1
50
7
-
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Dublin Core
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Community Photograph Collections
Subject
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History of Hanford and the Tri-Cities area
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Photographs donated by the community to the Hanford History Project
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Hanford History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
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Those interested in reproducing part or all of this collection should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for these items.
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English
Abstract
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The Community Collections of the Hanford History Project have been graciously donated by community members for preservation and research use. Many of these are collections that were donated to the former Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science, and Technology (CREHST) and transferred to WSU Tri-Cities in 2014.
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[Item ID], Community Collections, Hanford History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
Still Image
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Original Format
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Photo
Physical Dimensions
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10.2 x 15.5 cm
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Title
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Boy Holding a Animal and Rifle
Subject
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Hunting; Rifles; Bobcat
Description
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"1 photograph; 10.2 x 15.5 cm.
Boy is holding a animal in right hand and rifle in the other."
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Hanford History Project, Washington State University Tri-Cities
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For permission to publish please contact Washington State University Tri-Cities' Hanford History Project (509) 372-7447.
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image/ tif
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none
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RG1D_4B_0360
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2017-05-23
Date Submitted
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2018-11-19
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For permission to publish please contact Washington State University Tri-Cities' Hanford History Project (509) 372-7447.
Bobcat
Hunting
Rifles
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https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2F4550fdc413dc83be66111b1f46565f48.JPG
cdadd3e83c0c3187276f5e7e8afc64cf
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2F1583c61c6744d42545aae8cd7b5f497a.mov
045fb4b829211772af34664992cc239c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Post-1943 Oral Histories
Subject
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Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area during and following the Second World War
Description
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Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area during and following the Second World War
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this collection should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for these items.
Oral History
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Interviewer
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Robert Bauman
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Bob Bush
Location
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Washington State University Tri-Cities
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
<p><strong>Northwest Public Television | Bush_Bob</strong></p>
<p>Robert Bauman: I’m going to have you start just by saying your name, first.</p>
<p>Robert Bush: Okay, my name is Bob Bush.</p>
<p>Bauman: My name is Robert Bauman, and we're conducting this interview with Robert, or Bob, Bush on July 17 of 2013. And we're having this interview on the campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities. And we'll be talking with Bob about his experiences working at the Hanford site. And so I'd like to start just by having you talk about how and when you arrived at Hanford. What brought you here?</p>
<p>Bush: Okay. During World War II, I was overseas. My parents were in the area, both of them working. My brother was also here in Pasco High School. When I came home from the service to Southern Idaho, Korean War broke out. Wages were frozen, and so I was looking to better myself. And I applied by mail. I was interviewed by telephone. And I came up here in 1951 to the accounting department, General Electric Company. They were the sole contractor. And for 15 years, in construction and engineering accounting, which was separate from plant operations at that time. And from there, my accounting career followed its path through several successive contractors. From GE to ITT, Atlantic Richfield, to Rockwell, and finally with Westinghouse. When I retired, I was with Westinghouse for one month.</p>
<p>Bauman: You said your parents were here during the war. When did they come out?</p>
<p>Bush: It was '43. 1943 and '44, my mother worked for the original postmaster of Richland, Ed Peddicord. And my dad was a carpenter. Built some of the first government houses called the Letter Homes. They were here about two years, I think. And then they went back to Idaho, I believe.</p>
<p>Bauman: Okay. And what part of Idaho?</p>
<p>Bush: Twin Falls, Idaho. Where I graduated from high school.</p>
<p>Bauman: Okay. What were your first impressions upon arriving in the Tri-Cities?</p>
<p>Bush: That's kind of interesting, Bob. Because I came up ahead of my wife and two--year-and-a-half old, and three-and-a-half-year-old sons. About two weeks ahead of them. And so I found a Liberty trailers to rent—the housing was nonexistent. And I found a Liberty trailer, which means it had no running water, no bathroom. It was like a camping trailer, basically. I sent for them. A brother-in-law who had graduated from high school went directly into the Korean War. He drove them up as far as Huntington. I went on a bus to Huntington and met them, came back. And as we came onto the Umatilla side, and I said, that's Washington. Well, there was no green and everybody was disappointed. But that's the first impression. I mean, there wasn't a bridge over the river in Umatilla. It was a ferry. So you drove around the horn at Wallula. Things were just really different.</p>
<p>Bauman: So you said you had a trailer. Where was--</p>
<p>Bush: In Pasco on a front yard of an old pioneer home, where Lewis Street crosses 10th. That was the end on Lewis Street at 10th. And from there west was called Indiana. And there was about three homes on there. And it just quit. And roughly across from the present day Pasco School Administration Building, which was a Sears building. Across the street there was where this home was. I mean, things have just—in the whole area—have changed so much.</p>
<p>Bauman: And how long did you live there then?</p>
<p>Bush: Until I was called for housing in Richland, which was six months. That was in June, no air conditioning. And finally got into an apartment building, a one-bedroom before with two little boys that slept in the same crib. It was still, basically, wartime conditions. Weren't any appliances for sale and you had to stand in line to get a refrigerator. It was a different world. But we were young, so we could take it.</p>
<p>Bauman: [LAUGHTER] And was this in Richland then, the apartment?</p>
<p>Bush: No, that was in Pasco. After that trailer, that was only about two weeks. And then we want into this apartment, the one-bedroom. Then we moved next door to a two-bedroom in a five-plex. And then in December, six months later, I got the first--I got a housing call from the housing office in Richland, which sat where the present day police station sits. And the lady offered me—she said, you could have it Saturday. It was a prefab. It had already been worn and pulled out. And I kind of hesitated. I said, I've already got something in Pasco. Well, she said, I could let you have a brand new apartment. That apartment was brand new. It was so clean. My wife, who was very fastidious, she didn't even have to clean cupboards. And the apartments have now been torn down by Kadlec for that newest building. And in fact, this morning I just went by and took a picture of Goethals Street, which is vacated. And it was quite a pleasant move to come out of a trailer into—a non-air-conditioned cinder block building apartment into a nice, brand new apartment with air conditioning, full basement, and close to work. And at that time, my office was downtown in the so-called 700 Area, which is basically where the Federal Building is--where the Bank of America is was the police station. And that's Knight Street, I believe. From there north to Swift, and from Jadwin west to Stevens where the Tastee Freeze was, that was the 700 Area confines. Probably about 22 buildings in there. The original thing prior to computers, everything was manual bookkeeping or accounting with ledgers. And they came out with a McBee Keysort cards, and it was called electronic data processing. It was spaghetti wire with holes in the boards, that type of thing. That building had to be a special airlock building. And that's the Spencer Kenney Building beside the Gesa Building. That building is built especially to house equipment. And they just went from there. And I moved around my office. And after 15 years, I went into what they call operations. I was onsite services, which—did that for 17 years. And that was probably the better part of--second better job that I had, I guess. The transportation and everything, onsite support services. The whole point there. That job took me all over the plant. I established inventories. I took some of the first inventories of construction workers' supplies and tools and shop equipment, rolling stock. My name was Mud. They thought so much of me they gave me a desk in the corner of a big lunchroom. [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p>Bauman: So you did work at various places then?</p>
<p>Bush: Yes. Well, yes. My very first location was in North Richland, then called North Richland Camp, where the bus lot was--the maintenance shops. I'm trying to establish a point up there—what's over there today? There's a big sand dune on your left going by the automotive shops, past the bus lot, where the bus lot was. Opposite that sand dune on the other side of Stevens was a bunch of one-story temporary buildings. That was North Richland Camp. And that's where my first accounting job was there for two or three years. I had been there—I came there in June. And in January of '52, had 22 people along in my department that I worked in. I was a junior clerk at that time. Took me four years to get onto the management roles, but I did. But anyhow, in that room they came in there six months later. After I'd only been here six months, AEC, predecessor to the OA. The AEC has taken over more management, more responsibility. So we're going to be laying off a lot of people. I had only been here six months. And so others grabbed straws and went different places. I always said either I was too ignorant or lucky, I don't know what. But I just sat still and it panned out for the better. I didn't get laid off. I moved from there. But I went downtown to the 703 Building, which stood where the Federal Building is now. There's a building to the rear that the city owns called 703. That was the fourth wing. 703 was the frame construction, the three floors. And the later years, they added a fourth wing out of block building. Made it more permanent. That's why it's still standing today. Now, that was my second location. And then I got on the management role in '55, which meant I went exempt and no more pay for overtime. And went out to White Bluffs site—town site, and that's where the minor construction was located. Minor construction, it's the construction people that are specially trained in SWP, radiological construction work, as opposed to run-of-the-mill construction. And they're the ones that had never had any accounting at all for any equipment, supplies, materials or otherwise. And that's where I had the lunchroom office experience. It so happened that they established--I brought an inventory procedure and established that first inventory during a strike. We had to cut government-owned tool boxes. But still, the workers thought they were private. And we had to cut locks in order to take inventory. And then we feared for our lives when they came back. Pretty rough day sometimes.</p>
<p>Bauman: What timeframe would that have been you were out?</p>
<p>Bush: That was 1955 to '56. A couple of years there, and then another person took over from there and I went into budgeting at that point, from accounting to budgeting. And I did that for--until 1963. And then I moved out to the so-called bus lot, which it was. 105 buses and all that. And I was out there for 17 pleasant years, budgeting, billing rate—Because we were the supplier of all plant services. So we had billing rates to the reactors, and the separations, and the fuel prep, and--whoever. The AEC, everything. We billed them, just as if we were like plumbing jobs. And that I enjoyed. That was probably my most productive period. And from similar work to that, I moved over—Let’s see, I was around when the Federal Building was built, but I didn't get into it. That was built in '69. I didn't get down there until 1980. Went down there a couple of years. And then they moved us out to Hanford Square where Battelle Boulevard intersection is. And I was there--I retired from that location in 1977. My wife and I retired the same week. I've been retired 26 years now at the end of this month.</p>
<p>Bauman: Was your wife working at the Hanford Site as well?</p>
<p>Bush: She worked after the kids were grown, like most stay-at-home moms do. She stayed until the daughter was of age, and then she went to work for a credit union, which was the government credit union, which was merged later on with Gesa. But that was an interesting job. They worked two hours a day, three days a week. Because it was all hand done, no mechanization. And then she got a job offer from the department in the central stores and purchasing department. She worked there eight years. In 1986, the income tax law changed a lot of things for all of us, effective in 1987. It meant that partial vesting was--IRS has to rule on all things like that. And that meant that if you had 10 years to vest pensions, once you pass the 50% point, whatever the vesting period is, then you were partially vested. And so she had 8 years out of 10. So she got 80%. But she had only worked eight years, so it wasn't a very large accumulation. Because I got my full. Of course, I'd been here 37 years I think it was, however that works out. 36.</p>
<p>Bauman: I want to go back and ask you—when you were talking earlier about that period in '55, '56 when you were working out at White Bluffs town site. You mentioned radiological construction?</p>
<p>Bush: Oh, that—those construction workers worked under what they called SWP, Special Work Permit, which meant radiological. They had to wear--the clothing was called SWP clothing then. Today, they call it something else. But they worked under those conditions, so therefore they were subject to different rules. Whereas, construction workers on brand new construction weren’t then—they didn't have any of that to contend with. But once a plant went operational, it became radiologically SWP. This is not an anti-union thing. It's just a demonstration of how things were in those days. They had some old buses that--the original buses in town were called Green Hornets. And they were small. They had chrome bars that went right across the middle of your back. And for 35 miles, that was not very comfortable. When they got the newer buses that you see today, like Greyhound has for instance, they relegated those to the construction workers at White Bluffs. Well, since GE guys worked up at White Bluffs, we had to ride those, too. So all the office workers in the warehouse--GE employees rode one bus. The electricians rode another bus. Pipe fitters rode another bus, even though there were only two or three of them. It was really a segmented-type thing. As close to anything radiological that I came to when I conducting one of those physical inventories—we would be out--all of the construction materials were stored outdoors on the ground. I mean, like stainless steel. 308 stainless steel was pretty high-priced stuff. But the sheets were stored outside on pallets. Well, one sheet is worth thousands and thousands of dollars. So we had to lay down on the ground and count the sheets to do the inventory. This one day—the only time I came close to any contamination, we went back and boarded the buses that evening from White Bluffs. And we saw the guys on the dock there chipping with a chisel and hammer. That meant they were chipping out flakes of contamination. So we asked what was going on. They said, well, we're next door to F and H Areas. And F Area had coughed out something they said. And so I said, well, my crew was outside today on the ground. And if they coughed out because all the--some construction workers could drive their cars. That's the only people. Plant operations people all had to ride buses. No parking lots. So anyhow, those cars were all impounded. Had tape around them. They couldn't go home. And some of the guys, they had to take off their shoes, leave them, and be issued safety shoes in lieu of it. And I said, well, we were on the ground, too. So they proceeded to take us all off the bus and surveyed us with a wand. And they only found a few flakes on our back. And so we were allowed to go home. But that's as close as I ever came to getting contaminated. It's still scary.</p>
<p>Bauman: Yeah. Obviously, Hanford, a site where security was prominent--</p>
<p>Bush: Very tight security, yeah. I was telling the young lady here that across the roadway on Stevens, as you near the 300 Area, there was a real wide barricade, probably eight lanes that you had to go through. And everybody had to stop, including buses. And the guard would get on the bus, walk down the aisle, and check every badge. And at that time, AEC had their own security airplanes. That was the purpose of the Richland Airport was for AEC security in the beginning. They had a couple Piper Cub-type airplanes. And one day we're on a bus going out to work in the morning. And all of a sudden, a plane just zoomed on by. Somebody had run the barricade. The plane goes out, lands in front of them, stops them, and that's how they got apprehended. Another incident of security, yeah, that's the subject? Many years later now, after 1963, and I'm in the transportation assignment. Airspace was off limits to all airplanes over Hanford because they had army artillery guarding it in the Cold War and all that. And a private plane had violated the space. And the AEC planes had forced it down. And once they're down, they can't ever take off. So after a week or so, they sent a lowboy trailer out there, loaded the small airplane on it, proceeded to come down what's the highway and now Stevens. And down where Stevens today, 240 and all that intersection is, there was only two lanes on the road then, not six. But at that juncture there, there was a blinking light. And they had to turn right to go to the Richland Airport. And this guy, the truck driver pulling this low-boy, he had never pulled an airplane before. And he didn't allow for that pull. Well, that blinking light clipped off a wing. And then he got time off. It was not really his fault, that pilot in the beginning. But there's a lot of—I guess full of interesting stories like that on security.</p>
<p>Bauman: Great. Did you have special security clearance to work at Hanford at the time?</p>
<p>Bush: Which?</p>
<p>Bauman: Any special security clearance?</p>
<p>Bush: Oh, yeah. I had Q clearance, which there's one higher than that, that's top secret. But Q clearance meant you could go into any and all areas. And because the nature of my job, I had that my whole time I was out there. Once you have it, they would tend not to take it away from you because it's quite expensive investigation to get it in the first place. I might mention something interesting in that regard. When I first came to work in 1951, why, the PSQ is Personnel Security Questionnaire. And it's about 25 pages long. And you had to memorize it, because every five years, you had to update it. Well anyhow, I filled that out, and you give references. And I have, in the Twin Falls area, a farmer that had been a neighbor farmer in Nebraska, where I was born, to my parents. I gave him as a reference because he had known me all my life. And that would be higher points. About a year or two later--I guess probably a year later I had gone back down to Twin Falls to visit the in-laws and I went and saw this farmer, family friend. The first thing he said to me, Bobby, what in the world did you do? [LAUGHTER] The FBI had come out to his farm and piled on the questions. And I hadn't told him ahead of time I'd given a reference. So they really did very, very tight security. It's probably tighter than it was when I was in the Air Corps.</p>
<p>Bauman: You mentioned riding a bus out to work.</p>
<p>Bush: Yeah, everybody rode it, except those few construction workers in that minor construction area. They were permitted their cars. I don't know why, but no one else drove cars on the plant. Everybody rode on the bus. The bus fare was--of course, it was subsidized. It was a plant operation, like anything else is. To make the liability insurance legal, they charged a nickel each way on the bus, which later on got changed to a dollar or something. But many of the years, we'd ride the bus 30, 35, or 40 miles to work for a nickel. The nickel was just to make it legal. From those old green buses, they came up with some--I forget what they're called. More like Greyhound buses. And then in 1963, the year I went out to the transportation, they bought a fleet of Flxibles. And that's F-L-X. There's no E in it. That's the same kind of flat-nosed bus that the bus lines used today. And they were coaches, not buses. They had storage underneath. And so we had quite a suggestion system on the plant. And you would get monetary award or mention. And somebody said, well, instead of running mail carrier cars delivering mail to all the stops on the whole plant, load the mail onto the now available storage bins on these buses. And that was a pretty good suggestion award, monetarily, to somebody. And they did that. Took it out to a central mail station out there, and then dispatched it.</p>
<p>Bauman: You mentioned different contractors you worked for over the years--</p>
<p>Bush: Uh-huh. The story behind that for the record is that General Elec--well, DuPont built the plant. That's who my dad worked for. And GE came in '46, I believe. And they were here until the group I was in--they phased out in groups. I was the last group to go out. [COUGH] Excuse me, in 196--'66. When the GE phased out, they had a dollar a year contract. Like Henry Kaiser and rest of them did during the war, for the good of the country. But they trained an awful lot of people in the infancy field of nuclear engineering. General Electric trained all those people here and then they opened up the turnkey operations in San Jose and Japan. But anyhow, AEC was still AEC at that point. And then, their wise decision--instead of one contractor, they would have nine. And so there were--the reactors was one. Separation plant was another. Fuel preparation at 300 Area was another. The laboratories, which is today basically Battelle. Site services. The company doctors formed a foundation called Hanford Environmental Health Foundation, which is the MDs that gave the annual exams. And the computer end, it was now getting into the infancy of that, computer sciences corps, we had the first contracts on that. So all together, there were nine contractors. And the portion that I was with went to ITT. They bid, came in and bid. I helped conduct tours of the facility for the bidders. Because I knew all about it and knew the ins and outs on some of the monetary parts that their accounting people would have questions on. We'd walk through shops and all that. Well, anyhow, ITT got the site support--site services. And we had that for five years. And austerity set in in the '70s. Well, '70. They said, we got to get site services' budget down to less than $10 million. And it probably was 13 or 14, I don't remember now. So my boss and another analyst, like myself, sequestered--talk about sequester. We sequestered ourselves in the then new Federal Building for about a week. Almost 20 hours a day, whittling and whittling and working on a budget. And there was only one conclusion. We had to cut everything in half. Went through all that sweat. Went up with our president, Tom Leddy, went upstairs to an AEC finance office, presented our whole case. And the man turns around and says, well, it doesn't make any difference, Tom. Your contract's not renewed anyhow. And so now, Atlantic Richfield, an existing contractor for 200 Areas, somehow the separations plant contractor that is an oil company owned, can all of a sudden manage a site service. And so they did absorb us. But politics were still around in those days. And there were three of us analysts. One had got transferred by ITT up to the new line--newly established Distant Early Warning Line from Russia up to Alaska. So that left two of us. And we waited around. We waited around and never got an offer. And they said, no, we can do it all without you. We don't need you. How come it took so many people anyhow? On a Friday afternoon, the man that I did budgets for saw me in a restroom. He said, you got an offer yet? I said, no, no. I'm working under the table with somebody else. Well, he says, if they don't hire you, I'm going to hire you. And so he went downtown, and about 4 o'clock, I got a call from the man that told me they didn't need us. Said they'd been kind of thinking. So I went over Atlantic Richfield under those. [AUDIO CUTS OUT] And so I'm not mad, not knocking—knocking them, that's just the way things were. And then Rockwell came to town. When they laid off everybody on B-2, I'm trying to think of other--in the community, something might be of interest for the history project. Back into the '50s. Those same green buses, they had, oh, four or five of them that ran in town like a modified transit system. I don't think they had that many riders, but it did. And also, the plant buses ran what they called shuttle routes. And those buses went into Richland on probably six routes and drove around the neighborhoods and picked up workers on the three shifts. And that's why up in the ranch house district, there was the bypass you'll see between homes. The pathways that go clear through lots. Blocks were so long that they had to provide a quicker route to the bus stops. Now, those rides were free because they were shuttle buses. When you got out to the bus lot, you paid your nickel, or a pass, whatever it was.</p>
<p>Bauman: I wanted to ask you about accounting in terms of equipment practices. Were there a lot of changes during the time you worked at the Hanford site? Computer technology come in and change things?</p>
<p>Bush: Oh, yeah. For sure. In the beginning, as I mentioned earlier, all accounting was open ledgers and hand posted. Adding machine tapes at the end of the day trying to balance them all out. And we had that until--let's see. 1970s—I think it was 1977, we got our very first taste of it. Every other desk in a group of about 20 people in cost accounting that I was in. There was cost accounting, general accounting, and so on, property management. But anyhow, we had about 20 people. Every other desk had a monitor. Well, they referred to them as a computer. But they were just the monitor. And down at the end of our building was one printer. And everything was on floppy disk. Every program was on a floppy disk. Nothing was built-in because it was just the infancy. The big computers were down in the Federal Building. And a sub-basement below the basement was specially built for that. But back to our office. Across the hall from us, we had two small computers that are--to me, they're about the size of portable sewing machines. And I can't even remember the names of them because they don't exist today but they were the computer locally. So we wanted to run our work order system, we would phone down to the guy down at the other end of the building, insert the floppy disk from work system and wait. Well, I've got somebody's inventory. You have to wait. Because there's only one place to load up down there. So finally, you would put the floppy disk in. And then, you'd run it, which meant it'd run through it and print. But then you'd have to say, now print it. And they got one printer for the whole building. And so it's pretty interesting. Whereas today, I've got a laptop that I can virtually do everything with. But we graduated from hand posted ledgers right into computers. We didn't have anything in between. All of the reports that came out, came out on--referred to as IBM runs because everything was IBM. It was on paper that's about 18 inches wide with all these little perf marks on it to feed it. And you'd get one report and it would be about that thick. It was not that much information, but it's just so much printing. It's even hard to remember after 26 years how antiquated that is compared to today. But prior to that, it wasn't even the PCs. They called everything a PC. Or, was PC compatible. Because prior to that, the only electronic data processing nickname was spaghetti wire. I'm not very conversant in it, but it was some kind of a board that had a bunch of holes in it. They put wires in it and that went to certain things. But all it did was sort things. It didn't actually calculate them.</p>
<p>Bauman: I wanted to ask you a little bit more about the community of Richland. What was that like in the 1950s? I know it was a government--</p>
<p>Bush: In the town? I guess I didn't cover that area. Everything—all houses were owned by government. We rented them. My wife and I and family, we came after the days of free everything. When the coal was free--all the furnaces were coal fed. Some people would convert them later on to oil. But anyhow, they were coal burning. However you got the coal, whether it was government days or you bought the coal from the courtyard, which is down at the end of what's now Wellsian Way. There was a coal yard where that lumber yard is. And that's why those railroad tracks that are abandoned and rundown, that's where the coal cars came in. And I can add something a little bit later about coal cars and the plant. But anyhow, we rented from the government. For example, that brand new apartment that I mentioned moving onto first was a two-bedroom, full basement. Steam heated because--I'll digress a little bit. All the downtown 700 Area, including the Catholic church, central church, the hospital, all 700 Area, including those new apartments, and all downtown shopping area were steam heated by a steam plant, which was located where the back door of the post office is today in that small parking lot. And that one plant furnished steam for everything. Well, back to this new apartment. The steam pipes ran through this full basement. And our kids played—there wasn't any yards. There was just apartments. And they would play in the basement because they were quite small. But they can remember today the pop, pop, pop in those steam pipes. And the rent for that two-bedroom apartment was higher than any other house in town. It was $77 a month. And the reason it was $77 instead of $70 was because it included $7 for electricity. Nobody had electricity meters yet. Even in that new place. So when they did put in electricity meters in all homes later, which had to be—during that time, the year we were there, which is December '51 to December of '52, sometime in that period of time they put the meters in. They took off $7 off the rent because now we're going to pay—and their theory is it was $5 for a one-bedroom place, whatever it was. $7 for a two-bedroom and $10 for a three-bedroom for electricity in those days. And nobody had electric heat, of course. And then, later on they put in water meters. And again, they had to come into your home, invade your home, and put in something. So it was strictly government prior to—well, another—and when I lived in the rental, if something went wrong with the plumbing, they would send out a plumber, but you paid for it, though. But later on when I went to the tall two-story, three-bedroom duplex houses, or called A houses, that was our first house after that apartment. And as I remember, I think the rent was--they had rent districts with low, medium, and high in the more desirable parts of town. And we were on Hop Street across from uptown district where Hunt Street is and Jefferson Park. And I think our rent for that was like $47 because it was not a brand new apartment. And later on, we—I was on the housing list. And you applied and months or years later, you'd rotate up to move into a nicer place or a different location. But in the meantime, up came an F house, which is a two-story single family, kind of a Cape Cod-looking type of house. And that came up on the housing list. However, the caveat was that you had to cash out the present owner who had made some improvements. He had converted the coal to oil, they put in a clothesline, which nobody had clotheslines, and something else. So cashed him out for—I believe it was $750. And if I do that, I could have it, so I did. We lived in that place for 19 years. Our daughter grew up there and got married out of that home. And that's the only home she ever knew. [LAUGHTER] And we were there until 1977 when the real estate market in Richland was—this is community wide. The housing prices were moving 18% a year, about 1.5% a month. And I thought well, I don't need to be setting still. I mean, if I cash out here, and went on. So we sold that home. I listed it. Calder, my father, was very ill. We were going to Spokane. I listed it. A man came by, looked it out. What were you asking? I said, oh, about 17. He shook his head. And I said, too high? He says, no, 27,000. [LAUGHTER] Just to show you how bad things were. And so it sold right away. What are you going to do now? And I said, well. Would you want to try a mobile home? I know a jewel. And in those days, real estate men did not sell mobile homes. But this couple had bought their first house from him, or something. And it was somebody retiring out of postal, wanted to go back to Montana. Never smoked in it, never had any pets in it, no kids. It was the Cadillac of mobile homes. We were there two years, but that was long enough. Then we moved into the house that I'm still in. I'm widowed now for five years. The house we're in now, we've lived in that longer than in any other place. [LAUGHTER] But the community just has changed so drastically. South Richland. People say today they live in South Richland. We lived in South Richland, which was south of the downtown shopping district to the Yakima Bridge. That was South Richland. What is now South Richland out there was Kennewick Highlands. So it depends on who you're talking to today.</p>
<p>Bauman: Yeah. Do you remember any special community events, parades, any of those sorts of things during the '50s and '60s?</p>
<p>Bush: Community events?</p>
<p>Bauman: Yeah.</p>
<p>Bush: Yep. Back in GE days, they had Atomic Frontier Days. And they were a big thing. Had beauty queens in it, rode in the float, and all that. Down at the—[COUGH] excuse me. For Atomic Frontier Days down at the lower end of Lee Boulevard, which is still the same shape today. They set up booths all on there. And it was a really big event. Before we had the hydro races even. People look back fondly on that. Talking about community, again, my mother, I said, worked for the post office, which—it stood on the corner of Knight Street, where it touches George Washington Way. There's some kind of a lawyer office building there today. And the old post office is the Knights of Columbus building on the bypass highway. But she would have to take the mail and go over to where the Red Lion Motel is today, at the Desert Inn, a frame building, winged out basically the same. And that was referred to as the transient quarters. And that was for upper management that were going through and it wasn't really a public motel, per se. But she would have mail for these big wigs over there. So she would have to go over there and have a badge to even go in the front door of that Desert Inn. Talking about badges, something humorous on that. We didn't wear things around our neck in the beginning because it was like a little pocket-sized bill fold. It was a little black bill that had your pass, your badge in it. And at every building you went into, you just pulled it out, flashed it to the guard. It usually was a lady security employee. There were guards in the building, but the person on the desk was a security clerk. But you'd just automatically—you’d open it like that and flag and put it back in your pocket. Every building you went into. Downtown, 700 Area, that first building I've referred to. One day I went into a restaurant and I just did that automatically [LAUGHTER] because it's just so automatic. Then they graduated to having the thing around your neck. And then also, if you worked in the outer areas, you had to wear a radiation badge in addition to your security badge. There was two types and one of them was a flat. And I don't know the difference. One's for beta and one's for alpha. I don't know. And one of them was a pencil shaped. And that's what they called it. And the other one was a flat badge, which was carried in something around your neck. And in all the areas I worked, and the places I described laying on the ground that happened and all that, my RAMs, they call it, never accumulated in my working life to be a danger. I had some, of course. Everybody does in the background. But I never accumulated to a danger point. There were people, some smart aleck people that would take their badge and hold it over a source at work so they could get some time off. Because if you got--what was the phrase? Anyhow, if they got contaminated, they put them on a beefsteak diet. And they stayed home. And they come every day and took a urine sample and all that stuff. But they had a life of riley. So that was nice. But the guys got canned that did that. But they would purposely expose their pencil so they could stay home.</p>
<p>Bauman: So did all employees have those, either the pencil or--</p>
<p>Bush: Only those that worked in reactor and separations areas, yeah. I mentioned these departments. Actually, the first department is Fuel Preparations Department, FPD. The present—the 300 Area--most of the buildings have now been torn down that you don't even see them there. But the north half roughly was fuels preparation department headed for the reactors. They took uranium and encapsulated it in cans, like can of peas in just so many words. And the south half of that 300 Area was a laboratory area, the predecessor of Battelle. So the fuel was prepared there. And it was machined and canned and sent as nickname slugs to the reactors. Then, the reactors loaded into all those little tubes. And then from the reactors, they come out the backside into those cooling pods and all that. And transported in casks to the 200 Areas, which are the separated area, separations. And the reactor area on the face side was not that dangerous. The 200 Areas only work on what they called the canyons, PUREX and REDOX, and those kind of buildings. But those cells were very, very hot. But you had to be measured no matter where you were. One of our site services was a decontamination laundry, called the laundry. And all clothing--I mentioned to you before SWP. Well, SWP, radiologic exposure employees wore whites. Carpenters and truck drivers and all that that didn't work around reactors wore blues. And so they were sorted. And we had different billing rates for that laundry because the blues only had to be laundered and dried. Whereas the others had to be laundered, dried, and decontaminated, checked in separate washing machines. And then workers wore—in the beginning, wore World War II-style gas masks for our air supply before they invented a moon-type suit. [LAUGHTER] But they wore gas masks. And the mask would come back to this mask station, which was part of the laundry. And they took the masks, and they'd take away the cartridge. They'd put the mask in dishwasher machines, in racks. That's how they would wash them. And then they would get them a new filter and package them up. Sanitize them and package them up like medical supplies would be in. I can't think of any other unusual operation out there like that.</p>
<p>Bauman: I want to change gears just a little bit. President Kennedy visited the site in 1963.</p>
<p>Bush: Yep, 1963.</p>
<p>Bauman: I was wondering--</p>
