Ptah.

[swag]

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007704080308

Conrad boomed when missiles went in

Pondera County Commissioner Joe Christiaens remembers the early 1960s wells. Conrad buzzed with a good share of the 5,000 tradesmen working on a $62 million contract to build the silos and command centers for the nation's first Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Wing. Take inflation into account, and that's almost $407 million of work in today's dollars.

"I was working at the funeral home at the time," he said. "It was a big impact to this community. The work was set up here and the workers stayed here. It was a boom."

Former Tribune reporter Ron Rice said the project brought an unmatched air of optimism in a column he wrote in 1987.

"The impact did not strike the area like a bomb explosion because it took time to get the vast project in motion," Rice wrote. "Gains in employment were steady, but only as rapid as the various phases of the work started."

... more

The print edition had a nice photo of a Conrad lady standing outside.

More on the removal of ICBMs from that region:

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070409/NEWS01/704090305

[Ptah]

1. Oh man, does that bring back memories.

One of the cable trenches went through my parents' farm.
I think that tribulation was what drove my folks to sell the
farm and migrate to Az.

The list of problems include, but are not limited to:

deep trench that bisected the irrigation system for the farm.

Gates that were so poorly designed, that our cattle had
easy access to our neighbors' alfalfa

Work crews driving, pell mell through a prime grain field.

The morning helicopter survey, that did a highpowered
turn over our home, every morning, an hour before wake time.

The stubborn refusal of the Air Force to recognize the problems
caused by the emminent domain issue.

I remember one of our neighbors that kept plowing up any
survey stakes that were planted on his acres.

I even remember being a freshman in the marching band (Conrad Cowboys)
being filmed for a "documentary" about how all the residents of the triangle were
completely happy and proud to be defeating Kruchev, or whatever his name was.

On a more friendly note,
If I remember correctly, you recently arrived in Havre, on Amtrak.

Welcome home, swag

:hug: :thumbsup: