^ m^^sA AM*MCA September 1976 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ELLIOT L. RICHARDSON, Secretary JOHN W. EDEN, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/jobsforamericaOOwash FOREWORD From one community's successful efforts to broaden employ- ment opportunities and expand family incomes may come the seed-idea for economic revitalization of another area. The striking similarity of problems faced by different communi- ties and regions in strengthening their economies emphasizes the practical value of sharing experiences and ideas — of help- ing one another to extend opportunities for permanent employ- ment to a greater number of Americans. The articles in this book relate a wide variety of successful experiences in creating employment and better incomes through economic growth. They tell how local initiative, aided by programs of the Economic Development Administration, has transformed ideas into the reality of "Jobs for America." John W. Eden Assistant Secretary for Economic Development CONTENTS Page Greenville, North Carolina Combining Industry With Agriculture 6 Arkansas and Oklahoma Arkansas River Waterway Development 10 Bangor, Maine From Closed Air Base to International Airport 12 Hermiston, Oregon Feeding the Market for French Fries 15 Southern Illinois The "Modern Miracle" of Rend Lake 16 Washington, D.C. Minority Interns Train for Business 18 New Madrid, Missouri A "Sleeping Giant" Awakens 22 Monticello, Georgia Farm to Factory — Adjusting to Change 25 Menahga, Minnesota Building Jobs on a Renewable Resource 26 Madera, California This Industry Thrives by Serving Another 28 Cleveland, Ohio Warehouse Boosts Port Activity 30 Denver, Colorado Developing Chicano Entrepreneurship 31 Wagoner County, Oklahoma Toward a Better Price for Alfalfa 33 West Virginia Appalachian Handcrafts Revival 34 Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico Tourism Builds on Historic Ruins 36 Garrett County, Maryland Skilled Workers in a Rural Setting 39 Gloucester, Massachusetts An Extension Service for Fishermen 40 Clearfield, Pennsylvania New Look in Truckstops 42 American Samoa Growth Comes to the Islands 44 Fort Totten, North Dakota / Devils Lake Sioux Tribe On the Reservation — More Jobs, Less Welfare 46 Wallace, North Carolina Dressing Turkeys for Turkey Dressing 49 Chicago, Illinois A Profitable Stay in the Stockyards 50 Bethel and Emmonak, Alaska Seafood Processing on a River Barge 52 Page Los Angeles, California Mini-Industrial Park for Watts 54 Pleasant Hill, Kentucky Tourism Discovers Historic Shakertown 56 Gloster, Mississippi Saying "Goodby" to Poverty 58 South St. Paul, Minnesota A Bold Campaign for Job Development 60 Worcester, Massachusetts Economic Stability Through Industry 62 Nevada City and Columbia, California New Life for Ghost Towns 65 Southeastern Texas / Alabama-Coushatta Tribes Sharing Their Heritage — Creating Jobs 66 Jonesport, Maine Harbor Project Meets Many Needs 68 Bismarck, North Dakota / United Tribes of North Dakota Indian Vocational Training Center 69 Fort Yuma Reservation, California / Quechan Tribe Making Vegetables Grow in an Arid Land 70 Overton County, Tennessee Halting Outmigration of Young Workers 72 San Francisco, California New Skills for Newcomers — Chinese Cooking 74 New Mexico Job Opportunities for Migrant Workers 76 Greene County, Georgia The Mayor Sets the Pace 77 American Indian Arts and Crafts Old-World Markets Mean More Jobs at Home 78 National Puerto Rican Forum A Helping Hand to Business Success 80 Duluth, Minnesota From Railroad Station to Cultural Center 81 San Diego, California Industrial Park as a Good Neighbor 82 Moapa River Reservation, Nevada / Moapa Band of Paiute Many Roads to Economic Development 84 Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee Design for Growth 85 Mattawamkeag, Maine New Jobs in a Wilderness 89 Brownsville, Texas Expanding Opportunity in a Bustling Port 90 With A Boost /"»„-- bom EDA VlImbines g Industry with Agriculture Jr., said. "An entire area of industrial development was opened when nonproductive farmland was transformed into industrial park sites." Before acquisition of industrial property for sale to new industry, there had been practically no industrial growth in Greenville. Diversified industries located in parks Sites in the industrial parks and surrounding areas are now being sold for new industries and for supporting housing and commercial facilities. Development of these parks and all of the surrounding area is 100-percent dependent upon the utility facilities constructed through the EDA grant program, Home declared. The following firms are located in the industrial parks served by the EDA-aided water and sewer projects: Air Products, Inc., a chemical firm that manufactures nitrogen for Procter and Gamble operations, will employ a maintenance staff. Boise Cascade Corp., which manufactures containers for Procter and Gamble potato chips, expects to employ between 35 and 50 persons. Burroughs Wellcome Co., a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, employs 754 persons. In operation in Greenville for 2 years, the firm already is beginning to expand facilities and employment. Carolina Leaf Tobacco Co., a tobacco- processing company, employs approximately 200 persons in slack periods and up to nearly 1,000 persons in the busy season between August and December. Container Corp. of America, a manufacturer of containers for Procter and Gamble products, expects to employ between 35 and 50 workers. Eaton Corp., a manufacturer of electric fork lifts for trucks, employs approximately 350 workers. Empire Brush Co., a plastics manufacturing concern that makes brushes of all types, employs 300 persons. Fielder est Mills, Inc., employs approximately 180 in wool- processing operations. McGuane Industries, Inc., an automotive parts assembly plant, employs 35 and plans to expand production. National Boat Works, Inc., a manufacturer of fiber glass and wood boats for recreation, employs 150 persons. Procter and Gamble Co., maker of potato chips, anticipates employment of 300-400 workers on a 24-hour-day, seven-days-a-week basis. Sheltered Workshop, a governmental agency serving eastern North Carolina, has a small staff providing supervised work for the handicapped. Vermont American Corp., a tool-and- die manufacturer, employs approximately 72 persons. Approximately 2,000 jobs have been created as a result of Greenville's two industrial parks. The number of possible future jobs is estimated at 3,000. "We have an ideal situation in Greenville now," stated Home. "Industry and agriculture are combined in a county which had a farm-based economy for years. There is no mass unemployment in Pitt County; the recession hasn't hit here because our industries have a solid economic base." Industrial jobs not only created economic growth for the community, but also stimulated other community development, including extensive urban renewal and public housing projects. In the private sector, there has been a marked increase in the number of homes, apartment complexes, and commercial developments in and around Greenville. University applies know-how to area needs Another EDA project that has brought additional growth to the area is the East Carolina University Regional Development Institute. Serving 32 counties in eastern North Carolina, the institute directs its activities toward practical research and its application to the field of economic development. The institute also works with local, State, and Federal agencies to attract new industry. The institute became an interdisciplinary function of East Carolina University in April 1964, continued on next page GREENVILLE continued with funding by the State through the university budget. In order to enlarge its area and sphere of operations, the institute applied for and received several grants from EDA, beginning in 1966 with funds to expand its staff. Additional Federal funding for the institute continued for 61 months, ending on June 30, 1971. A new building, housing offices, an auditorium, and a library, was funded in part by EDA, the Coastal Plains Regional Commission, and the State of North Carolina, and was completed in October 1974. Director Thomas W. Willis, for whom the building was named, said that the institute operates on two basic philosophies. For one thing, explained Willis, "No one implements an area's economic development by himself." And secondly, "Planners can't develop projects in an office, either. Fifty percent of our work is done on the road. Today's development specialists must be economists and engineers, as well as salesmen." While numbers do not tell the whole story, they do, to some extent, reflect the need for the assistance the institute provides. This year's total number of projects was 220 compared with 156 last year. Approximately four out of five of these projects have been implemented. "We try to use a sense of 'imagineering' in each of these projects," Willis emphasized. The institute covers five basic categories in service to Greenville and eastern North Carolina: business assistance, community development, education and promotion, information services, and special studies. Services offered to businessmen and potential entrepreneurs include advice on improving management and marketing techniques, information on sources of financing, and preparation of materials required for submission with applications for funding. Technical assistance is offered to communities needing extension of utilities, seeking services of doctors and other professionals, planning commercial expansion, or requiring industrial information brochures to attract industry. The institute initiates and conducts meetings for discussion of timely economic topics. The 250-seat auditorium in the new building has enlarged the institute's capability to plan and hold conferences and meetings. A library of 8,000 volumes on eastern North Carolina is maintained to serve the staff and institute clients. The library, which is constantly being enlarged, is especially valuable to persons conducting research for the purpose of State and Federal funding, conducting marketing and feasibility studies, and writing statistical reports. The institute undertakes special studies concerning problems affecting the economy of the region. Included are economic base studies, cost-benefit ratio studies, and marketing and feasibility studies. In addition to a full-time professional staff, the institute employs students and experts from the East Carolina University faculty in providing management and technical assistance. TOOL AND DIE WORKS— Employees at the Vermont American Corp. factory near Greenville plan their schedule in manufacturing drill bits with these machines. JMiiPFMPPMPPiiPFi>SfM^iinESi TO CREATE NEW JOBS— East Carolina University's Regional Development Institute (slmwn in an artist's rendition) applies its research to the practical matter of helping attract new industry and business to the 32 counties it serves in eastern North Carolina. The institute has been expanded with financial help from the Economic Development Administration. HARVEST (above)— A crew of workers ride a harvester through a tobacco field m eastern North Carolina. The creio — which usually includes family members as well as seasonal workers— pick the green leaves and prepare them for a e tiring process and eventual sale at a tobacco auction warehouse. As citizens devise ideas for economic development where a clear need exists, the institute serves as a catalyst bringing together the concept and the action to help reach the desired goal. EDA aids a neighbor Farmville, a nearby Pitt County community, also has benefited from EDA funding. EDA approved a $243,000 grant to improve Farmville's water system in 1973. The waterlines serve 155 persons in rural areas and several industries including Collins and Aikman, a textile plant, and A.C. Monk and Co., Inc., a large tobacco supply plant employing 800 persons on a seasonal basis. Thanks to an adequate water supply, the Monk plant was able to expand its operations in Farmville, thereby creating jobs for another 200 persons. EDA has played a significant role in the industrial and other economic development of Greenville and the surrounding area. The opening of new industries, the expansion of existing industries, the creation of new jobs, and the growth of financial and educational institutions have greatly benefited the residents of Pitt County. Management personnel, laborers, and employers are enthusiastic about their futures and the future of Greenville and eastern North Carolina. Their determination points to further progress in development during the next decade. Arkansas River Navigation Project Spurs Development In Two States Won't you come along with me. Down the Mississippi. We'll take a boat to the land of dreams. — from "Basin Street Blues" A major tributary of the much-sung Mississippi is today bringing the land of dreams further west for many people. The Arkansas River, long over- shadowed by America's great fabled waterway, now is considered by shippers a vital new force for growth and development in the southwest heartland of the Nation. This rise in fortune dates from the January 1971 completion of the $1.2- billion McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System — revitalizing communities along the river's 450-mile path through Oklahoma and Arkansas, and making its mark in new industries, increased incomes, and additional jobs in record numbers. Working hand in hand with the Eco- nomic Development Administration to stimulate this growth, communities along the navigation project route have created nearly 7,200 new jobs, most of which are already filled. Incomes for these jobs alone will amount to more than $38 million annually. New investments in industrial plants and equipment have been estimated at about $245 million. Jobs and incomes for construction workers on these plants and in service-related em- ployment created by the industries are beyond calculation, community leaders report. Since 1966, EDA has responded to community requests for assistance to prepare for growth created by the navigation project. The agency has approved loans and grants totaling $6,834,000 to establish industrial parks and port facilities at four major areas in Arkansas and two in Oklahoma. The results: — Muskogee, Oklahoma. EDA funds totaling $2.6 million helped to construct a port industrial park, where 322 jobs producing $2.5 million in new wages have been created. New plant facilities amount to $102 million, with $100 million alone used for expanded electric power capacity. — Catoosa, Oklahoma. The northern terminus of the navigation project, the port of Catoosa is located on the Verdigris River, a tributary to the Arkansas. EDA has approved $573,000 to develop road and railroad facilities at the port, where 220 workers earn about $2 million a year in wages, and $52 million has been spent on industrial plants. Port officials estimate that another $10 million is earned annually by construction workmen at the port. Agrico Chemical Co. has announced plans for a $46-million plant near the HISTORIC VOYAGE- When these soybeans, 100,000 bushels of them, were loaded into two barges at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in January 1969 for shipment overseas, they made up the first outbound shipment on the newly opened Arkansas River Navigation System. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— May 1973 rsicr . . . bearing cargoes of coal, sand, gravel, soybeans, aluminum, sodium hydroxide, fertilizer . . . ARKANSAS TRAVELLER- A 2,000-horsepower towboat guides a 10,000-ton load of bauxite through David D. Terry Lock on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. Scenes like this have become common on the Arkansas and its tributaries since completion of the navigation project. With financial aid from the Economic Development Administration for port in- dustrial parks and shipping facilities, communities in Arkansas and Oklahoma along the navigation system route have been able to share in the new economic growth. port to employ more than 100 workers, and Ford Motor Co. will begin con- struction soon on a glassmaking plant employing up to 600 people to be located at nearby Tulsa, but to be served by the navigation project facilities. — Pine Bluff, Arkansas. $1.2 million in EDA funds have provided facilities employing 420 workers earning $1.7 million annually. Plant investments total $26 million. — Little Rock, Arkansas. $1.4 million in EDA funds have resulted in $8 million in new plant facilities. New jobs will number 5,000 by 1975, with annual payrolls estimated at $20 million, officials say. — Van Buren, Arkansas. About 450 jobs have been created with the help of $598,000 in EDA funds. Annual wages amount to more than $1.8 million, and plant investment totals $10 million. — Port of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Just beginning to operate, the port has received $392,500 in EDA funds and has created 36 jobs and $332,000 in new wages for the area. The original estimate of 13 million cargo tons to be transported along the river by the 25th year of operation is now expected to be surpassed by the 14th year. With the increase in production in the area, officials believe the rate of growth is "limitless." □ FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS -More than 30 workers are employed at this waterside warehouse, built with grant assistance from the Economic Development Administration. Additional industrial jobs are expected when rail spur, access road, and dock, also being funded with EDA help, are built. CATOOSA, OKLAHOMA— As northern terminus of the Arkansas River Navigation System, this was the site selected for the official dedication in June 1971. Cargo unloaded at the port of Catoosa is being used at plants that a/ready employ more than 200 workers. Industries now planned would create another 700 jobs. Maine city takes air route to growth Bangor Overcomes Air Base Closing By Building International Airport In June 1968 the Strategic Air Command flew its last B-52 out of Dow Air Force Base, turning off the tap on a $20 million annual payroll and presenting Bangor, Maine — its host city — with a crushing economic problem. Today Bangor believes it is on the road to recovery from the shock of that setback. It has more local jobs than ever before and more economic diversity. The turnaround to a brighter outlook is due, officials believe, to the stoic deter- mination of Mainers to succeed and to the partnership with the Economic Develop- ment Administration — two elements so mutually complementary they form a model in survival to guide other cities faced with similar military base closings. The partnership led to the development of the Bangor International Airport at the 2,200-acre base and the official opening of the $2.4-million passenger terminal in April of this year. EDA made a $1.2-million grant for the terminal, thereby providing the stimulus which, officials say, has produced this evidence of impressive growth: — 1,200 permanent new jobs and a combined annual payroll conservatively estimated at $7 million. — Establishment of nine new industries in the airport industrial area, including one of the first new shoe factories in New England in many years. — A groundbreaking for a new $1.6- million Ramada Inn Motel, to employ 104 persons, at the airport. — Payment of property taxes and rental fees expected to reach an estimated $250,000 in the near future. — Sales in excess of $600,000 annually for locally made products and services used by airlines and businessmen at the airport. NEW TERMINA L FOR BANGOR - A $1.2-million grant from the Economic Development Administration helped erect this terminal building at Bangor International Airport, at the former site of the Dow Air Force Base. "EDA's support for this development represents the finest type of Federal action and investment," said James B. Coffey, Jr., executive director of the Eastern Maine Economic Development District. "The Federal grant is creating jobs and stimulating economic growth, which produce rewards both for Bangor and many other areas." In addition to the grant, Coffey attributes some of the success of the airport conversion to EDA's designation of Bangor as a growth center for the district. This recognition of the city's ability to use central facilities and resources as a means of providing jobs for unemployed persons in other counties renewed Bangor's confidence and enabled it to build a new economic foundation on a diversity of industries, he notes. That confidence was convincingly displayed in 1969 when voters agreed to increase the bonded indebtedness of the city to its near $ll-million limit to provide the $401,000 local share of the terminal con- struction costs. "That was quite an important step, and it demonstrated their commitment to the future," said Coffey. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— August 1972 Dow Air Force Base had a military population of 6,000 and provided jobs for 275 civilians. The total annual payroll at the base was placed at $20 million. The closing was announced in November 1964, at a time when Maine was in the grip of a shifting industrial pattern involving the loss of historic shoe and textile plants. The closedown was to become effective on June 30, 1968. A Dow Re-Use Committee was formed, and Peter R. D'Errico, manager of the Bangor International Airport, recalled: "The city took a hard look at the situation and discovered that, of the $20-million military payroll, only about $12 million benefited Bangor in any way. The remaining amount was mailed away in the form of allotments. Also, of the 275 civilian jobs on the base, a majority were held by depend- ents of military personnel and civi] service employees eligible for retirement or relocation. "The city came to the conclusion that it could survive without the base and, in fact, that this could mean the start of a new economic life." What seemed to some to be a total disaster actually helped the city to cut its ties to shoe and textile plants and to rebuild its economy on an instinctive feeling that its future was allied with modern activities, as indicated in one instance by the skyrocketing increase in domestic and international air travel. "We had passenger figures to prove that increasing numbers of people were flying from Bangor to the Boston-New York- Washington corridor, and there was evidence that traffic to the Detroit-Chicago- Cleveland area was on the rise also," said D'Errico. Moreover, he added, flight crews were of the opinion that Bangor was a more ac- cessible arrival site for long-haul overseas flights where passengers could be rescheduled to other cities. Finally, planes MEALS IN THE MAKING - Expansion of a catering firm to prepare meals for 12,000 domestic and international travelers a day on airlines using Bangor International Airport has meant additional jobs for residents of the Bangor area. A T THE TOWER - Overseeing aircraft landings and departures at Bangor International Airport are a crew from the Federal Aviation Agency. diverted by heavy fog and clouds from Logan Field in Boston and Kennedy Airport in New York could touch down at Bangor as an alternate site for passengers to clear customs and immigration regulations. This move would eliminate the double in- spections passengers experienced with temporary stops in Canada. The former Air Force base, with its 11,440-foot runway, offered easy access to the super and medium-sized jets, said D'Errico. EDA was ready to help out and an- nounced its grant for the passenger terminal on June 14, 1968 — just before the city took control of the facility. The modern two-story concrete structure just opened replaces a dilapidated wooden building and is designed to serve 350,000 domestic passengers a year with ticket, baggage-handling, and waiting room services. There is also ample space for concessionaires. The new building temporarily serves international travelers, who numbered 311,000 last year. A new International Arrivals Terminal is planned, and con- struction is expected to begin later this year, the manager reported. There were 2,500 landings of in- ternational flights, chiefly charter and special organizational groups, last year at Bangor, a total that airport officials believe will grow as Europeans increase their visits to America. The value to Bangor of the international flights has been placed "in excess of Continued on next page $300, (XXV funds spent by airlines merely to house and feed the crews overnight in 1971, said D'Errico. It is for this reason that the airport staff is actively promoting the finer points of the all-weather flight strip and passenger facilities to international carriers, including