OCR Text |
Show Me Bv Margaret Van Noy Profile Writer Orville Moulrerry, who recently inmetl from Tooele to the warmer thine of California, wav the first civilian employee of the Tooele Army Depot. There are many in the community who still consider Moolierry as iiiiinlx-- r one . a leader and man who has rendered much service during the 38 years he lived among ns. And many look on his departure as a sad day for Tooele. During his stay, he distinguished himself in many different fields. Some of us still rcmemlier the area where the dcxit now stands as a great dust Ikiw or a sagebrush studded expanse with near desert coodit ions. When the Army took over, we watched in amazement as the installation grew from a tent city to a huge Army complex with barracks, administration buildings, and ammunition igloos, along with other storage and maintenance facilities. y It was May, 1912, when Orville arrived on the scene in the middle of a pretty hefty snow storm. The newly trained chief clerk for the budding military Itasc found two small tarpaper shacks near where the main gate is now located. One of them served as an "administration" building. The other was occupied by the const met ion engineers. When the snow melted, Moobcrry found himself in the midst of a sea of mud, and when that dried, the dust took Moo-lierr- over. Depot Flourished Rut men and machines sulisequently conquered nature, and the I'nited States Army Tooele Ordnance Depot soon flourished on Utahs desert. Then the men and the equipment began a combined effort to make the Allied fighting form a first class army. Orville Mooberry was in on the ground floor, and with the depot's first commanding officer. Major E. R. Lower, he toured the fledgling installation each week, checking progress of const met ion and reporting it to the chief of ordnance. Iters, and Kit miller fearful of fire in the igloo area, equipped the entire woik-forc- e with shovels, hues or anything useful in attar king the Ixmnterms weed crop and set them to work. We went out and woiked in the Aniinuuitioii Area, until the weeds were under control and then were sent Ink k to our regular jolis. Kituiiller was a colorful character. "At one lime only a handful of civilian emplosees were permitted to drive their personal autos down into the supply area. The rest had to leave their cars in the parking lot near headquarters. There was a shuttle train which took them to work areas. It was a headache, and of course it took up much lime. It didn't last too long after the complaints liegan pouring in. He continued to work as chief of management of the engineering division until he liecame the depot conqrt roller in 52. a position he filled until he retired in 1975 after 35 years of service. A Number One 9 leader Always a door, and a leader, he a memlier of Tooele County Wildlife Federation in the late 40's serving Ixith as secretary and president. He also lie-ca- used his organizational and financial know-hoas a memlier and chairman of the Tooele Valley Hospital Advisory Committee for seven years. The Mixilicrrys continued to lie active in the First laitheran Church - he serving as secretary, treasurer, financial secretary, and president of the group Mrs. Mixilierry, as church organist for 25 years along with filling duties in the ladies' organization. Other service which will not soon lie -- forgotten by Tixxde citizens is one sear as a memlier of the Tooele City Planning Commission and two years as a iih iii! xt of the Utah Health Project Review Advisory Committee. An avid sportsman, he loved to hunt and fish for many years. "However, he commented wryly, "in recent years 1 have counted myself lui kv if I didnt get a deer. He still loves the out of elixirs, but "the meat at Safeway and Allied-sou- s hxiks gixxl, and there is less effort and expense, while the quality is superior. Then trxi, his family grew up and muved away, and he missed hunting with ltliem. I axes Snow Shosel Daughter Anne Iamb, who has twin daughters, lives in Santa Rosa. Ask me why I am moving to Santa Rosa, he smiled. Son David, an accountant, works at Sierra Army Depot in I lerlong, Calif. Since his retirement from the depot, he has done a great deal of reading along with some traveling, lie is an expert amateur photographer and claims to have some success in fighting weeds to prrxluce a vegetable garden. "My immediate plan licsides leaving the snow shovel liehind fa to get there (Santa Rosa), have a nervous breakdown and recover from the move. Then I II get acquainted and find some volunteer civic sx-n- t activity." "It will seem strange not to lie able to go downtow n in Ttxxie and see some-Ixxl- y I know. It will take some getting used to. Were going to miss our ncigh-Ixir- s and friends, and we're going to miss the scenery. We've grown to like the mountains. You just cant tear up rexits construction finished the liase barely in time to accomodate the first shipments of ordnance. Around-the-cloc- k Bom on a farm near East Peoria, Illinois, to a father who believed that if a boy was able to work, he should work, he knew how to do what had to lie done. After graduation from school in 1938, he left the farm, working in succession for three different firms and averaging about $12.50 a week. A Good Salary He landed his first civil service job at Savanna, Ceorgia, after passing the clerk-sten- o test with a high score. Soon he was making $1,440 per year, a good salary in those days. In 1941, the Army ordnance began locating sites for new depots. Tooele, strategically located, and ideally suited in climate for storing ammunition, was xAv. vz,. sc . t j after the installation . .. .. without feeling some pang of remorse." We are leaving with a very warm feeling in our hearts for the jieoplc and city." he said. "1 know that Tooele is a wonderful place to raise a family." He is lixiking ahead to a year from now when the Photography Society of America will hold their annual convention in Salt lake City. He hojics to lie able to combine attendance with a visit to his friends. Gifted with Vision Orville Mixilierry is a man who feels gratitude for the opport unities life has offered him. "1 was the first memlxr of my family who went to high schixil. My dad worked and worked, and I will lie forever grateful to him for letting me go. It was fortunate for those days. He decided that the keys to A Proposal In 1941 a pretty young lady had come to work in his department. Her name was Laurine Senne, a Lutheran ministers daughter from South Dakota. We became acquainted. One thing led to another, and the first thing I knew, I had proposed, and she had accepted - reluctantly, Orville laughed. He came to the depot in May, and she followed in July. On the 19th of that month, they were married at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Salt Lake. It was a big formal affair, observed Orville with customary dry wit, with the pastor and her brother the only ones in attendance. The young couple cut short their honeymoon and returned to work the following Monday. There was a war on, you know, he said. In March of 43 the East Peoria draft board caught up with him. He was drafted and sent to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland for basic training. After study at the Armys administration school at Hattiersburg, Miss., he eventually ended up in Alaska where he was assigned to G- -l headquarters. lbs skills- N landed him a job with Jus Talkin American pastime - everybodys dream as motor homlife-kno- ing. "2 is. f May, 1942: The building on the left was TODs first headquarters. Personnel consisted of Commanding Officer, Major E. R. Lower; Orville Mooberry, Chief Clerk; and Margaret Frailey Anderson, secretary. The building on the right was the Areas Engineers Office (with outside plumbing). The ads are so intriguing, extolling the beauties of rolling along the freeway in your own little home. No more standing in lines at airline ticket counters, no more driving, driving, driving wearily looking for an available motel room, no more catching a bite at fast food joints. WITH A motor home, you dont have to worry. Your bed is already there, and you dont have to sacrifice those good home cooked meals. Isnt this darling? I said to husband. Look, at this darmy ling little stove. It really works. And this cute refrigerator that freezes real ice cubes. It was then he first uttered those immortal words. Its just like a home away from home. At the time I didnt get the connection. ITS JUST like a playhouse, I sighed, and fool that I was, I couldnt wait to start playing house. 45-da- Orville Mooberry: Tooeles loss is Laurine Mooberry will be missed by her many friends. Santa Rosas gain. s It was such fun furnishing it! A new set of cookware (to match the decor, you know), a set of dishes to match the pots and pans. And what jolly times I had shopping for brightly colored dish d towels for cloths, and lush-pile- "A, fVa v -- I i go- At the beginning of the summer, we embarked on the great - L. 4 'A The beauty of this pastoral scene shows Orville Mooberry s skill as a The spot is the ranch pond at Mills Junction. Don Vorwallcr, Pat Orlando, Ross Wie-lat- We used to joke alxrut little old ladies in tennis shoes, but they were the ones who got the job done during the war and in the years afterwards. z, John Johnson and especially his secretary of many years, Mrs. Ruby Mares Bullock. He pointed out that although recent developments have seen the instigation of Equal Employment Opportunity, giving ladies a chance, Lillian Bond was chief of the budget division liefore anybody invented EEO or the ERA. Due to the nature of the work in the comptrollers directorate, the majority of the employees there were female. My experience over the years has lieen that any idea that females have limited executive and administrative ability is a myth. I have seen what they can do, he said. Laurine Mooberry was part of that work force until her first child wis bom and then later on for short periods of time. The Mooberrys will be missed by those who know of their impact on many aspects of Tooele life. Beginning in the munlier one spot is not always fortunate. It is a difficult role to sustain. It is to Orville Mooberry 's credit that we can honestly say, He is still numlier one. the cute little bathroom. And dont forget sheets and pillowcases, or handy beverage sets, silverware, cutlery tools, and those myriads of little gadgets for making pastries, bowls for stirring up cakes, and other goodies. It took two days just to get everything put away. Believe me, ladies, it takes just as much to stock a motor home as it does any other home. It takes just as much for stove. meals as you roll merrily down the highway in your coach. Ah, yes, it really is a home away from home. . . and therein lies the rub. Think about that ladies, before