<p>Bush: When they did that, they let all the schools out. And for the first time, non-workers were allowed to go in cars out there. It was a grand traffic jam, but it was quite a deal. And he landed his Air Force plane up at Moses Lake—at Larson airbase at Ephrata, whichever you want to call it. And then helicoptered. And of course, like it is today, there were three or four helicopters. And you don't know which one he's on and all that bit. And here, everyone is gathered out the N Reactor area, which is a dual-purpose reactor. They captured the heat from the reactor, put it through a pipe through a fence to the predecessor to Energy Northwest, which was called Whoops. This was a big deal, a dual-purpose reactor. And N stood for new reactor, really. Anyhow, he comes in and they got a low-boy trailer. They fixed up down in the shops where I worked—my office was. And then built a podium just precisely for the President with him emblem and the whole bit. So I was privy to get to see some things like that. But anyhow, that was the stage. And it was a long low-boy, so it accommodated all the senators and all the local—Sam Volpentest, the guy credited with HAMMER, those type of people. Glen Lee from the Tri-City Herald, you name it. So the helicopter comes in, blows dust over everybody. But anyhow, my wife and kids and all schools were brought out there. And I don't know how many thousand people were out there in the desert. And you could see President Kennedy. He got up on the stage. You get close enough, you could get pictures. Then, that same year in November, he got assassinated. So that was a busy year.</p>
<p>Bauman: Do you remember any other special events with dignitaries like that? Or other--</p>
<p>Bush: Well, I could go way back to World War II. I wasn't here, but I have a family connection on it. All over United States, they had war bond drives for various reasons to help. Build a ship, build an airplane. The one that happened here is not the only one. But they took so much money out of all the paycheck of Hanford workers, which included my dad as a carpenter. And the money they collected bought the B-17 Bomber, which was named Day's Pay. And that bomber—they had a bomber out here, a B-17, so that people could see it, but it wasn't the same one. On the Richland High School wall there's a mural. And that's a rendition by a famous artist of Day's Pay in formation. And so I can say that my parents contributed to that. And that's the story behind that one bomber. Every worker out there, construction or operations, they donated a day's pay.</p>
<p>Bauman: I wonder, what was the most challenging part of your job working at the Hanford site?</p>
<p>Bush: As an accounting person, my most challenging part was learning government-ese. [LAUGHTER] How to deal. And in that vein, that took a long time. But once you learn it, there is a way in the US government, period. As I'm sure there is in certain corporations. Later on, when I mentioned that I went down to the federal building for my--finally got located in that building, there was another fellow and I were old timers in accounting. And that year, they had five college grads, accounting grads come in. They hired five at one time. And they ran them by Marv and I for exposure. This is how things are done. This is how the contacts are. And our basic job was to squire these young fellows around and introduce them to certain counterparts and now DOE. Now, this is how you make appointments with them. This is what you do. This is what you never do. And likewise, with senior management. And it paid off because of those five, all four of them became managers or supervisors, and one of them became my manager within two years. Today, that same man is the comptroller at Savannah River Plant. [LAUGHTER] And so I like to feel that I contributed to them being—partially to them being successful. And so that's a reward. But probably the most difficult thing coming from a private—I worked for Colorado Mill and Elevator, which means I worked at a flour mill district office as a bookkeeper. And that's a small town deal in Twin Falls. To come to work for the government where some of your family despises you because you work for the government, but you had to fight that as well as learn how the government operates.</p>
<p>Bauman: You mentioned earlier, you were talking about coal being used for heat in Richland. You also said you wanted to talk about coal fires going up at the site.</p>
<p>Bush: Oh, what?</p>
<p>Bauman: Coal fires?</p>
<p>Bush: Oh, yeah. Interestingly, the midway power station, substation at midway, is one of the reasons they built Hanford where they did because the Grand Coulee Dam had just been completed and an electricity producer—a major producer. And they put the midway substation down there. That basically was built to furnish huge amounts of power to Hanford, for the reactors, everything. Which in total—because I processed vouchers, I know it was 32 megs. Which today doesn't sound like much, but the whole plant bill was 32 megs when everything was operating. But if the power were interrupted, they had to have a backup. So every area had a huge diesel-powered--like water pumps, where they could pump the water from the river instead of by electrically. They had to be able to pump it because it was critical. Because all the water for the whole plant was taken in at intake water plants near the reactors along the river. The 200 Area water is piped to them in a huge line as raw water until it gets to their place. The backup is these coal-fired steam plants, is what I was trying to say. It got about 30-some cars of coal a day rolled through Richland past the cemetery. In the beginning, the railroad came down from the north, from Vantage area down along the Columbia River. There's a railroad bridge across the river, Beverly I think it is. And it came down to below the 100-B Reactor area. That's where the line ended. And then a plant had its own railway incidentally. It had a 285 mile-long rail line, high line and low line. Then, they built--in 1950, the year before I came, they built the line that we see today that comes from Columbia Center into Richland, by the cemetery. And it ends at the old bus lot area, where that railroad car Columbia Center into Richland, by the cemetery. And it ends at the old bus lot area, where that railroad car rebuilding outfit is now, there is a roundhouse that it's rectangular in shape. But some 30 cars of coal a day came in here to supply because those plants were—they actually operated the steam plants. They didn't start them up from cold. They just ran constantly.</p>
<p>Bauman: I wonder if you could provide sort of an overall assessment of how Hanford was as a place to work. What was it like as a place to work?</p>
<p>Bush: It was a great place for me. I came out of an area that was the agriculturally-oriented. And the Korean War started. Wages were frozen, you weren't going to go anywhere. I came up here and I got a new start, like pioneers did. I visualized that's what farming pioneers did the same thing. And it opened up a whole field for me, a big corporate field. And it's just been a great place to work. And it was not dangerous to me. I'm not afraid to drink the water here. I'm asked by a nephew in Hermiston constantly, how do you drink the water? And I said, well, it comes out of the river. How can it come out of the river and that plume’s out there? There's so many false stories around here. But working at Hanford, I think, by and large, almost all employees would tell you the same thing. It was a great place to work. The pay was decent. Maybe you didn't get rich, but it was decent. It's in a nice area to live in. When we came back in the '50s, or in the '40s, and before that even of course, shopping was pretty much nonexistent. They went to Yakima, or Spokane, or Walla Walla. That I didn’t—we didn't experience that too much by 1951 because by that time, the Uptown shopping district was built. And there was a men's store. And there was four women's stores. Because GE was the prime contractor, there was an appliance dealer that handled GE-Hotpoint appliances. We got employee discounts when we worked for GE. We also got 10% gasoline discount when we worked for Atlantic Richfield Hanford. But we just grew with the times. And it's just such an entirely different area now than it was. Just the world is different, too.</p>
<p>Bauman: Is there anything that I haven't asked you about? Is there anything you would like to talk about that we haven't talked about yet?</p>
<p>Bush: Now really, work-wise at Hanford, I think I’ve pretty well-covered it. I'll repeat myself. My first 15 years was construction engineering accounting, which is an entirely different field than operations accounting. Operations accounting concerns itself with the reactors and separations and the site services that support them. But I learned a lot by working at Hanford. My family, three adult children live here, are retired here. My oldest son went on Medicare this year. [LAUGHTER] And that kind of puts you in your place quickly. But it's been a good enough place that they stayed in the area. And of the six granddaughters, grandchildren, four of them are in the area. And that's kind of characteristic with a lot of the Tri-City families. They stay or come back.</p>
<p>Bauman: Well, Bob, I'd like to thank you very much for coming and talking to us today. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Bush: It's been my pleasure.</p>
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:02:19
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
256kbps
Hanford Sites
Any sites on the Hanford site mentioned in the interview
200 Area
300 Area
B Reactor
700 Area
N Reactor
Years in Tri-Cities Area
Date range for the interview subject's experience in and around the Hanford site
1951-1977
Years on Hanford Site
Years on the Hanford Site, if any.
1951-1977
Names Mentioned
Any named mentioned (with any significance) from the local community.
Ed Peddicord
Tom Leddy
Glen Lee
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
mov
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Bob Bush
Description
An account of the resource
Bob Bush moved to the Tri-Cities in 1951 to work on the Hanford Site.
An interview conducted as part of the Hanford Oral History Project. The Hanford Oral History Project was sponsored by the Mission Support Alliance and the United States Department of Energy.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hanford Oral History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
07-17-2013
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this oral history should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for this item.
Format
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video/mov
Date Modified
Date on which the resource was changed.
2017-13-11: Metadata v1 created – [A.H.]
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
The Hanford Oral History Project operates under a sub-contract from Mission Support Alliance (MSA), who are the primary contractors for the US Department of Energy's curatorial services relating to the Hanford site. This oral history project became a part of the Hanford History Project in 2015, and continues to add to this US Department of Energy collection.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Hanford Site (Wash.)
Pasco (Wash.)
Richland (Wash.)
1955
200 Area
300 Area
700 Area
703 Building
B Reactor
Battelle
Cat
Cold War
Dam
Desert
DuPont
Energy Northwest
F Area
FBI
General Electric
H Area
HAMMER
Hanford
Henry Kaiser
Hunting
Kennedy
Kennewick
N Reactor
Park
PUREX
River
Savannah River
School
Street
supplies
War
Westinghouse
-
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369953453c2a6c4d1d213754904a555b
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2F1fa70e25a8e3aeba0cc6e6bcb13dfa80.mp4
3dbf13537584bbe0cb93002f5c3ea15d
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Robert Franklin
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Daniel Barnett
Location
The location of the interview
Washington State University - Tri Cities
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:09:21
Hanford Sites
Any sites on the Hanford site mentioned in the interview
225 B Encapsulation Building
B Plant
Years in Tri-Cities Area
Date range for the interview subject's experience in and around the Hanford site
1944-2016
Years on Hanford Site
Years on the Hanford Site, if any.
1965-1995
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
<p>Robert Franklin: My name is Robert Franklin and I’m conducting an oral history interview with Daniel Barnett on July 13<sup>th</sup>, 2016. The interview is being conducted on the campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities. I will be talking with Daniel Barnett about his experiences growing up in Richland and working at the Hanford site. So the best place to start, I think, is the beginning. So why don’t you tell me where you were born and what year.</p>
<p>Daniel Barnett: I was born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1938—August 13<sup>th</sup>.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: And when the war started, my dad was working for the Harbor Patrol in Seattle as a patrolman. He heard that they were hiring over here, so he came over here and they hired him almost instantly because he already had the security clearance and everything.</p>
<p>Franklin: Ah.</p>
<p>Barnett: So he called my mom and told her that he had a job over here and to get herself packed, because he was gonna get her. But when she moved here, she couldn’t move to Richland. It wasn’t even on the map at that time. They took it off the map and everything. She had to move to Prosser.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: And later on when they finally got a prefab built, we moved into a prefab at 1011 Sanford.</p>
<p>Franklin: Where was your father from? Was he from Washington?</p>
<p>Barnett: He was from Oregon. All my family is from Oregon except for me. My dad said he couldn’t get across the border fast enough.</p>
<p>Franklin: So being from—what drew him to Hanford? Was it the pay?</p>
<p>Barnett: I think so. Well, he was originally—he worked at a plywood plant, then he went to work for Harbor Patrol. He had asthma, which the wet climate apparently irritated. So he had a chance to get over here, so he moved over here.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. So the climate played a—</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: --big factor and wanted the dry and the sunshine.</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, probably the pay, too, because the pay was good for those times.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. And how long did your family live in Prosser before you moved?</p>
<p>Barnett: We were there about a year, I think. I don’t remember truthfully—I was only about five when we moved there. And I was there probably about a year. I just vaguely remember moving to Prosser.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. Okay. And you moved—so you came over in 1944—</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: --right? And so you would have moved to Richland in 1944? About there?</p>
<p>Barnett: Oh—I think we actually—Dad came over, I think in ’43. A year later, in ’44 we moved over.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: Because I remember ’45 when they announced the war—dropping the bomb on Japan, and Mom told Dad when he come home, I know what you’ve been guarding! [LAUGHTER] Because he didn’t even know what he was guarding at the time.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. Wow. Did your dad talk about his work much? Or maybe [INAUDIBLE]</p>
<p>Barnett: He worked as a patrolman until they sold the town and then he became a painter.</p>
<p>Franklin: A painter?</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, he was an artist so then he became a painter and painted the houses and the buildings in Richland. Because when the government owned Richland, if you had a paint job needed done on the house, you called them and they come in and painted it. You didn’t hire somebody from a company to paint it. The government did it.</p>
<p>Franklin: And was he a patrolman onsite the entire time until they sold the town?</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. Was he assigned to a specific area, or--?</p>
<p>Barnett: No, just general patrol. He talked about patrolling the fences, taking their Jeeps and going down the length of the fences and checking them out, and all that sort of stuff. But just a general patrolman, not any special area.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And you said that your—what did your mother do when she first got here?</p>
<p>Barnett: Oh, she was just a housewife. She eventually went to work as a waitress. And then finally she got on to work at Hanford. She worked with Battelle for about 29 years as a lab tech.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, wow. Do you know which lab she worked in?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, she did—where they did testing on the animals. Though at that time they were testing marijuana on chimpanzees and different types of animals. She did the test work on the meat from the animals.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, wow.</p>
<p>Barnett: So I don’t know exactly—it was—again, probably wasn’t supposed to be told, so she didn’t say much about it.</p>
<p>Franklin: Did she have any schooling beyond—</p>
<p>Barnett: Just high school.</p>
<p>Franklin: Just high school. And what about your father, did he--?</p>
<p>Barnett: He was just high school.</p>
<p>Franklin: Just high school as well. Where did your mother waitress at?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, the first place she had was O’Malley’s Drug Store which now is a—what do you call it? A Tojo Gym? Where they teach different martial arts?</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: It’s down on Williams, right off of Williams. That’s what it is now.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: O’Malley’s Drug Store eventually closed, moved up to Kadlec. And a lady bought it from him, and now she’s down there on George Washington Way.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: And right by O’Malley’s Drug Store used to be a Mayfair market. So I sold newspapers out at the lunch halls at Hanford. Sold—well, I don’t remember—but I think it was the <em>Columbia Basin News </em>to start out, because that was the first newspaper of the Tri-Cities, was the <em>Columbia Basin News</em>. Then they bought them out and became the <em>Tri-City Herald</em>. But I remember selling—give you an idea, you can figure out how much time, because I remember one of the headlines was—one of the union leaders had been arrested by the government. And I don’t even remember who it was, it’s been so long ago. But I remember that was one of the headlines of one of the newspapers.</p>
<p>Franklin: What about—do you remember the <em>Richland Villager</em> at all? That was a local paper.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, but it wasn’t very much. It was very small.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: I delivered the <em>Seattle P-I.</em></p>
<p>Franklin: <em>Seattle P-I</em>?</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And you said your mother started waitressing at Malley? At O’Malley’s or Malley’s?</p>
<p>Barnett: At O’Malley’s.</p>
<p>Franklin: O’Malley’s. And then did she waitress anywhere else in Richland?</p>
<p>Barnett: Not that I know of. From there she went out to Hanford.</p>
<p>Franklin: And that was when pharmacies or drug stores as we know them now, they used to have lunch counters.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. And so they would go there and they were more of like a café-slash-pharmacy.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah. The one up on Thayer, I think it was Densow’s at that time. That had a heyday lunch counter in it, coffee shop. It closed up and now I think it’s just pharmacy.</p>
<p>Franklin: Mm-hmm.</p>
<p>Barnett: But where the south end—what do you call it? You know when you get down here, you sit and try to remember things and you get kind of jumbled up—Salvation Army building is now on Thayer was originally the Mayfair Market.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And what did they sell there?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, that was the grocery store.</p>
<p>Franklin: Grocery store, okay. Do you remember—so you said you moved into—what was the address on Sanford?</p>
<p>Barnett: 1011 Sanford.</p>
<p>Franklin: And do you remember what kind of prefabricated house it was?</p>
<p>Barnett: It was three-bedroom.</p>
<p>Franklin: Three-bedroom prefab, okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: No, I think it was two-bedroom, because my sister was just a little baby then.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And did you share a room with your sister?</p>
<p>Barnett: Probably with my brother.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, so how many siblings—</p>
<p>Barnett: Had three kids. I had an older brother. We were about five years apart.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay. So an older brother, you, and then a younger sister.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: And then how long did you live at 1011 Sanford?</p>
<p>Barnett: I don’t really remember, but it must have been three or four years, because as soon as they got the A houses built, we had a chance to move into one. And we moved immediately to one. Because we had three kids, and a prefab’s kind of tight for three kids.</p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah, yeah. I live in a two-bedroom prefab. And it’s—with just my wife, and it’s pretty—</p>
<p>Barnett: Well you know why they’re called prefabs.</p>
<p>Franklin: Tell me.</p>
<p>Barnett: They were built by a company, brought in in two sections and then put together. They were prefabricated.</p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah, the prefabricated engineering company out of Portland.</p>
<p>Barnett: And nobody could figure out why they put that little square door in the back other than to throw the garbage out it. I don’t know—have you ever heard of Dupus Boomer?</p>
<p>Franklin: Yes.</p>
<p>Barnett: He made some cartoons about that backdoor.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right, and that the rooves had a tendency to fly away.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: And they had to put—</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, in 1955, they did. They had two of them blow off.</p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah, those are great cartoons.</p>
<p>Barnett: Like “Pa wants a bathtub.” [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p>Franklin: So tell me a little more about growing up in Richland. Which schools did you go to?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, the first school I went was Carmichael. And that was probably a mile-and-a-half away. We walked to school. Nobody thought anything about it. There wasn’t any buses. There was a bus system in Richland, but it was run by the government. It was a little old bus that you could pick up in two places in Richland to go downtown and go to a movie and come back. But no buses hauled you to school. There was high school buses that hauled people. They picked them up in the Horse Heaven Hills on farms and brought them to Hanford—I mean to Col High—it’s Hanford now. But, no, I walked to school real regular, didn’t think about it, nobody had any panic about walking to school. Everybody did it because it’s normal.</p>
<p>Franklin: And do you remember—so you would have been going to—was it Carmichael—growing up right in the early Cold War. What do you remember about civil defense? Duck-and-cover, air raids.</p>
<p>Barnett: I don’t remember doing that.</p>
<p>Franklin: Really?</p>
<p>Barnett: I don’t know whether we did or not, but I don’t remember doing that.</p>
<p>Franklin: Do you remember knowing what was being made at Hanford? Did you ever have any fear—how real did the Cold War seem to you?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, the Cold War affected me quite a bit because I was in eight years during the Cold War—in the Air Force.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: The security was a lot tighter. I mean, there was—you couldn’t go out to Hanford without having your security badge checked. Now you can drive clear to the Area and before you go in the Area have your badge checked.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: But then, there was a badge check when you got on the buses, the badge check, when you got out to your area, and then again they checked your badges when you left the area.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: So it was—the security was real tight.</p>
<p>Franklin: Mm-hmm. But what about when you were growing up, when you were a kid in school? Did you ever have any special fear or pride in what was being made at Hanford?</p>
<p>Barnett: Nope. It was—like I said, nobody knew what they were doing out there until they dropped the bomb. Then they found out they’d been protecting part of the atomic bomb.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: But I had no fears about it. I went down the irrigation ditch—there used to be an irrigation ditch that ran through town that started—it had two, three ponds on Wellsian Way that were the settling ponds for Richland’s water system. And we used to go there and swim in them. One of the ponds they eventually made a juvenile fishing pond. And the irrigation ditch runs from there, clear down to where the hospital is, down in front of the hospital, several ponds down through the hospital and then under—well, through the Uptown district, one of them went through the Uptown district, and one went to the Columbia River. And wasn’t until ’48 that they finally put a pump in there, because in ’48 when they built the dam—they built the dike, rather—the irrigation ditches plugged up. So they had to put up a pump station in so they could pump the water irrigation ditch up into the river. We used to fish in that. We used to go down there and slide down—slide over where the pump was, because it was all slick and slimy. We’d put on an old pair of jeans and go down there and slide into the water. I mean, that’s things kids then. Nowadays they wouldn’t even think about it. My mother told me when I could swim 25 feet, I could go in the river by myself. Mainly because you didn’t go to the river too often in the winter; you went in the summer. And there’s not a place in the Yakima, if you can swim 25 feet, you can’t get back to the shore. So I spent all my—most weekends and spare time at the Yakima River playing around.</p>
<p>Franklin: Wow. What about—maybe you could talk a little bit about the growth of Richland and kind of the building of some of the major hallmarks, like the Uptown and the—</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, the Uptown was built—the rest of it closed up, but originally the Uptown—as you come into Uptown off to the left—that was a big theater. And we used to have a big matinee. The Spudnut’s shop has always been there. I can remember going to the movie on a Saturday and the lineup for the movie—I think it was 20 cents for a movie then. But it was clear past the Spudnut shop. We used to watch the owner there making the Spudnuts while we were waiting to get into the movies.</p>
<p>Franklin: Has that been in its same location--</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p>Franklin: --in the mall?</p>
<p>Barnett: Spudnut’s has been there ever since it started. They originally were out there in Kennewick. If you go in there and pick up their menu, they have a little story about where they started. They started out there in the Wye.</p>
<p>Franklin: That’s great. And what else about it? Because Richland kind of developed out towards--</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, Newberry’s was on the other end of the Uptown district. That was kind of a department store type. I think the only one I saw was about 15 years ago, and that was in the Dalles, Oregon. I don’t even know if they exist anymore. The downtown district, every year we had different contests for the kids. They had marble shooting contests and bubblegum blowing contests—all kind of contests to keep the kids’ interest.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: At that time, the—what is it? The Allied Arts, or was that in the Atomic Frontier Days?</p>
<p>Franklin: Can you talk maybe a little bit about the Atomic Frontier—do you remember going to the parades?</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah. They had a lot of the old western movie stars come to the Atomic Frontier Days.</p>
<p>Franklin: Like—do you remember any names in particular?</p>
<p>Barnett: No, I don’t. Like I say, a kid doesn’t retain names like that. He hears them and doesn’t retain them. But my dad, apparently, knew a couple of them, so he visited with them. It started out as just a celebration of Hanford and stuff. And then it worked into the Allied Arts show.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And do you remember any particulars of those celebrations, like the parade—the floats, or—</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, there wasn’t any parade. There wasn’t any parade, and where Howard Amon Park is, there used to be a swimming pool. You know where it makes a turnaround? Well, there off to the right there used to be a swimming pool. And right now, they still got the old children’s swimming pool there, but then there was a regular swimming pool in the water. And in 1948 when the big flood came, it filled up full of water and they ended up breaking it up and burying it and building the Howard Prout pool. But we used to go down there and swim just about every day. And we’d go to the other end of the park and pick peaches, because it used to be a peach orchard. Because there were orchards all over town. Where Jason Lee was—the old Jason Lee—that was a cherry orchard. Where Densow is, that was a cherry orchard. Carmichael had an orchard. There was orchards all over town. Because this was an agriculture district at the time the government bought it and moved in.</p>
<p>Franklin: Were you in any clubs or—</p>
<p>Barnett: I was a boy scouts.</p>
<p>Franklin: --organizations? Boy Scouts?</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah. We had—one that sticks in my mind the most was we had one of our young scouts drowned at the Uptown. That’s the one I mentioned. He went on an inner tube, fell in the water and drowned. That was in ’48. And actually, the water where the hospital was, the irrigation ditch you got there, that was 15-foot deep at that time.</p>
<p>Franklin: Wow.</p>
<p>Barnett: That backed up so much, they—that’s when they built what they called the America Mile, the dike. They called all the earthmovers from Hanford out to Richland to build that dike. Because when they started, the water was lapping over the edge to go into the houses. And they poured that thing in about 24 hours.</p>
<p>Franklin: Wow, that’s amazing.</p>
<p>Barnett: Now, the George Washington Way was closed to all civilian traffic, and these great big earthmovers were just going down the road, 30, 40 miles an hour.</p>
<p>Franklin: Wow. What other kinds of activities did you do in Boy Scouts?</p>
<p>Barnett: Oh, built models. Car models. You whittle them out, put the wheels on them, all that, have races with them. Went on trips. Just normal Boy Scout stuff. Got a little more sophisticated, but just the normal Boy Scout stuff then.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. And so after you went to Carmichael, did you then go to Richland High?</p>
<p>Barnett: Col High.</p>
<p>Franklin: Col High?</p>
<p>Barnett: [LAUGHTER] It was Col High then.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh.</p>
<p>Barnett: They changed the name because there was a Col High downstream on the Columbia that had had the name before Richland High was called Col High. So they changed it to Richland High instead of Col High.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh. But was the mascot always still the—</p>
<p>Barnett: All the bomber.</p>
<p>Franklin: --bombers? Okay. So the Col High Bombers?</p>
<p>Barnett: Yup.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And when did you graduate high school?</p>
<p>Barnett: 1957.</p>
<p>Franklin: And then what did you do?</p>
<p>Barnett: I went in the Air Force. I think about two months after I got out and I went in the Air Force. I already spent 27 months in the National Guards. I got in the National Guards when I was 16, and when I went to sign up for the Air Force, the squadron commander of the National Guards was—he got shook up because he enlisted me when I was 16. [LAUGHTER] So they changed the date on my discharge papers from the National Guards. So according to my discharge papers from the National Guards, I’m 78 right now.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh.</p>
<p>Barnett: Those days, they did things like that, nobody thought anything about it.</p>
<p>Franklin: Wow, yeah.</p>
<p>Barnett: Because if you were warm they took you into the military then.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. [LAUGHTER] And what did you—describe your time in the Air Force.</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, of course there was basic training. The first place I went was Westover, Massachusetts—that’s Springfield, Massachusetts. And that was a total culture shock for me, because I grew up in a comparatively small city. And Springfield then had over 100,000 people in it.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right, and I guess, too, at this point you would have completely grown up when Richland was a government—</p>
<p>Barnett: Yup.</p>
<p>Franklin: --still was all government space.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yup, they sold it while I was in the Air Force.</p>
<p>Franklin: Can—actually I guess maybe we can back up a little bit. What strikes you, maybe looking back on that, or—</p>
<p>Barnett: I watched them build the Alphabet Houses. And there wasn’t one or two people on the houses; there was five or six building these houses. And they seemed to go up overnight. One of the things that I don’t know is fact or not, but knowing the government it probably was—is they were supposed to build half basements for a coal fire furnace, a coal bin, and two tubs, and place for a washing machine. The contractors screwed up on some of them and built a full basement. And the government found out about it and made them go back in and seal half the basement with dirt. [LAUGHTER] Typical government.</p>
<p>Franklin: Were your—granted you were a kid at this point, but was your sense—were people happy—</p>
<p>Barnett: Oh yeah!</p>
<p>Franklin: living in a government-controlled and -owned town?</p>
<p>Barnett: Nobody thought anything about it. There was very little crime. Because at that time, there was only about two, three ways to get out of Richland. So there was nobody causing any big deal. And if you got in a whole bunch of trouble—you didn’t live in Richland unless you worked at Hanford. And if your kids got into too much trouble, they told the parents, you calm them down or go find another job. So it was stopped.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. Did you—was Richland mostly a white community at that time? Right? Were there any other—</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, there was—one, I think there was only one black community in Richland—Norris Brown. And I think they lived in Putnam.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: I remember we had a basketball game in Sunnyside. And Sunnyside wasn’t gonna let them play on their court. And we told them, fine, we’ll just get up and leave. So we all started to get up and leave and they finally broke it and gave in and let them play on the basketball court.</p>
<p>Franklin: How did you know this family? Did you go to school together?</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, I went to school with them.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh okay, and did you play basketball?</p>
<p>Barnett: No! I’m not a sports—I had my first surgery on my knee when I was about 13, so—</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, wow.</p>
<p>Barnett: I’ve never played any sports. My sporting then was hunting and fishing.</p>
<p>Franklin: But you kind of heard about this story?</p>
<p>Barnett: Oh, yeah. We all know them. Went to basketball games. Then there was sock hops and at noon they taught dancing in the lunchrooms for kids that wanted to learn how to dance.</p>
<p>Franklin: So do you know what the patriarch of that family would have done at Hanford to be able to earn a place at Hanford? Because mostly from what I’ve heard, mostly African Americans had to live in Pasco.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, because they wouldn’t let them live in Richland—I mean Kennewick.</p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah, in Kennewick. So how did—do you know any particulars as to how that family was able to live in Richland?</p>
<p>Barnett: I think it’s just that the government—that they had to be equal on them, and they just hired them and they went to work out there. I don’t know any particulars on it, but that’s basic what it was.</p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: They were in a government town, and there was no way that anybody could refuse—and there was nobody that complained about it.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: Again, the government controlled it. They said, if you don’t like it, goodbye.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. And they would—they called the government for pretty much anything you needed on the house, right? For coal?</p>
<p>Barnett: Right. Lightbulbs, chains, coal. But coal was delivered once a—I don’t know whether it was once a month or once a week. But coal was automatically delivered. And like I say, if there was anything major done, you called the housing department. They came in and fixed it.</p>
<p>Franklin: I think sometimes for outsiders looking in, it’s kind of striking to hear about the government completely owning this town and controlling the lives of the people and having that much control on people’s freedoms and responsibility. But from the people I’ve talked to who grow up in Richland, they have very fond memories of it.</p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, there was no restrictions on the normal freedoms. There was restriction on if your kids got into trouble, because, like I said, the patrol would go up to the person that had the kids that were causing the problem and said you either straighten your kids out or you go and find another job. Which, to me, made common sense. And so it was actually pretty decent.</p>
<p>Franklin: Did you ever get any sense from your parents that they felt, maybe, restricted, not being able to own their own home or do any of their own repairs, or did they just—</p>
<p>Barnett: No, not then. I think—that was just after the Depression—I think they were just happy to be able to get a home.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. Interesting. Because, you know, for some people looking outside, you could look at that level of government control—because we have these big debates about the role of the government in society today, and it’s kind of interesting to hear about it.</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, there was no control where the government come in and said, you do this and you do that and you do this. As long as you didn’t get into trouble and you did your job, and were a normal person, there was nobody ever complained about it. I remember I was back behind where the Racquet Club is. I was hunting ground squirrels with a .22 one day. And at that time, nobody had any problems with it. And one of the Richland patrol people came and picked me up and brought me back to the patrol station. And he called my dad. My dad come in and he says, what’s wrong? He says, we caught your boy shooting .22s at such-and-such area. He said, well, is he aiming at the road? Said, no. Said, did he shoot it at anybody? Said, no. Then what the hell are you bothering me about? I mean, that’s just how it was in those times. It wasn’t any of this, oh my god, he’s got a gun. It just was normal. Because I had my first rifle when I was about—I must have been about eight years old. And we used to go out and go rabbit hunting.</p>
<p>Franklin: Did you ever spend much time in Kennewick or Pasco—in either of those--?</p>
<p>Barnett: Not really. My wife was born in Pasco.</p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p>Barnett: I never spent much time in it because I had no reason to. I mean, it wasn’t the case of I was afraid to or wary about it—just I had no reason to. All, everything I needed was in Richland or around the Richland area.</p>
<p>Franklin: Why did you first have to get surgery on your knee at 13?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, my knee locked. I didn’t find out until about 25 years later that the doctor had actually not fixed it. Because what they found out was there was a meniscus cartilage—you know in your knee? And mine was oblong and it had broke in half. And it had slipped between the joint and it had locked my knee so I couldn’t straighten it out. So I’d have to pick it up, lay it across the other leg, and pull it and pop it back out. But that was the first—I was accident prone. I had a radical mastoid when I was about 15. By the time I got out of high school, I probably had 100 stitches in me. I mean, if it happened, I did it and got it happened to me. I was playing baseball, jumped over a fence, and landed on a guard rake with the thongs up—four thongs in one of my foot.</p>
<p>Franklin: Ouch.</p>
<p>Barnett: Weird things like that are always happening to me. One time, when I was in school, I reached up to open a door and a kid slammed it and put my hand through the window, sliced across this way. And I looked at it, bleeding, and I closed it up and went to the nurse’s office. The nurse got all panicky. She called my mom, and I could hear my mom say over the phone real loud, again?! And the nurse must’ve thought she was the hard-heartest old lady there ever was, but my mother was just used to it.</p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah, right.</p>
<p>Barnett: And I didn’t do things out of the way to have it happen, just—if it’s gonna be an odd thing, it happened.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: So I kind of, like I say, with all this mess I got with my knee now, I call it Young Stupid Male Syndrome, a lot of it. I don’t—I get frustrated with it, because I love to garden and I can’t garden anymore. But I don’t get worried or depressed about it, because it’s there and nothing I can do about it, so just live with it.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. So jump back ahead now. So you said you moved to Springfield in the Air Force for basic training, and that was—</p>
<p>Barnett: No, I was—San Antonio for basic training, and then to Springfield.</p>
<p>Franklin: And that was a big culture shock.</p>
<p>Barnett: Oh, yeah. I mean, I drove a vehicle and drove into town to haul officers into town. And here is a town with 100,000 people and I’d never been in anything bigger than Richland, Washington. So you can imagine the shock it was, being in that kind of traffic.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. And then where did you go after that?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, I was there for about a year-and-a-half, two years. Then I went to Thule, Greenland.</p>
<p>Franklin: Interesting.</p>
<p>Barnett: Top of the world.</p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah. And what were you—was that for the—weren’t there bombers stationed—</p>
<p>Barnett: No, they had the fueling planes there. Yes, they had SAC planes all over the world at that time. But at Thule they had the KC-135s and the KC-97s that were fueling planes.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p>Barnett: So we were there to support them.</p>
<p>Franklin: And those were there to refuel the—</p>
<p>Barnett: The B-52s.</p>
<p>Franklin: --the B-52s that were carrying weapons in case of--</p>
<p>Barnett: Yup, because there was one from every base in the world in the air 24 hours a day.</p>
<p>Franklin: Right. And can you talk—what was that like, to be in—and was the base separated from any other communities in Greenland, or did you--</p>
<p>Barnett: It was a base of its own. There were no other communities besides Thule, that’s it.</p>
<p>Franklin: And how long were you there?</p>
<p>Barnett: Year.</p>
<p>Franklin: And what was that like?</p>
<p>Barnett: Well, it’s an interesting place to visit, but you don’t want to live there permanently. [LAUGHTER] Let’s put it that way. They have permafrost which is—oh, I guess about two foot down. So in the spring there are all these little beautiful tundra flowers—yellows and whites and all that. And then when they’re gone it’s just green grass and that’s it. And when they went to put a pole in the ground, they put a can—a barrel of oil in the ground, and light the oil, and then dig around that barrel. Because that’s the only way to get down past the permafrost. Because permafrost is almost like concrete.</p>
<p>Franklin: Yes, yeah. I’m from Alaska originally, and so I’m very familiar with permafrost. So after Greenland, where did you go?</p>
<p>Barnett: Went to Mountain Home Air Force Base.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: And where is that?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Idaho, Washington.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay. So kind of close to--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, out in Mountain Home. They had B-47s then at Mountain Home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: I figured out that they actually phased out B-47s because they were built before the B-52s and they figured the B-47s weren't worth keeping around.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: And what did you do in the Air Force?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: I drove. I drove every kind of vehicle you can think of.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, really?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah. When I moved to Fairchild from Mountain Home, I was trained to tow B-52s in the back, in the hangars.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: With a five-ton Yuke. Four-wheel drive, five ton, and you had wing walkers on the outside that would guide you, and you would back this thing up, this big B-52 into a hangar. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Wow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: They would pull it down to a fueling station or whatever. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Cool. And then when did you come back to Richland?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: 1965. I got out to Richland and we moved to--I can't remember the address, but it was on Marshall. We moved to a house on Marshall.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Was it an Alphabet House, or was it a--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, it was an Alphabet House. I remember it most because the neighbors had a monkey. And the monkey kept stealing my daughter's candy from her. [LAUGHTER] </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: So you said--wait, so by this point you had a family?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, I had--I adopted my oldest boy and I had two children.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: They were all born at Fairchild.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And a wife, I presume?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: And what did your wife do in Richland?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: She was just a mother. But we divorced in about '70. And then I remarried.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. And what did you do when you came back to Richland?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Anything I could. I worked at O'Malley's Drug Store for a while. I worked at his house--O'Malley's house, leveled his backyard. I worked at Walter's Grape Juice, I worked at Bell Furniture, I worked at—at that time, it was originally called the Mart, at that big building right next to the Federal Building. At one time, that was a big--what would you call it? They had a cafeteria and a grocery store and all the other—kind of like Walmart.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: It was called the Mart at that time. And I worked there in the clippers that they washed the dishes with. And then I went to work for the bowling alley, Atomic Lanes, which was right there where the Jacks and Sons Tavern is. That was a community center and a bowling alley there. And I worked there for about a month, and then they went automatic. So, about that time, I was just about ready to get out—finish high school. And I don't think I had any other job after that, and I went in the Air Force.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, so--I'm sorry. When you came back to Richland, what did you do? So in 1965.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Oh, I did everything then. You name it, I took a job. Before—I'm sorry, I got it backwards. Before I went in the Air Force, there wasn't many jobs for people in the—who were kids in Richland. And I worked the bowling alley and I worked down at a dry cleaning outfit. But when I come back to Richland, that's when I had all these other jobs. I worked all these other jobs to keep supplied for the family.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: How had Richland changed in the eight years since you had been gone?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, the Uptown district had--the Newberry's had left. And there was a Safeway store right next to the theater. Right now I think it's a—I don't know, some kind of a multi shop deal. And both of the stores that were there originally are gone. They're now all antique stores.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: So it was—when it was built, it was the first big complex for going shopping in Tri-Cities.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: And after they built that, they built Highlands. And that was another big complex for shopping. So I worked everything I could, and 19--oh, what was it? [SIGH] About '67 or '68, I went to work at Hanford. I finally got on with them. Because I'd been applying at Hanford for three years. And I finally got to work with them. I won't mention how I got to work for them, because to me, it's kind of a ridiculous deal, and I don't know whether it was prejudice or not. Well, I'll go ahead. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: I was gonna say, now you've got my interest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: I was--how I'd shop for a job, I'd go out and fill out an employment application, and I'd just distribute--go out all over town and fill out employment applications. And every week, I'd go back and check them. Well, one time, I was filling out an appointment application, and one of the guys I knew, I met him, and he said, hey, there's a new employment office over there at the new Whitaker School. And you might check it out. So I went over there and checked it out and signed up. And three days later, Hanford called me for a job. And I found out that that originally was a minority employment office.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: So I've always had the feeling that somebody didn't look at the records right. They didn't see the C. [LAUGHTER] Because I didn't get hired until I went to there and did an application. Because the government was required to hire a certain number of minority--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right. Well, but you did get hired.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: So what did you do at Hanford?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, I can say as little as possible, like everybody else. [LAUGHTER] That's a common joke. Of course, it took me about--I couldn't understand it. It took me about three months to get a security clearance. When I was in SAC, I had a Secret clearance. Both my folks worked at Hanford, they had Secret clearance. But it still took me about three months to get a security clearance. And all the time, since I've been on the Air Force, I've lived in Richland, I never could understand the government—why they wasted so much money on a security clearance for me. But when I got out there, I started as a process operator. And started at B Plant. And there was no training at that time. I mean, when you went into a radiation zone, one of the guys that was experienced took you with him. And you dressed like he did, hoping he knew what he was doing, because that's how you dressed. And that's how you learned to dress right. So I started out going into the canyon--I don't know if you knew what the canyons were—okay? We went into the canyons and I helped mixed chemicals in the chemical gallery. And that's where I think I really screwed up my knees, because I can remember—remember, I call it Young Stupid Male Syndrome--I remember throwing a hundred-pound sack of chemicals on my shoulder and going up three flights of stairs with them, rather than wait for the elevator. Young and dumb, indestructible. [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Actually, maybe for those who might be watching this who might not be as familiar with some of this stuff as I am, can you describe the canyon?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, the canyon was—well, like I say, the building was about 150-foot wide and about 800-foot long. And it was four stories deep and there was just one--the reason they call it canyon was because it was a gigantic canyon. It went the full length of the building, and they had huge cranes that moved different stuff so they could process the atomic waste. Because in B Plant, they process the nuclear waste. They ship it down to B Plant and we go through chemical stuff to separate the strontium and cesium from it. And that would be sent to the encapsulation plant. That was built about—oh, six years after I went to work at B Plant. They closed up after I'd been there for ten years, and I went to work for Encapsulation Building. But the canyon is an immensely big, empty storage building, really what it is. And I don't know how—or what they're gonna do with them now, because there is some radiation there that you wouldn't believe how hot it was. We took samples of radiation behind lead shields, and then they were so hot that they ended up having the crane pick up the samples and dispose of them, because we couldn't move them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Wow. Did you—and so when you came back, your father was no longer working at Hanford, right?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, he was still working at Hanford.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, was he still working—so you guys worked at Hanford at the same time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, wow, that's really interesting. So can you tell me a little bit more about what a—describe in a little more detail the job of a process operator?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, real basically, we were what you might call nuclear janitors.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: We clean up the messes that pipe fitters or millwrights or electricians made. We process all the chemical--mixed all the chemicals and processed—did all the processing of separating the strontium and cesium from the nuclear waste and ship them to tank farms. And that was basically what our main job was. We had a few major accidents. Now it'd be all over the world, about how bad it was and all that. But we just went about our business cleaning it up and went on our job. None of us got an overdose of radiation. We relied on our radiation monitors and they were good radiation monitors. If we were getting too much, they yanked us out of there real quick. So we didn't even think about it. It wasn't the case of being scared of it or anything else. It's like your hazardous wastes that they got, like coming from the hospital, where they work in an x-ray lab, they throw all the gloves and stuff and that. That's called mixed hazardous waste. Well, you could take a bath in that and not get any radiation on you. But according to what the public knew, those things are really highly radioactive boxes. And I think the biggest problem the government had is they didn't tell the people enough about what was really going on after the war was over. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh. Really?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, because there would have been less worry about things that were going on then, if they would have known. Because if you don't know anything about radiation, and you hear somebody mentions something is irradiated, you get all panicky about it. The expression for radiation out there was, you get a crap up. You get a crap up, you scrub it off and go about your business. Now, they panic and take you to town and do all that sort of stuff. There, we just scrubbed it off and went about our business.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: And I never worried about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. So you said you were a process separator at B Plant. And then you went to the Canyon, and what did you do--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, I didn't go to the Canyon, I went to 225-B, the Encapsulation Building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin; 225-B, the Encapsulation Building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: That's where they encapsulated the strontium and cesium. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: We all did a multitude of jobs. We worked on the cells, processing the strontium and cesium. And we worked behind the cells in mixing chemicals and we worked from when they loaded the chemicals for shipment for a long period of time when they were shipping cesium to the radiation plant for irradiating medical waste. And that ended when the guy was what they called recycling the cesium capsules too much. They get real hot. I mean, temperature-wise. And he was setting it in the water for a period of time and taking it out of water and cooling them off and stashing them back in the water. Well, one of them leaked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Ooh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: And so they ended up, the whole place had to have all those capsules moved back. So that was a big fiasco. And again, it wasn't our fault. It was the guy doing the work was stupid enough to not check and see what he was doing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: And that's usually what happens with most—any of the radiation. And if you work with radiation, it's not the guy doing the work, it's somebody that's stupid and doesn't check what he's doing, doesn't follow regulations that causes the problem. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: So did you have any other jobs at Hanford? Or what--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: I don't know, you ever heard of McCluskey?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, I was over there when we cleaned—for five weeks cleaning up that building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Really?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Were you there at the time of the accident--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: No, no.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: --or part of the cleanup for that?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Afterwards. They were trying to clean up the rooms so they could go in there and get things squared away. And we spent five weeks there. And to tell you how screwball the government can be, the last week-and-a-half we were there, we finally told our supervisor, look, all of worked on this radiation for 15, 20 years. We know how to clean it up. Quit telling us what to do. Let us go in there and clean it up and we'll get it cleaned up for you in no time at all. So they took a chance. And what they did is we ragged all along the bottom of the building, and we took water fire extinguishers. Because it's americium, and americium is a powder substance, it floats real easy. But it's water soluble--it'll run down with water. So we went in there and sprayed the walls with it real heavy. Then wiped everything down, moved everything that was movable, bagged it up in plastic bags and moved it out. And inside of a week, we had it down to mask only. Before then, we were wearing three pairs of plastic and cooling air and fresh air.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Wow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: And we cleaned it up in a week-and-a-half because they didn't want the people that knew what they were doing doing it. And that's the biggest problem with the government: they've always got the bureaucracy up here that knows what's going on, but they never ask the poor guy that’s doing all the work what's going on. I think you've seen that numerous times. [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: I think so. [LAUGHTER] Wow, that's really fascinating. So how long total did you work at Hanford?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: 30 years.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: 30 years.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: I had to take a medical retirement in '98.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: '98. So then you were there, then, kind of from the shift from production to cleanup. Right? The production and shutdown.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: No, when I left they were just getting ready to start cleaning things up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay, so can you maybe talk about the shift from production to shutdown? How did that affect your job?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, I really didn't get in on any of the cleanup, because I left before they did. But I talked to a number of the guys out there that I worked with that were in the cleanup. The biggest problem they had is they put such a limit on chemicals they could use to do cleanup that they had to use things that they claim were not environmentally safe. They had to void all that--like Tide. They wouldn't even let us use Tide to wash the walls down. Now, you use Tide in washing machines. [LAUGHTER] Come on, give me a break. That's a hazardous chemical? And I guess it took them quite a while to get the thing cleaned up. Because, like I say, they didn't start cleaning it up until after I left.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right. So what did you do in the shutdown era? Like after '87, from '87 to '98? What was your job primarily?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: They didn't shut down--they shut B Plant down, but they didn't shut 2-and-a-quarter down. 2-and-a-quarter was still processing strontium and cesium.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay, so then you kept in the waste encapsulation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Can you describe a little bit more the process of waste encapsulation?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, strontium is not soluble--not water soluble. And strontium is. And what they had--they had a special process--I don't know exactly the process. I just know what we did. You would take a mixed chemicals with the cesium and you would dissolve it and then you would heat it up to--I think--800 degrees into a liquid. And then you had a machine we called a tilt-pour which would pour seven capsules at a time full of cesium. And then you'd take these capsules and you'd put a sensoring disc in them to make them airtight. And then you'd weld a cap onto that. That'd be welded by a machine. And most then it was computerized. Then that was decontaminated until it was clean. And then it was put into another capsule, and that capsule was also—put a lid on it, but it was soldered on—welded on. And that was moved into the pool cells. Pool cells are 13-foot deep. What you had is a special hole built into the wall with water that you would shove that capsule through. And then the guy on the other side in the pool cell would grab the capsule and pull it out. And he would go to the pool cell that he's designated to go to, and he would shove it through a hole in the wall. And somebody on the other side would grab it and pull it and then you'd put it into its spot. So it was quite a process. And the fear was--you couldn't get that capsule within five feet of the top. Because if you did, you'd get a high radiation alarm. They’d read millions of rads on those capsules. They were hot, no two ways about it. And one thing I've always wondered is why does cesium glow blue when you turn the lights out?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Wow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: You turn the lights out in the pool cell, and all these cesium capsules will glow blue. And I've never--I've had somebody say it's something about the speed of light and all that. But I'd like to know the real reason it does that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: That sounds kind of strangely beautiful.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: It was. It's a blue glow all along the bottom. The strontium doesn't. Strontium is not water soluble and it doesn't glow at all. In fact, I got some strontium in me one time when I had a tape when one of the manipulators--I don't know if I didn't mention--all the work was done from the outside with the manipulators. You know what manipulators are.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right, yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Okay, and all the capsulation, all of the work was done with manipulators from the outside. And it was amazing what some of those guys could do. They could take a little bottle about so big with a little bitty top and they could pick up that bottle, hold it here, and took up the other--the cap with the lid and put it on it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Wow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: I was never that good with it, but there some guys out there who got real expertise with that. It just takes a lot of work to learn to use those things. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: I bet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: That's one reason my hand's tore up--my hand just didn't take it so much.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: And you said you got strontium on your hand?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, I got--I couldn't handle manipulators good because my hand was falling apart on me. So I took all the decontamination of the manipulator. Because that's--a manipulator has to be pulled after so many--I think it's so many weeks, the Mylar coating on it starts deteriorating. So it has to be pulled, decontaminated, and new Mylar sheath put on it. And I was in there decontaminating one of the manipulators, and one of the—well, they were trying new bands that controlled the grips. And one of them broke and sliced my hand. And I got some strontium in my finger. It was about 700 counts. I wasn't too worried about it. But they took me to town and went on all government roads, documented and everything and brought me back. I couldn't work with radiation for about three months until that thing finally deteriorated--worked out of the body.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Wow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: But I didn't worry about it. It wasn't enough to do any harm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Wow, that's really--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: See, that's the difference between working with the stuff and knowing what it does, and not working with the stuff.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right. Right, I've heard a lot of similar things about--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: It's like chemicals. I'd rather work at a radiation plant than at a chemical plant. Because if you have good radiation monitors, you're not gonna get an overdose of radiation. But with a chemical plant, look what they have out there now. A guy gets a whiff of chemicals, they all go panic about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Yeah, I see where you're--I see your point. So you said--earlier when you said you would put the cesium in the pools—cesium cans, you couldn't get them too close to something, because they'd get too hot. Sorry--can you--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: No, it wasn't too close--they're in--oh, it probably was a--well, what would you call it? It was like a cabinet with holes in it. You would drop these in there. And they're spaced out. You couldn't pull them too high. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: If you pulled them sometimes when you're getting ready to transfer them to the pool cell, they would hydroplane and come up. And if you pulled them too fast, they would come up and you'd get a high radiation alarm. You’d just drop it back down and it'd go off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: That's what it was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: I got--okay. I gotcha. So--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: It only takes one time, you remember not to do that anymore. [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: [LAUGHTER] I bet. So even though your area—your work didn't change much when most of the plans ordered to shut down. You still probably worked with a lot of people whose jobs might have changed--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: --during shutdown. Can you talk about that transition between process--?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, I talked with some of the guys and they were talking about how much work it took to get things cleaned up. Like the area behind the pool cells, that had to be completely decontaminated. And we finally got it down to where it was just one pair and no masks. That took a lot of work. Decontaminating just takes a lot of hand-scrubbing. I mean, it's not a case of, you can put something there and pick it up and get rid of it. You got a scrub a lot of places until it's gone. It takes a lot of work. And I talked to one fella, and he said that they had all the cells that were down to clean—and what they consider clean is no radiation in them. And it is hard for me to believe, because some of those cells were really hot. But I never got a chance on the cleanup.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: How was--so when Hanford was shifting over, how was this change explained by management, or some of the--how was it conveyed, or how did the community take it?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Management never explained anything to anybody. [LAUGHTER] I don't remember hearing the community complaining about anything, because most of the guys worked out there, and they knew what was going on. So there was no big panic about it. It wasn't the case where some guys didn't work here, they were told this was going on and got all excited because they didn’t know what was going on. Most people knew what was going on. So there was no big panic that I remember.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: We didn't panic with radiation, because we had good radiation monitors.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: And that makes a big difference when you're working around radiation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: So being in waste encapsulation, how did other events--other nuclear accidents around the country or around the world, like Three Mile Island or Chernobyl, kind of affect how your job or how--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: It made us see how ridiculous--because Three Mile Island actually worked. It was [UNKNOWN] what it was built for. And the moderation they got--radiation they got was not as much as you get flying from here to Denver City. Because you get more radiation from the sun than you do from—what the people at Three Mile Island got. But they blew it up so big, because so many years the government kept radiation such a secret. And that's the reason there's so much panic whenever they say radiation. Of course, there's been some real bad accidents. That one in Japan—that was a horrible thing. But as far as Hanford goes, most of the people that worked at Hanford don't—I guess they're not working around radiation anymore; it's all chemicals. Because they're getting—they get the chemicals and to me, that's the management's problem. Because they're doing something wrong in taking care of the people. The people are doing what they're told to do. If management is telling them, hey, you got to wear this, and they're not wearing it, then that's their problem—that’s the worker's problem. But when the management doesn't do anything about it, that's their problem—that’s management's problem. And I think from what I've heard and read, most of this is a managerial problem. It's not a case that the worker is going out of his way to ignore any safety concerns.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right. What about the accident in Chernobyl? How did that--did that affect your job, or--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah, it affected it because they shut down N Reactor. And N Reactor, up until then, was as safe as any reactor in the country. It had so many safety pieces on it that you could darn near slam a door and make it shut down. But they shut it down because it was something like Chernobyl. And that's where the big effect was. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: How did--oh, how did security policies change over time? Did they change with the different contractors or in response to different events?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: No, the security’s main thing was basically the same. You had the security guards at like 200 East—well, they left the security guards that you couldn’t get out to Hanford without a security clearance. But that quit because they had the buses, and that stopped. And they had the security guards checking the buses and stuff as you went through. And then typical government, they started screaming about, oh, we're burning too much gas. We can't afford gas! So we'll shut the buses down. [LAUGHTER] So everybody had to drive out. But the guards at the gate checked your badges, checked your cars. If there was anything in it--you couldn’t take cameras or anything like that out there. If the guard knew you, he checked you out whether he knew you or not, because he had to make sure your wife didn't leave a camera sitting in your backseat you didn't know about.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Which happened on occasion.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right, I bet. How did your job change with the different contractors coming in? Did it change much, or did you--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, every contractor that came in, the engineers thought they were gonna remake the world. They would come up with some plan that they saw on a schematic and say, this is the way we want to do it. And we'd tell them point blank, it won't work. We've tried it that way. And they say, oh yes, it will! So we'd spend $50,000 in parts and stuff to put this together, and then it didn't work. And then they went around, well, why didn't it work? Well. The only one I ever saw that was a decent engineer is when he'd draw up a plan to do something, he would go to the millwrights, he would go to the operators, he'd go to the instrument techs and ask them to look at it and see if there's anything that needs done on it. And he had never had any problems. But these that come straight out of school and thought they could reinvent the world were a pain in the butt to us because they cost money and time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Do you remember who that good engineer was?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: He left. I don't remember who he was. But he left and went to work for a big company some place.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Oh, okay. Do you remember President Nixon's visit in--I think it was 1970 or 1971?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: I might have. I didn't see him. I don't worry about politics.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: He didn't do our place any good or any bad. Just a big political statement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: How did the Tri-Cities change from when you came back in 1968 until today? What kind of strikes you as major changes?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, there seem to be more, you might say, petty crimes. There wasn't as much as there was before--there was more than there was before, I should say. But the city maintained its equilibrium about the same, because the people have been here for 20 years, and then they sold the city to the town. There was no big change in the government. The police stayed the same. The biggest change was you had to call a painter if you wanted your house painted. And they sold the houses to the people, and that was the biggest change.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: How about, though, since—from when you came back in 1968 until today? Has there been any--has the community changed at all?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, a lot of the businesses have left Richland. They moved out Columbia Center area, or up there in that area. We don't have--you got to go to Columbia Center to find a business. There's a few still there. There's Home Depot and stuff like that down there, Big Lots. But there's not as many as there used to be. And mostly antique shops or stereo shops.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: But there's always the Spudnut. It's always been there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: There is always the Spudnuts, yeah. They're good too. Is there anything else that I haven't asked you about that you'd like to talk about?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, us kids had different ways of playing that nowadays they would just panic about it. We used to have BB gun fights. We’d put on leather jackets and extra pair of Levi's and a hat and go into these orchards like where Densow's was and we'd have BB gun fights. And you haven't really lived until you've had your butt shot by a BB. [LAUGHTER] But nowadays there'd be some big panic about it that you're gonna shoot an eye out. Well, nobody ever shot an eye out because we made sure that we didn't shoot towards the head. [LAUGHTER] When they were building the houses, that's what was amazing, how fast they put these houses up. It wasn't a week or so to get a house started--it was almost a week and they had the thing almost done. And we used to go to different houses and have clod fights. Things like that that you don't dare do nowadays.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: When you had what kind of fights?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Clod fights. Clodded earth. We'd get behind stuff and throw clods at each other. And the snow then was two, three foot deep. Because I remember building snow forts in my yard three foot high and never have to go to the yard to get snow. So there has been a big change in the weather. And the shelterbelt, that made a big difference, because I remember when we had sandstorms--not dust storms, sandstorms. And my dad would pull his car up in front of the house to keep the sand from blasting the side of the car off--the paint. So there's been big changes. The shelterbelt was one thing the government put in that actually worked. It’s kind of surprising. [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: That's great. Is there anything else? Anything else you'd like to talk about?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, not really. Just that the area behind--you know, in West Richland at that time used to be Heminger City and Enterprise. They were two cities then.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay, tell me, were those cities that predated the Hanford Project?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Yeah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Okay, and how big were there?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Oh, they were just little communities. It was just one run into the other. There was one called Enterprise, one was called--what did I just say?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Something city.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Heminger City.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Heminger City.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: One of the elections went out for voting, they had one of the places that you went to was called Enterprise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: And how long did those communities last after Hanford came?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Not very long. I can remember Dad going out to the first town—first little town was Heminger City. And that was right where Cline's computer shop is, it was automobile shop there. And those were all owned by one group--one person. I think it was--Herricks was the name. And she had a little taco stand in one of the places. And OK Tire Shop had part of the one building that they sold tires and did car repair out of. So it was a slow change in West Richland. We had a feed store for a while. But Hanford went on strike and our feed store went down the tubes. They used to have what they called parking lot critter sells. People would bring all their animals, little animals that they wanted to sell in cages. And we would sell them for them and get 10% of the interest. It was a pretty good deal, because a lot of people had pet rabbits and stuff like that and they wanted to get rid of them. Usually had them at the un-boat races. You heard of the un-boat races?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Why don't you tell me?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: The un-boat races? You ever heard of them?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: Why don't you tell me?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Well, the un-boat race was you went up to the Horn Rapids Dam, and you put something in. It could not be a boat. It could be a bath tub, it could be inner tubes--it could be anything that you could see above that would float and it could not be called--it was called un-boat race. And there was a prize that they got down towards the bridge that crosses the Yakima there on George Washington Way. Got down about that far, there was a prize who got there first. But they ended up cutting that out because people left too much stuff—garbage alongside the road. They wouldn’t pick it up and take it with them when they were done with it. But that was a lot of fun. We used to stand up on the ridge. Always started about May. And we'd stand there and watch people come down the river on these un-boats. [LAUGHTER]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franklin: That sounds really fun. Anyone else have anything? Okay, well, Dan, thank you so much for talking to us today. I learned a lot of great stuff about Richland and waste encapsulation. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barnett: Okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Daniel Barnett
Description
An account of the resource
An interview with Daniel Barnett conducted as part of the Hanford Oral History Project. The Hanford Oral History Project was sponsored by Mission Support Alliance on behalf of the United States Department of Energy.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this oral history should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for this item.
Date Modified
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2016-08-12: Metadata v1 created – [J.G.]
Subject
The topic of the resource
Hanford Site (Wash.)
Richland (Wash.)
Nuclear instruments & methods
Nuclear weapons plants--Health aspects--Washington (State)--Hanford Site Region
Date
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07/13/2016
Format
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video/mp4
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
The Hanford Oral History Project operates under a sub-contract from Mission Support Alliance (MSA), who are the primary contractors for the US Department of Energy's curatorial services relating to the Hanford site. This oral history project became a part of the Hanford History Project in 2015, and continues to add to this US Department of Energy collection.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Hanford Oral History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
225 B Encapsulation Building
B Plant
Hanford (Wash.)
Hanford Site (Wash.)
Hunting
Nuclear weapons plants--Health aspects--Washington (State)--Hanford Site Region
Richland (Wash.)
-
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2Ff3d85bde00e86e0c74863a946d82d95d.jpg
afffa7c79551d98dda0f88b751d2c406
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2F8b04b9ce1b21e1ea75e4060d99aac9f3.mp4
50f96b20387d4d3089b3a6aceecfbccc
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Post-1943 Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area during and following the Second World War
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area during and following the Second World War
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this collection should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for these items.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Robert Bauman
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Leroy Noga
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><strong><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Northwest Public Television | </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span class="SpellingError SCX145880437">Noga_Leroy</span></span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"><br /></span></strong></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Leroy Noga</span>: Leroy Noga. But I usually go by Lee all the time.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Robert Bauman</span>: And your last name is N-O-G-A?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: N-O-G-A, yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Okay. All right. My name's Robert Bauman. Today's date is October 15</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX145880437">th</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> of 2013. And we're conducting this interview on the campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities. So let's start if we could just by having you talk about how and why you came to Hanford. When that happened, what brought you here?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Well, I had hired--in the state of Minnesota. And they painted a picture of all the pine trees and everything, and several of us come out here in 1955. So I drove out here--it was January in '55. And from Spokane to here—it was at night and it was foggy where you could cut it with a knife. I couldn't even see the white line on the side, hardly. Anyway, I stayed at the Desert Motel in Richland. And next morning, got in the car and I see all this stuff that looked like I was on the moon or something. Sage brush. Where's all the pine trees, you know? I couldn't believe it. Everybody's got a picture of Washington with the beautiful pine trees and everything. [LAUGHTER] Including us from Minnesota. Anyway, so then of course I hired in with GE. And stayed in the dorm, men's dorm. And that was another shocker because I'm a ballroom dancer and used to going to several ballrooms in Minneapolis. Big ones--the Prom, the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Marigold. And I would always never have a problem to pick up a woman--a nice looking woman to dance with. And here everything was--the women were afraid to go out. They stayed in the dorm and there wasn't anybody to dance with. I was very disappointed and I thought, as soon as I get enough money, I'm leaving town, and I'm going on. I was single at the time, of course</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">. But then I went to work in K A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea and K-West. Around suddenly and after I got to see the area a little bit. Of course, I'm from Minnesota, land of the ten-thousand lakes--we actually got a lot more than that. But here it was rivers, and I was unfamiliar with rivers. But after I got acquainted just a little bit, and found out how the hunting was--very good duck hunting and pheasant hunting at the time. I thought, hey, this isn't so bad. And then I tried the river fishing, which was quite different. And that wasn't so bad either. I was able to catch fish. And then I did dance with a local girl that said, well Lee, just stick it out a little while. It kind of grows on you. And I still remember that statement, and I'm still here—</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: --after all this time. And I wouldn't move. Of course the area has changed a lot.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Mm-hmm.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: And we had dust storms then. A couple of us bachelors, we stayed in a Bower Day House. And after one dust storm, I think we had about a half of inch of dust on the floor the next day. And that was typical. They weren't too well built, as far as keeping the dust out. And I can remember another time there living in the same house where we had a big snowstorm and then we got a chinook after that, chinook wind. Which we used to get a lot of those warm chinook winds, of course. And I remember the water had melted so fast, that the water had washed a full six pack right in front of our house. And I thought, well that's nice. [LAUGHTER] And anyway, as far as--you were going to ask me some questions.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Yeah. Well I going to--about how long were you in the dorms then? And then how long did you live in the Bower Day House?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Well, I was in the dorms--gee, that that's going way back. I don't remember. Maybe a year a year or maybe a little longer. I remember I missed a piano, because I used to play the piano. And I rented a piano and put it downstairs in a dorm. It was kind of something you don't usually do. But I did it anyway and played. And we ate breakfast every morning at the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Mart which is now the Davidson B</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">uilding, I think it is--right there across from the post office.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Oh, okay.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Big mart, everybody was eating there.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What was Richland like as a community in the 1950s?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Well, everybody kept their doors open. Never locked them. It was a government town so it was very safe. With no crime like there is now. You remember the officers’ club and stuff out the area where they had--well the government tried to keep us here, and so they had big functions out there. Dances and name performers out there. And I was out there a few times--out here in north Richland. The government, of course, didn't want us to quit. And some of us stuck it out, like myself. And I worked for ten years for GE and then GE pulled out. And that's something that really irritates me to this day because--I don't know if--you probably don't want to televise this, but </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">anyway,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> I think that was timed. The government always has these contractors come in and then they change. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I was</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">t</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hey had a ten</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">yea</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">r contract to be vested. But they</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> had an age clause. Y</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ou had to be 28 years old and I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">was a one month away from</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> that. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So I either had to go back </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">east and work for GE back there—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">but I had a family of f</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">our now. And of course I didn't </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">want to go back there and leave my famil</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">y here. So I didn't get vested. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And then different companies come. And Westinghouse, and on, and on. And every time I really had a nice job</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">—I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">really loved it--a different company would come in. I had to change com</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">panies or I had to change jobs. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I finally got tired of it and I quit. And I started my own business. And I might mention this--whil</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">e having my own </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">business, I did security systems, and fire systems, and stuff like that. And I was the f</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">irst company that installed the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">first secur</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ity system out here in the 300 A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea. It was ultrasonic</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> over the fuel rod of the pool. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And so I thought that was something that maybe someone else didn't do out here, related to the area.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Right. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And so what year was that then? Roughly around the time period that you quit and started your own business?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Well, it had to be after ten</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> years</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">. I quit—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I don't remember just exactly what year I quit o</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ut here. I worked for Battelle. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And then I think Westinghouse come in. I think that's when I quit. Rather than cha</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">nge companies again, I just got </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">tired of it.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Mm-hmm.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Let's go back--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">if it's okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> to go back a little bit. You mentioned your first job was to K-West.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So what sort of job was it? What sort of work were you doing then?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX145880437">
<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well I was instrumentation, of course. And did all the instrumentation out there. It was a very--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I liked it because it </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">was such a variety of different instrumentation. And then some of the reall</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">y nasty work we had to do as an </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">instrument person was go on the rear face with the water dripping down. All dress</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ed up in rain gear, gloves, and </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">everything double, you know. And the radiation was so intense back there tha</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">t you could only spend about 15 </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">minutes, 20 minutes, or something. And you were back there to replace these </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">bad thermal temperature devices on the rear face. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I didn't really like the working in the reactors too much. And I tried to get into the 300</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea labs, which I finally was </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">able to do. They didn't like to let us go out there in areas, but I finally made it. And then we--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">in the 300 A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea that </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">was very interesting, too. Because there we got the moon rocks and we an</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">alyzed those. And I worked with </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">chemical engineers and whatever to get the right instrumentation. Whatever they ne</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eded to put that stuff together </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">so they could do what they want. It was interesting work.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah, right.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">We had</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> what they called multi-channel analyzers</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> at that time. We didn't have computers yet. It was</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">—the computer </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">age was just starting.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">If we can go back again to talking about working on the rear face of the reactor. Yo</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">u said, you could</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> only be there for </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">about 15 or 20 minutes. Was that only 15, 20 minutes that day, and then you couldn't go back in again that day?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah, you were burned out for--well I can't remember the period. You were b</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">urned out. You couldn't go back </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">there for maybe a month.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Wow. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And so I assume y</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ou had some sort of dos</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">imeter, or badge, or something like that?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Yeah, you</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> had pencils and stuff.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Mm-hmm.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Mm-hmm. Which they read when you came off the rear face.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Were there ever any times working there that you had an overexposure, or anything like th</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">at? Or any of your coworkers, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">or anything along those lines?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well, I was never overexposed, I don't believe. I think there probably were some incidences but--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">None that you were--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">No.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">They were pretty careful--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">radiation monitoring</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> were pretty careful to always</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> check the time and they always </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">read the dosimeters. And that was pretty well adhered to.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And then you said you move</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">d to the labs. Is that the 300 A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea, or--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And you worked there for several years, or--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Yeah, I worked there for—I don’t know—eight</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> years or so, maybe. And then when I quit, I came back as the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I quit for, I think 12 years,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> when I had my own business.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Mm-hmm.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And then I came back as a manual writer. It was an engineer</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">’</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">s title. I f</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">orget the glorified name I got. [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">But it was a manual w</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">riter writing procedures N </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">R</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eactor. Instrument procedures for the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">because I was an </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">instrument person. It was an ideal task for me, as an engineer to write the test procedures for</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> instrumentation. For the instrument people there at N</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> R</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eactor.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And which company was that, for then? Which contractor that--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Phew. UNC.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Oh, okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">My mind isn't very good as far as old stuff because--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">That's good.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: I just remember the stuff—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">lucky to remember the stuff today.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">One of the events--sort of big events in this period--President Kennedy came to visit in 1963. Where you working</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">at--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Kennedy?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah. President Kennedy.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I remember that.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Were </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">you on-site? Did you see</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> him?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Oh</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I was wondering if you could talk about that at all and describe your memory of that.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> I just remember that he was here and I saw him. That's about all I remember</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> about it. Yeah. That was quite </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">an event.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Do you remember anything about the day at all, or--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Well, e</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">verybody was just really happy and pleased that he came. He was pretty well loved, you know--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">as a man. </span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I wonder--you mentioned earlier--some of the security at Hanford and obviously</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> it was a place that emphasized </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">security, secrecy. Did that--in what ways did that impact your work at all? T</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">he sort of focus on security or </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">secrecy?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> I don't know h</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ow far you want to digress from—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">wherever I want to go?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Wherever you want to go</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">, yeah</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well talking about security brings up something that I thought I'd mention. And that </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">is after I got to work there at </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">GE for a</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">while, and talking with regional monitoring people, and stuff like that. Th</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ey got to know me, and I got to </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">know them, and they found out that</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> I was interested in old cars—antique cars. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So one of them told me about--there's an old Chevrolet cab convertible out </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">there in the boonies. Somewhere </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">between H Area and F A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea. And I said, oh really? And I thought the guy was</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> just</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> blow</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ing wind maybe. I didn't really </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">believe him at the time. But then I got still interested. I got to talking to him an</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">d maybe another monitoring guy, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and it sounded like </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">there really was one out there. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So I looked into it further and I thought, well if there is, how do I get it? How can I ge</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">t it? So I talked to Purchasing </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and Purchasing says, well you'll have to bid on it. And I said, can I bit on it? And if</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> so, I don't even know if I can </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">find it. I said, is there a</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> minimum that I can bid for it? </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">No, no min</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">imum. Just fill out the papers. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So I bid a minimum of $25. And I got a security clearance to go off the road. B</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ecause this was just out in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">boonies. No roads, just out in the sage brush to look for it. Somewhere </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">between H A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea and Rattlesnake. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So I asked a friend of mine who had a Jeep if he'd go out there with me. And we used his Jeep and</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> we hooked a </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">trailer behind, and off we went. We got permission to go out there. A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">nd we drove around quite a bit. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And we finally found it. And we winched it on. And then I thought, well now I wonder if I</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> can</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">get a title for this thing from the state? [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">But being the contract from the government, and that I bought it--the state didn't hesitate</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> at all. And I got a title for it. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And this is one of the originals from an</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> old homestead out there. You could still see some remains of the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">homestead. Of course the government</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> went and destroyed everything. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And most of the automobiles--I don't know if you know this--but most of the automobiles that were out there, the</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">government made a special attempt to destroy</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> all the</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> engines. They took sledgehammers and busted the engines up.</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">They made special attempts to--so the automobiles would never be used again. I don't know why, but that's what</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">they did.</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">This one somehow escaped. And the engine was still in it. But the head was off of it. But it was still </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">restorable. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I have not restored it yet, after all these years. But now comes a time when I'm tr</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ying to get somebody interested </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">in it. And if so, restore it and give it to him. Because I don't have that many years</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> left. I'm hoping that somebody </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">might help me a little bit financially to do it. And I would then donate it to whoever.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">But you still have it after all these years?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I still have it. Yup. It's been in the garage for all these years.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Yeah. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">That's interesting that it was a car from one of the old town si</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">tes—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">old home sites t</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">here that was still sitting out </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">there.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yes. </span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I had not heard that.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yes. I brought it up because it is a very rare incident. And I think I'm probably</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> the one and only that has done </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">something like this. At least maybe the first one.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Right.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And I'm also the first one, like I say, to put a security system out here.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Mm-hmm. So thinking back on your years working at Hanford, what were--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and maybe you've already talked </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">about this--what were the most challenging aspects of your work there and the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">most rewarding parts of working </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">at Hanford?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well, most challenging? Hmm. Oh</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> you know</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> it was all challenging, rea</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">lly. [LAUGHTER] It was very different. The instrumentation—w</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hen I first went out there, I was not a technician. I was a trainee--I had to be a trai</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">nee first. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">my technician was not all that</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">didn't seem like he was there that long either. He didn</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">'t know all that much either, I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">don't think.</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And I can remember one incident</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> they had an instrument that had mercury in it. We had to be caref</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ul how you </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">calibr</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ated it. And it wasn't my fault, because</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> I was just a trainee. But my technician blew th</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">e mercury out. It went all over </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">the control room which was not a big--nobody really appreciated that too much.</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> That was challenging. That was </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">kind of challenging. You had to be very careful, as an instrument person, with wha</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">t you did. And if you worked in </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">the control room, like in--what's the first--the reactor they're making a--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: B</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> R</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eactor?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: B</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> R</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eactor. If you worked back there at the panel gauges, you had to be very</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> carefully that you didn't bump </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">something</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> because they were</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> very sensitive. Any movement, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">jar or something--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and you could trip the reactor </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">while the reactor was up. And you had to calibrate some of those things while the reactor w</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">as up. You actually </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">had a lot of responsibility there. If you knocked the reactor down--and you could--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">you didn't hear too many good </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">comments. [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah. How about the most rewarding part of your work in Hanford?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well, when I</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I don't know. There was a lot of rewarding things. When I came back to work again after a 12 year</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hiatus, s</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">o to speak, they closed N R</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eactor down, a</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">nd I had to find another job. There weren't that many</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> jobs available at PUREX</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> because there</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> was a lot of people looking. PUREX</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> had a job </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">fo</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">r a project engineer job. And I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">interviewed for it and I said, well I'd kind of like this. But I don't think I'm qualified. I said, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I'd like to have it, but I'll be </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">honest with you, I don't think I'm qualified. Because I don't have a degree.</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">A chemical degree is what you should have had for that job. But down the sen</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ior engineer that was doing the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hiring--he called me and he said, Lee, you've got the job if you want it. So I thoug</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ht, what the heck, I'll try it, you know? [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">But I was able to find the niche there where I was needed. And it just so happe</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ned they were replacing all the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">electrical main panels, you know--and everything like that. So I was then the p</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">roject engineer for doing that. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And the people from Kaiser, who actually came out and did tests and everything--I</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> had to approve everything that </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">t</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hey wrote up. And from the PUREX</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> standpoint to see if it was safe, and so on, and s</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">o forth. That was rewarding. It was a challenging job. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And then from there, I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">went to </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Kaiser. And there I got a job writing procedures for e</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">lectrical code violations. So I had</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> to w</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rite procedures to correct all—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">b</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ring all the stuff up to code. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">This was a little bit out of my element</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> because I was an instrument technician. But I</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> just got the code book out and </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">learned </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">quick</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">. And that was rewarding, too.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I wanted to go back to--</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I wore a lot different hats out there.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah, right. I want to go back to almost sort of first question I asked you. You s</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">aid you came from Minnesota and </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">you'd heard these</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> sort of stories of Washington S</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">tate, or whatever. What were yo</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">u doing in Minnesota before you </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">came here? And how much--what did you know about the Hanford site itself? D</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">id you know what was being done </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">at the Hanford site, and that sort of thing?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well, I guess I should have known more. I really didn't know anything about it</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> pa</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rticularly. I was just young, I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">guess. The recruiter came through and it sounded good. The money sounded good. And some of my--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I went to </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Dunwoody Institute there. That's where I hired out from in Minneapolis. And some o</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">f the other students also hired </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">in with GE. So I thought it probably was a good thing to do</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> to start out. Good experience. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">That's actually what I trained for there at Dunwoody was instrumentation. I went there--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I tried to go to college, but </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I didn't have any money really to support myself. And it was even tough to suppo</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rt myself at Dunwoody because I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">didn't have no help at all. I had to work part-time every night.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Do you remember how much your first job at Hanford paid? </span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Oh, boy. [LAUGHTER] I don't. But there was over</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">time, of course. It paid pretty well. Although I've made m</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ore even before that, one time. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">It's a little off the subject again. But I worked on the Garrison Dam in North Dakota. And here agai</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">n, I wore a </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">different hat. Me and a buddy of mine, we hired in--we bought a brand new toolb</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ox, put it a saw in it, hammer, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and blah, blah, blah. And hi</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">red in there at the Dam as </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">journeymen carpenters. The union--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">which is real </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">strong--they'd been needing people so bad that the union official didn't chec</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">k us out, which he should have. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And big money. I saved the checks for a long time. We went double-time. Wor</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ked on Sundays. An astronomical </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">amount of money. But then we got greedy because we heard they were making </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">even more on the outlet side. I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">think I worked on the inlet side, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and we when on the outlet side. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well, I worked there about two weeks an</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">d then union guy got wise and</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> we had to quit. I can't remember but I it was a couple of hundred dollar</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">s a week, which was pretty good </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">money at that time. I don't remember.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">You talked earlier about finding the car, and being able to purchase the car, I guess.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Were there a</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ny other sort of unique things that happened or things that stand out in your mem</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ory during your time working at </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Hanford?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">No, other than </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">meeting a girlfriend out there. [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I don't know. I worked in almost every are</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">a out there. I worked in all the</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hundred areas. I worked at PUREX. I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">worked in 200 A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">reas</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">300 A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">reas. I worked in almost ev</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ery lab in 300 A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea. I worked in 325, in all of</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> them,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> 329.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Of all the different places you worked, the different jobs that you had--was there one that you enjoyed the most</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">, t</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hat was--looking back on it, you'd say it was maybe your favorite job that you had out there?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">W</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ell, all the work I did in 300 A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea was very pleasing to me. And of course after</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> that things changed a lot when </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">they start shutting down things. I really did</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> like N </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">R</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eactor. I will say that. They were the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">of all the places I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">worked, it was like a family</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">. They were the friendliest,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> nicest bunch of people</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> to work with. Everybody seemed to </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">know everybody, and you know, it was very pleasant.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So it's a group of people you worked with that made that so enjoyable.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: Yeah. Yeah, the whole N </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">A</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rea was just--I r</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eally hated to see that close. It was, l</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ike I say, like a family.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">So if you look back at your time working at Hanford, overall, how would you assess your experience </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">working in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Hanford site?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well it--other than what happened to me changing jobs all the time, other than that bitterness--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">really my </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">employer was the government. And they should be the ones that--</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I shouldn't—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">break </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">in service, and all that stuff. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">You shouldn't have lost it like I did. I lost it when I quit. And then I went back to w</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ork there again. But that's the </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">bitterness I have.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Mm-hmm</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Which you'll probably leave out of this interview. [LAUGHTER] But other than</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> that</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">, it was a--I'd never tried it really. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">It </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">was a wealth of experience and rewarding. Like I say, we did interesting thin</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">gs. Counted moon samples and it </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">was very interesting--always. All the experiments we did, it was different. The </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">engineers were always trying to </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">think of something different to do. How to lower the background so that you could </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">count very low background stuff </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and radiat</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ion. It was always interesting, always challenging. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">And then after that when the work there at 300, when I quit and went back, it w</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">asn't fun anymore then. I mean, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">then things are closing do</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">wn, pretty much. I closed PUREX </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">down. I worked there </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">and then they quit. They closed </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">down. N</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> R</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">eact</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">or closed down. And everything was</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> closing down. That's when the fun stopped, kind of.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah, I was going to ask you then obviously, at some point, the effort shifts fro</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">m production to clean up. And I </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">wondered how that impacted some of the things that you did? Was it that you sa</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">w a lot things shutting down at </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">that point?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> after things started shutting down, of course just overall morale went down. And the sense of purpose didn't</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">seem to be there anymore.</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> </span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I teach a class on the Cold War. And a lot of my students that I teach were bor</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">n after the Cold War ended. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">obviously, you were employed at</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> Hanford in the 1950s and 1960</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">s--the height o</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">f the Cold War in many ways. If </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">you were talking to someone who didn't really know much about the Cold War, or was born after it ended</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">—how </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">would you explain or describe Hanford during that time?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> let's see. That's a big question. How do I feel about it? Do I approve of ho</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">w the government just took over </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">things and ordered everybody out without any money? Reimbursement until much l</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ater? How do I feel about that? </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> I've got mixed emotions about some of that stuff. How do I feel about dro</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">pping the bomb on Hiroshima? We </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">made the stuff and how do I feel about that? I still have probably mixed emotions ab</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">out that, too. But I guess it's </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">something we ha</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">d to do. I have to accept that. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">One thing I will say, what went on at Hanford could never have happened in the ti</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">me frame that it happened there </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">at Hanford. How they d</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">esigned and built like the PUREX</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> B</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">uilding, for instance. I</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">t's simply amazing. Outstanding </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">workmanship and performance. It's unbelievable</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> almost</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">, w</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">hat happened in that sho</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">rt period of time. And it was a very dedicated workforce. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Of course we didn't know a lot of what we were doing when we first came out here re</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ally. But we just did our work. </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">It was interesting. And we all really were dedicated and liked our job.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Is there anything I haven't asked you about yet? Or is there anything else about y</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">our experiences at Hanford that </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">you'd like to talk that you haven't had the chance to talk about yet?</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Gee, I don't know. I h</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ave a son that still works out—</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">more or less works for Hanford</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">. And he is getting a furlough, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">maybe </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">today. Because our government’s</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"> shutt</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">ing down. Mixed emotions again. [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">As far as Hanford, like I say, it was a good experience for me. And I'm not sorry I came out here. Not sorry </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">I went </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">to work for Hanford. Lots of good memories. And a lot of my friends, a course </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">though who are gone. I'm one of those hold-outs. [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Yeah, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">just so many of my friends that hired </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">in when I did, they're no l</span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">onger around. I'm 83 right now, </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">so. Yup, time goes fast.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Well, I want to thank you for coming in today and sharing your memories and experiences. I appreciate it.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX145880437"><span class="TextRun SCX145880437"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Noga</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX145880437">Thank you.</span><span class="EOP SCX145880437"> </span></p>
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Bit Rate/Frequency
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192 Kbps
Location
The location of the interview
Washington State University - Tri-Cities
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
00:41:57
Hanford Sites
Any sites on the Hanford site mentioned in the interview
K Area
K-West Area
300 Area
H Area
F Area
N Reactor
B Reactor
Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant (PUREX)
Years in Tri-Cities Area
Date range for the interview subject's experience in and around the Hanford site
1955-2013
Years on Hanford Site
Years on the Hanford Site, if any.
1955-1960
Names Mentioned
Any named mentioned (with any significance) from the local community.
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Leroy Noga
Description
An account of the resource
An interview with Leroy Noga conducted as part of the Hanford Oral History Project. The Hanford Oral History Project was sponsored by the Mission Support Alliance and the United States Department of Energy.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hanford Oral History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
Date Modified
Date on which the resource was changed.
2016-06-17: Metadata v1 created – [J.G.]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
10/15/2013
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this oral history should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for this item.
Format
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video/mp4
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
The Hanford Oral History Project operates under a sub-contract from Mission Support Alliance (MSA), who are the primary contractors for the US Department of Energy's curatorial services relating to the Hanford site. This oral history project became a part of the Hanford History Project in 2015, and continues to add to this US Department of Energy collection.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Richland (Wash.)
Hanford (Wash.)
Hanford Site (Wash.)
Nuclear instruments & methods
300 Area
B Reactor
F Area
H Area
Hanford (Wash.)
Hunting
K Area
K-West Area
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
N Reactor
Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant (PUREX)
Richland (Wash.)
-
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2F481704163b47c34d27908164c1fdc660.jpg
8a2e3bfe1edb0794b3cd9318e0e310fc
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2Fedbf9aa4f2660aeda91b37fc51893caf.mp4
c40bdc18fe18a007a6e57a94ccfefe2c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pre-1943 Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area prior to the Manhattan Project
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area prior to the Manhattan Project
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this collection should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for these items.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Robert Bauman
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Robert Fletcher
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><strong><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Northwest Public Television | </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Fletcher_Robert</span></span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></strong></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I'm Robert Fletcher. R-O-B-E-R-T F-L-E-T-C-H-E-R.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Than</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">k you. And my name is Robert Bau</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">man, and today is August 20</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> of 2013. And this interview is being</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">conducted on the campus of Washington State University, Tri-Cities.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So let's start, if we could, by maybe having you talk about your family and h</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ow they came to this area, what </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">brought them here, when they came-- that sort of thing.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">My</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> folks--my mother and father--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">grew up in Wisconsin. They knew each othe</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">r in high school, and my father </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">came out w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">est, because my mother had relatives in Idaho, and after she grad</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">uated she came out here to stay </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">with them and go to business college in Spokane.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So my dad was fond of her and he f</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ollowed her by working his way w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">est. He was</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> an expert </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">milker</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, and he could </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">always get a job in a dairy. B</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ecause when you worked in a dairy milking cows y</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ou had to get up at 3:00 in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">morning.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so when he'd work his way from Wisconsin</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> to maybe South Dakota, and he</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> would see-</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in the depot, in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">train depot--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he would look on the bulletin board for openings for </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">milkers</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and he </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">always found work. And he could </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">stay there for several weeks till he got enough money to move on.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So he wound up in Lewiston, Idaho, I believe it was. And eventually he and my m</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">other got together and they got </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">married in Coeur d'Alene, 1912. And I had a sister born in 1915 in Coeur d'Ale</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ne, Idaho, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Francille</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. And another </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">sister was born in 1918.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">In the meantime, during World War I, m</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y dad had been working in a, what</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">'s called</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> electrical substation in Coeur </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d'Alene. And during the war then he went over to Bremerton and worked in the</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> shipyards at Bremerton, wiring </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">electrical wiring</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> on the ships. And my mother eventually followed.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">My mother became a secretary and could do the office work. But after kids were born, she didn't do much of that.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then after the war was over, Bremerton jobs closed up and he went to the b</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ack to work at another electric </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">substation down by Walla Walla, Milton-</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Freewater</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. And he had been raised on a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> farm and he had a desire to be </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">independent.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So at that time there were developments in Kennewick and then whole Tri-City area. They were developed</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">because irrigation water was being made available from the rivers.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And in Richland, there were private develo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">pers and they would get bonds that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were backed by just state. The </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">state government wanted to support the development to get started, and that was in late 1918s, '20s.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And I'm</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> sure my dad--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">well, my dad told me that there were brochures that these</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> companies would advertise that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">come to Kennewick or Richland, that water was available, the climate was ideal, an</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d there soil was great, and you </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">could make a living on just a few acres if you knew how to farm.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So my dad travelled out here. His name was Francis, and C.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">F. Fletcher was </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">his-- And he bought 20 acres of </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">sag</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ebrush. It was what is now on--what did I say?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Spangler?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Spangler Road. He bought 20 acres there out there at the top of the hill. It was a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ll sagebrush. And then later he </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">bought 10 acres down below the hill where there now is a trailer park or mobile homes.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">He had to arrange to get the teams of horses to pull out the sagebrush and leve</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">l the ground. My mother and—I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">believe that sh</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e had two children then, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Francille</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Medo</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> is my other sister's name, born in 1918.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">They came out by train from Walla Walla to Kennewick. And Morton Hess </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">met them at-- Morton Hess had </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">improvised old pickup that dad said that they met them at the depot in Kennewick,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and he brought them out to the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">farmhouse he'd</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> rented.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Before that, my dad had a team of horses, and he brought all his possessions i</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">n a wagon from Milton-</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Freewater</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">to Richland that took him three days</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> he said</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> to make that trip with the team of horses.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so after he got the house rented, then he sent for my mother, had my mother </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">come out with the children. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they lived in this rented farmhouse about a quarter of a mile away. And there</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were a few other houses, a few </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">other farms being developed at the same time.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So that took a lot of effort. It was 1920</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and he told me that he had to put in the irri</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">gation. T</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he company brought </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">water to the edge of your property and then you had to put in the pipe yourself</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. They were cement pipes, about </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">three feet long, 40 pounds, eight inches in diameter.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And he said he put in several hundred feet of this pipe and he thought he'd do</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ne a pretty good job. He worked </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hard. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Turned the water on and it just leaked all over, so he had to do it all over again. He was pretty persistent.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then they had a hard time the first few years because he was small, a small</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> person, and a greenhorn. About </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the only income work you could get then was to work for the irrigation com</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">pany if you wanted to earn some </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">money. And usually that was when the water was shut off and they had to clean and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">repair the ditches, open </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ditches.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And he said they wouldn't hire him for a year or two because they thought well, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he was a greenhorn. He wouldn't </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">last anyway, and he was kind of small. But he stuck it out.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And what happened was they had to put in some new pumps for the irrigation system, and these were larger</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">pumps. They were three-phase motors, and there wasn't anybody immediately ar</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ound that knew how to fix them, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">how to hook them up.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Excuse me, I get very emotional</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. So he told them he thought he thought he could do it. He wasn't too s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ure. He said he could do it. He </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">told them he could do it. He said he, p</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ersonally, he said he wasn't too sure. But anyway,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> he went ahead with it and they </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">worked fine. And after that, he said he didn't have any trouble getting a job for the irrigation district.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And later on, several years after he got the farm started and everything, he did b</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ecome manager of the irrigation </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">district. When I talk about the irrigation district, it wasn't a huge one, but there was about 5,000 acres under water.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And most of the farms were like ours, 20, 30 acres. And because you had to have</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> a team of horses. You couldn't </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">farm like you can nowadays with everything mechanized like it is. Lots of hand labor.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So I was born in 1922, and I believe that they were still in this rented house. Bu</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t in the meantime, they'd begun </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">work on a basement, which was about half underground and hal</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">f above ground with concrete side walls. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so it was above the ground enough, it had had fairly good sized windows. And there were just two ro</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">oms. The </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">total probably wasn't more than 40 feet long and 20 feet wide.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And above that they put a temporary sort of a shelter that was more of a te</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nt house with a wooden roof and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">canvas with a wooden frame with canvas around it. And that was our bedroom. T</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hat was where we had our </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">bedrooms.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And it was cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but in the summertime you c</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ould roll the canvas up and the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">evening breeze would cool it off. In the wintertime we had feather beds and my mother would warm up hot irons</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">on the cook stove, and we'd wrap them in towels and put in our beds. And we mana</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ged, thought we were living all </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">right.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">There wasn't any bathr</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">oom--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">there was no indoor bathroom, no indoor water s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">upply. He dug a well down below </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the hill. Had to do it by hand, about 20 feet deep. And the way to get water up t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">o the house, he had</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> a,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> we called </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">it </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">stone boat, it was a sled.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">He hooked the horses to it, the sled, and</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> to pretty good sized barrels, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">suppose 40 gallon barrels or something.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">He'd fill them with water from the hand pump down below the hill. And he'd circle around it, bring that sled up.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">That was the water supply for a few days.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But of course, it didn't always last long enough. And I can remember my mother carrying two buckets</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">[EMOTIONAL] of water up the hill.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Excuse me.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> It was a hard life for women, especially, carrying water up the hill, and all the</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">other work they had to do then.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">She was in charge of the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">garden. Of course, we had our</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> weekly bath by a copper tub on a cook stove. And the tub,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and that's where we took</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> our weekly bath</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, and shared the affair.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The two rooms in the house were the kitchen and then where we ate. The other room was the living quarters and</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">where somebody might sleep if they were not feeling well, otherwise we slept upstairs in the tent house.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So those were the early days. It took them quite a little while for my dad to get established, and also get some</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">crops down that they could pay for their living expenses. And they had </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Fresnos</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">then that the team of horses</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">would pull, and they'd scoop the dirt and dump it in the low places and level it out.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And farmers worked together on that.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I can remember our neighbors--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">as I said, most people lived within a quarter</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">or a half mile of eac</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">h other.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> The </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Barnetts</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Nickolauses</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">li</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ved close to us and we shared--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">when it was</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">time to put in</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> some of the crops, the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Barnett</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">s</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> would come with their mowing machine and there would be two or</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">three mowing machines and everything going on, and we'd go back and forth and get the job done.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So what sorts of crops did you grow then?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> We--i</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t was t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ruck farming. We had to raise--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">we had to have cows. Truck</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> farming was not too reliable. You had to, t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">o fall back on,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">you had a herd of cow--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">most all farmers had a herd of cattle which they had milk cows and some beef cows. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">you milked the cow--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">you had your own milking and made your own cheese, but you could sell to the creamery in</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Kennewick.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we had a milk</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">house where we'd separate the cream from the milk. And we had the Twin City Dairy, I thin</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">k</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> it</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">was, would come by once a week and collect the milk. We'd keep the milk in a cool water place or something. I</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">don't remember now in details. We didn't have refrigeration. Maybe they came back twice a week. I'm not sure.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So we had a herd of cattle, and of course you always had a team of work horses. And I had a pony when I got old</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">enough, about third grade I think. In school I g</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ot a pony that had been tamed--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he had been one of the wild</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">horses from Horse Heaven Hills. And a bunch of horses had been caught.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we bought it from another fella, and he as a real-- Shorty was his name, and I thought he was the greatest</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">horse, because he could outrun any horse. We had horse races. And a lot of the kids, the only horse they had to</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ride was a work horse. So I was very fortunate.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Anyway, we raised alfalfa for the cattle and the animals. Alfalfa and clover, and o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">f course you had to mow the hay </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in the summertime and let it dry and put it up in wagons and carry it and take it into the hay stack for the winter.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">We also raised some acres of corn, of field corn, although we could eat some of th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e corn when it was quite young, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">but it was mostly raised for the cattle.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we had an </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in-ground silo where we had a—we’d bring in, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">when the corn was mature we'</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d cut it down with machetes and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">bring the corn stocks and ears and all and run it through the chopper and made silage</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> out of it. It would ferment in </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">this silo, which was about 20 feet deep and it was dug out near the barnyard. An</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d about I guess 12 feet wide or </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">so.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">As a kid it looked bigger,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> probably, than it actually was.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> But anyway, that was par</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t of the barnyard. And with the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">silage and the haystack, we kept the cattle going through the winter. Because you had to have enough ha</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y to get </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">through and that took quite a load.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then for field crops, we had a cherry orchard of three or four acres. We raised asparagus three or four acres.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> And that was a job that--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that was a cash crop that game on early in the year in March.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And the whole family pitched in. We got up early, almost daybreak to cut the aspa</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ragus.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Before school you had to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">have it cut. And then they'd go ahead and you had to pack it in crates to get it </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ready to market.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So we had the asparagus, and then</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> we had,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> between the trees in the orchard-- on</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e time my dad experimented with </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">peanuts. And I don't think they turned out too well because I don't remember him having them very </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">long. We </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">planted strawberries. We had strawberries that we picked after the asparagus was done, the strawber</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ries would </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">be get ripe.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then the cherries would get ripe in June usually. And so it was staggered out.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> And then we always had a field </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">of potatoes that you'd dig with a team or horses and a digger.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But before you did that, you had to get seed potatoes, and they came whole. The fa</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">mily would--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">we had a cellar in </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">our house. We'd cut those potatoes into quarters, so there's an eye on each o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ne and that would sprout into a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">potato plant.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we spent probably a couple weeks, maybe not that long, cutting the seed po</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">tatoes into where they could be </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">planted in the field.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I'm trying to think of other crops that we had. I know he tried different ones. We </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">had peas--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">peas</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> in a pod. And I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">don't think that paid off too well because I don't remember it lasting too long.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Oh, w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e had some peaches. Not a big orchard, but we had some peaches and apricot </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">trees. Those were sort of under </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">my mother's domain,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> the garden and the apricots. And she made sure that we a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ll pitched in and helped do the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">weeding and planting and picking.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And all of that had to be picked and canned for the winter. I can remember my mo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ther and sisters working hard--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">doing a lot of work canning. An</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d the cellar was just full of--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they were quite prou</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d to display, in those days, to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">displa</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y their glass jars of fruit, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">peaches and everything. And took it to the fair to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">see if they could win some blue </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ribbons.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So we didn't buy too much from the local grocery store, except cooking oil and ban</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">anas--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">fruit that wouldn't grow </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">here. Orange. Those were a treat. Just a few times during the yea</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">r bananas and oranges we got at </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Christmastime or your birthday or something.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And the store was John Dam's, John Dam Plazas down here, named after t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he Dam Grocery Store. And there </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">were two men, John Dam and Victor Nelson. They ran the grocery store. And you didn't go looking for your things.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">You handed them a list. You wanted two gallons of kerosene for your lamps a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nd lanterns that you needed. No </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">electric lights.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And as I said, cooking oil, and flour and sugar in bulk. And once in a while you'd ge</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t a treat of candy or something </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">such as that. So I think that covers pretty much what the farm was like.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The crops that you grew, the cherries, strawberries, did you sell those somewhere?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah. We picked and put them in crates. There w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">as what they called the Big Y--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">it</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> was in Kennewick. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And it stood </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">for Yakima I think. Yakima--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">there was a branch of Yakima Produce Company.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And later on I worked there</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> nailing,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> making boxes for different kinds of fruit when I was in </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">high school.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Mm-hm.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> In fact, most kids </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">did extra jobs like that.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Excuse me. I've got to take a drink.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Sure. </span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">All right. </span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I was going to ask you about your farm. You mentioned some underground silo.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Were there any other buildings </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">on your farm? Any warehouse or barn or any of that sort of thing?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah. There was a barn from the cows, of course. And there are pictures in my b</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ooklet of some of these chicken </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">houses in the yard, a couple of chicken houses. And a milk house.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">We had pigs. The pigs consumed </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a lot of the excess milk. You could--t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hey'd eat most anything you had that was extra.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And that was another thing we shared was when it came time to butcher a cow or </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a calf or a pig for meat, there </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">was a man that was</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> sort of a local veterinarian--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I don't think he had</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> a degree--Sam </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Sup</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">plee.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> If your</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">horse </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">got sick, he knew what--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">or an animal got his foot caught in the barbed wire, he</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> knew how to treat it. And he'd </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">come by.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And he also knew how to butcher animals quite well. And he would come out. A</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nd I can remember that we had a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hole, a pit dug out where we could put a fire in there, and it was covered with some kind of bars or metal affair.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And a vat of water would be put in that over the fire at ground level.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And adjacent to that would be a platform where the pig was killed. And after it</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> had been killed and the organs </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">taken out, they'd roll i</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t into that vat of boiling water and then pull it back out aga</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in after a few minutes. Then</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> you </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">could scrape the bristles off of the pig.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And Sam </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Supplee</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> then would </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">do the rest of the butchering. They</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">'d hang it up to cure overnight, and th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">en to cut it </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">up. And for his efforts, he'd get part of the meat, or other people that had help</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ed out, and that's the way </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">operated.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And he was a local person they turned to. There were other veterinarians in Pas</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">co or Kennewick, but he was the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">one that they mainly relied on.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Our horses, we had two work horses, Star and Monte. I can remember them we</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ll, and that was one of my jobs </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">when I got home from school, after, was usually to rub them down after a day's wo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">rk in the field, because they'd </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">be all sweaty.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Or on days when I wasn't at school</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, too,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> in the summertime</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> to</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> take them down to the ditch where they'd drink a lot of</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">water. They got real hot and sweaty.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then take the harnesses off. And there's lots of preparation before you could do too much. And so thos</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e were </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ome of my jobs was to take in--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">you got home from school, the first thing to do w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">as take in the firewood for the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">wood stove or the heating stove.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And there were plenty of other things to do around the barnyard, to clean out the stall, or clean out </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the barn and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">see that horses were fed and such things as that.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Mm-hm. </span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The thing was, I think that maybe a little different than nowadays, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">kids</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> knew that t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hey were part of the family and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that they were an important part of the family. And that they had jobs to do. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">just it was the thing that made </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">families close.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Sure.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I wanted to mention, too, that we did have special family friends. I mentioned the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">B</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">arnetts</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. And they had kids that </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">were--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Dan Barnett was abo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ut my age. And my sisters had--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they had daughters. Any</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">way, they had kids about our </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">same age.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The Hackneys were another family that lived not very far away and had a farm</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. And there was Richard Hackney </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and Dan Barnett and I were always good friends for a long time. And some othe</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">r kids in that area, the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Supplees</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I guess</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I forgot where I was here. The Hackneys and the Fletcher</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> families and the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Carlsons</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">particularly close. The </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Carlson</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">s</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> also had children </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">at were our ages. And we would g</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">et together for family picnics, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and especially F</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ourth of July we'd make our homemade ice cream and take</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> to Pasco Park where there'd be </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">fireworks.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then in the summertime, we always had a break in the farm work of about f</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">our or five days where we could </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">get away from the f</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">arm. Usually it was around the Four</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">th of July or a little bit after.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we would get away because the irrigation ditches were shut down for</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> a few days,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> about fou</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">r or five days in order for the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ditches to dry out and the weeds could be cleaned out. Because they clogged up with moss and other stuff.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> they would dry out the ditches and we could get away from the farm, as long a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s we had a neighbor to take care</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">of the animals that we had. And there were enough other people that would do that. We'd trade off.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So we would manage to get away for about three or four days and go up to a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">bove Yakima, Naches and up into </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the woods. And we we'd take our tents.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> One of the, t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he Hackneys, Art Hackney was a school bus driver, and school bus driver had </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">to have their own buses. They'd </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">own their own buses. So he could do with the bus whatever he wanted during the summertime.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So he would be </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the one </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that we would load up the bus--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he took a few of the seat</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s out that could be taken out-</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">with our camping gear in it, and some of the rest of the people would ride in that bus and others would go in the</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ir </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">car.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">We'd invite some of our friends to go along too. So we'd have quite a group and se</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">veral tents set up there around </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the lake up at Naches, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Rimrock</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and up in that area.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">We had a wonderful time up in there with all our friends, and sitting around the ca</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">mpfire at night and hearing the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">stories that the older folks had to tell. So that's--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Mm-hm. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">A real sense of community there, yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah. P</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">art of the community. It was a close-knit community for sure. An</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d naturally, you had more close </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">friends with some of the people than you did with others. But as I said in my boo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">k</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> that there was no--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">when you were </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">gone, nobody as I knew, locked their houses or worried about any of that sort of thing.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Mm-hm.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">You mentioned earlier that the house you lived in there was no running water,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> right?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Right.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> N</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">o e</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">lectricity. Did you ever have a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">telephone?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">That's another little story. My mother, her relatives lived in Wallace, Idaho, and</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> her uncle, aunt and u</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ncle, her </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">u</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ncle was a master carpenter. And they were very close and would come down to visit us and they</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were very </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">helpful.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">When</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> we were, when</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> my folks were just starting out, they were a backbone to help them out as </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">much as they could. They bought </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">eggs from them and they'd ship them. I have some letters that my mother saved </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">of that period in time. You may </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">be interested in some of those.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Anyway, they woul</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d come down, and after my dad--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">after he had this basement hou</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">se built, they was able to save </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">u</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">p enough in about 10 years to--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Josh </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Pentabaker</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> was</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> my uncle's granduncle's name--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">was the main carpenter.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And they arranged to buy a load of lumber from a lumber yard or </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a sawmill</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> up </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Bickleton</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, and they rented a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">truck or got somebody to haul this load of lumber down. And this Josh </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Pentabaker</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and my dad, and I think he got </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">some local help, to get started on building a hou</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">se above to replace that tent--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ac</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">tually a tent house that we had </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">above the basement house.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then they enlarged it also. They made the basement twice as large to accommodate a more modern house.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> A</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nd that was in 1933 or 1934. And I think it was 1934 before we occupied it. An</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d that included indoor bathroom </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and running water.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> In the meantime, b</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">efore my dad was able to build a dig a new well up on top of the hill, he had to go down 60 feet for groundwater.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so that was quite a project. But he finally got it done. And he got an electri</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">c motor then. By that time, s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ee, there was no </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ele</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ctricity until during Roosevelt</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> got the REA started, rural electricity or whatever the word is, REA.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And you got an electric pump to pump the water up into a tank. And then you had</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> pressure to run the water from </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the tank into the house--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">had water pressure.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so we had running water, we had an indoor bathroom, and those were qu</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ite appreciated. I think we got </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">electric stove--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that was one of the first thing. And that was quite an improvement over a wood stove.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Oh, and then there was</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. And he didn't have enough money, I don't believe</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">—oh, let me tell you,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> or let me go back just a bit.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Sure.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Josh </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Pentabaker</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> got this house pretty well built, but he had to go back and d</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">o his own work back in Wallace, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Idaho. And my dad negotiated with a carpenter here, a local carpenter, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Vanders</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">ant</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">-- he was a Dutchman. And my </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">dad traded a cow, a milk cow for this fell</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a to put in a--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he was a master </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">carpenter, too.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">He put in the kitchen cabinets</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> is what I'm trying to say, and some of the other cabinets in the bathroom a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nd things </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">like that in exchange for this cow. Now, there may have been other things involved, but that was the main thing.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> H</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e told about that in later years, and I can vaguely remember.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">In addition to the basement then, we got a root cellar where we kept most of our </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">things cold. But anyway, before </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he could get a refrigerator, he cut a hole in the wall of the kitchen and</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> he</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> made a cab</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">inet inside, and hung outside a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">metal tank or a metal thing that held water.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then he ran do</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">wn some gunnysack fabric and that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> wetted enough to evaporate </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and cool the cabinet inside. It </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">was quite a contraption.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But it worked enough that it probably wasn't much cooler than the basement, b</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ut anyway, it was up and it was </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">handy. So that was when we--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in 1934 I think that we occupied the house that's there now.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Did you ever have a telephone during the time you were there?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah, we had a phone. You cranked it. I'm trying to think whether we had i</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t when we lived in the basement</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">whether we had it there or not. It was a party line, and there would be three or fo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ur people on the same line. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">you answered according to how many rings. If it was two rings it was yours, or </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a short and a long or something </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">like that.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And of course people listened in on what</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> was going on. We had a crank--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">it was</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> yo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">u cranked it up in order to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">make the signal. And there was a main station downtown. We were three mil</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">es from the downtown area up on </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">what is now George Washington Way. And what's the name of that street? I can't</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> remember all those--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the house </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">was on--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Spangler?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Spangler, yeah. Spangler</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Road. We had to--you kept up--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Dad kept up with what was available.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Mm-hm.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">How about news? Was there a newspaper, or how did you learn about--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">There was. There was the Benton County Advocate came out once a week. In fact, I think I stil</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">l have some copies </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">of that somewhere. It was mostly local, of course. Somebody was entertaining a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> company from Wallace, Idaho or </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">somewhere, or somebody was sick in the hospital.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Ed </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Peddicord</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> was the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">as I remember, he was older than myself but younger than</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> my parents, and he became the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">first postmaster when the Hanford project took over, and he was the postmaster </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">for quite a few years before he </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">retired from the Richmond Post Office.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I wanted to ask you about the school that you went to. Where was the school? Any memories you have?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Okay,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">here were, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in the downtown area of Richland, the--I'm trying to relate it to--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he grade school went from grade </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">one through grade eight. And it was two story with four classrooms on the bottom</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and four on the upper level. I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">think they had electric lights, as </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I remember. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The floors were wood floors, and they treated them with oil before school was started and at Christmas vacation.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hen you came back from school--they'd wipe them up, the oil--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they'd treat the wood floors. They</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">'d wipe up </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the oil before classes started, but there would still be all these spots left on it.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so we had to take our shoes off when we came home at night because we woul</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d track oil, that oil. That was </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">just for a few weeks or for a week or two.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And the stoves had a jacket around. O</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">f course they were--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I believe they were c</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">oal stove--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they that coal. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">there would be a jacket around, a metal jacke</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t around the outside to it,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a couple of feet from the stove </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">itself so the kids couldn't get up and get burned.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But the jacket that surrounded them was probably three or four feet high,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> metal jacket. And we would—I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">remember hanging our white gloves things on that metal jacket to dry them out. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And that was in the back of the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">room of course. That was your heat in the classroom.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">As I said, the bathrooms for boys and girls,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> most of them separate of course,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were outside where you went out to t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he bathroom. And I don't recall </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">any running water or anything in the</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">—</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> other, the</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> high school was, it wasn't torn do</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">wn when the project started,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Hanford projec</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t, right away. And it was built </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">more--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">it had indoor bathrooms, was more up-to-date</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, more than the grade school,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> four l</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">evels. There are pictures of it </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in my booklet. So that was quite a step up.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Do you remember any of the teachers from either school, or do you have any favorite teachers from that time?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Oh yeah. I remember most of my teachers. My first grade teacher, Ms. Randolp</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">h, older lady. And she was very </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">good. I can remember putting our mittens up around that canopy around the stove in the wintertime, p</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ut your </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">mittens up to dry.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> And</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I can't offhand remember, but I can visualize most of my teachers.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">There was Mrs.--Miss Mallory--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">she was single then. Taught me in fourth grade. And th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ere was Bill Ra</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">der, our eighth </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">grade teacher. Kind of he was a pretty good disciplinarian. If people got out of line</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> he had a paddle that he didn't </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">mind using.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> There was--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I can't think of the names, really, offhand. And then of course, in the</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> high school I remember more of </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the teachers that I had. The superintendent, he also taught a few classes in</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> b</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ecause the grade school had one </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">class of every grade level.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I started in the first grade, I was five years old, and I became six in November. An</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d the kids that I started with, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">about half of the 20--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I think there w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ere 20 in my graduating class--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">about half of </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">them were the ones I started in </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">first grade with. That's how permanent the group was. There was a lot of permanency.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> And we moved onto this--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">where each grade you had the same ones, you knew the people. There would be two</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">or three changes each year. And like I said, of those 20 or so that started, probably</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> about half of those in my high </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">school class were the ones I started first grade with.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> we knew each other very well. And the o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">thers I'd known quite well, too. My wife, she came later and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">joined when </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">she was in about seventh or eighth grade I</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> think, and she graduated two--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I grad</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">uated in 1940 and she graduated </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in 1942. And in my graduat</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ing class there was 20, and her</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s there was only 12. I don't know why particularly.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The high school, it was in freshman year you usually took</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> T</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">yping and it pretty wel</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">l diversified. History classes, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">English classes. I can r</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">emember the teachers, Mrs. Deighton</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and Mrs. Carmicha</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">el. She's the one that got very </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">emotional when the kids acted up and would carry on.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Mr. Carmichael was the superintendent, and Mr. Whitehead</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, rather</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. We had basket</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ball teams. We played against--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Kennewick and Pasco were out o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">f our league. They were from too</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> big a town. So w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e played Benton City. I played--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">even though I'm pretty short, I was on the basketball team.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">We didn't have a football team. We weren't big enough.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> The high school was onl</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">with four classes, probably </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">only 80 students altogether. And so I was on the basketball team the last couple years anyway.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> And we would go up to--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Hanford was about 20 miles u</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">p</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">river, and White Bluffs. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">They were</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> comparative size. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">to Benton City, and also to Finley. We used to call it Riverview then. It was a comp</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">arative size to what we were in </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Richland at that time.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So we had a group that we played softball league and basketball. No football that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I can remember. We weren't big </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">enough to be in that.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And did you take a school bus to get to and from school then, or how did you--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yes. We had--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">as I said, Art Hackney had a school bus that they owned their own scho</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ol bus. They had a contract </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">with the district. And there's a picture of myself and my two sisters in that booklet </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I gave you, waiting for the bus </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and there's a picture of the bus.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> It was kind of a--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">it looks kind of obsolete now, but that was the way they did things then.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So you graduated high school in 1940.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">1940. Then I went off to Cheney for a year. And decided I</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> wanted to--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">didn't want to continue t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">here. I wanted to--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I thought I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">wanted to be an engineer, but I didn't have really the background from the school. At least I could blame it on that.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So I transferred to Pullman in my sophomore year. And during beginning of my juni</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">or year, I was taken in--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I was </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in the ROTC and we signed up for deferm</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ent or whatever you call it, bu</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t they said we could finish out the year</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> we </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">were in during my sophomore year. No, it must h</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ave been my junior year. That’s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> the third year.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But it</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> turned out that they couldn't—they took us,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> they drafted us and I think it was about Januar</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y of my junior year in Pullman, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">from WSU.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And at that time I was a member of Sigma Chi.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So was that January of 1943 then?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah, it was.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">At some </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">point that year, of course the F</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ederal government started constructing the Hanford site.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Right. I came home before--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they allowed us, when they called up the ROTC, fellas in Pullman,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> they gave us a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">couple weeks to come home and see our folks.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So I came home, it must have been th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e end of January of 1943. And saw</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> m</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y folks, and said goodbye to my </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">sweetheart, Betty Kins</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> was her name--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">became my wife.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And after I went back then, I went back to Pullman, and they took us shortly by </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">train from Pullman over to Fort </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Lewis. And it was an old, real old train that I mention in my booklet that looked l</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ike it was one from the pioneer </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">days.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> There was a--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I don't need to go into all the detail, but there was a coal-burning stove</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> in the end of this railway car </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">for heat, and we went over there in the first of February to Fort Lewis. We were not</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> in the army until they took us </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">over there and were forced in it at Fort Lewis.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And shortly after that, I got word from my folks that the word had come out that H</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">anford and</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> White Bluffs and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">even Richland, it was all going to be taken over by the government for this Hanford project.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And that was in, I believe they got word in late February. And the people up at Ha</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nford, which is, of course, is </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">where the actual reactors were, were notified and given about 30 days to evacuate.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">my folks, of course, we lived--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">my dad was the manager of the irrigation distr</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ict at that time, of </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the Richland </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">irrigation district. And they had more time because that was where the workers</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were going to live. But in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">meantime they built Camp Hanford out here where we are sitting about right now, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and maybe just a little further </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">n</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">orth.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And you probably have the history of Camp Hanford and all that. But anyway, th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ey were allowed to stay I think </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">about six months, whereas the others further up where the reactors were being built, they had to get out quick.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so my folks looke</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d around. They bought a place. M</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y dad, by that time, they offered s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ome of the people </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">work. Most of them were farmers and they wanted to continue farming. And that wa</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s my dad. He, by that time, the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">kids were gone. I wa</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s the youngest. The other two, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">my sisters</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were married and off and living on their own.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So he decided he'd go back to farming, and they offered him a job to see to some of</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> the irrigation, the way it was </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">continued. But he decided he didn't want to do that. And a number of people did take jobs here for temporary.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So where was I now?</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So your family had six months you said after they were--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah, about six months. They found a place in Kennewick</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> then</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, and my dad then bought some place and he put in a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">fruit orchard over on what became Blossom Hill in Kennewick.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we took over </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the old hous</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e. When I got out of the Army--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I told you about that </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in my booklet </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">here</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> we took </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">over their house, the two-story house that was on what's now where Denny'</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s is at the corner of Kennewick </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Avenue and the Umatilla Highway.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Do you know how much money your parents were given for their--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">In those days, at that time, the government was not as benevolent in their takeover o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">f land. And they did not really </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">offer what the land was worth. So my folks, my dad was one of the leaders of the gr</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">oup that took</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> them</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> to court over </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the offer.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And this lingered on for quite a while, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">because my dad was one of the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">as a manager </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">of the irrigation district. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">John Dam that the park</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> is</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> named after, and two or three others, they figured that t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hey were being offered what the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">land had sold for in D</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">epression days, which had just been more or less begun to get over in 1943.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And my folks and others were beginning to feel established</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> that here they'd worked </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">most of their working lives for </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">12, 15 years getting to where they felt like they were established and could make </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a good living. And now they </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">were being offered this, where they had to leave relatively quickly. And not being </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">offered enough to buy something </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">comparable in other areas, where they found they had to pay more than what they had been offered.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So this went to court and drug on for a while. They did get a settlement that my d</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ad was involved in. But it took </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">quite</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> a while and it still did not--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they were not too happy about it. I'll put it that way. But anyway, they got over it.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so you heard about this happening when you were at Fort Lewis?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I was still in the service. I was sent from there to Camp Roberts for infantry </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">training. And I was there until </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">June. See, this happened--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I was taken in up in February I guess it was, a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nd we had 13 weeks, almost four </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">months</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I think it was</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> of infantry training there in Camp Roberts in the desert in California.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then I was sent back to New Yo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">rk City. I had an opportunity--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">then they </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">took some people to specialized </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">training or a specialized training program called ASTP and I was able to get </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">into that because of my college </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">background and I passed some tests, I guess, and so forth.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so I was back there at the time and at Camp Roberts in California at the t</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ime that all this took place in </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Richland, and their dislocation and--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Do you remember what you thought at the time when you found out?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">What I thought about that? About all this happening you mean?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Well, so much was happening, you didn't have time to think too much about it</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. Because I was involved in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">training and we were kept busy night and day pretty much, and then the infant</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ry training camp and being back </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">there.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But I heard about it. They kept me up on it, and there wasn't much you could do about it, and neither could they,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">because that was it. You could appeal, but that was a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">long process, the appeal was. So they</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> just </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">took </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">a time to get over it.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">They got over it eventually.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Are there any events or things from your childhood growing up in Richland </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that sort of stand out? Special </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">memories that we haven't talked about yet?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Probably quite a few things.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> A number of things I mention </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">in his booklet that I gave you. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">One thing I particularly remember as a kid was I had this pony, and my neighbor ki</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ds had ponies too, or else work </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">horses that did the job.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so we could roam around quite a bit. We had a lot of freedom. We all had rifle</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s. We went out hunting. And the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">jackrabbits were quite numerous</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I remember. Going just about a mile from whe</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">re we are now, there was a sand </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hill over here off of Stevens Drive, which we call</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ed</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Pol</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e L</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ine Drive. Those days th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ere was a sand hill over there. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And there was an irrigation ditch that ran along this sand hill. And we'd go in and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the boys--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">take our clothes off </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and we'd swim in this irrigation canal. There was a flume there, too, and that was kind o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">f an interesting thing to go </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">through. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we would take our rifles, and there was one farm that was close to this s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and hill called--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I'm trying to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">remember the name now, Sam's. Anyway,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> he had a--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">his farm was right adjacent to the open sagebrush land and sand hi</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ll. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And if </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">you were there in the evening--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he had an alfalfa field right along the edge of</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> this sort of a desert area. At </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">certain times in the dusk, there'd be whole bunche</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s of jackrabbits would come in. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I remember we would go there with our rifles, and my friends, Dan Barnett and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Richard Hackney and I, and we'd </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">wait for dusk. And you could shoot these rabbits. And of course Mr. Sandberg I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">think his name-</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> yeah, Sandberg </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">was his name, he welcomed anybody that would get rid of the jackrabbits for him because they</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> were destroying </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">his alfalfa field. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And so we'd shoot a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> bunch of jackrabbits. And they di</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d have jackrabbit drives once in</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> a while, and they had pictures </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">of them. I might have s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ome in some of my folks' stuff. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But anyway, we had ponies or horses and we'd go out, and sometimes we'd</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> go up the river from here, Dan </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Barnett and Richard Hackney and I. And as I said, I had a pony that had been </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">caught on the open range and he </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">could outru</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">n practically any horse around. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">We would go up there and we'd camp out for a day and we would find some old p</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">rospectors up there. They would </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">be panning for gold. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I don’t think,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> from the looks of them </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> they found very much, but they wer</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e interesting characters that'd </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">tell you stories about their life. And we kind of envied them a little bit, but nob</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ody wanted to do what they were </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">doing. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Anyway, then we would</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> go up there and we'd camp over</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">night. Othe</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">r times, we would go up there--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I said that my</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">folks and the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Barnetts</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> and the Hackneys had-- we had a boom in the river. We'd catch </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">driftwood coming down for </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">our--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">did I tell you about this before?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">No.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>: </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">No, o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">kay</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. If I ramble, tell me. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">We'd go up, my folks or my dad and the ot</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">her men, we would have wagons--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e'd hook the work horses to the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">wagons. And we'd take enough food to last a couple days. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">us</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> boys woul</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d go along, and some other boys </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">were old enough to help, and some of us were too young to do much, but to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">tag along and have a good time. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we'd go up there and we'd set up a camp, and the men would have a log boom up there. They'd att</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ach logs </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">to each other and run them out into the water. And when the water would rise in the s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">pring</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> it would lift these drift </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">logs from upstream, clear up around where Grand Cooley is now, before Grand</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Cooley was built and any other </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">dams. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And these drift logs would drift down, if you had a log boom out you'd catch them</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, as the water would--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the high </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">water from the snow melt. And if your log boom was out far enough, you'd get a w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hole bunch of logs in there and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that would be--which</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> then we'd go up and the men would take their team of hors</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">es and use their chains to pull </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">these logs out of the water that h</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ad been caught in the log boom. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And then they'd have to cut them up enough to put on their wagons to haul them</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> down home. And this would take </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">two or three days to do. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">In the meantime, us kids, the younger ones, we'd have a great time with shooting</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> rabbits and doing some fishing </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">off what was left of the log boom. And fixing our hot dogs over the campfi</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">re. It was quite an experience. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And we all wanted to go. I think the girls envied us. They couldn't go. I don't r</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">emember any of the women going. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">But when they got the wag</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ons loaded, they had </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">them all--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I remember they had s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ideboards on them, so that they </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">would be loaded up to the maximum.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And of course the roads weren't too good. The horses would be really worn out</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> by the time we got these loads </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">down to where we lived. And we'd have to wash them off, rinsing the horses off wi</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">th a hose because they'd be all </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that, and it would be quite late in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">evening before we made it home. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So that was quite a big event in our lives, and especially for the young fellas like us,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> we thought that was great. I'm </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">sure the m</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">en folks were glad it was over. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">[LAUGH</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">TER</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">]</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So we had quite a few trips where we went out. I had a friend, Scotty who lived o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ut in Yakima River, and I would </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">go over--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he was the one that I think I told you about the time tha</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t--maybe it was in my booklet. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">About the time that our well--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the well that we dug up on the top of the hill, the 60 foot well, it had been real cold</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that winter, and usually the well didn't freeze, but it froze that winter. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> so</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Scotty, my friend, he was the adventurer</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">more so than I was. He said, oh, I can go take a blowtorch down there and thaw i</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">t out. Well, he did. My dad led </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hi</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">m down this well. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The well was hand dug and it was only about so big around. And there were iron </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">steps put in the cement as they </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">went down. As I said, it was 60 feet deep. Of course the water stood up in it about 20 </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">feet or so. It would fluctuate. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So Scotty went down with a blowtorch to thaw this pipe out because it had f</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">rozen the pump. And he got down </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">there and I guess the confines of the gas or something, it exploded, and</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> he was lucky he wasn't killed. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">He made it. Somehow it went upward rather than downward and he was able to get</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> out. But his face was black </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">an</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">d his eyebrows were singed off. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And he was quite a mess from that occasion, but he didn't have to be hospitali</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">zed. They put cream on his face </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and I don't remember whether they got the pipe thawed out or not. I don't think so. I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">think it took a few days before </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">it got the water up.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So if someone was to ask you what it was like to grow up in a community like Ric</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hland, how would you respond to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">that? What would you say?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">It was an interesting place to grow up because you were involved in all the acti</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">vities. You were important as a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">member of the family. There were chores to do. You also had interesting experie</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">nces. You had time to play with </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">your neighbors and develop your own activities and s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ports to a great extent. I guess probably I</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> look back on it more with rose-colored glasses than it actual</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ly was, because I'm sure it was </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">harder for the adults, too. B</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ecause it was kind of touch and go for them many ti</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">mes. There was no WPA or relief </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">organizations. People helped their nei</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ghbors out when they needed it. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I can remember a family that lived not too far from us. The man, the husband</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> died, and they had some fairly </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">young children, the</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Fraz</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">iers</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> the wife was left with these--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I forgot how</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> young </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">they were--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">two or three </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">yo</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ungsters, and their small farm. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And the people of the community just helped out. There was no other organizatio</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">n that they knew of. And later, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Bruce Frasier who was in that family, who was about my age. He wasn't a classmate</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, but he told me years later at </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">the reunions we used to have, he said, did you know-- [EMOTIONAL] did you </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">know how much help your mom and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">dad did--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I'm sorry.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">It's all right.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">How much help your mom and dad gave my folks. And I said I had no idea. He </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">told me that my dad and mother, </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">and others--he said it wasn't just them</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. But they're the ones that made it possible for</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> him to survive. And this, they </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">didn't talk about it at all. Excuse me, cut it o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ff a minute? Wipe my eyes here. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I'm glad to get this opportunity. Don't take me wrong.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> That’s all right.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I am glad to get the opportunit</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">y to talk. There's not too many </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">people who want to listen to it.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Can I have a little drink?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Sure. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I think we're just about finished anyway. I think we've covered a lot of the things that I wanted to cover.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">All right.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So I guess is there anything else that we haven't covered that would be important to talk about?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I think we've covered everything pretty well. I've probably gone side-tracked a</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> lot. And it was a role in that </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">community, as I said,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> they did help each other out in many ways. And that</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> they're very independent, too. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And there aren't too many of us left. We still get to have a reunion. We did-- it's get</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ting down to where there aren't </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">very many of us left. Last year we met at the Old Country Buffet and </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">had a good time. I think there may h</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ave been </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">about 20 of us. But about half of them were descendants, children that brought th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">eir parents, who needed help to </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">get there.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Oh, okay.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">So this is a reunion of people from Richland?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">The old time Richland,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> yeah, they lived in old time Richland.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">There's another-- the D</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">eranleau, Ray Deranleau</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">, he was quite a storyteller, he stil</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">l lives here, and he was just a </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">year or two younger than myself. And Alice Perkins i</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s his wife, Alice Perkins-Deranleau.</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> And I kind of think </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">he'd be in the phone book. If not</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">—</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">And Price Colley. George Colley his name was, but there's a Colley family that h</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e was there last year, and he's </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">quite a storyteller.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">About</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> w</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">hat time of year do you usually get together?</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Usually in the middle of September.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Oh,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">o</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">kay</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>: Middle to late September. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Edith--</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I used to be the one that was in charge of getting the literature out and th</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">e reunion</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> set up. Anyway, Edith </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">Wie</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">d</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">l</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span class="SpellingError SCX24634405">e</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">-H</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">ansen,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> H-A-N-S-E-N</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> is the one that is doing it now. She was in my </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">wife's class two or three years </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">behind me in graduating from hig</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">h school. And she's still here. </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I could maybe give you some more information on that later, if you wanted to cal</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">l me.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> Yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> I don't know, if you have </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">trouble.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I just want to thank you very much for coming in today and being willing--</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">I enjoyed it.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">--to</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> have</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> me asking questions.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fletcher</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">Okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">. I hope that some of </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">it</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">’</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">s</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> good use.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX24634405">
<p class="Paragraph SCX24634405"><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX24634405">You've been very helpful. Thank you very much.</span><span class="EOP SCX24634405"> </span></p>
</div>
Location
The location of the interview
Washington State University - Tri-Cities
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:22:15
Years in Tri-Cities Area
Date range for the interview subject's experience in and around the Hanford site
1922-2013
Names Mentioned
Any named mentioned (with any significance) from the local community.
Hess, Morton
Dam, John
Nelson, Victor
Supplee, Sam
Barnett, Dan
Pentabaker, Josh
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
Peddicord, Ed
Hackney, Art
Hackney, Richard
Kinsey, Betty
Frasier, Bruce
Ray Deranleau
George Colley
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
171 kbps
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Robert Fletcher
Description
An account of the resource
An interview with Robert Fletcher conducted as part of the Hanford Oral History Project. The Hanford Oral History Project was sponsored by the Mission Support Alliance and the United States Department of Energy.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hanford Oral History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
7/20/2013
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this oral history should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for this item.
Format
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video/mp4
Date Modified
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2016-05-25: Metadata v1 created – [J.G.]
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
The Hanford Oral History Project operates under a sub-contract from Mission Support Alliance (MSA), who are the primary contractors for the US Department of Energy's curatorial services relating to the Hanford site. This oral history project became a part of the Hanford History Project in 2015, and continues to add to this US Department of Energy collection.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Richland (Wash.)
Kennewick (Wash.)
Pasco (Wash.)
White Bluffs (Wash.)
Richland (Wash.). Public Schools
Hunting
Kennewick (Wash.)
Pasco (Wash.)
Richland (Wash.)
swimming
-
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2Ffe043af3846776e389ff8a8681a88431.jpg
1d9746b2f7feed8074166fc471965977
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2F36e58cb630d8fbdedc6ee21db97c8258.mp4
06e803929dbc9370d6cde92f8b1e162e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pre-1943 Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area prior to the Manhattan Project
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area prior to the Manhattan Project
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this collection should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for these items.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><strong><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Northwest Public Television | </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span class="SpellingError SCX30075691">Kaas_Gordon</span></span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></strong></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Robert Bauman:</span> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So just for official purposes, my name is Robert Bauman and I'm conducting an oral history interview with Mr.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Gordon Kaas. Is it Kaa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Gordon Kaas:</span> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Ok</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. On June 12, 2013. And the interviews are being conducted on the campus of Washington State University Tri</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Cities. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And I'll be talking with Mr. Kaa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s about his family's history and memories about their experiences in Richland</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">growing up in that community.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> So maybe, Mr. Kaa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s, you can tell me, first of all, a little bit about your family and maybe how your family came to</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the Richland area.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well my father was an immigrant from Denmark and he came here right after the turn of century. Lived in Madras,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oregon for a while and his brothe</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">r was up here in Richland. He co</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">me up here and he was a farmer. He bought</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">some ground here in what's North Richland and planted the majority of the acreage to apples.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">His brother took care of the orchard for about the first three years while he lived in Madras, Oregon. That's where</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">he met my mother and they were married. And they moved up here I think it wa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s 1915, after the orchard began to bear</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My oldest brother was born in Madras, and then I've got two older brothers, Nelson and George, that were born</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">here, plus my only sister, and then myself and my twin brother. The three older brothers are deceased now but</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">my sister and my twin brother are still living.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And do they live in the area here?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My sister lives in Kennewick. That's Alice Chapman, her husband James, live in Kennewick. And my twin brother</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and I married sisters, but they live in Kenai, Alaska. And he was a plumber.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">When I got out of high school, we had moved to Kennewick in 1943, because the government said to pack your</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">belongings and go, you've got 30 days. However, we lived far enough north that they gave permission for those</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">that lived up on from here, there's a little rise in the contour, that area they let farm their crop that year. So instead</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">of moving in February or March, we didn't move until November of 1943. That's where the remaining five of the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">six children were born.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So you'd mentioned your father came from Denmark.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I wonder if you could talk a little bit about what you know about why he came to the United States, and maybe the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">same for your mother.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, my </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">mother was an immigrant also, e</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">migrated from Prince Edward Island, Canada. And I had the pleasure</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">of visiting back there this past summer. First time I'd ever been there.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My father came over because of the opportunities that were in the US, and there was a lot of people moving to the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> New W</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">orld. His background was farming. I think I mentioned he was the youngest of 12 children, and two brothers</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and a sister had immigrated over here ahead of him. So he had a little forewarning of what was here.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And at that time, this area here in Hanford and White Bluffs was a fairly new irrigation area and was attracting</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">people from around the coun</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">try</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">, and around the world, I guess you could say. Because there was other Danes</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and Norwegians and Swedes here. When I was small, when I grew up, we had an apple orchard. But during the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Depression in the ‘30s</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">, apples was one thing that people didn't have to have and consequently, the market</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">went away. And at that time, peppermint was coming in and he </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">hired a county bulldozer to come in and bulldoze</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the trees out and planted peppermint. And raised peppermint, as long as we was on the farm.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I should clarify that in 1949 I lost my father, and I and my twin brother were between our sophomore and junior</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">year in high school, so we became the farmers. And that was after we had moved from Richland to Kennewick.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We had a 40 acre farm here in Richland and the war took my three oldest brothers. My father had the option of</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">keeping one of them at home to help on the farm, but he wouldn't do that. My sister, and my twin brother and</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">myself</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> became farmers fairly quick. And then we moved to Kennewick in 1943, and in 1948 he had come down</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">with cancer. And in '49, he passed away in the middle of August of '49.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">By that time my twin brother and I was the only ones still in school and we became students and farmers both.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And then after we graduated from high school, my mother leased the place out. And I ended up taking a job out in</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Hanford. I worked out there for 21 years, but</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> never got the thought of the fa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">rm out of my head. In 1972 my wife</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and I and </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">we had two children at that time, a son and a daughter. And we bought a farm six miles north of Pasco. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">that's been our home ever since.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So you returned to your farming roots?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> What about your mother? You said your father passed away, unfortunately, in 1949. How about your</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">mother?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My mother lived for some years later. I think she died in-- I can't remember the da</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">te on it like I can my father—</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">but</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">in the mid '70s. I think it was '78 that she passed away. And at that time the farm was being sold for plots for</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">houses</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> and now it's all houses.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So how many so how many children were there in your family then? How many siblings did you have?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">There were six.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Six, okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I had three older brothers. Then my sister come along. And then to finish out the six was my twin brother and I.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">You and your twin brother. And you and your twin brothe</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">r were born in hospital</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We were the only ones that were born in the hospital. Because thought there might be some complications. So we</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">were born in the Pasco Lady of Lourdes Hospital. The rest were all at home.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And you talked about how the primary crop was apples for quite a wh</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ile until at some point in the D</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">epression you</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">shifted to peppermint. Is that right?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And were there other crops that you grew as well?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, we had of course, alfalfa because we had a few livestock. We had asparagus. And that was up early and</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">that was the asparagus fields. My three older brothers were in t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">he service. Two of them in the A</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">rmy and one in the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Navy. We'd get up early and go cut asparagus.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And when we were left on our farm through the summer we'd see everything booming out here, trucks going by.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We lived right on </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">George Washington Way. And we'd be out in the field and watching the trucks headed north</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">where</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> the construction was going on. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And we had strawberries. We had a few potatoes. Then, of course, peppermin</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t. And all that ground was real </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">irrigated.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">How was that irrigated?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Real irrigated where you had corrugates that the water ran down. And so I was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">changing water twice a day. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">my father worked from daybreak to dawn. But as t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ime went on, we were more help. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">After the military took my three brothers my dad bought a tractor. And he didn't</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> like the tractor. He liked the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">horses. So my twin brother and I, we got a lot of practice on the tractor. He put</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> us out on the field and get us </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">started an</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d he'd go do some other chores. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We, my twin brother and I, we continued to farm the Kennewick farm. Which, was d</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ownsized. It was only 20 acres. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">At that time though, you could mak</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e a living on a farm that size. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But I lost my oldest brother in the war. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the next oldest one was in the A</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">r</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">my and over in Germany. And the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">third from the top was in th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e Navy and over in the Pacific. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And after the war was over they came home and took jobs out at Hanford, my rem</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">aining two brothers. And when I </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">finished school I got a job out there. And my brother worked out there. My twin brother worked out there on</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> construction. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I was a power operator. And in 1972 I'd been wanting to get out on</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> farm and I said</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">, I got to make the move before </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I'm 40 or I'm going to give it up. And we found a place to</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> buy. And it's been good to us. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My main crop, it started off being alfalfa and wheat and sweet corn. But after a </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">couple years I got into raising </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">potatoes. And that ended up being our main crop until I quit farming.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Got it.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Let me just go back and ask you another question, too, about your family farm that you grew up on. So were the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">re </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">other buildings besides the houses? The barn? Any other buildings? And you said it was 40 acres. Is that correct?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">40.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And so I wonder how large the house was? Were there any other buildings as well that were part of the farm?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, back then it didn't take as much a house as it does today. When my f</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">olks moved up here from Madras, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oregon--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and I can't tell y</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ou--I think it was around 19</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">17 or 1918. They </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">had the ground but there was no buildings on it. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But there was a small house. I think it was about a two-room house that my d</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ad's brother and </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">him</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> moved from what would be over on--is that--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">what st</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">reet is that? Over to the west? </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Anyway, they moved it from there to onto Georgia Washington Way where we live</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d. And then he added onto that. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And then just before the government came in, we had enlarged the house and th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e next year was another project </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">to finish it. But it started off being a two bedroom. And small ones at that.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Now, it was originally, was there an outhouse? What did you have?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We didn't have neither electricity or r</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">unning water in the house until--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">it was about 1940.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So not too long before the war.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And that was a big improvement. My mother didn't have to pack water for the washing machine or carry it out. But</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">we didn't have any electricity.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So the washing machine had a little gas </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">engine on it. And like most, Monday was wash day. And that'd be all she'd</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">get done except cooking some meals.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So was there a well?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes, we had a well.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">That was before my time. But I remember that he had a nephew that came </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">over from Denmark plus my uncle </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">lived here and there was a hand-dug well. And that was on the proper</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ty that is the Energy Northwest </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">h</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">eadquarters now.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Oh, okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. And what about neighbors? Who were your closest neighbors? Were there other famili</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">es that you </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">socialized with?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>: Well, yes. We had one neighbor that lived right across the road. And others close</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. I can say there was one, two, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">three</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">about five that lived in walking distance. You know</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">, a 20-minute walk at the most. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">It was interesting. In the early spring of 1943 there was a number of cars that ha</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d come into town. And they were driving different places. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">It was late enough that some farmers were out in the field. The next day they were </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">all in town at the schoolhouse. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And they called to me and said that the whole community, including White Bluffs i</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">n Hanford was being evicted for a government project. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And that's all they would say. Nobody knew what was ready going on out t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">here until after the bombs were </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">dropped. And it was interesting when those people that were here d</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">riving in cars were appraisers. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And they were going around and appraising the farms of how much to give th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e farmers for it. Some got very </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nervous. They thought if you didn't take the first</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> they might just haul you out in handcuffs </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">or whatever. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But they allowed if you didn't accept for the third appraisal. My father a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ccepted the third appraisal. My </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">grandmother, she got nervous. And they got her to sign. I think </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">it was on the second appraisal. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But my father, if you didn't sign and take the third appraisal, then they would take it</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> to court. But they give you, I think </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">it was 80% of the offer. And there were a few that took it to cou</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">rt. But my father thought the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But the surprising part about that is the farmers that took the money and couldn'</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t find a farm, the price of the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">farmland was going up so fast that what would buy a farm when they got the mo</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ney, a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> year later was probably only half enough. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So those people put a hardship on them. But I can't say our situation put a hardship. Becau</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">se we was able to find </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">a farm and it was a good form.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Do you have any idea how much your parents got for the farm?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">You know, I've been wondering that myself. But what I can tell you is that the 20</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> acre farm we got, it had a big </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">house on it. It had a five-bedroom house plus porch,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> front and back. It was $7,200. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And I'm sure it was in that neighborhood, maybe a little more. Because it was 40 a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">cres rather than 20. And it was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the only house still standing in North Richland until it too was torn down oh, 15, 20 years ago.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oh, it stood for that long?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> because the criteria was that if it had indoor plumbing and electricity they </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">would save it if they could and </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">somebody would move into it. And a pa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">trolman that was hired by the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">well, I guess it was GE back then. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Or no, it </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">was DuPont.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">DuPont?</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Mm-hm.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">He want</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ed that house. And he got the okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> on it. But he would come by about e</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">very three or four days and see </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">what the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> progress was of us moving out. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">He was anxious to move in. There was a shortage of homes. And it was used for liv</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ing for a few years and then it </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">was right in the middle of that big trailer camp that was out here. And it was turned </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">into the office for the trailer </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">camp.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So he moved in shortly after your grandma left then?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes. When he could see the date that we was going to be out, he had his stuff packed and ready to move.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And so how old are you at this time? About 9 or 10 years old? Somewhere in there?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I was 12 years old when we moved.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Okay.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> So we moved and we were still moving in N</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ovember. Because that's when my </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">birthday</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> is. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And I remember the time we took the tractor with a big trailer we had behind it wi</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">th some of the last things. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">my dad let me drive it after we got off the highway. I was 12 years old. And our </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">farm, in Kennewick, the address </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">was 3904 West Fourth Avenue now.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So what did you think about this at the time as a young boy? You had spent your who</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">le life, at that point, on this </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">farm. And you're suddenly having to move. What did you think? And do you know</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> what your parents thought? Did </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">you talk to them?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, we spent a lot of time driving around to find a farm. We looked up a lot up </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Prosser </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Way. I can remember </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">sitting out in the yard there for a couple of hours, my mother and dad talking. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And there was a nice big house, older house. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">It was a little smaller farmer than we had gotten. They finally decided they would </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">take it. And my dad went to the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">door and said, we've talked it over and we'd like to buy your farm. And they said, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">well, we're sorry. My husband's </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">down at the court house signing papers on it n</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ow. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So we were back to looking again. But you can imagine a 12-year-old. We thought thi</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s was kind of a thrill, driving </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">around looking at farms and discussing it and where we was going to live. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I can remember several farms we </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">looked at that some of them had a nice house. But the property wasn't the best. T</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">he soil wasn't the best. But we </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">was happy when we settled on this one in Kennewick.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So for you, maybe the fact that you ended up with a nice farm in Kennewick--</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes, it was a nice farm. Kennewick is a little bit rocky. But it's bearable. The farm </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">we had out here in Richland was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">a lot </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">more sandy</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. But heavier soil, you can raise better crops. But sandy soil is easier to farm.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So I want to go back to also talking about your early years here. Where did you g</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">o to school? And what was the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">school like? And how many? How big was the school? That sort of thing?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">The </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">school I went to was built in--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">which was Lewis and Clark school down in</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> south Richland. And the year I </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">started there</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> it was brand new. Because of the D</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">epression there was money f</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">or stuff like that, to generate employment. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And Hanford got a new school. And Richland got a new school. And that's where I s</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">tarted the first grade, my twin </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">brother and I.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My sister was four years ahead of us. So she was in an old school that they immediately tore down after the new</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">school was built. But my dad was a well thought of man here in this area. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> when</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> the irrigation district was in,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">neighbors twisted his arm till </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">he agreed to </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">go on the board for irrigation. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Same for the school district. He was on the board, directors there. In fact, he was</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> the president of the board and </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">signed a c</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ouple of my brothers' diplomas. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And after we moved, well, some would know Jay Perry, who was a county co</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">mmissioner in Kennewick. And he </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">came and wanted my dad to run for his pl</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ace. They talked quite a while. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And my dad said, wel</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">l, Jay, that would never work, b</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ecause you're a Democrat and I'm a R</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">epublican.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> He said, I'd </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">do anything t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">o get you in. Whether you're a Republican or not. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">at's the only way I knew of </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">what his preference of party. But there was, f</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">or farmers back then, there was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">more done for the farmers than a lot of people.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So do you know how big the school was? Do you know how many students there were about?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, it was an eight-room school, first through the eighth grade. And I would</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> say, there was probably on the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">average of at least 20 in each class. Then when things got a little tougher, first,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> well, second grade and half of </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">third was in one room. And the other half of third and the fourth grade was in a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nother room. So they were small </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">enoug</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">h then that they could do that. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">that school was tore down for the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">replacements that there are now. But it was a nic</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e all-brick school that for old </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">time's sake, I hated to see it go. But both of my children started in that school.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oh, did they really?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">For first grade. Because we lived in the south end of Richland at that time. And our</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">what is</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> the--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Justice over in </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Pasco, he went to that school. My son went with him. Cameron Mitchell.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oh, Cameron Mitchell, sure. So what sorts of things did you do for recreational activities growing up on your farm?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oh, main thing for recreational was work. But we did have time. And when we were l</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ittle my dad didn't require us to--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We never were slave labor by any stretch. But we'd roller skate out on the roa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d. There wasn't very many cars. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And we'd play hide and seek and one thing my dad let us do is a couple horse to a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">n old sled that we had that was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">about four by six, to a horse. And take our dog and we'd go out hunting j</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ackrabbits. Didn't have a gun. But that </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">dog could catch the jackrabbits. And we'd probably get five</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> or six every time we went out. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">They'd be just wandering out through the sagebrush. We was out at the edge o</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">f the farming community here in </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Richland. So ther</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e's plenty of sagebrush ground. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And we thought that was great, to go out with the dog. My twin brother and I, an</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d my three cousins from over on </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the coast would come here. I got a picture of it. Looking at it yesterday, that a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ll five of us on that sled, out </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">jackrabbit hunting. But just things like that. What kids </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">do.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Sure.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Bicycles.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Oh</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Yeah.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> So you were on a farm. Did you go into town much? Into the town of Richland?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, it was a five-mile drive on the school bus. Back then we didn't have t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">hese factory-made school buses. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Generally a farmer would say, I'd like to build a bus and hire it to haul the students.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, there was an aisle down the center that you sat back to back to and then down each side. And it was just</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">made out of an old truck. And we didn't know what heaters were. Wintertime got pretty cold.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But--</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">[PHONE RINGS]</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">No cellphones then</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> either.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Huh?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">No cellphones then either.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I meant to take it out. But I forgot it.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">That's all right.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I think I was in about the third grade when we got factory manufactured school bu</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ses. And they looked as long as </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">a train. And there was three of them. And that picked up stude</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nts all over the Richland area. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And then it wasn't too long after that the government came in and the area just </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">exploded. And it was surprising </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">when you had to, how fast they could put buildings up. They had people in here.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> They added onto the school and </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">built more schools. But after '43 I wasn't here much.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Did you start going to school in Kennewick then at that point?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes. I think I was in the fifth grade when we moved to Kennewick.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I was wondering about sort of community activities. Do you have any memories of c</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ommunity picnics or 4th of July </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">celebrations? Anything along those lines?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, yes.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> In that time, the boat races--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">that would be equivalent t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">o what we have now here in the Tri-C</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ities—was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">up at White Bluffs. And I remember, several times being young, going up there and watch the boat r</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">aces. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">en there was community picnics. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I remember looking at some books at the county fair, before they registered at th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e picnics, they had them. Found </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">a couple where my folks, my dad registered as being at the picnic, 4th of July picnic, I think they</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> were. Then there </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">was plenty of family gatherings. Maybe two, three, four families would get together </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and go to the park. But I don't </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">know, it never seemed like we lacked activity.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">What about churches? Were churches close by? Did your family go to church regularly? And where were they?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">What</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> church, you say?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah, churches</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Well, my folks heard the G</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ospel by</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> two homeless ministers in 19</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">21. And the chur</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ch met in a home. And I'm still </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">in that faith today. We don't have church buildings. So there was churches in t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">own. But they accepted that way </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and the family grew up in it.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. So you mentioned earlier, talking about the Depression, and how your fat</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">her then sort of changed crops, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">right? Primary crops. Did you know of any families in the area that maybe lost th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">eir farms? Or did you see any </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">other impact of the Depression for other families or for the town itself?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Well, my uncle</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> lost his--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">that lived, oh, half mile or less from us. And I remember my dad saying he wanted him to</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">financially help him. He was a bachelor. He had never married until he was 82, I think. And then he married his</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">sweetheart</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> that he had when he was young.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Wow.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And neither one of them, they were </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">married. They got back together </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">in old age.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">That's quite a story. Wow.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But anyway, my dad had to decline him because he said, Jim, I've got a family. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> if I did that I would probably </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">lose my farm too. And you're single. Realized I hate to say no. But I just don't have i</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t where I can feel that I could </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">do it. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">there were others the same way. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But you have to remember that I was-- that was not something I can physically r</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">emember. I was too early in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">'30s. I was born in '32. I</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> remember him talking about ones</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> that sold out or it didn</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">'t have any equity and couldn't </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">make payments. But my father was very frugal. He didn't buy what he couldn't afford,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> which was very little, that he bought. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But yes, when my father decided to push out the orchard, we had a big enough orcha</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">rd. In fact, it was the largest apple orchard in the Tri-C</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ities. I can't tell you how many acres it was. But it was 15 acres or so.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Do you know what kind of apples?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">At that time, Red Delicious. But he made the decision to take the apples out</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> beca</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">use every year he'd be losing a </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">little more money. And plant peppermint. Well, 100 pounds to the acre of peppermin</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t oil was considered excellent. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And I never remember hi</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">m getting less than 100 pounds. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And I remembered selling for $7 a pound. And today the price of oil isn't that much bett</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">er. It's just that the farmers' </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">farms are a lot bigger.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Mm-hm.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> I think, from what I've heard, I know some people that a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">re farming peppermint and $9 or </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">$10 I think would be an excellent price now.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So what happened with your uncle then? He lost his farm you said? What did he do at that point?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My uncle?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">M</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">m-</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">hm.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">He moved to Oregon. And lived in Troutdale for quite a while. I think he just hired </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">out. He was a stonemason, brick </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">mason. And I think he made a living at that.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I want to ask you a little bit about, you talked about the war a little bit and that you</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">r older brothers all joined and </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">went to serve. Do you remember hearing about the war? And have any memories about that at all?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah, when the war come on, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">some time</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> during that we got a radio. And I k</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">now my dad listened to the news </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">every evening. My oldest brother, Edward, that was born in Oregon and was the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">only one that wasn't born here, was drafted into the A</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">rmy. And he took his training down in one of the southern st</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ates. I can't remember for sure now if it was Texas, or--. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Anyway, they ended up sending him to a little place by Washington</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> D</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">C</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> that they cal</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">l </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span class="SpellingError SCX30075691">Vint</span></span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Hill Farms. And it was a </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">training, a special training area. And he worked there as, we'd probably called it </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">a cadre that helps do training. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But there everything was coal fire</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. So in the wintertime they had to keep the furnace going and the hot water</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">heater going and snow </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">removal or whatever. And he never did go overseas. But he was on a laundry run.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And he was riding in the back of a deuce and a half army truck. And a Lincoln hi</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t the truck head on. And he was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">thrown up against the cab and killed. So he wasn't-- he didn't see overseas action</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. But I remember that was a sad </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">day for the family.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I imagine. You mentioned having the radio. Did your family get that before the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">war or at some point during the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">war, you remember?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">It was during the war. I don't remember. We didn't have a radio while we were still in Richland.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Oh, okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. You got it after you have moved to Kennewick at some point.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. So how did you get news when you were in Richland? Was there a local newspaper?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah, there was a newspaper. And don't ask me if</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> it was daily or weekly or semi-</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">we</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ekly. But well, I guess, in the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">old days,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> we took the Spokesman Review. I don’t think--there wasn't a local newspaper. T</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">h</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ere might've been a weekly. But </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">you're getting too far back in my brain.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah, do you know how your family found out about the war, that United States w</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">as going to war? Was it through </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the newspaper? Or sort of word of mouth?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, I think all the above. You know, neighbors were close and we did get th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e Spokesman Review. And I don't </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">know if it was a day late. I think it came down on the trai</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">n. So it could be the same day. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">At that time Pasco, its main industry was the train. A train town. And Richland was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">just a little farming community </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">along with White Bluffs and Hanford.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Right. And then was it in the spring of '43 that you first heard about that the g</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">overnment was coming in and was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">going to be taking people--</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Yes, y</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">es. 1943.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But your family, you have sort of the rest of that growing season. Is that right?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, it must've been later in February or maybe first part of March that that h</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">appened. I suppose there's some </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">way I could find out. But I do know that the ones that lived in what we call downt</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">own Richland didn't get to stay </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and farm their crop. And we did.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah. I wonder if there's anything that we haven't talked about yet that you think wo</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">uld be important to talk about, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">something you know, about growing up in Richland, ab</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">out the community itself, about </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">farming?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, we had a great swimming pool, Columbia River. Also fishing. Never had a fan</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">cy fishing pole. But go down to </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the river and cut off a large willow, tie the line on the end of it. Works </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">good</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">What</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> sort of fish did you catch with that?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Probably mostly carp. Occasionally we'd get an edible fish.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> But we enjoyed doing it</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. Some real hot days, the whole </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">family would go to the river. Our firewood, you could put on what they call a boom ou</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t on the river. It'd be several </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">logs fastened together with chain or cable. And have </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">an anchor out on the upper end. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So it would catch all the wood that was coming down. And that's where we got th</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e firewood. And for the icebox, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">we'd go down and my dad would saw chunks of ice out of the river and we had a</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> sawdust bin that we would bury </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">the ice in there and it would last long ways into the summer. So things were a littl</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e bit crude back then. But none </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">of us died from it. We all made it.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Right. [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">What about in the winter? You know, in terms of the river, the river ever freeze ove</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">r? What sorts of things did you </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">do? Any things that you can say--</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">All I can remember about that is that what I've been told. I think I was about two ye</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ars old when it froze over. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">they even drove cars across it. I don't think we had any bridges at that time. It wa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s a ferry that would ferry cars across. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And it seems like the winters don't get as cold as they used to here. I don't know if it'</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s a cycle or what it is. But my </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">younger years, we could ice skate on the river, most all winters.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Mm-hm. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So that was something you did in the winter then</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> for fun</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, I don't remember doing a whole lot. But you know, the river is danger</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ous, and we knew it back then, i</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">f the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ice only goes out a sma</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ll ways. So my folks wouldn't--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I just know that my folks would</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">n't have let us go to the river </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">to ice skate if the ice wasn't thick enough.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And you mentioned a ferry. Where was the ferry landing?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Well, there was the ferry la</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nding down at what's Columbia Point</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> I think</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> now. An</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d there was another one between </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Kennewick and Pasco. There was another one up at Hanford, one across. It would come and go as the need</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> was. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But I remember the first bridge across the Columbia was long enough ago that I can't really remember it.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. I want to ask you a little bit about your employment at Hanford. When did yo</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">u start working at Hanford? And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">how long did you work there? And what sort of work did you do there?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, I graduated high school in 1951. And of course, we were still farming the gr</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ound. I did take a job in wheat </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">harvest. And my brother stayed and did the chores that had to be done through the summer. And so my mother</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">paid him what I made, the same amount that I made. So it wa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s like both of us having a job. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">After wheat harvest </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">was over in September of 1952--I think it was, yeah, 1952--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I w</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ant out and applied for work at </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Hanford. And I got a job in the power department, running the steam boilers and tur</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">bines and that's out there. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I worked there for 14 y</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ears. It was all under GE then. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I finished up in what was called the N Reactor. And that's when they built a st</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">eam power plant just across the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">fence from the N Reactor. And I applied for a job there with, at that time was t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">he Washington Public Power. Now </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">it's Energy Northwest. And I stayed there until '72 when I got the craz</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">y idea of being a farmer again. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And haven't really regretted it. You go from being carrying a dinner pail to being</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> a businessman in one sense. It </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">takes a l</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ot of money to farm these days. </span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Man</span> 1: </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Sorry, one last time. It looks like battery.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Man</span> 2: </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oh.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Man</span> 1: </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Pretty low.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">You can prompt me on anything you want to.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">What's that?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">You can prompt me.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Oh, okay</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. I'm going to ask you just a little bit more about you working at Hanfor</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d. You mentioned working for GE </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and at the N Reactor</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> and ask you where else at Hanford you worked?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">You asked me where I met my wife. I can give you a little more on that.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">There you go. And then I may ask you about I know President Kennedy had the official ceremony, right, in '63.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And I'll ask you if you were there.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I was still working for GE. And it was Thursday morning. I had to work a swing shift</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> that day. So I just stayed out </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">there.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So you mentioned working for GE for a number of years. And then you said you e</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nded up with you working at the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">N Reactor. I wonder before that, what other parts of the Hanford site you worked at?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, I started at the C Reactor in the power department. C. B and C were right </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">together. Actually it was the B </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">reactor. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Then I got drafted in the army. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And in D</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ecember I went in the service to--t</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">hey sent my back to Virginia for training. A</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nd when the training with over, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">took a troop ship to Korea. I spent two years in Korea. Part of the time I was f</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">irst service. War was still on. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And then after my two-year stay I came home and they put me back on o</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ut there. At that time I'd been </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">communicating with my future wife</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. And my twin brother, h</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e had a bad ea</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">r and they wouldn't accept him. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Ironically we was going with sisters. But they weren't twins. And </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">so they decided to get married. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">So they got a two-year head start on us when I came home. Well, my wife, Bever</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ly, and I got married. And been </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">married ever since.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> And how had</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> the two of you met? When did you meet?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We was in school together. And the same way with my brother and his wife.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And so how many years is that now?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Boy, you're--</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER] I'm testing him</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Off camera speaker:</span> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">It'll be 60 next year.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> That's</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">--</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Wow, almost 60.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">It's getting awful close to 60.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah, wow. And so you mentioned you were in Korea for two years. And the war wa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s still going on when you first </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">arrived?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes. Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And what sorts of--</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I went in and they put me in the medics. And I took my medic training down in C</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">amp Pickett, Virginia. And then </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">sent me to Korea. I was a medic.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And then one other thing I wanted to ask you about, during your time working at</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Hanford, President Kennedy was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">here in, I believe it was September of '63. August or September of '63 to dedicate the N reactor.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yes.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I was wondering if you were there at that time and if you have memories of that?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I was. I was there. And</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> witnessed his groundbreaking. H</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">e flew in in a helicopter and fl</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ew out in a helicopter. I think </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">probably went up to Moses Lake, where they parked the plane</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> And it was interesti</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ng that I happened to be on the </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">swing shift at that time. So when the ceremony was over I had to go over to the plant and start my shift.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Was there extra security that day? Or do you have any memories of a lot of people there?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Very much so. You know, that was just not long before he was assassinated. A</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nd there was a lot of security. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">There was three helicopters came in. And the doors opened on all three of them</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. They come to land, you didn't know which one he was on. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But the first thing you seen was they pulled a machine gun up in the doorway.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> And they looked all directions </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">before they left anybody off. And there was a big crowd there. That was very interesting.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Mm-hm.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Were there any other events during your time when you worked at the Hanford site that sort of</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> stand out? Any </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">significant happenings or anything that sort of stands out in your memory?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> They formed a rescue</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> crew out there.</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> They outfitted an older bus. And I thin</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">k there was about three or four different crews, maybe five. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">We never did</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> get called to an event, like there's been several around the Unite</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d States since. But that's what </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">we were trained for. And I was on one of those crews because I'd been a medic i</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">n the army, was the reason they </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">put me on there. We had drills. But neve</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">r had to go to an actual event. </span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And obviously Hanford was a place where security was very important. Di</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">d you do have to have a special </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">clearance to work there? Or what do you remember about some security processes?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, yes. I had what they called a Q clearance, which was top clearance, wi</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">th everybody that was full time </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">employed. That the only ones that would get out there was if they had to have a </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">special person, something broke </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">down and had to go out there. And then he had to have an escort. And they told us</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> that you don't talk about what work it is on the job. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">But at that time, Hanford wasn't classified top secret anymore. After the bomb</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s were dropped on Hiroshima and </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Nagasaki, that's when they found out what Hanford was building.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Were you able to drive your own car out to the site where you were working? Or would you have to take a bus?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Oh, we had to take an expensive bus ride.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER]</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> They charged us a nickel each way. A</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nd nobody could afford to drive </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">their cars. If you did, </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">you</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> car pooled. But because the buses didn't have any air cond</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">itioning, just the windows. But </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">as long as </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I worked for GE I rode the bus. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">When I started working for Washington Public Power we car pooled. They didn't h</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ave an option. But they paid us </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">for travel time.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And how long did you work for Washington Public Power then?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Seven years.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Seven years. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">'65 to '72?</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> So anything else that I haven't asked you about, either ab</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">out growing up on the farm here </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">in Richland or about your work at Hanford that you'd like to talk about or you thi</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">nk is important that we haven't </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">talked about yet?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Something serious?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> Oh, either way. No, it can</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> be funny.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, I remember when my twin brother and I was out and we had a watermel</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">on patch. And we thought it was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">time to pick the watermelons. And we'd pick a </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">whole pile of them. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">My dad said, well, those aren't ripe yet. We'll have to feed those to the pigs. So the</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> pigs got watermelon early. But you know, we would--</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">that's some of our pastime would be walk</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> around the neighbors and such. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">There wasn't too many dull moments. Especially, my mother used to say that when </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">you have twins, well, one can't </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">think of the other kin. So I guess you can take from that what you want.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Yeah. If you had to sort of sum up for someone who wouldn't know much about the area, what it wa</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">s like growing </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">up in the small community at the time, growing up on a farm at the time, what would you tell them?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, that there wasn't many dull moments. I think there's an advantage that ki</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">ds today don't have. We grew up </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">having responsibility to know that there might be a little time for play. Bu</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t they're also work to be done. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I can remember going out in the fields of whole peppermint and my dad would</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> take two rows where my brother </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">and I, we'd take one apiece and pull the weeds out. And we'd fill up a gallon </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">jug of water. Had a burlap sack </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">wrapped around it and dipped it in water before we went out. And that would k</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">eep cool. That was our drinking water. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Had to come in in time for chores. We milked as many as five head of cows. But at the time my dad got </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">sick we </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">only had two milk cows. And a couple of </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">horses and several young stock. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">And then there was 4H and FFA. That was after we moved to Kennewick. I</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> can't remember much more about </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Richland, only being 12 years old and there's probably more. But I'll think about </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">it after our interview is over. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">I remember riding the bus was quite a treat. When we got the new buses in Richland i</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">t was, as I said, I think I was </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">in about the third grade. It was quite a treat. And they said there was heaters in them. But we coul</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">dn't tell when </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">winter come</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">. </span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> [LAUGHTER] </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Didn't</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> feel like it. </span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">They weren't very efficient.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Well, thank you very much. This has been really interesting, very informative. I appr</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">eciate it. You’ve been great. </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Thanks very much.</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX30075691">
<p class="Paragraph SCX30075691"><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kaas</span>:</span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX30075691">Have you interviewed others?</span><span class="EOP SCX30075691"> </span></p>
</div>
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Robert Bauman
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Gordon Kaas
Location
The location of the interview
Washington State University - Tri-Cities
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:02:57
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
232kbps
Hanford Sites
Any sites on the Hanford site mentioned in the interview
N Reactor
B Reactor
C Reactor
Years in Tri-Cities Area
Date range for the interview subject's experience in and around the Hanford site
1915-2013
Years on Hanford Site
Years on the Hanford Site, if any.