foreign lines that are expressing an interest in making Bangor a stopover point. Such Maine delicacies as lobster, shrimp, and eels also have a role in boosting the revenue at the airport. D'Errico reports that one domestic airline carried a million pounds of airfreight from Bangor last year and looks forward to sharing in the growing demand for shipments of various other perishables. Some of these are bloodworms and sandworms, bait sent from Bangor to fishermen on Long Island and elsewhere. One of the little-known items of airfreight is mice bred at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor and shipped to medical research centers throughout the country. But probably the greatest interest in the airport is in its industrial growth. Led by the General Electric Corporation, employing 189 men to produce parts for steam turbine engines, the number of new firms attracted by the airport development has grown steadily over the past 3 years, the manager recalls. General Electric occupies four former Air Force buildings in the airpark, but others are constructing new buildings according to long-range plans for the industrial area. Anfesco Industries, Inc., of New York, opened one of the first new shoe- manufacturing operations in the area in February, providing jobs for 75 persons. An airline catering service has expanded its facilities to allow it to prepare 12,000 passenger meals daily; a small plant em- ploys Indians to produce authentic moc- casins; a plant was established to produce prefab homes; and another firm turns out precision instruments. One firm has established a laboratory at the airport to test soils, and a food- marketing chain has opened its headquarters in a building in the area. An oil and fuel distributor, who services the incoming flights, expects to grow as the number of flights increases. "Besides the payrolls, these firms pay rent for use of buildings, and they pay taxes on their personal property — all valuable sources of revenue to Bangor," said D'Errico. This revenue helped the city meet its bond principal and interest costs and end up with a $15,000 surplus last year. The year before, the surplus was $24,000. "I know we still have unemployment in Maine," the manager said, "but much of that is due to the labor which the State traditionally exported to other New England States. They're all coming home now because of cutbacks in the aerospace in- dustries in other States. "The 1,200 new jobs we have at the airport are more than we ever had here before." If there was any question whether the airport development is sparking industrial and commercial growth in the city, it can be answered by the manager's report that: "Our problem is keeping up with the demand for more flight facilities, which we expect will stimulate further industrial growth." □ ONLY TEMPORARY — Long-haul superjets are lined up at Bangor International Airport, awaiting passengers who are processed in temporary offices within the covered passageway. Plans are being made for a new International Arrivals Terminal, with con- struction expected to begin later this year. Photos courtesy of Bangor Daily News Insatiable Market for French Fries Works Oregon Plant 'Round the Clock In an area where once only sagebrush grew, so barren that Oregon ians called it a desert, bumper crops are now supporting a major new industry. The crops are potatoes, the foundation of Lamb-Weston Company's $10 million french fries plant in Hermiston, a rural community in northwestern Oregon. Developed with the help of a $5-million loan from the Economic Development Ad- ministration, the plant employs 750 workers — 90 percent of whom are women — on a round-the-clock schedule. Salaries alone total about $5 million annually, and other new income is realized by farmers meeting the company's need for as many as 200,000 tons of potatoes a year. The french fries turned out at the plant cater to the insatiable appetites of teenagers at fast-food franchise restaurants located chiefly in the West, company officials say with a smile. In fact, they add, the plant's entire production was marketed before the first worker was on the job. Evidence of the economic development stimulated by the plant can be seen in the investments for new equipment and crops being made by area farmers. EYES ON THE POTATOES— Workers at the Lamb-Weston Co. french fries plant in Hermiston, Oregon, keep a close watch on potato strips hound for the cooking area. The potato taste treats undergo a brief frying process before they are frozen for shipment to restaurants. Their optimism is based on a ready market for potatoes. It takes about 12,000 acres of farmland to maintain the 4,000-acre annual harvest required by the company to package into french fries. The plant itself is considered a model of design both for the workers and for environ- mentalists who are protective of the Pacific Northwest's scenic beauty. Machinery carries potatoes along an assem- bly line so swiftly that 10 are washed, peeled, and sliced into french fries each second. It's all possible because of a system worked out to use and reuse water five times through recycling. Solid particles in the water are removed and sold to cattlefeed operators. The remainder of waste is filtered and sprayed on land that is being converted to livestock pasturage. An important phase of the processing is done in the laboratories, where samples of each delivery are examined for sugar content and possible defects. "Needless to say," notes Bob Johnson of the company, "all defects must be removed before the potatoes are cooked and frozen. The sugar content is observed because of its effect on the color of the 'fries.' Heavy sugar can turn them brown more quickly." Lamb-Weston, he adds, keeps the sugar level constant by adding to or reducing the natural amounts. "There's a great potential for potato grow- ing and processing here in the Columbia River Basin," says Johnson. "There are many people who wouldn't believe that potatoes could be grown here — all it took was a good market demand." □ Reprinted from DEVELOPMENT LETTER— March 1975 Rend Lake Project Works 'Modern Miracle* In Southern Illinois RECREATION, TOO— Rend Dam forms the back- drop for a water-skiing show on Rend Lake in south- ern Illinois before hundreds .of appreciative spectators. The dam construction project, assisted with funds from, the Economic Development Administration, has made 40 million gallons of fresh water available daily for the community, industrial, and recreational needs of the seven-county Greater Egypt area. Spurred by frequent reports that the re- cession in the national economy is "bottom- ing out," a renewed enthusiasm for job planning is evident in southern Illinois. This spirit of optimism springs from the country's increasing reliance on coal as a major source ot energy and on what local residents like to recall as a modern-day miracle. Before the recession, nearly 5.000 jobs were created or preserved in the Greater Egypt area of seven counties that are served by the new Rend Dam and Lake, and. say the residents, that was a "miracle." Employment dropped in 1074, but appears to be holding steady, pending the opening ot new coal mines and increased railroad activity. At one time, jobs stemming from the Rend Lake project meant about $35 million in an- nual income. Resides this income, there were also the wages for upwards of 20,000 jobs indirectly related to industrial employment. Community leaders view the past as only a beginning. They comment: "Wait till you see our progress in the future." They have in mind the 40-million-gallon supply of fresh water available daily from Rend Lake, located 3 miles north of Benton in Franklin County. They recall, too, "the partnership that the Economic Development Administration gave us to begin the dam and thus stimulate this growth." EDA's response to local requests for help extends back to the early 1960's, when the historic farm and mining company of the region was in the doldrums. The Area Redevelopment Administration (ARA) , predecessor agency of EDA, initiated a study of regional needs and recommended a long-range growth plan resting solidly on a dam across the Big Muddy River to provide water to attract industry. Larry E. Foster, executive vice president ol the Rend Lake Conservancy District, which manages the water systems, states: "Not only did ARA help us plan a tem- porary impoundment as a dam, but it and EDA have been the catalysts for the entire development. Without their help, we wouldn't have this growth." Reprinted from DEVELOPMENT LETTER— August 1975 Grants and loans extended by ARA and EDA to aid the development include: -A $550,000 grant in 19(52 lor the feasi- bility study and for later road relocations. —$4,383,000 in loan funds approved in 1965, combined with $8 million from the former Community Facilities Administration, to begin construction. (The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers later accepted responsi- bility for the remaining costs of the $55- million dam and lake.) —SI 2,979, 100 in grants and loans since 1966 to the conservancy district and local communities. These funds have been used for water distribution facilities, sewer facili- ties, and the development of industrial parks and tourism complexes. Originally designed to serve the popula- tions of 21 communities, the system now supplies water to about 150,000 persons in 43 communities in seven counties: Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Marion, Perry, Saline, and Williamson. Foster predicts that long-range plans to tie the distribution system into a loop operation will allow it to serve an ultimate population of 400,000, or growth to the year 2000. Franklyn H. Moreno, executive director of the Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission, which is promot- ing coordinated industrial growth in the seven-county economic development district, believes the EDA-funded facilities gave the communities a headstart. "By getting the water-distribution systems installed and industrial sites ready, we were able to have men on the job when the dam was completed," he says. Moreno indicates the fruits of this advance planning— the plants now in operation at the Benton industrial park, providing about 150 jobs. To the north, in Jefferson County, jobs created by plants at the Mount Vernon in- dustrial park already total more than 1,200, with another 1,000 to be Hlled when the massive General Fire Co. plant begins full production. EDA also has helped to develop an indus- trial park at West Frankfort, where two plants employ about 300 workers. Moreno adds that coal companies, through application of advanced gas extraction tech- niques, are planning to expand their opera- tions to meet increased energy needs. They use 150,000 gallons of lake water daily to remove extraneous materials from the coal, and it all spells jobs for more than 2,300 workers. Both Foster and Moreno believe that the introduction of manufacturing employment to the area is evidence in itself of the proj- ect's success. They add, however, that the revival of coal mining and farming as a result of the new water supply also is stimu- lating an expanding economy. They note, too, the potential for tourism- recreation complexes, some of which EDA is helping to finance with about $3 million in grants. Of major interest to tourists will be Rend Dam, measuring nearly 2 miles in length across the river, with a width of 30 feet at its crest. Behind it is 13-mile-long Rend Lake, ready and waiting for people to enjoy its 162- mile shoreline and 40-square-mile surface. Another attraction is Rend City, repre- sented today by a few buildings and called a "ghost town," but very much alive in area history. As a company town in the early 1900s. it grew and flourished with coal min- ing. When the mine closed, the town simply faded until recently, when local citizens asked that it be included in current tourism de- velopment plans. Use of the name "Egypt" for this part of the State dates back to the disastrous crop failures of the 1830's, when southern Illinois —like the Nile River Valley granary of an- cient Egypt— supplied corn to its less fortu- nate neighbors. Today, with completion of the Rend Dam and Lake project, the Greater Egypt area of southern Illinois again holds a key to eco- nomic growth of the region through job development and tourism. An EDA-financed study concluded that the Rend Lake area has a tourism potential reaching 3.3 million visitor days by the year 2000. "We're looking forward to welcoming those visitors," says Foster. □ A course for economic development specialists Minorities Raise Their Business Sights Through Intern Training Program Somewhere between the marginal "Mom and Pop" stores and the major corporations is a place where minority businesses can survive and create new jobs, interns at a training seminar in Washington, D.C., are told. "Minorities should no longer confine their plans to small retail stores," says Clifton Henry, director of the National Council for Equal Business Op- portunity. "They must raise their standards and realize that to remain in business means to compete equally with others in those exceptionally troublesome areas for small businessmen — purchasing, operating procedures, sales volume, and pricing." Minorities must step into con- struction and manufacturing industries of the $45,000 to $250,000 capitali- zation range where competition is less severe, he adds. This bold approach to minority enterprise — increasing the level of initial investment significantly above what minorities have viewed in the past as the point of entry into business — is the key to the progressive attitudes of the National Council's program to train local economic development specialists. Moreover, Henry says, by updating goals to pursue rather than retreat in the face of known obstacles, the council is strengthening the commitment of the Economic Development Administra- tion to help minorities share in the Nation's commercial and industrial growth. With nearly $300,000 in grants from EDA and with other Federal funds, the council is in the 4th year of its program. Its purpose, simply stated, is to add zest to existing businesses and to stimulate new minority enterprise by providing expert assistance where it is most effective — in the inner cities — by the people who know those areas best. By preparing Indians, Chicanos, and blacks for a broader range of business opportunities, the council is trying to eliminate the stereotyped image of "mi- norities-operating-retail-stores" held by many financial institutions and much of the buying public. "We must do this if minority en- terprise is to survive," says Henry, who is the son of a minister and a past director of student movement groups. "The national economy will not maintain marginally operated stores such as much of today's minority businesses are." To achieve its goal the council conducts a busy 8-week course to supply the expertise necessary to fit the right man to the best business. Trainees come from such organizations as United Planning and the Redevelopment Land Agency in Washington, D.C.; the Southern Cooperative Development Fund at Lafayette, Louisiana; the Economic Development Corporations at Gary, Indiana, and Corpus Christi, Texas; the Chicanos Por La Causa of Phoenix; Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity, and many others. The council has decided that interns need not be college graduates, because familiarity with local development problems is the best qualification. To assure the swift pace of the course, however, interns are expected to take a self-taught crash course in accounting before arriving in Washington. PROBLEM SOL VING-Joe Jackson, right, of Washington, D. C, pauses on a tour of a minority-owned supermarket in the Nation 's capital to discuss items for sale and methods of pricing with Joe Yates, a store official. The National Council for Equal Business Opportunity training program includes on-site inspections of businesses and talks with store personnel. The general tenor of the training is then set by this foreword from the National Council handbook: The inner city contains markets which pump millions of dollars of buying power into the Nation's economy. The inner city, which abounds in manpower resources and talent, has yet to realize its rich potential. With management assistance and financial resources, inner-city entrepreneurs can respond to the opportunities which await them throughout our urban areas. After establishing the potential for professionalism in minority develop- ment, the council imparts to the Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— January 1973 trainees lessons it has learned about the changing picture of inner-city areas. Henry states these as follows: "More minority programs are doomed by disagreement on objectives within community action groups than for any other reason; if minorities wish a better role in communities, they must break the syndrome which restricts them to retail-type businesses; it is essential that large corporations provide technical know-how to men in business for the first time; and it is good business for banks to do more than merely reject loan applications — they must also help to revise them for approval." These and similar views shape the content of the National Council course. Classroom work is, in effect, a two- way street: trainees recount the problems met in minority development, and instructors offer solutions. In this manner, the program keeps pace with changing local conditions. The work begins at the heart of business development — loan packaging — a term and practice that have taken on new meaning in the 1970's to include the broad range of activity in establishing new private enterprise: from interviewing people with plans for a business to analyzing the market conditions of their proposed business interest and preparing an application to finance the enterprise. In the specifics of "packaging," Henry says, trainees are brought face- to-face with the financial community's side of the loan application picture. Trainees attend a seminar conducted by a large Philadelphia bank, where actual applications are reviewed for good and bad points. "We have learned from seminars that members of the banking com- munity look at minority business with three things in mind," he states. "They want to know the owner's equity; how comprehensive his plan is for the business; and the general im- pression he creates for operating the business." Continued on next page TAKING INVENTORY- Skills developed by Mrs. Esther Carr as an intern in the economic development specialist training program of the National Council for Equal Business Opportunity enabled her to help establish this black-owned bookstore. LEARNING BY DOING -Peter Caudillo, left, came to the National Council for Equal Business Opportunity looking for help in establishing minority businesses in rural areas of Fresno County, California. During the economic development specialist training session, he visited several small businesses such as this clothing store to discuss volume buying with store personnel, other interns, and customers. Caudillo has returned to Fresno to put his training to practical use. If the business plan has been analyzed step-by-step and alternatives are provided should problems arise, then the bankers will respond more favorably, he explains. It is for this reason that National Council training emphasizes preparing applications and including full in- formation on such vital topics as methods of purchasing supplies, sales, pricing, advertising, debt payment, and myriad other aspects of the proposed business. Trainees are taught to look at themselves through the eyes of bankers, who will be asking, "Can this man succeed?", when evaluating a prospective businessman's loan ap- plication. In the weeks of training, students are reminded that they must also work within the community to develop new attitudes in banking groups and private industry. "Generally speaking," Henry notes, "the financial community today is not sensitive to the peculiar needs of minority business. Some banks are beginning to offer management assistance to make minority firms acceptable risks, but they are in the great minority." After all, Henry adds, it is good business for a bank to offer a helping hand to a new enterprise. When it begins to move upward, the businessman will return to the bank for an expansion loan. In this regard, the council takes the stand that the survival of small firms depends in large part on the extent to which the business community is in- volved in the transfer of technical information. "Looking at the inner-city areas from all directions, the best place for the minority businessman to go for technical help is to the large cor- porations around him," Henry says. "They have the experience in marketing, sales, techniques of operation, and planning know-how." Needless to say, he adds, the large corporations should not worry about competition from the small business- man, and the success of the small firm will bring better economic health to central cities. Both State and Federal Government programs to stimulate growth in private enterprise are reviewed in depth during the 8-week training cycle. At one point, interns must develop an entire business package. They identify potential entrepreneurs and establish working relationships with them. Later they study the various aspects of real estate development with respect to shopping center complexes and the problems facing minority contractors. Finally, each intern must prepare a business-development program for his community with accomplishments projected in 3-to-6-month periods. "By the time the training is com- pleted," says Henry, "trainees have learned to communicate with experts in the field of minority enterprise. There will be fewer misinterpretations of recognized development practices and better long-range planning." How effective is the National Council for Equal Business Opportunity? Henry cites an EDA evaluation made of six organizations, with staff members who have attended the training course. EDA learned that the trainees helped the organizations secure 21 minority business loans totaling $821,600. ^' In their home communities, following the training course, the development specialists see their learning experience in terms of equipping them with a new confidence that can be extended to others. Mrs. Esther Carr of the Washington Council for Equal Business Op- portunity says the program gave her added insight into business operations. So much so, she said, that she was able to sit down with men and convince them of excessive overhead costs that, when eliminated, reduced the debt repayments on new businesses. Her skills have helped her establish a black-owned bookstore and prepare the loan package for at least two manu- facturing industries in Washington. In Oklahoma, Bob Ludlow returned from the training course to the Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity, where he helped establish a feeder-pig cooperative for some 200 members of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole Tribes. The cooperative, located near Tulsa, now ships fattened pigs regularly to markets in Nebraska and Missouri. "I really didn't know much about markets and prices before the training," says Ludlow. "Now I'm much more confident when I discuss such things with buyers and bankers." Ron Washington, executive director of the Economic Development Cor- poration of Gary, Indiana, said the National Council's training taught him "what to look for in applications and how to correct errors." Because the training helped him to sharpen techniques in preparing ap- plications, his organization did twice as much business in the last quarter of 1971 as before. Since his training, Washington has helped establish eight new minority businesses and has created about 40 new jobs. THINKING IT THROUGH - Ron Washington, right, executive director of the Economic Development Corporation of Gary, Indiana, works with assistant Frank Col/ins on an analysis of operational layout in a minority brickmaking enterprise. To date, he has not had a loan failure, a situation he attributes to the close screening and technical assistance involved in packaging the businesses. Although the major emphasis of the program is on inner cities, rural minority development is not overlooked . At the West Side Planning Group in Fresno, California, Peter Caudillo said he returned from the Washington training course better equipped to help establish minority business in rural communities of 1,500 to 3,000 population size. Working with Mexican-American minorities, he has helped establish the first rural loan development corporation in the area. He