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Show T 1 IVS E ouDmiT a juesi tditoriaj; l Tl. . r- I. ' COMMENTARY & upmion ar our office, 0c ed at 538 South State Dinion urem. ueaaiines Monday 10:00 a.m. All submissions are subject to editing 0, and The Orem-Geneva- Times reserves the nf publish or not to publish a submission JC A2 Thursday, February 6, 2003 o n ( Editorial ) C Column ) Requiem: Geneva Steel sparked Orem growth flj CenfUfy Of Postfj Heroes in Orem World War I hero named Orem postmaster It was the most unlikely juxtaposition juxtaposi-tion of a fully integrated steel plant and a pastoral agricultural community communi-ty that could be imagined: the Geneva Steel Company and the Fourth-Class Town of Orem, which boasted less than 3,000 residents. Although the steel plant was located locat-ed just west of the Orem Town limits, it could not have had a more far-reaching effect on the people and Town of Orem than if it had been built right in the center of Orem. In 1941, the federal government was determined to have a new steel plant built in the Intermountain West. Primary concern was to make a new steel supply available to Pacific Coast shipbuilders, as a precaution against possible closing of the Panama Canal by enemy attacks. At the request of the government, United States Steel Company designed the new steel plant to meet the government's requirements. It was then built by U.S. Steel's Columbia Steel Company, without charge or fee. The new mill known first as the Geneva Plant was named for the once-flourishing Geneva Resort, located locat-ed on the shores of Utah Lake. ; The plant, itself, was built in a dairy farming area extending from 300 South to 1600 North, and west from Orem's 1600 West to the shores of Utah Lake. Under the pressures of World War II, the huge Geneva Plant was completed in record time and operated for the government by Geneva Steel Company, a new United States Steel subsidiary, organized just 60 years ago. Overnight, Orem farmers and fruit growers became steelworkers, many of them maintaining their agricultural pursuits, as well as working regular schedules at the Geneva plant. The first pig iron was smelted at the new plant in January 1944, followed by the first open hearth steel a month later. When completed, the Geneva Steel Plant included 252 by-product coke ovens, nine 225-ton open hearth furnaces, fur-naces, three 1,110-ton blast furnaces, a 45-inch slabbing and blooming mill, a 132-inch semi-continuous plate mill, a 20-inch structural mill, and numerous numer-ous complementary facilities required to operate a large steel works of this character. The ending of World War II on August 14, 1945, brought cancellation of wartime contracts for shipbuilding and other defense production, and the emergency need for Geneva's vast plate and structural steel capacity vanished. The plant slowed to standby operations, opera-tions, and for the next nine months, postwar disposal plans were negotiated. negotiat-ed. U.S. Steel Company, the successful bidder, set about to get the plant back into full operation June 19, 1946. For the next half-a-century, the Geneva Steel Plant became the generator gener-ator of well-paid jobs in this community, communi-ty, as well as the engine that converted convert-ed the small Town of Orem to the fastest growing city in the state of Utah. Operating 24 hours a day, with three shifts around the clock, the Geneva Steel Plant provided thousands thou-sands of jobs over the years for at least three generations of workers. Beginning with Dr. Walther Mathesius, the first general manager of the Geneva Steel Plant, and continuing contin-uing with a succession of top-flight managers, both home-grown and imported, Geneva Steel and its managers man-agers became good corporate citizens. They participated in civic affairs and supported worthy causes. Winston M. Crawford, superintend ent of training at Geneva Steel, served as a member of the Orem City Council from 1958 through 1961. He also served as mayor of Orem from 1967 through 1972. Over the years, the Geneva Steel Plant had its ups and downs. Foreign competition depressed steel prices. A decade ago, U.S. Steel finally shut down the Geneva plant, only to see it purchased and resurrected by a group of optimistic investors, headed by Joseph Cannon. Fighting against seemingly impossible impos-sible odds, while borrowing millions of dollars to modernize the plant, foreign competition and depressed steel prices eventually spelled, what most observers saw, as the demise of Geneva Steel. . The final nail in Geneva's coffin would seem to be the impending sale this week of the 45-year-old Geneva Recreation Association Park in the west part of Provo. David Hall, president presi-dent of the association, said last week, "It's going to be an era coming to an end. There is no Geneva anymore, so there's