1952-1972
Names Mentioned
Any named mentioned (with any significance) from the local community.
Kaas, Nelson
Kaas, George
Kaas, Edward
Chapman, Alice
Perry, Jay
Mitchell, Cameron
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Gordon Kaas
Description
An account of the resource
An interview with Gordon Kaas conducted as part of the Hanford Oral History Project. The Hanford Oral History Project was sponsored by the Mission Support Alliance and the United States Department of Energy.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hanford Oral History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
Date Modified
Date on which the resource was changed.
2016-06-8: Metadata v1 created – [J.G.]
Subject
The topic of the resource
Richland (Wash.)
Pasco (Wash.)
Kennewick (Wash.)
Hanford Site (Wash.)
White Bluffs (Wash.)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
6/12/2013
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this oral history should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for this item.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
video/mp4
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
The Hanford Oral History Project operates under a sub-contract from Mission Support Alliance (MSA), who are the primary contractors for the US Department of Energy's curatorial services relating to the Hanford site. This oral history project became a part of the Hanford History Project in 2015, and continues to add to this US Department of Energy collection.
B Reactor
C Reactor
Hunting
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Kennewick (Wash.)
N Reactor
Pasco (Wash.)
Richland (Wash.)
swimming
White Bluffs (Wash.)
-
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2F67ab2275c27d2eb35de0d2ee444059a8.jpg
3cf5eafd07df622c79a7ce766d795c94
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/omeka-hhp%2Foriginal%2Ff03c6f62ec6ecbb75d2e152e69b0a0cf.mp4
cca508797901a36664fbb38e718cd250
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pre-1943 Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area prior to the Manhattan Project
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories with residents about the Hanford area prior to the Manhattan Project
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Those interested in reproducing part or all of this collection should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for these items.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Robert Bauman
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Lloyd Chalcraft
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
<p><strong>Northwest Public Television | Chalcraft_Lloyd</strong></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Does this station go into Seattle?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Camera man</span>: No.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: No. This is in Eastern Washington, I guess.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Camera man</span>: Yeah. This will get to--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Why I asked that of which it's in, my brother lives in Seattle.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Camera man</span>: It will all be available online.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Yeah. And we can get you a copy.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Camera man</span>: I'm recording.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: OK. We're going to go ahead and get started. Can you hear me OK?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I'm ready, just as long as I can hear you. What you're asking, see.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: OK. Let's start by having you say your name, and if you could spell it also.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Lloyd-- OK. Lloyd Robert Chalcraft.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: OK, great. And my name is Robert Bauman, and today's date is August 20, right, of 2013.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: My hearing is a little holding me back. I can hear you, but you're a real quiet voice.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: OK. And we're conducting this interview on the campus of Washington State University, Tri-Cities.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah, that's correct. I mean, do I got to OK that?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: No, that's OK. Well. Let's start if you could, by having you--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Could you tell us about your family and how your family--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Got here? My family came to Richand, Washington in 1910 from Idaho. My granddad homesteaded in Idaho, and they came into Richland in 1910. And I can go into quite a little history there.</p>
<p>My family, my uncle, my mother's brother was the first boy to die in World War I in the war. He was the first one to die in Richland in World War I.</p>
<p>And I got a great grandmother buried down in this cemetery. She was buried there in 1917. Well, I got a lot a relatives between here and Kennewick.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What brought them to Richland? What brought your family to Richland?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: What brought them to Richland? My granddad was up in Rexburg, Idaho on a farm, and they still got the land. My mother couldn't breath and they came down for a dry climate for my mother. And they came down here in a covered wagon from Idaho in 1910.</p>
<p>And what do want? You want to continue on? Then, my mother graduated from Richland high school in 1918. She played basketball there, and then there was Uncle Frank.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And what was your mother's name and your grandparent's name?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What was your mother's name and your grandparent's name.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Her maiden name?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Yeah.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Jamison. Her grandmother's buried down here across from Hapo. Her grandma Davidson, and well, I got a lot of relatives buried and kept between here and Kennewick.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Did her family have a farm here, then?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Did what?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Did they have a farm?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: In Richland?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Yeah.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yes. Well, my grandparents had a farm here. We had a farm here, and my uncle had a farm here. We had four different farms. Granddad had a big cherry orchard. Where his orchard was is where that locksmith is on Van Giesen. That was a part of their orchard. That was a prune orchard only it had cherries there.</p>
<p>I went to school myself. I went to school here eight years, where now that little grade school is here. It used be called Richland Grade School, but it's not what's out down there south of Richland. Later in life, my boy played basketball for Richland.</p>
<p>My boy, he was on the Richland State Basketball Champion when they beat Pasco. Do you remember that? For the state basketball. My boy, he played football and basketball for Richland High School.</p>
<p>I graduated from Kennewick High School. See, we moved out. The government come in and took all this land over, and we moved to Kennewick.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And how old were you then?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I was about eighth grade.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And what do you remember about that time?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What do you remember about that when you first heard that the government was going to come in 1943?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: People were pissed. People were mad cause they come in here and took this land over. They practically stole the land. I mean, people were really shook up. Do you know I mean? They didn't know what was going on. It was like an invasion.</p>
<p>You seen army trucks, the DuPont surveyors. I saw the plane that I think this guy-- they flew over this big scientist to pick this area out. I don't know if I would guarantee it, but they were looking for a place of vacant land. And that Columbia River is the key.</p>
<p>I remember that plane flew over. There was a Navy base in Pasco, but this plane was a big transport plane. These scientist were looking over that area.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And do you know how much money you're family got for land?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: For the place?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Yeah, how much money your family got?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: They had a farm there with cherries. My family, we had three or four families. My granddad had that big orchard.</p>
<p>They gave him $13,000 for a whole complete cherry orchard. They literary stole the land, which is here or there.</p>
<p>We got $7,000 for our little place. It's on the corner-- we lived on the corner of Sanford and Van Giesen.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And how big was your place? How many acres?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: It was 10 acres. My granddad, I think, was-- I've forgotten now exactly. 25 or 30 acres.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And what was his name?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: TJ Chalcraft. Thomas Chalcraft. That was my dad's father. Then my granddad lived here. When they come down from Rexburg's, he opened a blacksmith's shop in 1910. Jamison, Hershel Jamison.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Oh, OK. Uh-huh. And so did your farm also have cherries on your farm?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Did you grow cherries?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah. We had cherries and asparagus. I've cut the damn asparagus.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Hard work.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah. It kept me from dilly dallying. I was just a kid in school. Yeah. A lot of things-- my dad went to a federal land bank meeting in Prosser that night. And he come back to Mary and says, our government is going to take this property over and nobody believed him.</p>
<p>About February 1st, or the approximate time, well, everybody started getting letters from the government. This property is under eminent domain, or whatever. There's another wording for it, but they're going to take all this property.</p>
<p>By the way, in that school down here, that little grade school, they closed that. I got out of school a month early because the government took it over to make office space for it. And there was a schoolhouse where Carnation used to be, two story. I watched three years and they built that. This in before Hanford.</p>
<p>There was a two story school there. There was a duplicate out here at White Bluffs Hanford. Everything and the toilets were outside.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: So when did you move off the land then? What time in 1940?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Well, we moved off right away. We moved to Kennewick, my folks did. Let's see. We moved right away. They had to move because the government started moving them.</p>
<p>You know, you don't understand. That's been 65 years ago. I get a little bit-- those numbers don't quite-- well, it was in '43 or '45. Well, hell no. The bomb was out here. [INAUDIBLE] is the one who built the Hiroshima bomb. So they dropped that bomb in '45, didn't they? So we moved out before that period.</p>
<p>Well, we had to. About '43, I can't remember the dates. We moved out probably-- we'd haul over to Kennewick--my folks bought property on Kennewick Avenue. Are you acquainted with Kennewick?</p>
<p>See, I own that Jiffy car wash. That's what's some of our land is when we move from Richland to Kennewick.</p>
<p>Maybe you've had a car washed. It's isn't like-- I own the land or the building. I don't own the car wash. Hulberts have that.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Did you go to school in Kennewick?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: No, I didn't.</p>
<p>Which is immaterial. See, I went to school in Richland for eight years, and then I went to school in Kennewick for four years.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What do you remember about going to school in Richland? Do you remember any of the teachers, or how big--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I had good teachers. I actually learned more from Mrs. Randolph in reading than most of these kids. Some of these kids go to school and they can't even read now. She was a little crippled lady named Randolph. And she taught us first grade.</p>
<p>They had pretty good schools here. Actually, they did. And they told us you had to be a citizen in the United States before you could vote.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Did you walk to school or was there a school bus?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: We had a bus. We had a bus. See, I lived about two miles down to Richland on Van Giesen down to Richland. We had a school bus. Yeah. They had three or four school buses.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And do you remember any of your neighbors?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Oh, yeah. Carlsons and Ericksons and Rudes. There was a lot of Ericksons. I think there was more Swedish people that lived in Richland than any other relative. Some of their homes-- My grandad helped build some homes here in 1918 that are still standing. Then, all the Swede's had pretty nice homes here.</p>
<p>Maybe you're Swede. Are you a Swede?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: No.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: But anyway, the Swede's are a real progressive type people. OK, a little deal here. The boy, this cook, this vet's place down here, this cook Erickson, the name of the veterans' and Erickson was one of the sons of one of the people that lived here. And he went into the service, and he got shot down over the Mediterranean sea during the war.</p>
<p>This little town had a lot of boys. We had, I can think, Don Culp was on the Arizona. He lived. His folks, well, his aunt was engaged to my uncle. But he was on the Arizona.</p>
<p>Tommy Van Poulsen was on the California. This was at Pearl Harbor. The Mosier boy, he was on Guam. He got captured by the Japs. He was a prisoner of war for the total war.</p>
<p>But Don Culp come off the Arizona and he went back to sea on a destroyer. And a storm come off the Philippines and they drowned. And Tommy Van Poulsen used to swim that river all the time. He swam off the Californian and got out. They were there where the Walmart has gone.</p>
<p>This little town had a lot of people in the service compared for the population. Tom [? Handbe, ?] he lived in parts of Richland. He was killed in Normandy.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: So how many brothers and sisters did you have?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I got one brother, no sisters.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Older? Was he older or younger? Was he older than you or younger?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: He's 16 years younger. They thought she had a tumor. I mean, there was no kids between, you know what I mean, between-- 16 years olds, went to school. Hell, I was starting high school or last when he was born. But he lives in Seattle now.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: So were you born in Richland, then?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Actually, I was born in Lady Lourdes in Pasco. I understand then there was no hospitals in Richland. And there was no hospitals in Kennewick.</p>
<p>Mine was born in Kennewick, but there was a midwife. The only hospital here was in Pasco, Lady Lourdes. See, I was born in '29, but that was the only-- my brother was born at the Lady Origin, Pasco.</p>
<p>My boy was born in Richland. I got a son that played basketball for Richland. And he was born in the Kadlec Hospital down here. He played against Pasco when they played-- I don't know if you were around here, Pasco and them played for the state championship.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: So the community of Richland, when you grew up, do you remember any of the businesses that we're here at the time or anything like that?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Do you remember any of the businesses that we're here?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Oh, yes. We had Ralton's Drugstore. John Dam had a store, and that park out there is named after John Dam. [? Yiddick ?] had a store here.</p>
<p>Hugh Van [? Dyne ?] had the tavern. And Rex Bell had a service station. I can remember, I could go down the street and Phil Charmin, he was a barber, and he's buried right beside my dad down this whole cemetery.</p>
<p>And as you go down to the park, there's a brick building sitting there. It's two story. And the bank got in trouble.</p>
<p>The banker went to jail in Walla Walla, because in 1930 the bank went bust. And at that time it was state controlled. See, federal took it after Roseville come in, but the banker went to jail. He went to Walla Walla.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What was his name?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Remember his name?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yup. Nelson. You know what I mean? I don't know if his brother's still around or not, but anyway this was back in 1930. I don't know if it was big or whatever. The bank was closed when I--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Your father was at some point then on the board of directors--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Your father was on the board of directors of the--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: He was on the--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: --federal land bank, or something like that.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah. If you worked-- well, he's kind of a officer with a blind bank. We had a chicken hatchery we used to hatch baby chickens to besides our farm.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And your farm, you grew mostly cherries and asparagus?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: On your farm, you grew mostly cherries and asparagus.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah, we did that. I picked lots of cherries and cut asparagus. These kids nowadays would think that was torture.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Do you remember any special community events?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Do you remember special community events or gatherings, picnics, any of those sorts of things.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Any special what?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Special events. Community events. Any celebrations the community had or anything like that growing up.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Not really. Not here. Most of the celebrations were in Kennewick. You know in this little town, small little town--</p>
<p>Oh, yeah. There's a boy named Shiftner. He was in the death march out at Carregador. I think it was Shiftner.</p>
<p>There was quite a few soldiers. I still don't remember them all that-- this Comstock, there's a street here in Richland. I don't know if that's-- I think he was from Pasco are Richland, but he died in the service I think.</p>
<p>See, this park is named after John Dam across from the federal building. And John Dam had a grocery store here.</p>
<p>There were two grocery stores here. And they had a place they made ice.</p>
<p>You know, everybody didn't have something to make ice, but they'd freeze this water and make ice. And people would get ice out of it. Ice house. And Phil Charmin, the barber, used to run that.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What sorts of things, growing up, what sorts of things did you do for fun?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What sorts of things did you do for fun growing up?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: What did we do for fun? Well, we'd swim. We'd swim in the irrigation ditch or whatever. And where uptown</p>
<p>Richland was right now, that was a swamp. There was mud that deep. And where uptown Richland is there was an irrigation ditch running through it. That ditch still runs.</p>
<p>We'd go down there. It wasn't very deep, but it was a place to go swimming. We called it swimming, because we were told not to go in the Columbia River when we was kids. Well, that river was cold then, because there was no much dams below, you understand? More free flowing. It mad a difference.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Did you do much fishing or hunting?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah. Hunting pheasant here was good. It was good pheasant hunting. There was no deer here, but there used to be-- we know it well. We hunted pheasant and the ducks. Oh, yeah, a lot of that, cause this all was asparagus field and open.</p>
<p>People from Richland would get shook up when the people from Kennewick would come over and shoot their pheasant. [INAUDIBLE] But there was good hunting here, and everybody knew everybody and go hunting. But you'd normally need a dog. And that asparagus is tall, and you damn near needed a dog to get your pheasants.</p>
<p>One time an airplane landed down in that pasture. What the hell-- where the riding academy used to be. The plane landed out there. That was another, well, it wouldn't be too important, but I remember everybody went down to steal gas out of the plane. Somebody said that burnt their motors up. I don't know, that aviation gas.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: When you were growing up--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I played a little basketball. Nothing big.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: When you were growing up, did the farm you grew up on, did you have electricity.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Oh, yes. We had electricity. But when we first moved we had a hand pump, then we got electricity come in.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What about a telephone? Did you have a telephone.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah. And the neighbors-- we had a phone, but a lot of neighbors didn't. They'd come over and borrow your phone. A lot of them wouldn't even offer to help pay the bill, but they'd use the phone.</p>
<p>In them days, Mrs. Meredith, you had to go through a telephone operator. And Mrs. Meredith, she was kind of the-- and she knew all the gossip. But she was pretty god darn good though for emergencies. People would call in an you know what I mean?</p>
<p>Then Brown Telephone in Kennewick bought them out. I guess they owned that at that--</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Now, did you also work at Hanford at some point?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Did you work at Hanford at some point.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I did, yeah, 20 years.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Where did you work? What area?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I worked in the reactors. I got cancer. I'm fighting cancer right now.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: When did you work at Hanford and which reactors did you work in?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I worked at all of them.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And what years? When did you start?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I worked with the reactors. I was nothing too important out there, but I served a-- And then I got drafted in the army. I went to war. During the Korean, I got drafted. I was working though, 'til I got drafted in the army.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: And what sort of work did you do out there?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Oh, different work. Handled uranium and all that. It was just, you know what I mean? I've done better investing. I wasn't an engineer type. I've done pretty well as an investor. Mostly these people sit on their butt around here, and maybe I shouldn't be saying that. That's probably getting cocky.</p>
<p>But anyway, these houses sold cheap around here in Richland. These duplexes are selling for $7,000. I had bought one. I sold it here a while back for $130,000. But you know, that was time goes along.</p>
<p>But the government practically gave these houses away. This was after Hanford produced the bomb. But these ranch houses, all of them went real-- government unloaded them pretty cheap.</p>
<p>I've seen a lot of changes here.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: I'm sure. What are some of the changes you've seen?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What are some of the changes that you've seen?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: All these houses all over. Well, yeah, what else? More people. You understand, Richland was a very small town, and you had to count the farms. The town or Richland itself was very-- well, I better there was over 100 people here. Maybe a little bit more, but I didn't live in Richland. See, we had the farms around it.</p>
<p>All the Swede's had homes. They were good farmers.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: So you worked at Hanford in what, the '40s and '50s?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: You worked at Hanford in the 1940s, 1950s?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: I went to work there in 1950. 1950 in the fire department. I worked in the fire department for a while out there.</p>
<p>Then I worked in reactors.</p>
<p>I'll tell you a little story. Before the government-- the day the government come in and bought this property, we played ball. I was going to Richland grade school. We went out to White Bluffs and played basketball. And about a few days later, the word came down that the government was taking it over.</p>
<p>You understand that Hanford, Richland, one thing probably they know, but I know, there were usually cemeteries in White Bluffs and Hanford. The government dug all of those up. You understand why? You think about it?</p>
<p>How could they let people go there if there's top secret stuff? How could they let people go out there and wander around the cemetery. There'd be all kinds of people wandering around, wouldn't there?</p>
<p>The government removed all of them bodies. Some of the families got the bodies. But most of the bodies were moved to Prosser. And then they were going to dig up this cemetery in Richland but they decided they didn't need to.</p>
<p>I had people buried in there. My dad's buried down there in this cemetery. My mother and dad were divorced. My mother is buried on that by-pass. But anyway.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman:</span> I wonder if you have any other memories or stories from growing up in Richland that you haven't shared yet that you want to talk about.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft:</span> Hey, gotta go. You think of a lot this stuff after you've stopped. OK, I'll tell you a little story athletic-wise. The bombers, there was no bombers. Let's go back. When I played basketball in high school before Hanford, they called them the Bronx, The Richland Bronx. And the colors were black and red.</p>
<p>And now, they're green and gold. OK, I'm just telling you what happened. They were called the Richland Bronx.</p>
<p>Then what happened, when Richland moved in they called them the Beavers. Well, they couldn't call them bombers, you understand?</p>
<p>Well, it could've been done. But they call them-- that's after Hanford moved in-- they changed the colors and they called them the bombers. But their colors are green and gold. But when I was in high school, I didn't go to high school. I went up to eighth grade there. But they were the black and red.</p>
<p>Then Richland come in and they changed them to green and gold and they called them the beavers. Then after, well, later on, they become the bombers. They couldn't have said bomber, I don't think.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: So when, actually when the government came in 1943 and told you you had to move, did you know why? You know, what was happening?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: What was happening?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Yeah.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: It's a good question. No. It was rumor heaven. A lot of people thought they'd come in here for all-- well, to make toilet paper for one thing. Well, anyway. They hit a little natural gas out here on the Horse Heavens. Not Horse Heavens, out there at Bridal Snake.</p>
<p>They thought they'd come in, but just that people real naively, understand. You look at it. All that come in here, my god, millions of dollars.</p>
<p>Even the army moved trucks in here. Everybody moved in, and they sure as hell didn't bring all that in just to hit natural gas out here. Well, I didn't know until the day when they dropped the bomb. The guy that lived in White Bluffs, he come in and says, I've found out what they built Hanford for.</p>
<p>But what they've built is enough to burn those Jap's ass right off. That was his very words. His folks owned property at White Bluffs-- Hanford White Bluffs. And there used to be a little bus that you went from down Richland up to, there they called it, Sagebrush Annie.</p>
<p>I was only up there once when I lived here. Until I went to work out there. I was out there at that basketball game.</p>
<p>Well, I was just a kid. I didn't drive. And that's quite a ways out there.</p>
<p>Most of the people in White Bluffs and Hanford, they went over to Yakima to shop for groceries. There was a story out there in Hanford or White Bluffs. There was a grocery store. There was two high schools out there at that time.</p>
<p>Maybe you knew that.</p>
<p>And then they merged into one, because you know, I think, yeah. I'm trying to think of different-- I wish sitting in Richland the day they bombed Pearl Harbor, right in Richland at Thayer Drive. And it come over the news that they'd bombed Pearl Harbor.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: On the radio? Was it on the radio?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Yeah, radio, we didn't have TV then. This was '41. That was quite a shock. When they said Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and I was quite of a history buff. Some of these people still don't know what happened. But I knew we was going to go to war. And they hit Pearl Harbor that day.</p>
<p>That's the day Culp got off the Arizona any other boy swam out from the California. Well, I'll tell you a little side story. It didn't fit into Richland. But my uncle was in Pasco, and there was a guy sitting on a bar over there.</p>
<p>And my uncle, he was in the Navy, World War I. He thought he was Japanese, and my dad was with him. And he was going to beat the hell out of that Jap. Come to find out, he was a China man. You know what I mean? This is right after Pearl Harbor?</p>
<p>There's been a few other people that was picked up here. One or two guys here in this town were out hollering Hail Hitler. The United States Marshall picked one of them and shipped him back to Leavenworth.</p>
<p>Nobody bothered him but the day Pearl Harbor was hit, things opened up. They let him, when they were fighting Great Britain, that was a great deal. Germany was beating the hell out of Great Britain.</p>
<p>But the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, that changed the atmosphere. This one kid would come to high school and brag about the Germans picking the hell out of the British. But anyway, he shut up after Pearl Harbor.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: So what was Richard like as a place to grow up?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: What was Richland like as a place to grow up?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: What was Richland like, what?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: As a place to grow up?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: It was a kind of a quiet little quaint town. My uncle, he had never drove. He drove a team of horses. He drank a little beer. He trained horses.</p>
<p>It wasn't a regular policemen. Bill Perry had a server station here. He was the town Marshall. Things were quite quaint. You know what I mean? There was one guy that got in a fight with a guy, and I guess he died.</p>
<p>That was hot news in those days. This guy died from a fistfight. Actually, things were pretty quiet at that time, I guess. But we did go through World War I here. There were two or three boys that got in that one.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: You mentioned earlier some of the businesses in Richland. What about churches?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: What?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Do you remember any churches at the time?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Churches? OK there was a Methodist Church, and a holy roller. I remember they had a holy roller church right in downtown Richland, and they'd get up and role on the floor.</p>
<p>One guy was looking through the window, they had curtains over it and somebody pushed the barrel and he rolled right in with the holy rollers. Yeah, there was a Methodist Church right across from where the school was.</p>
<p>And I remember when they'd have funerals there. I remember one women died, Mrs. [? Kayler. ?] We remembered that. It was a different name. Well, my grandparents are buried out at that cemetery.</p>
<p>There was no Catholic church. The Catholic church was in Kennewick. They had a holy roller church. I guess a-- what's that one? I'm not a great church goer. I went to the Methodist church a little bit. Most of the churches were over in Kennewick.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Well, is there anything else you want to share?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Anything else you want to say about growing up in Richland?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Growing up now?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: No. Anything else that you want to say about your time growing up in Richland.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: About what?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: About your time, your childhood.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Anything else you want to say about it?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Well, I played a little basketball here. I was no-- my peak come when my son won the-- my son, he was good enough to play. He was on the state champ. He was good enough to get a football scholarship at the University of Montana.</p>
<p>He wanted to go to Oregon. Oregon wanted him to go, but they wanted him to go to Columbia Basin and play a year and then go. He didn't get an offer for Washington State or Washington, but he did get an offer from all those big sky, Montana, Idaho, to play ball, football.</p>
<p>But in Oregon he kind of-- Oregon says, you go to Columbia Basin. Columbia Basin at that time had a football team if you remember. They wanted him to go over there for one year.</p>
<p>He had a chance to go back. I'm bragging a little on his college. He had a chance to go back to one of the big east schools-- they egg head schools. You know what I'm talking about.</p>
<p>He was pretty good in grades. But he ended up going to the University of Montana. He could've went to the University of Idaho, but then he got hurt.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Well, I want to thank you for coming in today. And share the memories of growing up in Richland.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: You know, a lot I've missed or thought about. A few names you hate to bring in, you know what I mean? Now, I have to ask you guys something. Is this going to be the air?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: It could be.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Camera man</span>: Right. Parts of it will be.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Huh?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Parts of it.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: What did he say?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Parts of it probably will be.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: March what?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Parts of it.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Part, not all of it.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Bauman</span>: Right.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chalcraft</span>: Well, that's fine. You always got somebody-- You know, I've been a little-- I'm not too bragging-- but I've been a little successful. And I found out people, if you get a little successful, they'll run you down a little bit.</p>
Location
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Washington State University - Tri-Cities
Duration
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00:38:11
Bit Rate/Frequency
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5276 kbps
Hanford Sites
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1950-1975
Years in Tri-Cities Area
Date range for the interview subject's experience in and around the Hanford site
1910-2013
Names Mentioned
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Chalcraft, TJ
Chalcraft, Tom
Jamison, Hershel
Dam, John
Charmin, Phil
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Interview with Lloyd Chalcraft
Description
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An interview with Lloyd Chalcraft conducted as part of the Hanford Oral History Project. The Hanford Oral History Project was sponsored by the Mission Support Alliance and the United States Department of Energy.
Creator
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Hanford Oral History Project at Washington State University Tri-Cities
Rights
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Those interested in reproducing part or all of this oral history should contact the Hanford History Project at ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu, who can provide specific rights information for this item.
Format
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video/mp4
Provenance
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The Hanford Oral History Project operates under a sub-contract from Mission Support Alliance (MSA), who are the primary contractors for the US Department of Energy's curatorial services relating to the Hanford site. This oral history project became a part of the Hanford History Project in 2015, and continues to add to this US Department of Energy collection.
Subject
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Richland (Wash.)
Hanford (Wash.)
Richland (Wash.). Public Schools
Richland (Wash.)--Politics and government.
Date Modified
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2016-05-18: Metadata v1 created – [J.G.]
Date
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8/20/2013
DuPont
Hunting
Kennewick (Wash.)
Richland (Wash.)
swimming
White Bluffs (Wash.)