understands the problems of land acquisition, plant construction, and equipment with a thoroughness that has allowed him to develop a loan package for a furnituremaking venture. Edgar Readore turned his training to good use as an accountant with the Southern Cooperative Development Fund at Lafayette, Louisiana. By looking at the broad picture of economic development, Readore said he better understands what banks are looking for in applications and in debt repayment. And after all, he adds, that is the most convincing aspect of any loan application. The National Council is expanding its program this year to include training sessions at the University of California at Berkeley in order to step up its assistance to rural developers. This was done as a result of the EDA evaluation, which uncovered a feeling of local officials that many minority training programs were heavily urban and eastern oriented. The classes at the university will be attuned to the problems of rural western and mid- western communities, Henry said. Henry believes the National Council program will, in the long run, ac- complish its goal of providing com- munity organizations with capable staff members necessary for successful minority business development. □ ■ Delta Region of 'Show Me' State Shows Determination — and Results : Creating jobs in New Madrid, Missouri Even in the "show me" State of Missouri, the industrial growth and new jobs created in its former "swampeast" delta region are considered spectacular. The new jobs developed in the six-county Mississippi River Basin since 1968 number more than 5,000. They produce a combined $27 million in annual income. At the heart of this growth is the St. Jude Industrial Park— so named by community leaders because they believed their situation was desperate— located near New Madrid. The park now has as tenants an $85 million aluminum products complex and a $125 mil- lion power plant, which, together, provide jobs for some 660 workers. "There's no question that the park stim- ulated growth in the entire area," says Execu- tive Director Philip Shelton of the Bootheel Economic Development Council. Since the park opened, five counties neigh- boring New Madrid have attracted new plants, and existing businesses have ex- panded, giving employment to 4,370 workers. The Economic Development Administra- tion approVed a $2,929,000 grant in 1968 to help develop the park and, later, a $1,625,000 grant for a job-training center. POWER PLANT— Docking facilities and coal un- loader are essential to operation of the 600-megawatt power plant at St. Jude Industrial Park. The awakening of this "sleeping giant," as residents describe the area, follows a long history of economic ups and downs. The area is endowed with excellent resources and a colorful history. New Madrid calls itself the "first American city west of the Mississippi," and it claims to be the place "where south- ern hospitality begins." Because of the Mis- sissippi River waterfront, it enjoyed a pros- perity based on logging and timber oper- ations in the late 19th century and, in subse- quent years, an economy built, initially on cotton, then on soybean crops. With the development of harvesting ma- chinery, however, farm jobs fell off, and in the period 1950-70 some 13,000 people left New Madrid County for greener pastures. What was later to become the industrial heart of the delta was then a river swamp inhabited only by mosquitoes and deserving of the name "Bootheel," local leaders say. Sam Hunter. Jr., the New Madrid banker unanimously credited with sparking the drive for economic growth, says: "The loss of people and income had a de- pressing effect on business, and it wasn't hard Reprinted from DEVELOPMENT LETTER— June 1975 for local merchants to become discouraged. New Madrid was like many other impover- ished pockets of rural America. The times seemed to have passed it by." But a chance remark made in Chicago in 1966 that Noranda Mines, Ltd., of Canada was looking for a plantsite in the United States was overheard and relayed to Hunter. After long negotiations— "at one time we were told we were wasting our time, but we replied that we needed the experience," said Hunter— the company agreed to locate in New Madrid. When the company said it needed ample space, Hunter and local businessmen put together the 4,134-acre industrial park. They got the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to im- prove the harbor for barge activity, and when Noranda said it required a large amount of electrical power to produce aluminum ingots, the New Madrid team agreed to build a spe- cial 600-megawatt steam-generating plant at the industrial site. "We kept working every minute to take advantage of the breaks when they came along," says Hunter. "We had many things going for us— the river, the land, power, and behind it all, our determination. I think we convinced No- randa that we wanted them." New Madrid started by approving a $183.6- million bond issue to buy the land and start the powerplant. The EDA grant to improve the site and build the barge wharf provided physical evidence that growth was on its way. Hunter adds. In December 1969, Noranda opened its first plant, a $5 million aluminum wire and rod mill, opening the first 100 new jobs in the area in many years. It turns out about 4 mil- lion pounds of products a month. Some 2,000 workers were employed in the subsequent construction of the main alumi- num reduction plant— two massive buildings extending more than five football fields in length and housing 174 electrolytic cells for the first step in the production of ingots. Opened in February 1971, the plant cre- ated jobs for 600 workers, who earn a com bined $4.7 million in wages and produce INVENTORY— A Noranda Aluminum employe, taka a count of ingot production for the records. 60,000 to 70,000 tons of aluminum ingots annually. The plant occupies a 200-acre site, with another 1,500 acres held in reserve for pos- sible expansion. Community leaders believe that industries that use aluminum will choose plantsites in the park because of the availa- bility of raw materials and the savings in transportation costs. They also will find a ready supply of power, adds Hunter, from the 600-megawatt steam-generation plant, which opened in September 1972. The plant is owned by the city, but it is operated by the Associated Elec- tric Cooperative of Springfield, a statewide association of power companies. The plant now provides all power needed by Noranda and is acquiring machinery to double its capacity by 1977. Of special interest in the area is the periph- eral employment stimulated by the plants. Continued on next page To provide the electrical power, the power- plant uses about 6,000 tons of coal a day- all coming from the vast reserves in southern Illinois. To produce ingots, Noranda uses Jamaica bauxite, which is refined to aluminum ore at Baton Rouge and eventually is barged to New Madrid as a raw material, creating countless jobs along the way, Noranda says. There are new jobs also on the Mississippi River because of the plants. Twenty-four barges of coal are unloaded weekly to keep the powerplant going. Other barges deliver aluminum ore to the industrial park. The Bootheel Economic Development Council, which has headquarters in Maiden, Missouri, believes the New Madrid industrial park has been the key that opened the way to the industrial development taking place in the counties surrounding the economic development district since Noranda's decision to locate in Missouri. Executive Director Shelton lists the following achievements: —In Dunklin County, Emerson Electric made a 40,000-square-foot addition to its plant and hired 1,080 new workers; Federal Mogul, a manufacturer of aluminum pistons, opened a plant and employed 360; Uniroyal, Inc., erected a 175,000-square-foot plant to manufacture rubber hose and gave 160 jobs to workers; and another 500 jobs were cre- ated in other plants. —In Girardeau County, Procter and Gam- ble opened a ftlOO-million plant to produce paper products in Cape Girardeau and hired 450 persons. —In Pemiscot County, 600 new jobs are reported by firms building steel barges and material-handling equipment, at a new motel, and in an expansion of the Pemiscot County Hospital. —In Scott County, 265 jobs have been cre- ated by opening sites to an industrial laundry and to plants producing fertilizer, locks, and compressed-air tanks. —In Stoddard County, bib persons are em- ployed at plants making oil filters and auto- mobile exhaust systems. "There is no magic formula for attracting industry," Hunter notes, recalling the past. "It is a combination of many factors that enables one community to get the job done ahead of another. Good leadership is essen- tial, of course. But if the city is determined enough, it can accomplish a lot more than most people realize." Hunter believes that one of the greatest necessities is motivating local people to take the steps that will make their city more at- tractive to industry. He believes that few people are self-starters, but that they will work for community development if someone is around to start the action and tell them: "Okay, fellows, let's go do it!" D SPACE TO GROW— Noranda Aluminum, Inc., has created jobs for 600 workers earning combined annual wages of $4.7 million at St. Judc Industrial Park. A grant of nearly $3 million from the Economic Development Administration helped develop the park and make this growth possible. Georgia Community Adjusts to Change In Shift From Farm to Factory There was a time when the future of Monticello, Georgia, looked bleak — employment in the cotton fields was giving way to machines, and people were leaving the area in great numbers. "But that's pretty much changed now," says Mayor L.S. Kelly. "We still have some farming, but we're beginning to look more like an industrial center. "We're providing jobs to keep our people at home now." This reshaping of the countryside and improvement in the city's outlook is especially pleasing to Monticello because it was produced in a real grassroots movement — with some vital help from the Economic Development Administration. It came about through the development of an industrial park and the introduction of several sizable manufacturing plants on the scene. The result: nearly 1,000 persons earning incomes as industrial workers, with a combined income estimated at about $3.6 million annually. In addition, two firms expect to expand in a joint venture, adding 500 new jobs and $1.5 million in new annual income. Blacks, including many unskilled workers who previously harvested the cotton and peanut crops, now man the machines and perform upgraded tasks at the plants. The mayor reports that availability of an in- dustrial work force is a reason why the community is planning still further growth. How did Monticello improve its economic outlook? Mayor Kelly credits several major sources of stimulation: the Jasper County Industrial Authority and the Oconee Area Planning and Development Commission. "And," he adds, "the Economic Development Administration stepped in to help us complete the job." First step toward the goal of a diversified economy — removing dependence upon LOG WATCHER — One of the approximately 500 employees at the Georgia-Pacific Corp. plywood plant oversees vats where logs are conditioned before being peeled into veneer. cotton, wheat, and peanut growing — was the public purchase of a 32-acre tract for development as an industrial park. To speed this development, EDA ap- proved a $201,000 grant to improve the existing utilities in the city and then added $166,000 to extend the facilities to the industrial park. Largest single employer in the city is the Georgia-Pacific Corp., whose plywood plant provides jobs for some 500 workers. Georgia-Pacific also has announced plans for an expansion to include a panelboard operation. It will work with Permaneer Co. to produce doors and paneling products. Other firms in the city include Monticello Manufacturer, Inc., with 140 employees; Dexter Axle Co., Inc., with 75; the Feldspar Corp., manufacturer of sand and con- struction supplies, 47; and the Monticello Bobbins Co., 38. Mayor Kelly says that only some 300 people were employed within Jasper County before the diversification program began. Today, he says, there are nearly 1,000 at work, with another 500 jobs expected to become available shortly. "The progress made in Monticello would have been utterly impossible without assistance from EDA," the mayor adds. □ MOBILE ROOFS- Worker assembles roofs for mobile homes at the Dexter Axle Co., Inc., plant in the Monticello Industrial Park. The firm is part of the community's diversification program. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— November 1972 EDA Teams With Minnesota Town To Build New Mill and Restore Economy Watching a sturdy Minnesota pine log travel from a debarking machine to a saw table — a milling operation involving some 25 jobs and producing a $325,000 annual area income — Lambert Renneberg commented: "I believe this town would be dead without this mill. Instead, we've got jobs and we're growing." The town is Menahga, a tiny community of 800 persons living on the fringes of the rolling pine forests in west-centra! Min- nesota. Milling historically has been the largest single employer and the economic foundation of Menahga. The present mill, which replaces an earlier one that failed, is operated by the Minnesota Forest Products Cooperative, a group of 160 farmers who grow pine, aspen, and mixed hardwoods on their lands. Lambert Renneberg is mill manager. The optimism that pervades this forest community arises from the endless running of the conveyor belts and the whining of the saws. But the future was not always this bright. In fact, just a few years ago the earlier mill was shut down and Menahga's future looked extremely dark. The Economic Development Administra- tion, responding to a request from the com- munity, stepped into the scene with two studies examining the market potential for Menahga's tall timber, the available labor supply, and the mill operation, in an effort to restore milling as the area's principal employer. The EDA-funded research found that the mill that failed was inefficient and under- productive. It processed only 700,000 board feet of timber annually when a market existed for 5 billion board feet from the area, the studies concluded. It was learned that there were buyers in Minnesota and Wisconsin for 37,500 pallets, 5,000 50-foot rolls of slat fencing, 1.7 billion board feet of cut-to-size lumber, 1.8 billion board feet of random length hardwoods, and 950 million board feet of softwoods. Finally, in keeping with the agency's goal of relating advances in technology to local problems, the EDA studies recommended that a new mill be built to produce other types of processed lumber, including finished and cut-to-size parts for manufacturers. EDA then backed up the findings with a $163,200 business development loan to help construct the $267,890 mill complex that opened in 1971. "There's new life in Menahga today because of this operation," says Renneberg, "and there's a new industry, too — a boatmaker." Also, in contrast to an area that suffered from a dangerous outmigration of population just a few years ago, Renneberg adds, "we now have people moving into Menahga." Local officials, who believe the EDA aid saved the economic life of the community, compare the old and new mills to show the benefits of the Federal-local partnership: — A privately owned mill, closed as a red- ink venture in 1965, was reopened on a 9- month annual schedule by the cooperative in 1967. Before it closed finally in late 1970, it functioned as a marginal break-even operation with 12 workers earning about $30,000 in annual wages, and returning about $35,000 yearly to tree growers. It produced only laths and snowfence materials. SNO WANDS A WDUS T — Against a background of Minnesota pines and snow- mantled landscape, a millhand at the Minnesota Forest Products Cooperative complex prepares to move wood- chips for shipment to papermills elsewhere in the State. For the first time, Menahga, Minnesota, has a mill operating on a year- round basis, thus providing permanent jobs for the work force. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— September 1972 — The new mill provides direct jobs for as many as 25 persons on a year-round schedule. They earn a combined $125,000 annually in wages, and another $200,000 is paid to the 160 members of the cooperative for their timber. The owners split their income with upwards of 30 full-time and 20 part-time woodcutters. In addition, the new mill pays taxes totaling about $10,000 a year — one source of community revenue destined to be in- creased if the boost in sales projected by mill officials for 1973 is reached. . "And," adds Renneberg, "the mill has provided new jobs for truckers, machine maintenance people, road crews, service station attendants, and many others." Then there is the economic growth stimulated by the federally supported project. The opening of the Bayliner Minnesota plant, a producer of small boats, has created another 15 jobs, and more could be developed by other industries that have inspected sites in the area, officials say. The sawmill, chipping operation, and re- manufacturing plant where rough timber is converted to finished lumber are all designed to use 10 million board feet of wood at maximum capacity. They currently use about 5 million board feet and are expected to expand with future market conditions, officials point out. "A solid business base has been planned initially with a built-in capability to specialize and expand," the reports say. Before the studies had been completed, the long-range effects of timbercutting were examined in view of future needs for forest products. It was found that the amounts of cordwood needed by the mill actually would help the community maintain the desired annual cut recommended by foresters for proper timber management. Prior to the startup of the new mill, the annual harvest of corcfwood was less than 50 percent of that recommended for local timberlands. Similarly, the annual surplus of sawtimber exceeded the footage to be used by the mill. "We're looking toward better management of the forests because of our work," says Renneberg. While it takes no special credit, the cooperative has become a leader among industries in another area of public concern — protecting the environment. Rather than burn or dispose of its waste products in streams, it sells woodchips to papermills and transports the slash and sawdust to a cover-and-fill disposal area. "We aren't polluters," Renneberg says. □ STANDARD CUT - Unfinished lumber is taken from a resaw, where the boards are cut to standard dimensions, and readied for buyers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A market study indicated a demand for 5 billion board feet of forest products from the Menahga area annually. GUIDED TOUR - A worker at the Menahga woodworking mill guides sur- faced timber to a conveyor belt and further processing. in Madera, California Vintners Help To Plan the Plant That Fills Their Bottle Needs With the market for American wines grow- ing rapidly, a glass manufacturer in Madera, California, looks to the future with the same delight as does a connoisseur of the finest wines. In operation since February 1971, the Madera Glass Co. annually produces in excess of 250 million multishaped green bottles for California vintners. It also provides employment for more than 340 workers, about 45 percent of whom are from minority groups, and a yearly payroll estimated at $3.6 million. The plant, which expects to maintain this production-employment pace in tandem with the rich grape harvests of the San Joaquin Valley, is unusual in this respect: It is one of the first in California's illustrious history of winemaking to be planned with help from the vintners themselves. It was planned, say the winemakers. to bring the centuries-old expertise of their profession to bear on the overall growth of the wine industry— to nur- ture the maturing American appreciation for domestic wines. In approving a $3-million loan for the plant, the Economic Development Adminis- tration was carrying out its mission to help private enterprise expand and create jbbs. "EDA's participation in this project was the spark that helped a traditional industry serve the country," says Richard J. Baker, plant manager for the Madera Glass Co. "It proves that the Federal Government can respond to the needs of individuals, and it indicates that new ideas can be accepted by government." Originally planned by United Vintners, Inc., an agricultural marketing cooperative that produces Inglenook, Italian Swiss Colo- ny, Petri, and other brands of wine, the proj- ect was transferred to the Madera Glass Co.. a corporation formed to operate the plant and meet the needs of the many United Vintners wineries. The |10-million plant is located southwest of Madera and adjacent to a United Vintners winery. To operate it, the company hired a cadre of men skilled in the performance of high-temperature furnaces and ovens and a large number of unskilled workers to main- tain the production line. BOTTLEMAKER—This apprentice machine opera- tor at the Madera Glass Co. wears protective goggles and elbow-length gloves on his job of helping to pro- duce some 250 million bottles a year. About 120.000 square feet of the facility is devoted to production activities and another 330,000 square feet to warehouse space. In discussing production methods, compa- ny officials speak in terms that reflect the care taken to shape their bottles to the vint- ners' needs. The bottles, they point out, are Reprinted from DEVELOPMENT LETTER— August 1975 colored green to protect the finest qualities of wines and to flatter the minutest taste- peculiarities of the growing number of con- noisseurs. "Not only must the bottles be safe,'' says Baker; "they must also be perfect in shape and color to match the taste of the wine." They come in all sizes, from the popular fifth (four-fifths of a quart) to the cham- pagne magnum. Production begins with the mixing of Cali- fornia sand, limestone, and soda ash— all basic- ingredients of glass— and the transfer of the "batch" into the two primary furnaces. Here the molten glass is developed at temperatures ranging as high as 2.800 \ From the furnaces, the liquid glass enters a machine where the individual bottles are formed. From this machine they are relayed to an oven to be baked lor nearly an hour, then cooled for handling by inspectors. Although the company hired skilled work- ers to man the furnaces and ovens, Baker says an apprenticeship program at the plant enables unskilled employees to upgrade their techniques at bottlemaking and to qualify for the better jobs. This, he adds, is not to diminish in any way the performance of unskilled workers, INSPECTION— Examining bottles off the production line at the Madera Glass ^Co. are, left to right, the finished products foreman, the laboratory tester, and the quality control supervisor. who maintain the finished production line where extreme care is taken to spot cracks in the glass, imperfect designs, and uneven thicknesses of glass. "We like to feel," Baker says, "that all imperfections have been eliminated at this phase of production." Because of the nature of production, the plant is operated on a 24-hour schedule and is closed for only two major holidays a year. Baker says all pollution control regulations of the State of California have been met— smoke has been eliminated, and water used in the process (estimated at about 350,000 gallons a day) is reused in the plant several times and then treated to a point acceptable for agricultural use. "The EDA loan will have a far-reaching effect," says the company official. "It stimulated economic growth in Madera and Fresno Counties by creating new jobs. But more than that. To someone who appre- ciates American wines, it also has helped to maintain the esthetic pleasure of seeking wines in appropriate bottles." □ Warehouse Helps Port of Cleveland Increase Tonnage and New Jobs POINTOFTRANSFER- This warehouse on Dock 32 beside the Lake Erie waterfront, port of Cleveland, was built with the help of a $456,000 EDA grant made in 1 966 With the winter slowdown on the Great Lakes now just a memory, the port of Cleveland has entered another busy season of cargo handling and, it is hoped, an in- crease in jobs and incomes. Port officials pin their hopes on a recent study, which predicted that overseas cargo tonnage alone would grow fivefold during the next 20 years. It has doubled since 1966 when the Economic Development Administration made a $456,000 grant to help construct a badly