuge, the focal point of our lives, our home away from home. We became a family.

Alex: Since we did not have a church building all the schools were used for meetings. Sunday School, Relief Society, Sacrament Meeting were first held at the old Jefferson School. M.I.A. in the old Lewis & Clark School. Primary was held on saturday morning at the old Sacajawea School. Sacrament meeting, District meetings, etc. were eventually held at the high school auditorium.

Irene: By the way, Catechism classes for the Catholics were held in one end of the Sacajawea School and Primary on the other end. Occasionally our youth would get in the wrong place. Story: In the bad snow of 1948, Father Sweeney of the Catholic church and Irene Maxfield, President of Primary trudged through the deep snow to send people home as Catechism and Primary was canceled. Father Sweeney and Irene became good friends as one stood on one corner and the other not far away telling people to go home - No Catechism - No Primary today.

Owen: We could probably spend an entire evening telling stories of things that happened in these meeting places. It could be very entertaining.

Harold: By 1947 the church petitioned the government for a site to build a church. The first selection was on the Northeast corner of Long Ave. and Swift Blvd. Later, however, a new and more appropriate location was designated - Jadwin Ave. across from the Uptown Shopping Area.

Irene: This was a perfect site and a magnificent and sacred edifice was erected. There are a few who still live here who served on the building committee - Alex Smith, Asst. Chairman, Rudy DeJong, Work Director, and Harold Monson, Purchasing.

Owen: This would be the first privately owned building in this area. Ground breaking took place Feb. 5, 1949. 

Dee: Great pride took place in the building process by members and also non-mormons as we generously donated our labors toward all forms of the building process.

Owen: Men, women and children participated and because of shift work, labor was carried on all day and well into the night.  Relief Society sisters assisted in placing the rock lath and wire mesh for the plaster crew and in drilling holes in the hard flooring. They also helped in laying floor and especially in the clean up work.

Joyce: Yes, a total of 23,678 hours were given by donated labor while 18,162 hours were paid labor. The highest count of donated labor by an individual was credited to Brother Leavitt Karren, Joyce Rhoten's father. He donated 844 plus hours.

Owen: We could spend a lot of time talking about the fund raising projects which created so much fun and comradery among the members but of course time does not permit tonight.

Alex: What a thrill to have our own church - one of the most attractive and substantial buildings in Richland.

Joyce: In June, 1950 a record was set when the first time in the history of the Church - two Wards and a Stake was organized from one branch. 

[Note: The following officers were called to serve in the newly created Richland Stake:

James V. Thompson Stake President

Carroll Bagley 1st Counselor

Woodrow Barnett 2nd Counselor

Raphael Clement Stake Patriarch

Everett Seaman Stake Clerk.

Kenneth Erickson Bishop, Richland 1st Ward

Alex Smith Bishop, Richland 2nd Ward

In 1951, Glen J. Behling replaced Woodrow Barnett and Norman E. Wright replaced Everett Seaman.]

Alex: Zion was growing! The Stake took in a large area. Richland, Walla Walla, Benton City, Grandview, Prosser, Sunnyside, Toppenish, Wapato, Yakima, Hepner, Hermiston, and Umatilla, Ore., Kennewick, Pasco, and the Columbia Basin Area.

Dee: The Jadwin building was dedicated on Sept. 9, 1951. The first baptism held in the font was impressive as 34 were baptized with many members present.

Irene: These were great years for all of us. We made our own entertainment. On Friday nights, even before we got our new building, we danced in the gym of the old Jefferson School. We danced to records and brought card tables so we could sit and visit and have refreshments. We really enjoyed those evenings of relaxation from the work week.

Dee: Each year we held a fabulous Gold and Green Ball. We always had a live band and decorations out of this world. They became a focus for some in the community as they looked forward to this affair. The largest budget in the church was for the Gold and Green Ball.

Irene: The first ones were held in the old Community House on George Washington Way and subsequent ones in the Jadwin Bldg. church. A queen was always crowned and there was a wonderful floor show at intermission time. 

[Note: The older Youth in the M.I.A. were taught beautiful couple-dances for the formal floor shows by brother and sister Bob Kenner, the M.I.A. Dance Directors. They previously had taught dancing at the Arthur Murray Dance School in Salt Lake City before moving to Richland.]

Joyce: We put on plays and shows to give us experience and they were always professionally done. A Minstrel Show and a play called "The Vigil" centered on a trial of the gardener who was accused of stealing the body of Jesus Christ from the tomb. These were just two of many.

Irene: We put on 2 Light Operas - "The Mikado" and "The Red Mill". They were excellent productions. Young people came from Yakima and Kennewick to participate with Richland people.

Alex: We had 2 singing groups - A trio called "Mellodettes" and sometimes "The Sage Hens", and a group of men called the M-Men. They were used extensively in the area for entertainment.

Irene: The Richland Wards took the lead in athletics participating in city leagues, church leagues and the all-church tournaments - winning, or were well represented in the regions and all church tournaments in Salt Lake in basketball and softball.

Dee: The growth in this area was such that we desperately needed another building. At this time the 1320 Jadwin Ave. bldg. was used as a Stake Center plus 3 wards. The faithful building caretaker could hardly sweep out between meetings.

Owen: So in 1965 a new Stake Center building on Thayer Drive was dedicated. 

Joyce: By 1978 there were 6 wards in Richland and in 1979 the Jadwin building went through a major renovation. 

Alex: So this became a period of cooperation and sacrifice as all 6 wards met in the Stake Center. It was a welcome relief to be able to occupy the Jadwin building again. 

Owen: We eventually became seven wards.

Alex: Other areas of the Richland Stake had their growing pains also. So from 14 members that met the first time - the region had increased to seven Stakes by 1976. Stakes in Richland, Pasco, Hermiston, Walla Walla, Yakima and two in Kennewick.

Irene: I understand there are now two Stakes in Yakima.

Harold: We have been blessed with a Temple in Seattle, as our former Temple was Idaho Falls, which was quite a challenge to get to.

Joyce: In 1987 we hosted a Regional Conference of the Church held at Columbia High School which was a great success.

Irene: We have been blessed with superb membership and leadership in this area, great things have been accomplished. We are all proud to have been a part of the pioneering and growth of this region. There have been so many changes. 

It has been great to reminisce and bring back some fond remembrances of the last 50 years.        End.