you bite. Take our trip to the California coast to camp out on the beach with our grandchildren and their parents. It was planned to be one of those And a jolly time was had by all, affairs. And it was The next day we had d beans with barbequed and hot biscuits. A pie spare-rib- s bubbled merrily in the oven while I swept up the sand off the carpet and strung up a clothesline between two trees for wet bathing suits and towels. OJMMM, SNIFFED my husband as the gang trooped in after a hike along the beach looking for shells. I dont ever remember smelling so many mouth watering whipping up those delicious ? r, 0en vernment service and also gave him some headaches as he ended up doing court reporters duties for court marshall cases even though he was not trained to lie a court reporter. "My philosophy, if I have one, is work. I was no stranger to hard work from an early age. He milked cows by the time he was six years old and not long after that was driving horses on the hay wagon and cultivating com. We didn't have the juvenile delinquency we do now. We were content just to take it easy whenever we had a chance. There was no dragging Main!' Orville Mixilierry 's attitude has lieen that he considered himself fortunate for any job that he ever held and he wanted to stay in it as long as possible. I was always running scared and did the liest I could. Somehow unemployment insurance goes against my grain, he said. Capable and Dedicated In his work at the depot, Moolierry "I felt fortunate praised his to have as my immediate key subordinates, capable, dedicated people who were, without exception, earnest and hard working. Among those he mentioned were Claytor Allred, Max Strong, Lillian Cressman Bond, Ken Cillette, Civilian employees of Tooele Ordnance Depot soon opened: James R. Hays, Erma Borgen, Eleanor Bergmann, Orville Mooberry, Alice Allen, Margaret Frailey, Virginia Petty and Wallace Allen. Atomic Bombs While he was on a y furlough in 1945, the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was mustered out and returned to his job at Tooele in Feb. 1946 where he was assigned to the control division. Col. George W. Kitzmiller was the commanding officer at that time. It had been a wet spring, Mooberry remem- - . chairs were typing and accounting. This turned out to lie I me. He took shorthand too, although in those days, shorthand was considered just for girls. There were two of us Ixiys who took it. As it turned out we were gifted with vision." He was six hi writing 120 words per minute. "If you could go that fast, you had it made. selected. Savanna was given the responsibility of training people for chief clerk positions which would Ire opening up. The chief clerk was to take care of personnel and finances. Orville Mooberry was selected to fill the TOD spot. His boss at Savanna was Major E. R. Lower, a civilian with a reserve commis- sion. When the war erupted, he was called to active duty and assigned to TOD. It is a tribute to Mooberry s skills that Lower was instrumental in having him reassigned to Tooele. Although he was eager for the advancement and challenge accepting the Tooele post would mean, he had reason to leave Savanna with reluctance. . -- almost. We found a scenic spot on the beach. Everybody got into their suits and piled out the door, kids with pails and shovels, adults with frizbees, balls, and surfboards. ILL BE OUT in a minute, I called after them. As soon as I do up these dishes. Great home-cooke- d meal, said my as he piled out the door, towel in hand. The popovers and ham balls were delicious, said my daughter as she trailed after him. YES, DEAR, said the driver of my home away from home. I cant remember the last time we son-in-la- w had a sumptuous breakfast like that. We usually have orange juice and vitamin pills. He gave me a peck on the cheek and a hug and went whistling down the beach. When they returned, they flopped down wearily from the mornings play. I had the potato salad all made and meat loaf in the oven. While everybody napped, I cleaned up the spills on that darling little stove that gets just as dirty as the one at home. LATER, watching the sun set arrayed in gorgeous hues, they told me about their day (over clam chowder and sourdough bread, fresh from my newly cleaned oven.) In the morning we had with spiced honey drizzled over them, and I fould all kinds of luscious luncheon recipes in the cookbook that came with the flap-jac- oven-bake- odors in my life. Something stirred in my brain. I put down the polishing cloth and surveyed the beautifully paneled walls. Not a finger print anywhere. Thoughtfully I checked the leg of lamb in the tiny oven. Why are you so quiet, Grandma? said the five year old as he checked the game board in front of him. You havent said a word since you finished the supper dishes and stirred up this batch of cookies. Whats the matter? Are you homesick? IT WAS as though a light turned on in my head. - just like i a revelation. Morning dawned bright and crisp. Isn t this the first time you ve had your bathing suit on on this trip? said my husband as he sat down at the table and picked up his napkin. Whats this? he said looking rather dismayed. On the table in front of him were a glass of orange juice and two vitamin pills - Just like home. A word to you dreamers: If you are about to bite on that "home away from home routine, ladies, think about it - think about it. |