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Show The SCERA Shell always a entertainment in Orem. 1942 World War II impart December 7, 194,1 brought the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Har-bor and America's entry into World War II. The Orem City Council was assigned the responsibility re-sponsibility of coordinating the community war effort. The previous pre-vious year Orem had become a City of the Third Class, making B. Manning Jolley the city's first mayor, and changing the Board of Trustees to City Council members. mem-bers. With America's entry in the war civilian allocation of commodities com-modities became necessary, and on December 26, 1941, the first War Ration Board was established. Its office was opened in the City ts- I brary quarters in the Orem City Hall. The library was put in moth balls, until 1946, when it was reopened. re-opened. America's entry into the war triggered an exodus of young people from Orem.'dur- , ing a five-year period, which had a great impact on the community commu-nity More than 900 of Orem's . finest young men and women served their country in the greatest war of all time, which took them to foreign battlefields in every corner of the globe. They served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marine. The outstanding service and u.neorn ,; mon valor of Orem's service men and women earned for them medN ' 's als andribbons, as well as the ii deep gratitude of theircountry By the end of the war in 1945 the i supreme sacrifice was made by 16 men from Oresa.: In 1945 a large illuminated Roll of Honor, was placed in the SCERA," displaying the names of those who served in , ' World War II from this comniu-. nity. ;--!jt . Pep art was en artistic ir.ov- tnent that used the imagss and techniques of mass media, Jyle M. McDonald served 8a advertising and popular culture, . Orem's first postmaster from oftenaq JronysjJ Jai"J943-1949. ,lqMyj ,v popular summer spot for 1944 Orem Post Office Some people said, it took a war to get a post office in Orem.There was no post office in Orem for a quarter of a century after the town was incorporated. Mail service was provided during those years by the Provo Post Office. However, the construction construc-tion of the Geneva Steel Plant in 1943, dramatically increased Orem's 3,500 population, when over 1,600 construction workers arrived to build the plant. To house those workers the Federal Public Housing Authority placed 400 house trailers in the Orem City Park. That area, located just east of the QremCity Hall became the most tieavily popu lated part of town. Mayor B. Manning Jolley and other city officials of-ficials rallied the community in an all-out effort to get Postal officials of-ficials to open a post office in Orem. According to the December Decem-ber 23, 1943, issue of The Voice of Sharon ( predecessor of the -Orem-Geneva Times) "One more step in the opening of the Orem Post Office was taken this week by the Postmaster General Frank C. Walker, when he sent a Postmaster's commission to Lyle M. McDonald to be the first postmaster post-master of the new office. The Orem Post Office was opened in early January, 1944, in the south ." wing of the Orem City Hall. The new post office served post office . boxes, general delivery and two rural routes. Jn 1950 the Orem Post moved into a new building at 46 North State Street, moving subsequently into new buildings., at 96 West Center Street and 222 , West Center Street 't 1 f i. v " LJ Oscar H. Anderson, chairman of the 1947 Orem Centennial Celebration. 1946 Orem's First Fair In 1946 Orem's first community commu-nity fair was held under the chairmanship chair-manship of Roy Park. The thrust of the celebration turned to showcasing show-casing the outstanding fruits and vegetables of the community. Also associated with the fair was the selection of an Orem Queen. The Queen had to be unmarried, 15 years of age or older, and must be able to ride a horse, since several events were planned by the Orem Riding Club. The following year Orem City joined Utah in a Centennial Cen-tennial celebration, honoring the Utah pioneers. Oscar H. Anderson Ander-son was celebration chairman. The City of Orem', in concert with the State of Utah and other communities com-munities throughout the State, fitly portrayed the Pioneer epic, through parades, fireworks, musical mu-sical events and many other family-centered activities. In 1949 Orem's "Velvet Strip" celebration was centered around the recently completed paving of State Street from curb to curb. On December 6, 1950, the Orem City Council called a meeting of civic leaders and organized the Orem Boosters, Inc. That group was formed to take responsibility each year for staging- Orem's community celebration. cel-ebration. During the next 20 years, Jthe Orem Boosters, Inc. , operated, effectively