no money What money we have is going fast." There was a time when a strike at Geneva Steel or extensive layoffs, heavily impact the economy of Utah Valley. This time, although many individuals indi-viduals have had to re-direct their employment efforts into other fields as a result of Geneva's closure, Utah Valley's economy is now strong and opportunities abound. It is unlikely that the full impact of the Geneva Steel Plant in Utah Valley can ever be fully measured. And the lives of those who worked there may never be the same. And this is its requiem. The Orem-Geneva Times 538 South State Street Orem, UT 84058 published by The Daily Herald, A Pulitzer Newspaper Subscriptions & Delivery Service .375-5103 News & Advertising . . . . : 225-1340 Fax 225-1341 Email oremtimesnetworld.com USPS 411-700. Published Thursdays by Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc., 538 South State Street, Orem, Utah 84058. Periodicals postage paid at Orem, Utah 84059. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 65, Orem, UT 84059. Member: Audit Bureau of Circulations NEWSSTAND PRICE $0.50 SUBSCRIPTION RATE 1 year - $26 (in county) (Sunday & Thursday plus Holiday deliveries) Holiday deliveries include delivery the week of Easter, Memorial, Independence, Pioneer, Labor, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's. 1 year - $35 (out of county) NEWS We welcome news tips. Call 225-1340 to report a news tip or if you have a comment or a question. We welcome letters to the editor. edi-tor. All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters let-ters for clarity, punctuation, taste and length. Letters are welcome wel-come on any topic. Times Publishing Staff Publisher Brent Sumner bsumnerheraldextra.com Managing Editor Reva Bowen News Editor Scarlett Barger Sports Editor Martin Harris Contributing Writers Clyde E. Weeks Jr. Pagination & Graphics Robert King Sydney Sumner Scott Sumner Office Manager Sydney Sumner Office Sydney Sumner Printing Relations Brent Sumner Advertising Sales Phil Patten Brent Sumner Production & Press Steve Goodwin Josh Romero Robert Kint Give dex duett MemwaeA We Vteit the Qftex&a Jlegmtent RICHARD RASMUS SEN Capt. USNR (Ret.) The night in Mandalay brought mixed emotions. The gruesome account of how Col. Tun Sein buried the kidnapper of his wife and daughter in the concrete con-crete highway was hardly a good bedtime story, but the hot birthday bath, even without privacy, was a bit relaxing. Came morning, Col. Castle unbolted the top of the double door, looked out through the glassless window on the yard below. While our Burmese hosts had tried not to alarm us with threats of danger, we had learned that the number num-ber of soldiers mustering each morning when the convoy con-voy formed was a clue of what to expect. "Must be pretty safe today," Castle said. "There are only a couple of squads." The convoy had one lorry fore and one aft, each with a squad of soldiers. Four jeeps were in between, four driv-ers-sten guns handy the two Burmese officers, Castle, and I and eight bodyguards. Castle and I were issued a German Luger handgun. We started up to the famous Burma Road toward Lashio on the Chinese border to a mountain moun-tain guerrilla warfare school. Surprised, a short way up the winding road, we detoured to a place called Schwebo. Our hosts were excited to tell us we were going to visit a Gherka Regiment. "The Gherkas," Col. Tun Sein explained, "were trained in Eastern India, now called Bangladesh. They are," he laughed, "right out of Rudyard Kipling's Gungha Din." Mainly of Indian or Sikh descent, they were Burmese, fierce warriors, skilled in the use of the Khukri, a swordlike knife with the sharp edge on the inside curve or angle. It was the day of the Desserah. A year before, by custom, the regiment had selected a charismatic, athletic ath-letic young man to be pampered pam-pered and honored, excused from close order drill, trained in the .use of the Kukhri and prepared on this anniversary date to attempt to behead a young water buffalo with one stroke of the Kukhri. If he failed, the regiment would have a year of bad luck; if he succeeded, there would follow fol-low a year of success. Told the event would be gory, we steeled ourselves to be calm. Since Col. Castle was Army and I was a civilian, civil-ian, our friends never quite knew how we ranked. Thus, they alternated us, day to day. One day, Castle would sit at the head of the table; the next day, would I. This was my day. We were seated on a low bleacher bench. I was in the center, directly in front of where the buffalo would be slain. The animal, about a yearling year-ling and pitiously small, was brought to face us 12 to 15 feet away. Each leg was tied to a stake. The young man, chest and torso glistening glis-tening with coconut oil and the tune of ruffled drums, stepped forward and swung the giant Kukhri like an executioner's ax. Despite a little bungling, Tun Sein nodded his head and the regiment cheered. Mentally prepared for the beheading, I was not warned or prepared for what followed. As the animal ani-mal fell, two men at my feet sprang out with a wooden bucket to catch the gushing blood. Then, smiling cheerfully, cheer-fully, they handed me the bucket and a choir of voices shouted out, "First drink!" Struggling both to save face and to control my nausea, I held the bucket to my hps, at least enough to sense the warm and salty taste. I gave Col. Castle the bucket, and it was passed down the line. "Success!" Tun Sein beamed. "A prosperous and happy year ahead." CLYDE E. WEEKS, JR. Times Correspondent Part 5 The City of Orem's lack of a post office, since the Sharon Post Office was closed in 1902 - less than a week after Rural Free Delivery had started in the community became an increasingly sensitive issue, locally, after the town was elevated to a City of the Third-class in 1941. America's entry into World War II on Dec. 7, 1941 only exacerbated the matter, mat-ter, as hundreds of workmen work-men from all over the country coun-try began converging on Orem to work on construction construc-tion of the Geneva Steel Plant. Arthur V. Watkins, ownereditor of the Orem-Geneva Orem-Geneva Times, regularly editorialized about the need for a post office. The Orem Lions Club lobbied for a post office. Orem Mayor B.M. Jolley and the Orem City Council pressed Utah's Congressional Delegation to appeal to the Post Office Department. At that time, a small corps of specialists, compris-. compris-. ing the Postal Inspection Service, provided the manpower man-power to monitor, to audit, and make inspections of all post offices in the country. Finally, the approval for Orem's post office came. Postal Inspector R.H. Wheeler was assigned to visit Orem City and make arrangements for opening a post office there. A location for the post office had to be secured, and the necessary equipment obtained to provide pro-vide the proper functionality. functionali-ty. Arrangements also had to be made for transportation transporta-tion of the mail from Salt Lake City and from Provo to Orem. Specialized equipment had to be obtained for the new office, such as scales, stamp drawers, sack racks, office furniture and a secure safe. Needless to say, during dur-ing that wartime period, some of those items were difficult to locate and to acquire. The Orem City Council was most helpful in providing provid-ing the south wing of the Orem City Hall, as a central location for the post office. Also a crucial element in opening the new post office was identifying a person who lived in the community and could serve well as the Orem postmaster. A number of local residents made application for the position and were interviewed by Inspector Wheeler. i n Among them was lyU McDonald, who had take up residence m Urem 1931. McDonald had sen in me united states Aira during World War I had been an active mend oi the local veterans' orgj .Legion. Well-known and active the community, Lyle ivicuonaiu was appoint! postmaster tor Urem he was charged with gettil- tne omce operational, commission, signed Postmaster General Pra : C. Walker, was dated DA 14, 1943: "Know ye reposing special trust ai.i! confidence in the intelfl gence and discretion of Li M. McDonald, I have nated, and, by and with! consent oi the Senate, appoint him postmaster Orem, in the County Utah, State of Utah, and authorize and empower la to execute and fulfill duties of that office ..." Preparations were mat in the south wing oftl Orem City Hall, and were made to officially the post office Jan. 2, m In the interim, the was used by tne manaj ment of the U.S. Traifc Park to distribute mail the park residents. Meanwhile, James Stratton, former owner the home in which t Orem City Hall was hous and also a member of a Urem City -Council, est upon some used posh equipment, being sold at 14 Beaver, Utah Post OffiJ Stratton . purchased used post office boxes ai post office safe and deli ered them to Orem's m postal quarters. . Postmaster McDona and his family assisted d officials in painting, sen bmg and numbering post office boxes in preparj tion for the opening. postmaster of a post officei the fourth-class, Lyle McDonald demonstrate truly heroic qualities working alone in the M office, at first, except some assistance from Edholm, a retired po: worker, who helped out. M. Verne Thurber, had served as the carrier Provo's R.F.D. No. 2 for years, was reassigned toll Orem Post Office, serviri on Orem's R.F.D. No. 2. If Orem Post Office became one of the most raj idly growing post officei Utah. Next Week: lOStf Wartime Pstl Heroes We a tl i Whatever your Printing needs Check with us. Oiali Uollou Pulilislilno Co. Call: 225-1340 OR Come By The office S38 s. State St. onzjl |