planned and ; staged Orem's community eel- - ebrations. . Today, the Orem Family ' Summerfest is staged by City of Orem personnel and volunteers. i In 1941 the federal government govern-ment was determined to have 'a new steel plant built in the somewhere : Inter-mountain West. Primary con cern was to make a new supply of steel available to Pacific Coast shipbuilders, as a hedge against possible closing of the Panama Canal by enemy attacks. At the request re-quest of the government, United States Steel Company designed the new steel plant to meet the government's requirements. The new mill, known as the Geneva Plant, was named for the once- flourishing Geneva Resort, located On Sept. 29, 1948, the cornerstone of the new 383,000 Geneva Elementary School was laid at 665 West 400 North. More than 1200 children, teacher and officials of the Alpine School District Dis-trict attended the Ceremony. 1947 Commercial Growth From the very first business establishment es-tablishment Melissa L. McBride's country store which was opened in this community back in 1890, to the most recent Chinese Buffet, opened last month, the commercial growth in Orem has been characterized by optimistic people, hoping to provide pro-vide a needed service to residents, so they would not have to travel out of town to buy the necessities of life. However, for the first half-century, half-century, businesses were scattered up and down State Street from 20th North to 20 South. However, f thsudden'growth of population brought about by Vorld War II provided a stimulus for business in Orem which attracted a number num-ber of new establishments. The ending of that war in 1945 also sparked a continuing expansion of urem s business district. The ; SCERA Theateffdedicated September Sep-tember 1, 1941, was joined after the war by two drive-in theaters; the Geneva Drive-in and the Timpanogos Cinemotor. Banking service finally came to Orem on October 1, 1947, when the First Security Bank opened a branch. , office at 264 South State Street, v Orem State Bank opened for business busi-ness on December 31, 1957. The post-World War era saw an influx of new businesses to Orem. Tav-ems, Tav-ems, service stations, appliance dealers, grocery stores, a dairy, furniture stores, drug stores, real estate brokers, insurance offices, 'publishers, auto dealers and clothing cloth-ing stores. 1943 at the edge of Utah Lake. The site selection was made in the Vineyard area, just west of the Orem City limits. Under pressures of wartime, war-time, the huge Geneva Plant was completed in record time and operated op-erated for the Government by Geneva Steel Company. Overnight, Over-night, Orem farmers and fruit growers became steel workers, many of them maintaining their agricultural pursuits, as well as working regular shifts at the .Geneva plant After the war, the Geneva plant was transferred to private ownershiD first heinc? on- SM?m )OOniJTl'ir nnt 1948 Geneva Grade School Since the construction of the Spencer and Vineyard (Union) Schools in 1912, there had been no new schools built in Orem for more than 36 years. By 1947, however, how-ever, classrooms were bulging with the "war babies" of the many people who had made Orem their home. On September 29, the cornerstone cor-nerstone of the new $383,000 Geneva Elementary School was laid at 665 West 400 North. More than 1200 children, teachers and officials of the Alpine School District Dis-trict attended the ceremony. The actual laying of the cornerstone was performed bv Victor C Ander-. . son, school board member, as-. sistea oy uien riealy, brick contractor con-tractor for the new structure. A copper vault was sealed inside the concrete facing, containing the names of all children present from the schools in the Orem area. The second new school to be constructed con-structed in Orem since 1912 was the Westmore Elementary School, located at 1150 South Main Street. The steady increase in population in' the Orem area brought the need for a new school in the south part of the city. .Thus, in September, 1952, the Westmore School opened its doors to throngs of children. Elementary schools built since that time include Aspen, Bonneville, Cascade, Cherry Hill, Foothill, Hillcrest, Northridge, Orchard, Orem, Scera Park, Sharon, Suncrest, Vineyard, Westmore and Windsor elementary elemen-tary schools. erated by U.S. Steel Company and then being sold to local entrepreneurs, entrepre-neurs, who continue to operate the plant. Both during, and since World War II, the Geneva Steel Plant has served as a hub of industrial indus-trial development in the Orem area, bringing an assortment of related re-lated industries. During recent years extensive modernization and modification procedures have been undertaken, along with pollution pol-lution control measures. 0 llDHfrnnnft u uuuuuu n j nm mmm., ... .... ' w 111 |