needed warehouse on the Lake Erie waterfront to serve the transport vessels. "I just can't speak too highly for the job that EDA is doing," said Richard L. Schultz, executive director of the Cleveland- Cuyahoga County Port Authority. "I am convinced that the one warehouse that EDA helped us build has boosted our overseas tonnage by at least 20 percent and has stimulated a growth of industry related to the port activities." Port records indicate that the total overseas cargo tonnage in Cleveland in 1966 — both imports and exports — amounted to 581,783 tons and that an estimated 250 persons were directly em- ployed on the docks to handle it. With approval of the EDA grant that year, the 64,000-square-foot warehouse was constructed on Dock 32. Since then, tonnage has increased to a record 1,054,598 in 1971. and employment has doubled to about 500, officials said. The increases have helped the port of Cleveland climb to third place among Great Lakes ports — right behind Chicago and Detroit. The warehouse is one of only four used for the overseas trade during the April-to- December season. Traffic through it becomes so heavy at times that lights have been installed to permit round : the-clock work schedules. DESTINATION EUROPE-Cases of bear- ings manufactured in the Cleveland area are readied for loading aboard an east- bound freighter Longshoremen — many of whom have come from the ranks of the hard-core unemployed in Cleveland — have unloaded cargo from ships entering the St. Lawrence Seaway from home ports in. Spain, Ger- many, England, and France, and from the Far East. The freighters also take on machinery and bulk products brought to Cleveland from midwestern States. "The growth of a seaport is related to people and industry," Schultz explained. "We serve the needs of some 12 million people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia. We off-load the things they import, and we on-load the products they manufacture for export. "I look forward to a continued growth of these activities." Schultz estimates that there are 500 jobs at the port of Cleveland directly related to overseas cargo and that indirectly related jobs in transportation and activities allied to shipping would boost this to at least 3,300. And when jobs resulting from interlake shipping — not associated with the overseas cargo handling — are added in, he said, the total number of shipping jobs increases to about 50,000. In an effort to protect this employment, the port has become actively involved in cleaning pollution from the waters of Lake Erie to help assure population stability in the Cleveland area, said Schultz. Working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and private consultants, the port has participated in the development of skimmers to remove oil slicks in the water and in the disposal of ship and dredging wastes. □ Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— May 1972 Chicanos Are Building Confidence In Minority Job Development Raza-owned means a Mexican-American Business Activists in the Mexican-American community in Denver, Colorado, now say, "Patronize la raza-owned businesses," rather than just, "Viva la raza." Among those most active in promoting Chicano interests in Denver is the highly successful Colorado Economic Development Agency (CEDA), which, with $61,000 in support from the Economic Development Administration, reports it has established nearly 400 minority-owned businesses and helped to create at least 3,500 new jobs since mid -1969. Noteworthy among the new businesses and the jobs they represent, reported by CEDA President Ed Lucero, are: — A general contracting firm, which accounts for some 300 jobs; — Two restaurants, which provide jobs for 45 persons; — A motel with 45 persons on its payroll; — A bulk oil distributor serving 43 in- dependent service stations; — A building maintenance service, which employs 130 persons. The many other businesses span a variety of enterprises, among them one-man keymaking shops, two and three employee barber shops, fencemaking firms, and food stores. "La raza and Chicano are good group names for certain activities," says Lucero. "But our outlook is economic. We believe, first, that Mexican-Americans can be good businessmen and good employees. "Second, we believe minorities can change our communities by supporting these businessmen." CEDA was established as a volunteer agency in 1968 by Lucero. an accountant by profession, a former bank official, and a self-avowed "low-key, business-minded activist." He denies that the agency's mission was to cool rising tensions among the 120,000 Chicanos in Denver where unemployment in the inner-city barrios had reached 15 percent. He acknowledges, however, that minority entrepreneurship since then is "probably one small factor" in preventing a recurrence of the riots of 1969. CEDA's work is not limited to Mexican- Americans, but because of their overwhelm- ing numbers among the area's minority population, they represent the largest share of the agency's work. The agency is only one of eight organizations offering bootstrap technical CEDA President Ed Lucero. right, meets with member: for establishing minorities in business. Jjtt top/an nrw methods assistance to minorities in Denver. It does not advertise; it has an unlisted telephone number; and it does not solicit clients for prospective businesses. It is recognized, nevertheless, as a prime mover in promoting confidence among commercial banks and government agencies to support Chicanos in new ventures. The construction firm of Joe Ulibarri, left, and Ben Martinez accounts for 300 jobs Since CEDA's incorporation in April 1969, the agency's success has been written in its record of helping to obtain 484 loans, valued at $21.4 million, to establish minority businesses, and of focusing public- attention on the employment-business obstacles facing Mexican-Americans. These obstacles, Lucero believes, are a problem concentrated generally in the southwestern States rather than a matter of national concern. "People who come to Denver from other parts of the country are not aware of the Chicano's lack of formal education and lack of opportunities to develop skills," he said. "If they are told to help minorities, they do not think first of Mexican-Americans." It was a desire to acquaint the public with this problem that Lucero carried with him to a meeting with Denver bankers in 1969. With the help of Bruce Rockwell, president of the Colorado National Bank, a break- through in attitudes toward the minorities was made. and. since then, "commercial banks have shown a concern to bring the minorities into the business picture," Lucero said. Changing the picture to include men and women from the barrios starts at CEDA's doorstep and can continue for 1 to several months until the businessman begins serving his customers. Continued on next page Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— May 1972 CEDA's package service runs the gamut of activities from preliminary interviews to highly specialized training seminars ap- prising a potential businessman of the work involved, credit investigations, preparation of loan applications, and accounting aid. Minority businessman Ambrosio Ur- ban checks produce at his food market. Three of every four persons who seek the service are discouraged during the first interview from going further. Another 20 percent voluntarily drop out during the training seminars when they learn what operating a business entails. Lucero makes no effort to conceal these figures, explaining, instead, that "it is better for a man to know these problems before he gets into them." And sometimes the opposite is true. Lucero said he has found minority ap- plicants who will cry "prejudice" when a loan application is denied. The refusal, he explains, often is due to faulty preparation of the application. Undoing this self-defeatist attitude with help in preparing and resubmitting an application is one of the services he offers. But those who are advised to wait are men who generally wish to buy an existing business they have seen for sale. CEDA examines the costs, the income, market, and taxes of the business and often concludes, "In our opinion, it is not a good venture," and advises a search for something else. Should he clear his initial hurdle, the applicant is encouraged to attend 6-week seminars on the routine bookkeeping and record requirements for businessmen. Conducted by men involved in the day-to- day operation of firms, the sessions last year were attended by more than 600 persons, including some who decided that the burden of paperwork was too great to permit en- tering business. Next in the order of importance is the preparation of a loan application. Written in lengthy legal language, the applications are confusing to the average Chicano and can discourage him, says Lucero, who has concentrated the attention of his staff on perfecting the system of loan application preparation. Some are still rejected, he says, but CEDA's overall record of approvals now stands at 66 percent. Finally, the agency offers an accounting service to get new ventures off to a safe start, and it can guide the recordkeeping of any firm for any period of time. Typical of CEDA's package service was that offered to two men who immigrated from Mexico to Denver 10 years ago and were hopeful of establishing their own businesses. Lucero says the problems en- countered in moving them from factory employment to ownership of two profit- making restaurants were great, but not insurmountable, and reveal many com- plications common to minority enterprise development. Jose Sepulveda and Frank Juarez had $5,000 in personal savings when CEDA helped them open their first restaurant in 1969. They worked nights in the restaurant and days at their factory jobs. They earned $19,000 profit the 1st year and were en- couraged by CEDA to expand to a second and larger restaurant with the help of a loan guaranteed by the Small Business Ad- ministration (SBA). In the weeks that followed, CEDA participated in negotiations to purchase an unoccupied building, which the men personally renovated, adding what Lucero calls "sweat equity" and finally meeting city requirements for professional assistance to certify the work completed. The problem of most concern came with the SBA loan guarantee. It brought to light a situation common among the Spanish- speaking population. In his book, "Chicano Manifesto," author Armando B. Rendon concludes that Mexican-Americans are handicapped in their economic and social progress by clinging to a desire to return to Mexico someday. So it was with Juarez and Sepulveda — they had lived in Denver for 10 years, their children were born there, and they were businessmen in the city. They declared their intentions for citizenship, but they had never taken that last step to become citizens. Instead, they agonized over deciding whether to remain in the United States permanently or eventually to return to Mexico. Lucero said SBA also was concerned about helping noncitizens and attached a series of special conditions resulting in further delays on the loan approval. "We saw the whole thing through," says Lucero. "I am happy we all stuck together, because the new restaurant is a success." It is earning about $30,000 a year profit for the minority businessmen. When this is combined with the $15,000 annual profits on their initial venture, total income is about $45,000 a year. Lucero said the men employ 45 persons and are planning a third restaurant. Another case is that of Carlos Padilla, "a man who couldn't find a job anywhere and now is his own boss employing 130 persons." ^ 1/ Carlos Padilla. right, head of Antolne's Building Services, greets one of his employees "Padilla just wasn't skilled to do anything — he didn't have the right credentials; he didn't have the proper education or the opportunity to acquire skills," said Lucero. To support himself and his family, Padilla sought a building maintenance job and was servicing two buildings when he came to CEDA for advice on going into business. With his record for good work in At his Telemark Ski and Mountain Sports Shop in Denver. Leroy Gonzales helps se- lect equipment for a special holiday. hand, Padilla and CEDA won a line of credit to establish him as Antoine's Building Services, Inc. From there, CEDA helped him obtain a set-aside contract to service a Federal building in Denver, requiring a boost in his staff to 130 persons. The progress made by these three men symbolizes Lucero's belief that business ownership is a direct route to success for minorities. CEDA helped to organize the LULAC Contractors Association of Denver through the activist League of United Latin American Citizens. Lucero also believes that Chicanos have made more progress toward breaking down economic barriers in the past 2 years than ever before. More than 100 Mexican-Americans have been appointed to key positions in Washington, he said, adding, "They are our feeder lines to Government." Lucero cites U.S. Department of Com- merce figures showing that the 17 percent minority population in the country accounts for less than 1 percent of the annual receipts of all businesses, and that the Spanish- origin minority owned 100,212 of the 321,958 minority-owned businesses in the country in 1969. □ EDA Business Loan Helps Alfalfa Farmers in Oklahoma An EDA business development loan is helping to strengthen the market and provide better prices for alfalfa farmers in the Choska Bottom area of Oklahoma. Major crops in the area include wheat, cotton, and soy beans, but alfalfa has been netting a higher ALFALFA PROCESSOR— Joy Cole, owner and operator of the Cole Grain and Feed Company of Muskogee, Oklahoma, is shown standing near the dryer section of his new equipment used to process alfalfa into pellets. An EDA business develop- ment loan helped Cole expand his plant and strengthen the market for area alfalfa farmers. income for farmers because of increased production at a local alfalfa-processing plant. The plant — Choska Alfalfa Mills, Inc. — is located in the Choska Bottom of the Arkansas River Basin, about 5 miles west of Porter in Wagoner County. The parent firm is the Cole Grain and Feed Com- pany of Muskogee. Alfalfa processed at the plant is sold through the parent company. Both firms are owned and operated by Joy Cole. The new facility dehydrates and pelletizes about three times more alfalfa per hour than the old plant did. The pellets are sold mainly to poultry farmers in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The expanded plant was in operation in time for this year's spring crop. EDA approved a $121,550 loan in June 1968 to help expand the plant. Total cost of expansion was $187,000. The new facility processes about 5 tons of alfalfa pellets an hour, compared with the former produc- tion of about iy 2 tons an hour. Cole, who has about 25 employees, said there are 2,200 acres of alfalfa under contract this year. He added that the success of his plant should tend to increase this acreage in future years. □ Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT — September 1969 Renaissance of Traditional Crafts Means Jobs and Incomes For Artisans A renaissance in handmade arts and crafts is producing benefits for artisans and buyers alike. What started as a single demon- stration project in West Virginia, sponsored by a predecessor of the Economic Development Administra- tion, the Area Redevelopment Admin- istration (ARA), has developed as a wave of public appreciation for the finely crafted ceramics, glassware, woodwork, and myriad other forms of early Americana. Miss Nancy Hanks, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, says: "The current revival of interest in American design and craftsmanship is rising steadily and strongly across the country. . . . "Museums everywhere are in- creasingly giving space to craft exhibitions, and the high volume of attendance is evidence of widespread interest. Craft fairs are enlivening the landscape of the country — a celebration of the liveliness of the craftsmen of our times." Reflowering of the craftsmanship that helped shape and flavor this country's cultural heritage is enjoyed in all areas, but has its highest con- centration in Appalachia. It was here that the former Area Redevelopment Administration, in its mission to stimulate economic growth and create new incomes, marked the beginning of the Federal Government's efforts to revive the artisan skills being outmoded by 20th-century technology. ARA approved a $55,000 grant in October 1963 to send two craftsmen and one marketing specialist to provide West Virginia artisans with techniques for displaying and selling their products. Donald L. Page, executive secretary- treasurer of the West Virginia Artists and Craftsmens Guild, believes the value of this aid will be felt for generations to come. "Not only did it renew interests in the arts, but it has produced measurable new incomes for people," he says. "The arts and crafts program in West Virginia has grown by over 3,000 percent since 1963." Page says that the number of arts and crafts fairs held annually in the State has swelled to 55 and that one, the Mountain State Fair at Ripley, has shown an increase in sales revenue from $7,500 in 1963 to $132,000 in 1972. He estimates that the combined incomes of some 2,000 participating craftsmen in the West Virginia fairs alone could approach as much as $2 million annually. The renaissance, which started in Appalachia, has spread so rapidly throughout the country that one Federal official believes the new in- comes it has created could reach an overall total of $15 million in 1972. William R. Seymour, chairman of the Interagency Crafts Committee of the U.S. Government, views the revival as a "sleeping giant." He said it already has become a major tool in rural development and in prison rehabilitation programs, while it is rapidly becoming the number-one effort to help senior citizens earn added incomes and to help youths succeed in drug rehabilitation programs. Seymour ascribes to EDA the role of a pioneer in rekindling interest in the arts, saying, "It was the first agency of government to take an interest in arts and crafts, and the success we are now seeing is due to that early support by EDA." In addition to its pioneering support of the revival of handcrafts, EDA has helped fund publications to stimulate their further development. Most recent support was for publication of the Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— January 1973 BEAUTY, TOO — Candles can be decorative as well as useful, and the hand-dipped variety like these reflect both the maker's talent and imagination and the charm of a craft tradition. SHARED CONCENTRATION - The complete absorption of this craftsman in his work captures the interest of the spectators, who gaze just as intently at him. Interagency Crafts Committee's report entitled, "Encouraging American Craftsmen." This booklet's popularity has necessitated a second printing by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Concerning the economic benefits of objets d'art, the report states: "Handcraft production does not, by its nature, employ people on a mass basis. We can conclude, however, that because of the opportunities for de- velopment and potential marketability of handcrafts, a significant number of jobs could be filled." According to Rose Slivka, editor of Craft Horizons, ". . . the craftsman has demonstrated that there is an economic base . . . for the two values that only he, traditionally and inherently, can afford to give," quality and design. "Quality — the craftsman has discovered that he is satisfying a growing need for quality, unremitting quality of material and workmanship and design. "In a world glutted by cheap production both from his own domestic industrial producers, as well as from foreign imports ... the American craftsman is gracing the attribute of use with genuine quality, His production, limited in order to assure personal control of quality, will not earn him a million dollars, but simply a modest living for himself and his family, as he makes the very best products he can for an ever-increasing American market. "New design — only the craftsman can afford to produce genuinely new design as soon as he creates it. Not restricted by enormous investment in the vast machinery of production, he does not have to invest in the fan- tastically high cost of retooling in order to produce a new shape or a new material." □ MESA WITH A MESSAGE - The Puye Cliff Ruins, a 2-mile stretch of dwellings burrowed out of the volcanic rock in the side of the Pajarito Plateau of northern New Mexico, tell a story of the prehistoric Indians who once lived here. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— July 1972 New Mexico Indians Preserve the Past And Build Anew for Future Growth There is a plateau in New Mexico that depicts the multimillion-year history of the American Southwest — from ancient volcanoes and earthquakes to life among the early Indians. This is the Pajarito Plateau, a desert mesa lying in the foothills of the Jemez Moun- tains. Honeycombing the mesa's sand- colored bluffs, the weathered Puye Cliff Ruins are like links in a chain binding the primitive culture of American Indians long past to the present day. In keeping with its colorful history — spanning many centuries and witnessing such events as 16th-century explorations by the Spanish conquistadores in search of El Dorado — the plateau now is the center of discovery of a new kind of wealth. With the aid of a $368,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration, the Santa Clara Pueblo Indians are preserving the Puye Cliff Ruins as a tourist attraction. Historians believe the ruins represent a true "cliff city" and that they are the first evidence of apartment dwelling in North America. Of practical value are the new jobs and incomes available to the pueblo by preserving the history of the plateau. FOR GOOD HUNTING - To the drum- mer's beat, aline of Indians — antlers topping their headdresses — perform the Deer Dance at Santa Clara Indian Pueblo in northern New Mexico. This ancient ritual, designed to bring good hunting to the people of the pueblo, is one of several that highlight the annual Puye Cliff Ceremonial, honoring the pueblo's ancestors. Because of the interest of Americans in visiting historic sites, the development is expected to create about 60 new jobs and an annual payroll of about $260,000. This can be done, tribal members say, while protecting the scientific integrity of the site and developing it as an interpretive showplace. More than 3,000 visitors are expected at the Santa Clara Pueblo on July 29 and 30 for the 15th annual Puye Cliff Ceremonial. The 2-day festival of Indian life and lore honors the tribe's forebears who moved from valley to plateau and back to the shores of the Rio Grande with the major climatic changes that occurred over several centuries. The late Dr. Edgar L. Hewett, a New Mexican archeologist who helped direct the initial exploration of the Puye Cliff Ruins in 1902, has recorded the life of the prehistoric Indians in his book, "Pajarito Plateau and Its Ancient People." The plateau is about 20 miles by 40 miles in size. It is bounded by the Jemez Mountains on the west, the Rio Grande on the east, Rio Chama on the north, and a valley, Canada de Cochiti, on the south. The entire plateau, said Dr. Hewett, was covered originally with a sheet of grayish yellow volcanic rock, varying in thickness from 100 to 1,000 feet. He agreed with early Government studies identifying the materials as coming, millions of years ago, from the vast crater of the Jemez range lying between Mt. Pelado and Mt. Redondo, and added: If it has been correctly identified, it is the largest crater on the globe ... it is one of the natural wonders of the southwest ... it is to volcanic phenomena what Grand Canyon is to erosion and Carlsbad is to cavern formation. Dr. Hewett made no attempt to pinpoint the first arrival of the Indians to Pajarito — acknowledging that legend says they emerged from a lake called Sipophe — but he raised new interest in the origin of man in North America with the notation that the lack of evidence of European life-styles on the mesa counters the popular belief that American Indians migrated from Eurasia across the Bering Straits. For this reason, he concluded, the study of man in the southwest sector of the United States must begin with the ancient pueblo Indians and cliffdwellers. The artifacts that have been unearthed record that the Indians in this area ap- parently cultivated the soil in the nearby lowlands until the rivers ran dry, forcing them to the plateau in the 11th or 12th century to find water. Here, they also found that the porous volcanic rock of the mountain foothills could be easily shaped into caves. They discovered, too, many readymade caverns formed by centuries of water erosion. The adaptability of the cliffs to development of living units brought about the first communal dwellings, or as they are now viewed, the first apartment-style homes in America, historians report. Dr. Hewett referred to Puye as a "cliff city," perhaps one of the earliest in America. He found little information to back up the theory that the plateau com- munity was a means of defense, pointing out that the warring Indian tribes did not enter the Southwest until centuries later. He found traces of farm activities ad- joining the cliff ruins, identifying the mesa's principal purpose as being to provide food. Continued on next page The 2-mile-long stretch of cliffs is honeycombed with caves on three levels. There are crudely made fireplaces, and some belief exists that stones shaped in the form of headrests and floor areas outlined with embedded stones indicated the location of beds. Only two stories of the cliff dwellings have been unearthed and reconstructed. The bottom level is still buried under the rubble of centuries of weathering. Nearby is a large pueblo, measuring about 275 by 300 feet and containing an interior court nearly 150 feet across. Outlines of the main buildings give evidence that the pueblo contained as many as 2,000 rooms. Also of archeological importance was the discovery of a large reservoir dug into the plateau, garden plots enclosed by rows of stones, irrigated fields, and a 2-mile-long irrigation canal. The breakup of the plateau community is placed by historians in the 13th and 14th centuries, with some small groups con- ceivably lingering on until the early 1500's. Hewett said of the departure: It is not to be supposed that the disap- pearance of the plateau population was due to any event of catastrophic character. Certain evidences of seismic activity have been observed, but there is nothing to in- dicate that the dispersion of the people was due to earthquake shocks; nothing to in- dicate any sudden exodus, but rather a gradual abandonment of the communities as the springs and streams dried up and the farms became untillable because of failure of the water supply. We have, as yet, no means of knowing to what distance the detachments which migrated from time to time from this plateau may have wandered. We find remnants of them at Hopi and in the villages of the Rio Grande Valley to the south, but these small bands do not account for the large numbers that must have occupied the Pajarito Plateau. Among the people nearest in physical type to those whom we have called the Pajaritans are the Tarahumara, a forest people living along the southern Chihuahua and Sinaloa. Historians say the plateau was examined by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, the Spanish conquistador who commanded an expedition in 1540 from South America into New Mexico in search of Quivira, a new world town reputed to be fabulously rich. Later, in 1595, the Spanish explorer Juan de Onate was believed also to have led his troops to the plateau in his efforts to conquer and colonize the southwestern sector of the new world. The Tewa Indians on the Santa Clara Pueblo are happy to preserve the ruins as evidence of their prehistoric culture. In their efforts to share the past with visitors, they are also helping to provide a brighter future for their members. □ HAND-HEWN HOMES - The early Indian inhabitants of the Puye Cliff dwellings found the volcanic rock that formed the cliff could be easily shaped into living units near their fields atop the plateau. TOP HOUSE — This pueblo constructed on top of the Pajarito Plateau by the prehistoric Puye Cliff Indians contained as many as 2,000 rooms. Reconstruction of a portion of the pueblo follows lines defined by archeological research. The community is believed to have been abandoned early in the 16th century, possibly because of a water shortage. Lens Plant Gives Maryland Town Brighter View On Employment Looking through rose-colored glasses , has a double significance for workers in a western Maryland plant: they like what they see and it means jobs for them. Nearly 300 workers, about half of them women, have been enjoying jobs and weekly paychecks since the opening of the Bausch and Lomb Corp. plant near Oakland, Garrett County, in January 1971. Their combined annual income is $1.6 million, with long-range employment projections targeted for approximately 1,000 workers. It was this potential for creating rural jobs and incomes that resulted in an Economic Development Administra- tion loan of $3,750,000 to Bausch and Lomb to establish +he large one-story plant. Nearly all the workers were recruited from Garrett County and were given on-the-job training to grind and polish eyeglass lenses for shipment to laboratories. The lenses are made at the com- pany's Rochester, New York, plant and delivered by truck to the Maryland facility for the second stage of processing. There they undergo grinding and polishing, but not to individual prescriptions. This final stage is performed at optical laboratories throughout the country. The glasses can be clear or soft- lighted, tinted rose or green, says Lloyd G. Thompson, manager of industrial relations for Bausch and Lomb at Oakland. Sales are expected to total about $13 million for a production of about 8.6 million pairs of lenses by the 4th year of operation, the company estimates. In addition to domestic sales, the plant will produce a semifinished lens for export. The Maryland Department of Economic and Community Develop- ment estimates that more than 300 indirect jobs — in service and allied industries — will result from the number of workers employed directly at the Bausch and Lomb plant. D FUSED FOR BETTER VISION -Bifocal lenses are taken from a furnace by Larry G/otfe/ty at the Bausch and Lomb Corp. plant in Garrett County, Maryland. The elements of bifocal lenses are fused at extremely high temperatures in this operation. POLISHING COMPOUND -Reminded by the legend, "Hot! ouch!", that he has a furnace next to him, Bausch and Lomb employee Randall Layman combines ingredients for a compound used to polish lenses. In this process, the compound is heated in the furnace, then placed in a polisher body, the metal mold lying on the table in front of him. Lenses later are inserted in the body and placed on a special machine for polishing. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— June 1973 New Kind of Extension Service EDA Funds Help Provide Catalyst For Gloucester Fishing Industry Commercial fishing in the United States — often hampered by conventional methods that have not kept pace with technology — is undergoing substan- tial change in the Gloucester area of Massachusetts. Gloucester is perhaps chiefly noted for its land- ings of haddock and flounder. Now, however, the area is adopting a new look. The primary catalyst has been a 2-year pilot pro- gram that has given Gloucester fishermen an in- formational extension service whose functions par- allel its nationwide counterpart in the field of agri- culture. The extension service was operated during this time with the help of about $43,500 in tech- nical assistance funds from the Economic Develop- ment Administration. The extension service has been an arm of the city's Fisheries Commission. Lobster and Shrimp Net New Interest One obvious sign of change is the appearance of commercially feasible deepwater lobster fishing. Another is a new and growing shrimp industry. Until recently, local fishermen were unable to take lobster out of deep water at an economical cost be- cause of rough bottom areas, which prevented the effective use of the conventional trawl — a large, baglike net dragged by boat along the floors of fishing banks. What helped change this situation is a new kind of lobster trap, made of steel and wire mesh, and coated with plastic. Tests proved so encouraging that a local private corporation was formed, and more than $225,000 was invested to put the new traps to use. The company is Deep, Deep Ocean Products, Inc., of Gloucester, which converted two fishing vessels and a processing plant for the new lobster industry. The company employs 16 persons. However, the long-term growth of the developing shrimp industry may prove of even greater benefit to the area than the lobster industry. At the peak of the season, three processors em- ployed about 85 persons. An additional 30 men worked aboard vessels fishing exclusively for shrimp. As infant industries, shrimp and lobster fishing may appear to have limited impact when viewed against the entire fishing economy of the area. But the extension service reports shrimp and lob- ster fishing holds the key to new growth in the Gloucester area, where the unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in 1967. SHIPSHAPE— Gloucester fishermen repair nets while their vessel sits in port and the day's catch is unloaded. The main- stay of Gloucester's economy, the fishing industry has been undergoing great change with help from a new extension service. EDA funds enabled the service to operate for 2 years. About 115 fishing vessels, each of 5 net tons or more, operate out of Gloucester. About 1,000 crew- men work aboard these vessels. In the area are 30 fish-processing plants employing about 1,400 persons. Landings in 1968 totaled about 100 million pounds of fish valued at $7.7 million. As always, the role of haddock was substantial, but its importance is expected to decline in future years as it becomes less and less available, marine biologists have found. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— August 1969 Part of this decline in haddock is expected to result from increasing competition from foreign fleets fishing off our shores. The new lobster and shrimp industries are ex- pected to help fill this slack for the Gloucester area and provide jobs for haddock fishermen who may be forced out of work. Other innovations also have been made to strengthen the area's fishing industry, which is the backbone of the local economy. The Marine Fisheries Extension Service finished its second year of operation in April. In addition to the EDA funds, help also came from the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, which provided substan- tial consultation and research services. Prior to the establishment of the Gloucester ex- tension service, experience indicated here and else- where that a new method or product often remains out of reach of those who need it most — the fisher- men and processors. To strengthen the local economy and provide job stability and growth in the fishing industry, the extension service has bridged the information gap in the Gloucester area. Service is Model for Other Areas The greatest significance of this service lies in the future it has helped shape for Gloucester and the model it can provide for hard-pressed fishing communities in all parts of the Nation. Besides furnishing a strong guiding hand in the development of the lobster and shrimp industries for Gloucester, the extension service has: • Helped introduce new corrugated paper con- tainers with styrofoam inserts, which are chemically chilled. Expanding markets for fresh fish had cre- ated a problem in the transporting of catches at their peak of quality. The new containers provided the answer and are being used extensively in the Gloucester area. The extension service reports the containers now are in use in Maine and the Che'sa- peake Bay area and will soon be put to use in the New Orleans area. • Helped promote a new method of handling small "hard-to-process" flounder. Atlantic Seafoods, Inc., of Gloucester, adopted this method in producing a baked, stuffed fish item and reports "excellent" consumer acceptance. • Published a weekly column on commercial fish- ing in the Gloucester Daily Times. The column in- vites requests for information dealing with all as- pects of the industry. • Published a booklet containing international, Federal, State, and local fishing laws of concern to the industry. This booklet has been distributed to State and Federal agencies as well as to fishermen and processors. • Helped obtain for lobstermen vital business loans from the Federal Government after early spring storms washed away their newly set gear. • Helped in the testing of a bottom-trawl rede- signed to provide a higher mouth opening. Four vessels now use it regularly. One major advantage of this type of net is that it is more resistant to damage from rough bottom areas than the standard trawl, according to the extension service. TO TRAP A LOBSTER— The "Puritan" and "Carole & Gary," shown docked in Gloucester Harbor, are "draggers" of the type converted for use in deep-water lobster fishing. A new type of trap enables local fishermen to catch lobster in deep water at a commercially feasible cost. What does the extension service mean to the two men mainly responsible for its success? Charles E. Martin, who has served as director, says the service "was the most worthwhile project the Federal Government could undertake to help in the immediate needs of the American fishermen." Solving technical problems does little good if "per- sonal contact with the fishermen" is never developed, he says. Salvatore F. Favazza, the executive secretary, points to the "dire need" for a working liaison between the industry and agencies and organiza- tions engaged in research and development directly related to commercial fishing. Expressing gratitude to EDA for the opportunity to show the value of such a liaison, Favazza declares that the success of the Gloucester service "has graphically demonstrated the need for a nationwide fisheries extension service" similar to the extension service provided for the American farmer. □ Along Interstate fld; in Central Pennsylvania TRUCKERS SPECIAL - Y-shaped, with ample parking for the carriers. Truck- stops of America Inc . of Clearfield. Pa . is providing improved personal services for drivers while creating new local jobs and adding a look of orderliness to the highway frontage New-Look Truckstop Serves Needs Of Motorists and Area Growth Veteran drivers of the heavy rigs — the vans, tankers, and reefers — take their coffee and doughnuts in comfort and ease in Pennsylvania these days. This change in the stereotype image of drivers resting at roadside diners is enjoyed, not only by the men — and women — who pilot the 70,000-pound trucks, but also by the 100 people who have found jobs by offering them new truckstop services. These services are available at Truckstops of America, Inc., a 12-acre complex that has brought together at one location nearly all the conveniences that drivers need on cross- country travels. The complex was opened last October and has since been hailed by the truckers as one of the bright spots in the drab routine of cargo hauling. A $497,500 business development loan from the Economic Development Ad- ministration helped to construct the $1,250,000 complex. But before construction could begin, EDA also approved a $397,500 public works grant to the Clearfield Municipal Authority to extend its waterlines to serve the highway cloverleaf site and other areas. The Federal investment, which served as a foundation for a partnership with the owner, a local bank, and the Clearfield Foundation, helped create the 100 new jobs and an estimated $624,000 in annual wages. Philip Saunders, president of Truckstops, expects employment to increase soon to 150 and the total payroll to reach nearly $1 million annually. The new business venture has been a success, Saunders said, because of the services it offers the drivers. Besides the fully automated diesel units pumping about 20,000 gallons of fuel daily, "we are giving consideration to the personal needs of the drivers," said his Clearfield manager, Rodman Eminhizer. I "I hauled cargo for 24 years along the east coast and down to Florida, and I know there are times when you must do some shopping, or you are tired and want to shower and sleep," he recalled. The Truckstops complex was designed to provide in addition to food and beds a variety of other attractions. WHEN TIME IS SHORT— A reserved section of the dining room is held for drivers who can make only brief stops Truckstops of America. Inc . said the facility was designed to make truckdnvmg more enjoyable by offering special services Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— April 1972 At the Y-shaped building in the complex, drivers who believe their safety would be imperiled without a thorough rest may register at a 34-unit motel located there. Those with an appetite may eat at a 200-seat capacity restaurant and relax in a no-charge lounge offering television, billiards, and easy chairs to enjoy the break. If they wish to do some quick shopping for gifts and other necessities, drivers may patronize a combination variety and gift shop in the building. Finally — and this is the attraction that has received the most attention — there are showers to begin the day right or for anytime. Because there are an increasing number of women drivers and husband-and-wife teams, Truckstops provides ample facilities to serve the fairer sex, too. There are about 5,000 trucks that roll through Clearfield on Interstate 80 daily and, according to Eminhizer, the majority are turning into Truckstops. "We get a lot of compliments because of these conveniences," he said. "Both men and women who have been on the road for long periods need a break like this to do a safe job on the highways. I've seen many of them leave here better able to haul cargo." Eminhizer believes they are better prepared for the road because of the at- tention given to their particular problems. For instance, he said, it is not generally known, but drivers for many years have suffered from a lack of time to do their shopping for gifts. This is especially true at Christmas and other holidays when they are on the road for several days at a time. "They can't stop and park those big rigs in a downtown area, and stores are often closed in their free hours," he explained. The variety and gift shop was designed to afford them the opportunity to find the dolls and toys their children order from Santa Claus and the personal things they them- selves need away from home. With annual wages for drivers ranging from $12,000 to $20,000, there is seldom any argument over the price of gifts, said one official. From dusk to dawn, Truckstops is open to serve, not only the trucks, but also the 15,000 or so passenger cars traveling 1-80 at that point. In the few months Truckstops has been open, sales receipts indicate that it will: — Gross about $3 million a year; —Pay annually about $8,000 in State sales taxes, $10,000 in real estate taxes to Clearfield County, and $70,000 in corporate income taxes; —Collect about $800,000 in motor vehicle fuel taxes for the Federal Government and the State of Pennsylvania. The trucks that use 1-80 come from as far as California and Maine. They haul the meats from processing plants in the Midwest and apples from the Far West. They carry precision parts from the New York area and clothing from New England. "We've seen all types of cargo going through here," said Eminhizer. "We know from the way drivers stop two and three times that we are doing a job for them." He hopes they spread the word to others. Truckstops was the first of its type for Pennsylvania, but it is one of many such complexes appearing on the 40,000-mile interstate highway system, providing jobs and wages for local residents as well as services for the drivers. Q / A IN 1 i r "1 >HS7 Ulfi STEADY SUPPLY - This cedarwood water tank is one of about 20 such storage facilities being installed with financial assistance from the Economic Development- Administration to assure a year-round water supply for 29 villages in American Samoa. Economic Development American Samoa Style The way of life that has long been characteristic of the Pacific island territory of American Samoa is gradually changing. New jobs are expected for Polynesians, and work is under way to eliminate certain health hazards that have recently appeared. The improvements arise from a partnership between the government of American Samoa and the Economic Development Administration to meet new needs of that Pacific island community and to ward off problems from a hard-to-imagine trend there toward urbanization. To speed the program, while preserving the scenic wonders of the island. EDA has approved: — a $980,000 grant to develop an 80- acre industrial park at the village of Tafuna, and — a $530,000 grant to improve water systems in 29 villages on five islands. The industrial park is to be located adjacent to the Pago Pago International Airport. The site is owned by the government of American Samoa, which will lease land to industries locating plants there, thus relieving the territory's dependence on tourism and shipping for its economic support. Samoan officials believe that some 300 jobs can be created by industries at the park. The grant for improved water facilities was awarded under the Public Works Impact Program (PWIP) or- dered by President Nixon to create new and useful jobs in areas of high unemployment. It was requested because of what the territory called "alarming statistics" regarding emigration from the islands and the "equally serious" migration from outlying villages toward the more highly developed areas within the territory. Island officials explained: "While the causes of both emigration and migration are highly complex, the lack of both water and employment opportunities in outlying areas must be recognized as significant factors." Although blessed with an abundant rainfall, the territory said that thousands of its people suffer the ef- fects of severe and prolonged water shortages each year. The steep mountainous terrain of the islands in combination with highly porous volcanic soils results in a rapid runoff and dissipation of the natural rains, officials said, adding: "No part of the territory possesses water collection, storage, and distribution systems as are known in highly developed nations; typical villages outside the urbanized Pago Pago Harbor area rely entirely upon open streams or small natural springs for their water supply. "When rainfalls are heavy, the streams often overflow and are highly contaminated by siltation and animal wastes. During periods of low rainfall (which commonly occur between May and October) many of these streams Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— December 1972 WATER SYSTEMS FOR SAMOANS - Village workers {above) carry pipeline sections for an EDA-financed village water system in the Pacific is/and territory of American Samoa. Clearing a site for a water tank at Fagalii (right) are some of the approximately 50 persons who are being employed on the project. and springs are reduced to stagnant trickles and, in some cases, dry up completely." Under these circumstances, officials said, many villagers are forced to carry water in small containers for distances of several miles in order to maintain themselves and their families. The EDA funds will help to construct small stream or spring reservoirs and install storage tanks and connecting pipelines to villages. The improvements will be located on the islands of Tutuila, Annuu, Ofu, Olosega, and Tan. Small facilities to hold the water in reserve are to be constructed at 17 locations, while some 20 storage tanks will be installed with distribution systems added for 29 villages. Of the estimated 29,000 inhabitants of the territory, about 3,000 are unemployed, and some of these are expected to find work on the project. D Camouflage New Jobs u Plant Nets far Devils Lake Sioux WHEN you cash a welfare check, you always feel that there is someone looking over your shoulder. When you cash a check you have earned, you can hold your head high and know that you can do whatever you want to with your own money." The speaker — Jim Baker, 35, a Chippewa Indian who works as a lead maintenance man at the Devils Lake Sioux Manufacturing Corp. plant in Fort Totten, North Dakota. The plant was constructed in 1973 with the assistance of a $750,000 business development loan from the Economic Development Administration to the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe. The firm, jointly owned by the tribe and the Brunswick Corp., produces camouflage netting for the U.S. Army. Baker is one of more than 200 Indians, mostly Sioux, but representing eight other tribes also, who make up 70 percent of the plant's work force. Although he is a Chippewa, he was born and reared at nearby Devils Lake. After receiving vocational training as a young man, Baker found it necessary to leave home to find jobs to use his skills. "I wandered around a lot to find jobs," he said. "I worked as far away as California and Texas. But I finally came back home, and this place gave me a chance for the first time to get a job that uses what I have learned and to earn my way in my own community." SPACE TO WORK— Four assembly lines occupy much of the 70,000 square feet at the Devils Lake Sioux Corp. plant. LOOKING AHEAD— Lead man on the production line at Devils Lake Sioux Corp., Virgil McKay looks fonoard from his first steady job to a management position some day. CHECKUP — As a camouflage net revolves underneath the assembly platform, workers check for loose patterns and make necessary repairs. Carl McKay, 26-year-old chairman of the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe, echoed the sentiment expressed by Baker. "The main good the plant has done has been the reduction in welfare on the reservation," McKay declared in a recent interview in his office in the tribe's new community center, built with the assistance of a $200,000 EDA grant. The tribe used an EDA grant of $206,000 to provide water and sewer facilities for the industrial area in which the plant is located. McKay said the tribe is using income from the lease of the plant and from its share of the profits to repay the Federal loan, and added, "We expect to pay off the loan before the 5-year maturity date." The tribal chairman reported that his people are now looking to develop recreational facilities and a small tribally owned commercial complex for the reservation. continued on next page Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT USA— 1976 DEVILS LAKE SIOUX continued The Brunswick Corp. and the tribe have an agreement that the Devils Lake Sioux can purchase up to 10 percent of the stock of the Devils Lake Sioux Manufacturing Corp. each year. Last spring the tribe used its option to buy an additional 7 percent, bringing its total holding to 37 percent of the stock. McKay noted, however, that the tribe expects the Brunswick management, which has worked unflaggingly to train the Indian work force, to remain in charge of the operation for some time to come. "On some reservations," he explained, "Indians have tried, before they were ready, to run complicated industrial facilities, and they have lost their investments and their jobs." At the plant, Personnel Manager Steve Virag said that some Indians have had a difficult time adjusting to the demands of industrial work and to the idea of a timeclock. The work force, however, is about 70 percent Indian and has been at that figure since the plant opened in March 1974. B. J. Richmond, vice president and general manager of the company, noted that "we had to hire more than 400 before we got the relatively stable group of 275 employees we now have." Absenteeism was the greatest problem in the beginning, but management worked with its Indian employees, taking them back two, three, and even four times. Virag said much of the absenteeism among Indians is due to strong family ties in the community. On a good dav, absenteeism is only 4 to 5 percent, and when it goes much above that it usually is because .of something going on in the community, such as a funeral. "These absences we are basically prepared to accept," he added. In addition to cutting welfare rolls on the reservation, the plant has brought a sharp reduction in unemployment. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the rate of 61 percent in March 1973 has been cut to a relatively steady rate of 43 percent since the plant opened. More significant, in the year 1972, 89 percent of the tribe was unemployed for at least 6 months. Tribal and government jobs were providing the only sources of steady employment. The plan of the Brunswick Corp. is to train Indians gradually to assume executive jobs in the plant, as well as jobs in the operation of the assembly lines producing the camouflage. One Indian already in a management position is Rex Moore, purchasing agent. Moore, a Devils Lake Sioux, left the reservation 15 years ago to manage an art shop in Livingston, Montana, where he sold his own works and those of other Indians. He returned 6 months ago to assume his present position. Moore said that wages from the plant are assuring Indians of better treatment from merchants in nearby Devils Lake. "When an Indian can compete economically, he can compete socially, artistically, and in every way," Moore said. "The Indian with money in his pocket has a different personality. He can talk to business people face-to-face." Moore agrees with Tribal Chairman McKay that the tribe will need the assistance of Brunswick Corp. management for years to come and should move slowly in seeking control of the operation. One young Indian who says he is looking forward to moving into management some day is McKay's 22-year-old brother Virgil, who said work as a lead man on the production line is his first steadv job. "I worked at several jobs for 2 or 3 months each and at one job for 6 months before I came to the plant," Virgil said. When asked if he looked forward to getting into management, Virgil smiled and said, "Why not? I know it will take a long time to learn OPPORTUNITY— Indians even/ way 'when they have \ can compete ii >od jobs, says E Moore, a management-mill Sioux employed as a pitreha Dank Lake Sioux Corp. led Devils Lak sing agent for t all I need to know, but I hope to get there." One Indian family that has improved its economic status as a result of the plant is that of Dianne Jackson, a worker on the assembly line. She was one of the first group trained for the job and has been at the plant for 18 months. Her husband also works there as an off- line inspector of camouflage, and together they earn more than $10,000 a year. What has the money meant to them? "Better clothes for our three children," Mrs. Jackson said. "And we have a new house. We moved into the house the first of the year, and it took us about 3 months to get it furnished. We are renting, but after we have paid rent for awhile it will be ours." Under a Federal housing program, part of the rent payments for the new home in St. Michael, 5 miles from the plant, will be applied to a downpayment leading to ownership. The Jacksons are typical, according to a company chart, which shows that Indians have increased their earnings an average 405 percent over their previous income. Tribal Chairman McKay said the plant is a force pushing Indians toward assimilation into the dominant culture, but it also can lead to programs that can bring a relearning of Indian ways and values, because it allows his people to stay in the area. He summed up: "Earning money is going to instill again the fierce sense of pride that once was so common to the Sioux people." □ They've a date for Turkey Day MANY OF THE TURKEYS served at Thanksgiving tables on the eastern seaboard this year will have been processed and dressed by some 400 workers at the Swift and Co. plant at Wallace, North Carolina. The plant was constructed in 1967 with the help of a $780,000 loan from the Economic Development Administration. It was later leased by Swift. The 400 new jobs created with the help of the EDA loan earn about $1.25 million in annual wages. The plant processes nearly 25 mi/lion pounds of turkeys annually. □ Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— November 1972 -One That Stayed in Chicago Meat Processor Creates New Jobs In Old Business at Stockyards The meat-processing plants never should have left Chicago, and they realize that now; they are returning because the skilled labor and supply facilities are here. This statement by Sidney Jaffe, board chairman of Frigidmeats, Inc., explains his company's decision to remain and expand in the former Chicago stockyards area, adding 100 new jobs now and expecting to add more in the future. The 50,000-square-foot expansion to the inner-city plant is being made with the help of a $1.8-million loan from the Economic Development Administration. Considered a prime stimulus to the redevelopment of the former livestock center, the company's project will add $1.8 million to the area this year in annual employee wages and incomes. More than half the jobs will go to women, and a majority of all jobs will go to minority workers. Acknowledging that the industry left Chicago in a general decen- tralization of meatpacking activities, Jaffe adds: "There is no argument that slaughterhouses should be located near livestock centers. However, the great bulk of employment is in meat processing which, experience shows, must be located in metropolitan centers. Here they have skilled labor and transportation facilities." Frigidmeats buys meats from 100 or more slaughterhouses and sells frozen portion-controlled meats to distributors. Although an early, severe winter in Chicago delayed construction, one section is already occupied, and the entire expansion will be completed by June 1973. Annual company sales totaled $14 million before the work began. They are expected to go to $23 million this year and jump to $50 million in 3 years' time. More New Jobs for Chicago EXPANSION SITE- This steel-grid roof frame marks the site where expansion is progressing for Frigidmeats, Inc., a meat-processing firm located on the fringe of what once was Chicago's stockyards area. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— April 1973 COLD CONTROL - Thirty giant refrigeration units were installed in the Frig id meats plant during, appropriately, freezing weather. The units have the job of maintaining a mid -30' s temperature in processing rooms and 15° below zero in storage areas. FIRM FOUND A TION - Workmen pour concrete for the Frigidmeats, Inc., expansion project. TRIMMING TABLES -Dressed warmly for the low temperatures inside the plant, these Frigidmeats, Inc., employees take steaks from a conveyor and trim them prior to weighing and packing. Company officials say that an operation of this type, fully expanded, can ready 200,000 pounds of steak for shipment every 2 hours. CUT TO ORDER — Delivered from the cutting machine, steaks are placed on a conveyor belt, destined for trimming, weighing, and packing according to standards prescribed by individual States. Frigidmeats, Inc., officials say the sale of frozen, portion-controlled meats is increasing because restaurants and military installations, in particular, find less waste than in butchering operations of their own. Seafood Processing Speeded on River Going Barges in Alaska YUT BIAT — In the native Alaskan Eskimo tongue, "Yut Biat" means "Of the People," an appropriate name for the cooperatively owned Bethel fish-processing barge. EDA financial aid — $530,000 in grants and $132,500 in loans — provided total building cost. From river depths to deep freeze within 2 hours — that's the time it takes to whisk an Alaskan salmon or whitefish from net to cold storage, now that fisher- men on the Kuskokwim and Yukon Riv- ers have their seafood processing and freezer barges in operation. The two barges — 150 feet long, over 40 feet wide, and 12 feet deep — boast flash freezing units capable of handling 50,000 pounds of fish a day. Cold storage space can hold approximately 500,000 pounds of frozen fish, and the crafts' water purification systems can provide a continuous supply of treated river water to satisfy all processing requirements. Launched with the help of grant and loan funds from the Economic Develop- ment Administration, the barges have given a big boost to the Bethel and Em- monak area economies and opened up new opportunities for growth in related service industries. Bethel, with a 1970 population of 2,- 176, lies some 425 miles due west of Anchorage. It is the growth center for an area of western Alaska close to 100,- 000 square miles in size, with an esti- mated population of 15,000. Ninety-five percent are native Eskimos and Indians. Emmonak, with a population of about 500, is located some 150 miles northwest of Bethel, near the mouth of the Yukon PACKED IN PANS — Eskimo women aboard the Emmonak fish-processing barge pack fish in pans prior to placing them in the sharp freeze unit. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— January 1971 River on Alaska's western coast. It is the growth center for the Yukon region. Both the Bethel and Emmonak econ- omies have long been based almost en- tirely on subsistence hunting and fishing. Limited educational facilities, language obstacles, and a harsh environment have contributed to high unemployment and low family incomes in the two areas, well below national poverty levels. Now, Kuskokwim Fishermen, Inc.. a nonprofit cooperative with about 170 members drawn from some 15 villages in the Bethel area, and Yukon Delta Fish Marketing Co-op, similarly organized with 60 members from 7 villages near Emmonak, are looking to their new float- ing fish-processing facilities to help make a brighter future. Among the benefits expected: • A longer fishing season; • Development of a market for species not commercially caught before; • Higher prices for fish and better in- comes for co-op members; • Reduced waste and increased prod- uct quality through speedier processing; • New local payrolls in processing and related activities; • Greater involvement of area resi- dents in project management. Besides the great advantage of speed in processing and freezing, the new barges bring added mobility to the river fishermen. During the salmon season, the Bethel barge moves from Bethel to the mouth of the Kuskokwim River to insure rapid transfer of each day's catch from net to cold storage. After the salmon season is over, the barge proceeds up the Johnson River, a Kuskokwim tributary, to rendez- vous with schools of whitefish. The Emmonak fish-processing barge, in turn, moves from Emmonak closer to the mouth of the Yukon to take ad- vantage of the favorable harvests of sal- mon available there. Then, during the winter months, when the rivers are frozen over, villagers in the Bethel and Emmonak areas draw from their own fish supplies stored aboard the ice-bound craft. Dedicated to better living, the 1 are truly an investment for all seasons. □ FOR THE FREEZER — A Yukon River fisherman unloads his skiff into a weighing basket before his catch is raised to the deck of the Emmonak fish-processing barge. Total financ- ing for this barge was provided through $620,000 in grants and a $155,000 loan from the Economic Development Administration. Mini-Industrial Park in Watts Helps Young Firms To Grow Aminipark with "in-and-out" quarters for industrial and com- mercial tenants is one of the new facilities . helping develop en- trepreneurship among local people in the Watts section of south-central Los Angeles. The minipark quarters are located in four "tiltup" concrete slab buildings, funded with a $1 million public works loan and a $500,000 public works grant from the Economic Development Administration. Tenants moving into these quarters are both new and nearly new minority employers who need help with their businesses. As they become more self- sufficient, they will move out and make way for others. The minipark itself is part of an industrial-commercial complex of 45 acres known as Watts Industrial Park, for which site preparation, access roads, and utilities have been provided with the help of EDA public works funds totaling $1,275,950. In all, $3,843,950 in EDA grants and loans have been approved for Watts Industrial Park facilities, including the minipark. Like the concept of on-the-job en- trepreneurship training, the minipark buildings themselves are innovative. Walls were poured in concrete frames laid out on the ground. Hooks inserted and hardened in the concrete were fastened to cranes and hoisted or tilted into place, creating 70,000 square feet of shell enclosures readily adaptable to light industrial or commercial use. University of California at Los Angeles architectural students are designing floor plans, and subprofessional students will make tenant im- provements as needed. MINIPARK -With EDA financial help, new industrial and commercial quarters are built for Watts area entrepreneurs. The minipark complex soon will enable as many as 22 tenants at one time to receive management assistance and hasten their advancement into the world of business as seasoned bosses. EDA studies in the midsixties cited Watts as an area growing in manpower while suffering major unemployment and underemployment. In 1970, Watts became one of the urban areas eligible for EDA aid through programs that have an "ap- preciable impact in arresting ten- dencies toward dependency, chronic unemployment, and rising tensions." Over the years, lack of educational and health facilities or appreciation of them, as well as crime associated with idleness that increased with Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— March 1973 automation, had led Watts deep into poverty and second-generation unemployment or underemployment. There were few jobs in this inner city. Public transportation from Watts to jobs outside often took 2 hours. A special census in 1965 cited 43 percent of the families living at poverty level. Watts had pluses to offer business and industry, however. South-central Los Angeles, including Watts, looked toward a growing number of young new workers ready for the labor market in the 1970's. There was land for in- dustrial use, and transportation was available to markets through air and harbor facilities and via established roads and rails. Maybe jobs could be brought to Watts. Economic Resources Corp. (ERC), a local nonprofit business development corporation, was formed by black and white businessmen in June 1968. Its concern was south-central Los Angeles, especially Watts, and the need to provide or point the way to such services as lending, bonding, and assuring working capital; personnel counseling and training; transportation to work; and the acquiring, selling, or leasing of land for industry and commerce. Aided by EDA and other Federal funds, ERC efforts have already created industry in Watts. ERC's faith in Watts encouraged Lockheed Aircraft to become the in- dustrial park's first tenant. ERC "built to suit" Lockheed a manufacturing plant with a capacity for 300 workers on 6-1/2 acres of the park. Lockheed leases the building from ERC and TIL TUPS IN THE MAKING - Walls for the shell enclosures designed for light industrial or commercial use in the minipark section of Watts Industrial Park, Los Angeles, are first poured in concrete frames on the ground. When hardened, they are raised or tilted into position by cranes. Floors and roofing follow. makes parts there for L-101 1 jumbo-jet planes. The minipark is now preparing to train and counsel minority en- trepreneurs in such matters as elec- trodata control accounting, marketing and sales, purchasing and contracting, credit and collections. ERC is developing the training through an $808,000 EDA loan that provides for construction of a community service building with space for offices and classes. A child care center to serve families of entrepreneurs and their employees also is planned. In addition to public works aid, EDA business development loans have been made to three firms to build manufacturing plants at Watts In- dustrial Park: — I.M.A.G.E., Inc., $588,847 to help establish a $1,096,000 highly sophisticated electronic circuit board plant; — Watts Manufacturing Corp., $250,000 to help establish and equip a $385,000 metal products plant; — Familian Corp.. $1,437,500 to help build and equip a $2,250,000 Dyna Manufacturing Division housewares plant. These ventures follow planning supported by feasibility and market studies funded through EDA technical assistance. Now, ERC goals to create new jobs and business opportunities in south- central Los Angeles through coor- dination of Federal programs and private enterprise are coming in view. By the end of 1972, ERC announced approximately 1,000 new jobs already in the industrial park, more than 90 percent held by minority businessmen and their employees. At the same time about 75 percent of the minipark leases were signed. For the future, the corporation forecasts that jobs for 1 ,800 persons will have been created when Watts In- dustrial Park is completed, including those in the minipark where new jobs should develop each year. Like a critical pulse, the minipark is starting up to develop precious human resources — businessmen and their staffs who can help make the inner-city area of Watts grow into a better place to work. □ SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME- Workmen make forms for the walls of Building No. 2 of the Watts Industrial Park's minipark section. In the background stands Building No. 1, first of four "tiltup " concrete slab buildings constructed in the south-central Los Angeles project with $ 1.5 million in financial aid from the Economic Development Administration. Restoration Means New Prosperity at Historic Shakertown THE EAST FAMILY BRETH- REN'S SHOP— The building on the right contains an exhibit of Shaker carpenters' tools on the first floor and has four bedrooms on the second floor for overnight guests. B„ 'uilding on its past has brought promise of a bright economic future to Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, according to Economic Development Administration officials in the area. Here, an authentic Shakertown has been restored to its original 19th-century charm, attracting tour- ists from all 50 States and more than 40 foreign countries. The Shakers were a celibate sect named for the frenzied motions of their religious dances. Dual doors and stairways in their buildings remind tour- ists that men and women never used the same en- trances or stairs. They replenished their number by taking in con- verts and orphans. At one time the Shakers at Pleasant Hill numbered about 500. The Shaker movement reached its peak just be- fore the Civil War, when the Shakers were known all over the country for the silks they made by rais- ing silkworms, and the jellies, brooms, medicines, and seeds they sold as far away as New Orleans. Back in August 1961, local citizens formed a cor- poration, Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, Inc., to plan and implement the restoration of the village from the walls left when the colony was abandoned in 1910. In addition to private funds, the Economic Devel- opment Administration's predecessor agency, the Area Redevelopment Administration, loaned $2 mil- lion to the corporation in 1964 for the project. Plans for restoring the first eight buildings were drawn up by the late Washington Reed, who helped plan the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. However, much of the credit for the dignified buildings goes to the original architect, Micajah Burnett, for constructing walls so solid that 25 buildings withstood the passage of time and are still there much as the Shakers left them. The first eight buildings are now complete and open to the public, and others will be restored as money becomes available. Today, in the large stone building rebuilt for a museum last year, the Shakers' tools, medicines, seeds, and other articles reflecting their simple way of life can be seen. Visitors to the restored village can spend the night in one of 54 authentically furnished rooms in restored houses and dine on Shaker dishes in the dining room, served by girls in the ankle-length dresses and net caps of the Shakers. Most tourists are attracted to the gift shop, where furniture made at the village workshop in the simple Shaker style is on sale. Other items popular with the tourists are copies of the Shakers' woven carpeting, curtains, and bed coverlets, all reproduced by local people. Cans of Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— December 1968 DINING PORCH AT THE TRUSTEES HOUSE— All dining rooms are furnished with reproductions of original Shaker pieces made by craftsmen in the village. paint in the exact bright shades used by the Shakers also are available at the gift shop. All this means a glimpse of the past for the visitors and a view of economic prosperity for the local people at Pleasant Hill. Already about 105 persons are employed full time at Shakertown serving the tourist trade. During the summer months, when the volume of tourists is heaviest, more jobs for teenagers and college stu- dents are created. Shakertown officials expect year-end tallies to show over 45,000 visitors for 1968, and they predict 75,000 in 1969. Gift-shop sales are expected to reach $53,000 next year. Already the dining room serves an average of 300 meals a day, and the food pur- chases are largely local. The success of the project so far has inspired the local officials to continue planning more attractions. The Shaker Meeting House is being completed at present to house administrative offices as well as a large auditorium. Eight more guest rooms may be completed in the future. Now a history of the village is being compiled and will be printed in time for the Christmas trade. When the idea for the restoration was first born, the planners had two purposes: to increase the tourism potential in the immediate area around Pleasant Hill, and to provide new employment op- portunities in the area. In a few short years, these dreams have been more than fulfilled at Shakertown, and the future is looking brighter every day. □ THE CENTER FAMILY HOUSE— This building, where host- esses in Shaker dress are shown welcoming young tourists, contains an exhibit depicting Shaker culture and daily life. THE EAST FAMILY SISTERS' SHOP— Mrs. Ailcy Caudill's weaving exhibit is a popular tourist attraction. The curtains, rugs, and bedspreads used in the guest rooms are handwoven in the Kentucky mountains. What A Job Means to A Man by Chris Brady Economic Development Specialist, Jackson, Mississippi The Economic Development Administration has helped create an estimated 12,500 new jobs in Mis- sissippi through industry-oriented public works grants and loans and business development loans. The following account tells what such a job means to one man and his family. 1 i» J. Jackson is poor no more. A lifetime of rock-bottom poverty and bitter frustration ended "just in time" for Jackson, 41, when he went to work in the Georgia-Pacific Cor- poration's new, multi-million-dollar plywood plant in Gloster, a small rural community in southwest Mississippi. That was in 1967. Now, after two quick promo- tions, Jackson operates a debarking machine and takes home $84 a week — a net that far exceeds the State's $1,700 per capita income. What does a regular, well-paying job mean to a man ? "Everything, just everything," says Jackson with a glance at his wife and 11 children. "It means that I can feed my folks and put a decent roof over their-head. It means that I can send my kids to school and dress them in decent clothes. "Before I went to work at G-P, I couldn't hardly make a living. I never had a regular job — I guess most I ever made was $30 a payday whenever they needed me at the sawmill. And for 10 years that was the only job I could find. I tried farming, but the little man can't make any money out of that. After a Lifetime of Hard Times "We've had a lot of hard times, a lifetime of them, it seems. But now things are looking a lot better. I tell you, though, this job came just in time. I don't know what would have come of us if G-P hadn't moved in when it did." Part of the credit for Jackson's escape from poverty must be given to a former mayor of Gloster and what he has called a "miracle" in the form of help from the Economic Development Administra- tion in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Walker Carney, Jr., recalls the hectic weeks and months when, as mayor, he and the community of 1,500 worked, first to land the G-P plant, and then to meet its utility requirements. "We wanted G-P in the most urgent way, and I promised their people during negotiations that Gloster would provide the necessary water, sewerage, and natural gas," Carney says. "This is a poor section of the State, one of the poorest, and our area had just recently lost two industries that employed 600 or 700 people." TIm- famib . . . G-P did decide to locate in Gloster, and as con- struction of the plant moved ahead, Carney cast about for means to carry out his end of the bargain. Raising the necessary funds proved highly diffi- cult, and Carney "figured it would take a miracle" to complete the job. Then he heard about the Eco- nomic Development Administration. Just a few days after Christmas 1967, EDA authorized a 50-percent matching grant of $89,000 to help Gloster develop its industrial utilities. G-P — and L. J. Jackson — were in business. The Georgia-Pacific plant, representing an initial capital investment of $4 million, has been so suc- cesful that it is now in the midst of a $2.5-million expansion. Direct employment has risen to 300, an estimated 60 percent of whom are black. Like Jackson, most of these men had run the gantlet of economic deprivation before opportunity knocked. L. J. (that's his full given name) can now sit in his comfortable, seven-room brick home in the Smithdale community of Amite County and talk about the past, present, and future. "I was born and raised on a small farm, not far from here, that couldn't suport us. I had seven sisters and a brother and things were always pretty Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— May 1969 hard. I got through the eighth grade and then had to go out and scratch for a living. . . . "Geneva and I were married, let's see, 21 years ago, and the children started coming. The 11 of them range in age from 20 down to 2, and they all live right here at home. "As I said, we had it hard for a lot of years. A man couldn't find a regular job around here, and I didn't think it would be any better for us up north. "We had to draw commodities for a long time, there was no other way. That's the hardest part about being poor — not being able to feed your folks proper, not being able to 'do' for them," Jackson said with quiet emotion. "Most of those years we lived in a six-room frame house that was freezing in the winter and boiling in the summer. That old house needed fixing real bad, the roof leaked something awful. But I didn't have the money to do anything. "But, now, things are looking a whole lot better for us. "After I went to work at G-P, the Farmers Home Administration lent me some money to build this house." A television set ("the first one we've ever had") sits in a corner of the living room. A 1968 model has replaced the "thirdhand" rattletrap that had provided erratic transportation for the family. Mrs. Jackson's household chores are made easier by such modern conveniences as an electric stove, refrigerator, and clothes washer and dryer. The children are neatly dressed, and those of school age attend classes regularly. The Jacksons live within their means, saving "a little bit" from each paycheck against the rainy day they hope will never come again. "I couldn't finish school," Jackson says, "but I want the children to go right on through college if they can." One of the boys, Clarence, 19, will enter Alcorn College this fall. An outstanding athlete, the 6- foot 1-inch, 220-pound young giant won a 4-year scholarship on the basis of his record as an All- Conference guard on his high school football team. The eldest son, Sammy, 20, works with his father at G-P and nets $80 a week. He contributes his share to the family treasury. Jackson also is continuing a long-term, $5,000 investment in 84 acres that he has been homestead- ing for years. He fell behind in the payments just before he went to work for G-P. "They were going to take it away from me." But, with the help of a G-P official, a plan was devised to permit Jackson to maintain possession of the land. 'This job . . . means everything to me' "It's a good feeling to have a piece of land, but, no sir, I'm not going to farm it, least not full time. I'm just going to stay where I am at G-P until I get too old to work anymore. This job, it means everything to me," he said with conviction for the third time. "All I ever wanted was a chance to work regu- larly, to earn a decent living, to make my own way. A man, he don't feel like a man if he can't work, if he can't 'do' for his folks." Hanging on the wall of the living room is a framed picture of two fishermen in combat with an angry, troubled sea; the distant shore is only dimly seen. The picture is perhaps symbolic of Jackson's own struggle against the tide of economic deprivation that had engulfed him for so many years. But, now, L. J. Jackson — wage earner, land- holder, doer — has made it to shore. He is poor no more. D JOB BUILDER - When operations start at the Metro Meat Packing Co. plant, now under construction in South St. Paul, Minnesota, later this year, the company will employ 250 persons, have an annual payroll of nearly $2.5 million, and help the city overcome an earlier loss of jobs when a major firm closed. City Responds to Factory Closing With Bold Job-Building Campaign South St. Paul, Minnesota, is a city with its eyes on the future — a city that is described as "on the way up again." Having survived the economic disaster of losing 2,650 jobs and a $22 million annual payroll in one fell swoop, this community that lives in the shadow of the influential Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan complex today displays a youthful vigor charac- teristic of a new competitive spirit and a revitalized economy. "Looking back is rough," says Robert Hansen, executive director of the city's Economic Development Authority. "But by looking to the future, we've already attracted or interested industries providing nearly 1,250 new jobs and annual payrolls of more than $10 million." The brighter outlook is in sharp contrast to the shock wave that spread through the city in 1969 upon the closing of the giant Swift & Co. plant, historically a major support of the South St. Paul economy. That one setback touched more than the 2,650 plant employees who became jobless; there were many others who lost em- ployment at the city's Union Stockyards and at allied industries through reductions that delayed expansion plans during the wait for full realignment of the Nation's meat- processing industry. In keeping with its mission to help communities to help themselves with such problems as unemployment, outmigration of skilled labor, and sluggish economic development, the Economic Development Administration joined in partnership with South St. Paul in 1970 to launch a growth campaign. With $192,000 in EDA technical assistance grants, the Mayor's Economic Development Committee has helped to achieve: — A revitalization of the meat-processing industry — still the largest single employer in South St. Paul; — Establishment of new industries and development of an interest in other firms that can lead to additional permanent new jobs and incomes; — A diversification of the city's economy by the preparation of sites to attract manufacturing industries. "And we can't overlook the new spirit in the city," Hansen adds. "We feel we've seen the worst of the crisis, and we're on the way up again." Businessmen credit Frank Grassy, chairman of the Mayor's Economic Development Committee, and the com- mittee staff, headed by Hansen, for the new attitudes. Hansen points out that his planning program to spark the city's ailing economy rests heavily on rescuing and developing those meat-processing operations that South St. Paul has retained. "After all," he says, "with the demise of the Chicago stockyards. South St. Paul can claim the title of having the largest stockyard operation in the world. It is to our benefit to help keep that industry alive." A principal effort is being made to persuade another mainstay, Armour & Co., to maintain its packing plant and 2,900 jobs in the city. Hansen reports that the committee is helping that company to meet State water- pollution regulations and says that the new skill center to be constructed in South St. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— August 1972 WELL IN HAND -Putting the finishing touches on a plastic bowl, this employee is one of 50 at Miller Little Giant Co., Inc., a manufacturer attracted by the South St. Paul Economic Development Authority to help diversity the city's economy. Paul with the aid of a $153,000 EDA grant will provide trained labor for Armour. "There's talk in South St. Paul that help of this type might have kept Swift here and might bring them or other processing plants back," Hansen notes. And the jobs that were held by the blacks, Chicanos, and members of other minority groups from the Twin Cities may be available again in the future, he adds. Similar assistance has been offered in the conversion of a 30-acre section of the Union Stockyards for industrial uses. The city's economic planners participated in establishment of a new firm, Metro Meat Packing Co., which is constructing a $4.5 million hog-processing plant in the area. It will employ 250 persons and have a yearly payroll of about $2.5 million. To provide labor skilled in the methods of processing meats for the new facility, EDA helped to arrange a $300,000 Federal grant for an on-the-job training program. Hansen and staff also assisted the Ajax Transfer Co., a meat-distributing firm, in obtaining an expansion loan to add another 25 employees. In keeping with the prevailing trend to keep pace with industrial changes, Hansen said, Ajax is employing a new concept in meat handling. The company assembles the products of 40 different companies for delivery by refrigerator trucks — becoming, in effect, a one-stop servicing agency. And negotiations are under way by the Economic Development Authority to help establish industries allied with meat- packing. A tanning company, to employ 90 persons, has expressed an interest in a 5- acre site at the stockyards, to be joined by a hide curing operation to employ 50 persons. Hansen also has been working with a trucking company for a warehouse- distribution center, to employ as many as 225 persons, and a food storage facility. Studies on relocating a railroad spur along the Mississippi River floodwall have been ordered with Hansen's help to allow the Farmers Union Central Exchange to keep its headquarters and 500 jobs in operation and, possibly, to see them grow. The broad-scale review of land use was begun to realize full value of the industrial sites along the 3-mile riverfront. A $136,000 EDA grant was made in 1971 to extend water and sewer facilities and to construct an access road to a landlocked area, thereby improving development conditions for a 100-acre industrial site. The new facilities helped Farwell, Ozmun and Kirk & Co., a wholesale hardware dis- tributor, to expand and add 45 employees. The company, attracted to South St. Paul by the Economic Development Authority in its program of industrial diversification, now employs 425 persons and has an annual payroll of $2.3 million. Diversification was strengthened also by the committee's success in attracting Miller Little Giant Co., Inc., a maker of plastic products and an employer of 50 persons; the Shelter Corp. of America, Inc., a fabricator of modular homes and employer of 100 persons; and the Brown-Minneapolis Tank Co., employer of 25 persons, which con- ducted a project to demonstrate the assembly of 150-ton barges offered for sale to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "We haven't recovered the $325,000 the city lost in annual taxes paid by Swift, and we haven't created jobs equal in number to those lost, but I believe we are making progress," says Hansen. "Without the EDA support, we wouldn't be this far along the road to success." □ FIRM FOUNDATION — Workmen pour concrete slabs for the hog-processing operation at the Metro Meat Packing Co. p/antsite. The new firm will represent a $4.5-million investment in South St. Paul's industrial future. Worcesterland Industrial gem of the Northeast TIMOTHY J. COONEY, JR. Wo, Worcester's history is steeped in industrial manufacturing. Creativity was the hallmark for the early in- dustrialists in the Worcester area who helped to revolutionize manufacturing around the world. In- genious men like Eli Whitney, inven- tor of the cotton gin, Elias Howe and the sewing machine, Russell Hawes and the paper folding machine and Ichabod Washburn, creator of a machine for drawing steel rod into wire are but a few of an extensive list of contributors to industry. During the intervening years of the nineteenth and twen- tieth centuries, industrial manufac- turing continued to play a major role in the development and advance- ment of the Worcester area. Today, more than 1,500 manufac- turers throughout Worcester Coun- ty produce a wide contrast of prod- ucts for both national and interna- tional markets. Industry in Worcester and its surrounding com- munities has been responsible for the area's strong economy over the years. The solid industrial base has enabled the Worcester area to weather difficult economic times. During the past few years, many Worcester area industries have been able to maintain existing economic strength and to make major in- vestments toward future im- provements. In light of this brief background, Worcester's immediate economic future is bright because of the stability offered by the industrial base. An indication of existing in- dustrial strength are the figures for 1974 which reported that 58 area companies added more than 2.5 million square feet of industrial space. Their choice to expand in Mr. Cooney is executive director of the Central Massachusetts Chapter, Na- tional Safety Council, and former manager of communications for the Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce. A 157 acre, $5.2 million in- dustrial park is scheduled to go into development in Worcester in the fall of 1976 with completion by the spring of 1978. A 50 percent Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant coupled with a City Council approved Community Development Block Grant will provide the $5.2 million develop- ment. More than 1 million square feet of new plant, over 3,000 perma- nent jobs, badly needed short term construction jobs and ex- pansion of the city's tax base are the project's anticipated results. Conceived by the Worcester Business Development Corpora- tion (WBDC) in the mid 60s, the plans lay dormant due to high development costs until EDA grant monies became available. The area's Overall Economic Development Planning Commit- tee working with the City Manager's Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) secured EDA preliminary approval in late 1975. The Worcester Airport Commission and the OPCD will be in charge of development. The WBDC will assist in marketing and promo- tion. Central Massachusetts indicates the desirability to locate at the crossroads of the New England transportation system, to take ad- vantage of the pool of skilled labor and the large number of support in- dustries. A high percentage of the area's industrial firms, unlike those in most New England communities, have concentrated on the production of durable goods. The area is, however, also noted for its great in- dustrial diversification. Hundreds of products of all kinds are manufac- tured, including electronic com- puters, racing shells, machine tools, firearms, abrasives, wire, cable and wire products of all kinds, ball valves, lubrication oils, paper prod- ucts, aerospace forgings, rolling mills, athletic shoes, leather prod- ucts, steam turbines, phar- maceuticals, grinding machines, data processing accessory equip- ment, looms, micro-electronic com- ponents, and countless others. Over the past few years, national economic factors have upset many communities in the industrial Northeast. Inflation and the raw materials shortage have drastically effected the economy. Worcester has managed to ride through the difficult economic times of the 70s because of its solid in- dustrial base. And, now that the country's economy is showing signs of coming alive, Worcester's economy is geared to further expan- sion and increased employment. • Ironically, several Worcester area companies reported significant sales and earnings increases during the past few years of our soft national economy. For example, Wyman- Gordon Company President Joseph R. Carter reported that his company "put in a very good year" for the first three quarters with the slowdown in the last quarter being attributed to a national slump in the airline business. Also, Coppus Engineering Corporation, manufac- turer of ventilation systems for the marine industry and turbines for ships and industrial use increased production shipments some 35 per- cent from 1974 according to Ray- mond J. Forkey, Coppus president. His company experienced a similar increase the previous year. Another Worcester area company which has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years is Data General Corporation in Southboro. Presently recognized as the second largest producer of mini-computers in the world, the Southboro facility is responsible for assembly and shipping of the computer product. The company has finalized plans for new corporate headquarters in West bo ro. In spite of the national and regional economic turmoil of the seventies, several of Worcester's leading industrial giants have ex- panded their operations and holdings to bring about diversifica- tion as well as an improved earnings situation. Norton Company, the world's largest maker of abrasives, committed nearly $25 million to new construction and expansion projects in 1975. Several of Norton's acquisi- tions have helped to develop a safe- ty products division which operates 18 separate manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada with projected sales of $35 million. Likewise, Morgan Construction Company, manufacturer of steel rolling mills, is involved in two separate joint developments with major steel companies. For ten years, Morgan and The Steel Com- pany of Canada have marketed the Stelmor Process and they are work- ing on a refinement of that process with U.S. Steel. In addition, a third Worcester company, Riley Stoker Corporation added a modern coal gasification unit — the Riley- Morgan Producer — to its product line. This addition coupled with record sales for 1975 cause Riley President James J. Farrell to ex- press optimism about his com- pany's future earnings. Worcester is no different from other traditional industrial centers which have major divisions of either national or international con- glomerates. While the area economy somewhat determines the growth of these plants, there are strong national factors which also come into play. Two such Worcester companies are Heald Machine, division of Cincinnati- Providence and Worcester Railroad train WC3 on its initial trip from Worcester to Plainfield, Conn., last April. Two locomotives pull a 28-car train. Plans are underway for expanding the capacity of Worcester Municipal Airport, as indicated in this perspective drawing by Edwards and Kelcey. Milacron and Bay State Abrasives, a division of Dresser Industries. Both of these plants have managed to more than hold their own despite severe cutbacks in the automotive and airline industries. Heald Machine, a multi-million dollar operation which manufactures products which are shipped worldwide, currently employs 1,200 people. Bay State Abrasives, the largest grinding wheel manufacturer in the United States is presently ex- panding its international markets. Continued on next page In addition to the strong industrial manufacturing base, Worcester has an excellent transportation network to enable area companies to ship their products via interstate highways, railroads or to the Worcester Municipal Airport and Logan International Airport. One ex- ample of prime development which was a result of the transportation network is the Cabot, Cabot and Forbes 1-290 Industrial Park which contains Northboro's three largest employers — New England Grocer Supply Company, Incoterm and Digital Equipment Corporation. Another community which has ex- perienced tremendous new development primarily due to its location is Westboro — ideally situated near Routes 1-290, 495, 90 (Mass. Turnpike) and Route 9. The area is growing as a trailer-truck freight center with more than 180 common carrier truck lines operating in the area with 50 of these firms maintaining terminals. In addition, the number of ex- cellent highways available to Worcester business and industry, Worcester has a municipal airport which is perhaps the community's most overlooked asset. More and more area businessmen are becom- ing convinced that the Worcester Municipal Airport can be a lot more convenient and efficient than Logan International Airport. Delta Airlines is the major carrier; the airport has increased its freight carrier service considerably in the past few years. The airport has completed $1.2 million in construction in the past two years. Along with excellent trailer truck and airline possibilities, the Worcester area is also serviced by Not only has Worcester's existing industry made its contribution to the area economy but also the fact that some 40 new manufacturing con- cerns have moved into the area in the past few years. Many of these new companies have located in one Since the late 1960s, the City of Worcester and several area towns have realized approximately $3 million in tax revenues from Worcester Business Development Corporation related developments. The following sites have been developed through WBDC efforts: Site Acres Com- Employees Acres panies Remaining Higgins Industrial Park (Worcester) 27 13 350 Gold Star Distributor Park (Worcester) 16 6 285 Clark/Tacoma Streets (Worcester) 4 2 75 Millbrook Street (Worcester) 3 1 15 Holden Industrial Park 35 6 440 16 Goddard Industrial Park (Shrewsbury) 34 3 325 West Boylston Industrial Park 30 1 225 149 32 1,715 16 two railroads: the Boston and Maine, and the Providence and Worcester. Worcester has excellent rail yard switching facilities and for years has been New England's largest main line freight inter- change. Approximately 2,000 freight cars, or an average of 24 freight trains pass through Worcester daily. Railroad freight traffic in the area has grown steadily in the past several years. of the 18 industrial parks which dot the area. The combination of ex- isting and new industry is responsi- ble for a value added figure of $1.5 billion. The combination of a heritage of inventiveness and a tradition of in- dustrial strength will help the Worcester area to attract new in- dustry and develop new products in this difficult economic and extreme- ly competitive times. The growing downtown Worcester sky- line, as glimpsed from Interstate High- way 290. Frontier Era Ghosts Are Revived As Spur to Jobs in Western Towns SILVER AND GOLD WERE THEIR GAME -From the second floor of this building at Nevada City, California, the South Yuba Canal Company oversaw its hydraulic mining operations. The assay office of James J. Ott, at right, teemed with excite- ment when, in the late 1850's, appraisal was made of the first silver nuggets dis- covered in the historic Comstock Lode, These buildings will be restored with an EDA grant. The legendary ghosts that haunt the frontier mining towns of the Far West are coming back to life to help find some of the prosperity of that golden era. In at least two of California's better known boom-and-bust towns — Nevada City and Columbia — they are trying to rekindle the boisterous spirit of those gold bonanza mining days for the tourists now flocking to the mother lode country. Like the hardy pioneers of the 1850's who had confidence in the future of the West, the Economic Development Administration has joined as a partner in this new venture, approving grants of $253,800 for work at Columbia and $242,000 at Nevada City. When the rugged atmosphere of former times is restored, local officials say there will be 100 new jobs in hotels, restaurants, and souvenir shops at Nevada City and ap- proximately 150 full-time and 30 part-time jobs at Columbia. The new incomes from these jobs and the money that tourists spend will be the closest thing to an overnight fortune that the towns have found in the last century, said one official. At Nevada City, the EDA grant will bring back to life buildings that once housed the South Yuba Canal Company, the pioneer group that harnessed the waters of the mighty Sierras for hydraulic mining, and the assay office of James J. Ott where the first silver nuggets of the historic $300- million Comstock Lode in nearby Nevada were appraised. The two-story buildings went up with the fever-pitch speed that swept the mine fields in those days. From its second-floor office, the canal company masterminded an in- tricate network of sluices and reservoirs. One historian has written of the company: "Their high-pressure nozzles poured $270 million of 'color' into the sluice boxes — a sixth of all the gold ever mined in California — and washed away more earth than was excavated from the Panama Canal." On the outskirts of Nevada City is prime evidence of the impact of hydraulic mining on the landscape. This is an aboveground minesite of which it has been , written, "the weirdly eroded cliffs ... are the best sur- viving example of the ecological nightmare of hydraulic mining." Hydraulic miners were called an "upstart breed," but their system of recovering gold was the most efficient of the time, and their activities were important to opening the West, another historian has noted. Nevada City will restore the buildings to their mid-19th century grandeur, locating in them offices of Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Information. Because Columbia teems with history, the California State Department of Parks and Recreation called upon EDA for assistance in returning the stately Morgan Hotel to "its rightful position as a historic site." Built in 1856, the hotel catered to California's wealthiest and best known people. Its wrought iron balcony and its shaded en- trance helped to make the hotel the center of activity for miners. Of the city itself, it has been written that "her fiat valley is blessed with a unique geological formation: a limestone bed, full of potholes which caught and held the gold flakes that washed down from the surrounding hills over thousands of years. "Thus, the topsoil proved exceedingly rich, yielding — according to one estimate — about $87 million." In the early 1850's Columbia's 15,000 or more residents made the city the second or third largest in California. In those days it had 40 saloons and gambling halls, 17 general stores, eight hotels, three churches, three theaters, two fire companies, and four banks. The restoration is being done with meticulous care. In addition to serving as a tourist attraction, the hotel will serve as a laboratory for courses in hotel and motel operation. The State of California has asked the Columbia Junior College to conduct the training program at the hotel. State officials estimate that the more than 350,000 visitors touring the museum and other attractions at Columbia will double in number in the future. The Morgan Hotel is expected to be a key attraction for the tourists. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— April 1972 Tradition Sets The Stage for Texas Indian Tourist Center In the scenic Big Thicket country of southeastern Texas, tourists are en- joying the cultural heritage of two Indian tribes who, despite the lack of a written language, trace their history through colorful Indian legends to the early 1500's when they met the Span- iard, Hernando de Soto, and his fellow explorers. Today the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes are welcoming other explorers in record numbers — now, however, as visitors to a newly developed tourist center on their reservation. Joined in partnership with the Economic Development Admin- istration in 1966, the Alabama- Coushatta Indians say they are preserving their heritage by sharing it with both United States and foreign tourists. In doing so, they are creating new jobs and incomes for their members. With nearly $600,000 in initial EDA grants, the tribes developed a center that attracted an estimated 300,000 guests in 1972, the first complete year of operation. There were at least 100 jobs for Indians during the peak season and a payroll approaching $140,000 in new income. Gross revenues totaled more than $400,000, and net profits to the tribal council reached about $100,000. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— May 1973 "This success is just the beginning of what we expect to be a much larger showing in coming years," says Carson Watt, director of tribal enterprises. "We believe this is the finest tourist center in southeastern Texas. We expect it to grow because the Indians who serve as visitor guides are making friends who have told us they will return with other friends." Long-range estimates for 1978 point to a visitor total of 650,000, a work force of nearly 250, and an annual payroll of about $350,000. The 4,600-acre reservation has long been noted for its scenic hillsides covered with pine and hardwood trees. Swamps and meandering rivers crisscross the valleys. For many years, tribal members sought to maintain a livelihood by selling timber, but the effort fell short of their goal. Located within the Deep East Texas Economic Development District, the tribes came to EDA for help to study the economic growth potential of the reservation. Using the study as a long-range development plan, and with EDA construction grants, the tribes have preserved existing natural attractions while adding a 30-acre lake, dam and swimming beach, picnic areas, and camping and trailer facilities. More recently, EDA provided the principal funds to construct four LEGENDARY-An Indian guide holds a small alligator as he tells visitors to the Alabama- Coushatta Reservation how this reptile relates to Indian legend. The reptile garden is one of the at- tractions designed to enable the two tribes to achieve self-sufficiency through tourism. OLD CRAFTS RENEWED - Containers in the form of birds and turtles suggest the imaginative scope of artistry to be found in items displayed in the museum and crafts center at the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation. Here a hand loom is prepared for another craft product. buildings — all architecturally oriented to the landscape and tribal heritage. The first building houses a museum of tribal history. Here, through drawings and other art forms, are recalled the Alabama Indians of the pre-Columbian period, who took refuge by the Chattahoochee River at a place they called "Alibamy," a name later interpreted to mean "place of rest." Another building houses the Inn of the 12 Clans, a restaurant where Indian food is served, and smaller dining areas. An information center and visitor facilities are located in the remaining two structures. But the attractions only start here. They continue in other areas of the reservation, which are reached by specially built tourist buses and a real "Iron Horse" train. The train ride carries visitors through an animal kingdom with buffalo, ponies, longhorn cattle, bears, and wolves. Penetrating the thicket of pine trees, the train passes swamps, baygalls, and an endless number of plants native to the area. From the unobstructed views provided by the buses, visitors can enjoy a reconstructed Indian village, com- plete with teepees, a log cabin, and springs where women washed their clothes many years ago. Lectures are offered visitors at a reptile garden, which contains a rare American crocodile, turtles, alligators, and 22 species of snakes. An Indian dance square has been constructed, and tribal leaders say they believe it to be one of the most authentic in existence, patterned after those used by the tribes in times past. The "Na-Ski-La Dancers" of the reservation perform for the en- tertainment of visitors. Approval of new grants totaling $2,123,000 in April will allow the tribes to move into the next phase of tourist center development. With the funds they will add a theater, an arts and crafts building, campgrounds, and zoo structures to serve more tourists. The grants will also help to make sewer and water system improvements, do road surfacing, construct a garage and another building to house a grocery store, laundromat, and service station, and equip and landscape the area. "We have plans for still further developments to increase the number of year-round jobs," says Watt. "At the rate we are going, I believe we can accomplish the full development in the near future." Jobs for Jonesport Harbor Project on Upper Maine Coast Serves Boaters' Needs And Boosts Employment Pleasure boating along the northern coast of Maine will be safer, as well as more enjoyable, when work is completed on a new harbor facility at Jonesport. The harbor, which will offer shelter to visiting yachts and cruisers during surprise nor'easter storms, has been designed to be a major port of call along the New England sailing lanes. And — a fact that is becoming better known each day — recreational activity of this type can mean new jobs and incomes. Jonesport officials estimate that at least 100 new jobs will be created by the project. The Economic Development Ad- ministration approved a grant of some $300,000 for the facility in keeping with its mission to join in partnership with State and local governments to employ unused resources in projects to provide new incomes and employment. When the welcome flag to yachtsmen is hoisted at the harbor early next year, local officials say they will have skilled experts available to serve all visitors. In addition to the 300-foot pier extending southward into Sawyer Cove, the development will offer berthing accommodations, anchoring facilities, fuel and servicing supplies, and skilled workmen to make necessary repairs. Jonesport officials look forward to the marina as the first step in a develop- ment that, they say, can include motels, restaurants, and gift shops. Harvey K. Dunning, a retired U.S. Navy Commander and now the First Selectman for the town of Jonesport, has promoted the harbor for several years, bringing together EDA and the State of Maine in early 1970 to make the plan a reality. Recognizing the economic potential of the project. Dunning also has or your community * pM) witk the promoted job-training programs, which have been conducted to provide necessary skills in diesel and small engine maintenance and repair, welding, navigation and boat handling, carpentry, electrical wiring of buildings, and other construction- related activities. James B. Coffey, Jr., executive director of Eastern Maine Development District, the economic development district that helped plan the harbor, says he is confident the project will help stem outmigration of young people and pleasure boats from the area. Townspeople along the coastline of Maine, where the famed coves, hills, and colorful fishing villages are at- tracting more visitors each year, say they believe that developments like Jonesport harbor will preserve the natural beauty of their areas while helping young people to find work. Local officials foresee the increased boating as a stimulus also to con- struction of additional homes along the coastline. At the same time, experienced yachtsmen recognize that safety on the sea requires way stations for emergency repairs and supplies. In planning the harbor it was believed that Jonesport could serve both as a rest stop and as the easternmost terminus for coastwise cruising in New England. Jonesport, about 25 miles from another harbor, is expected to attract cruising yachts from all the New England States. □ SAFE HA VEN - Surveying the area where work has begun on a new harbor and marina at Jonesport, Maine, are Harvey K. Dunning, First Selectman for the town of Jonesport (left), and Donald J. Bushey of Eastern Maine Development District at Bangor. The project, financed with help from the Economic Development Administration, is expected to create 100 new jobs in the area. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— April 1973 United Tribes Training Center Provides Indians With Vocational Social Skills WELDING —Self-confidence groivs on a do-it-yourself project. EACH year, 150 American Indians meet the challenge of learning academic, vocational, and social skills at the United Tribes Employment Training Center at Bismarck, North Dakota. With help from the Economic Development Administration, the learning process soon should become a more pleasant and rewarding experience. The center occupies the historic Fort Lincoln military reservation, and the vocational classes have been taught in generally antiquated buildings constructed for other purposes early in the 1900's. Not for much longer, though. The United Tribes of North Dakota Development Corp. has been awarded a $2.5- million grant by EDA to construct a new skills center. The development corporation's board of directors is composed of the tribal chairman and a representative from each of the five North Dakota reservations: Fort Berthold, which includes the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara); the Devils Lake Sioux; the Turtle Mountain Chippewa; the Standing Rock Sioux; and the Sisseton- Wahpeton Sioux. The center accepts students from these tribes and all others in the United States. Courses are conducted under the sponsorship of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 70 percent of the faculty are Indians. All students attend classes in personal development and adult education, as well as in vocational skills. Personal development helps provide social skills and awareness through such classes as communications, personal management, human relations, and "world of work." Adult education courses cover reading, language arts, and mathematics. The subjects taught include writing, geography, science, literature, and business math. The vocational education department offers classes, on-the-job training, and placement in the following fields: automobile body repair, automotive engine and drive train mechanics, building trades, business clerical, food service, human (social) services, nurse's aide, painting, police science, and welding. Most of the trainees are young people, and the center has dormitories for men and women. Some students are married, however, and to meet their needs the center provides housing, an elementary school with grades one through eight, and a child development center. □ Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT USA— 1976 In California's arid lands Quechan Indians Harness Sun To Grow Tomatoes, Harvest Jobs Many centuries ago — before Spanish explorers roamed the West — Quechan Indians farmed the Colorado River bottom lands in what are now Arizona and California. Today that same Quechan Tribe is returning to its historic livelihood with a demonstration project allied to present-day needs for food, jobs, and incomes. Working in partnership with the Economic Development Administra- tion, the tribe is proving that tomatoes can be grown in environmentally controlled conditions in California's extremely arid Imperial County, and on a year-round production schedule. In doing so, it has created 32 permanent jobs on the Fort Yuma Reservation, 20 of them held by women. with an anticipated annual income of $225,000. Also, the project is expected to realize an estimated $375,000 from produce sales. EDA approved a $272,500 grant for the project because previous tests in comparable projects at Tucson, Arizona; Sonora, Mexico; and the Persian Gulf sheikhdom of Abu Dhabi had proved successful in training unskilled workers and creating jobs. "We knew we had the resources and manpower to do the same here," says William Gray, a long-time tribal employee and manager of the Quechan Environmental Farms. "The Indians are rapidly acquiring the necessary skills for the work. They are demonstrating that tomatoes can be grown on a year-round basis for steady jobs and incomes." To show that it can be done, the Quechans constructed 5 acres of specially designed greenhouses. They are fitted with glass fashioned to block out the strongest sunrays, equipped with machinery to make a complete change of air each minute, a cooling system to maintain an average 87° temperature, and an irrigation mechanism that uses about 32,000 gallons of water a day. When Gray says, "we leave nothing to chance," he is referring to many innovative practices used to grow and protect the plants. For instance. CAULKERS-lndian labor performed most of the work in constructing the greenhouses on the Fort Yuma Reservation, located in the far southeastern corner of California. Here, members of the Quechan Tribe caulk seams in metal structural beams prior to fitting them into the vast framework. when the tomatoes are planted as seeds, soil is no longer used. Instead, the seeds go into a mixture of sand and rock housed in a small container made of sawdust, peat moss, and fertilizer, which will easily disintegrate and eliminate any possibility of shock in transplanting. "We don't bother with rich soil because nutrients are fed in the watering," says Gray. This, too, shows innovation. The plants are placed in rows between finger-size tubes from which water is sprayed three times a day, 1 1 minutes at a time. Gray discounts any fears of heavy use of water in traditionally dry southern California. A ground well was Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— June 1973 developed to meet daily needs, which. Gray says, are "only a mere fraction of the water needed to irrigate 5 acres of open-air plants." Twelve weeks after seeding, the tomatoes are harvested under a routine designed to protect them against damage and to insure the largest possible shipment. Provision has been made for 60,000 plants to be grown on a rotating schedule to allow a continuous harvest. There will be a period in July and August when the cost of maintaining an 87' interior temperature in the face of a torturous 1 1 5° exterior temperature will be prohibitive. Gray says. During that time, he notes, plants will not be HANDLE WITH CARE -More than half the new jobs created by the Quechan Indian greenhouse demonstration project are held by women, who receive on-the-job training in the care of young plants. Women of the Quechan Tribe are shown here tying mature tomato plants to an overhead grid, thereby eliminating the need for plant stakes. In all, 32 permanent jobs have been provided in this initial phase of the ED A -aided project. grown, but preparatory work will be performed for the following year. Workers will hold their jobs during this period, he adds. On the strength of their having grown tomatoes successfully in a preliminary demonstration project, the tribe is negotiating with several buyers. including the U.S. Department of Defense, for the sale of its crops. It planned to make its first shipment, in May, to distribution centers in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Alameda. "The tribe has a future in this project," Gray concludes. ''It works; it can be expanded to include cucumbers and other vegetables, and it can stimulate economic growth." Tribal officials believe the project will attract food-processing plants and similar related industries to the farming community. The added incomes will also provide investment funds to further develop recreation and tourist centers, thereby boosting employment still more, they add. In addition to the jobs already created, the Quechan Indians see another benefit from tomato growing; it has helped them return to the life- giving earth of their forefathers. fri«* — . 4/ m PUSHBUTTON CLIMATE— Close control over greenhouse temperature and air circulation is critical to successful indoor tomato cultivation in the hot, dry climate of southeastern California. The Quechan tribal member at this control box on the Quechan Environmental Farms has received special training to insure maintenance of an 87' temperature and a complete change of air every minute for optimum growing conditions. Overton overcomes decline Appalachian County Holds Young People With Jobs and A Place To Grow Out-migration of young workers and high- school graduates is a steady annual process. That statement from the first Overall Economic Development Program (OEDP) prepared by Over- ton County, Tennessee, in late 1961 summarized the situation for this community on the rugged Cum- berland Plateau of the Appalachian chain. Drawing up the OEDP was the first step in the county's participation in the Federal economic de- velopment program that has helped bring about a dramatic comeback over the last few years. Grants and loans and technical assistance from the Eco- nomic Development Administration have provided the stimulus for the creation of jobs that have slowed, and in some cases reversed, the annual out- ward trek of the young. The OEDP noted that for many years the area's economy had been based on agriculture and coal mining. Technological innovations in both indus- tries increased production while eliminating jobs in the 1940's and 1950's. During that period, people moved away, and at the same time unemployment ranged as high as 17 percent. From 1950 to 1960, county population dropped from 17,566 to 14,661. Area Lacked Basic Facilities for Growth In assessing their needs for economic growth, county leaders observed that most of the few manu- facturing jobs in the area were held by women. The greatest problem was to create new industrial jobs for men. But to make Overton County and Livingston, the county seat, more attractive for employers as well as workers, many basic facilities were needed. The community organized a Basic Facilities Foundation and set out to build social and cultural facilities — making use of all available Federal and State assistance programs. The result is an impressive total development package. Among projects completed in the last few years or nearing completion are: • Improvement and expansion of the water and sewer systems at Livingston, with the aid of a grant and loan under the Accelerated Public Works Program. • Expansion and improvement of the hospital at Livingston, with funds from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under the Hill-Burton Act. • Completion of a regional vocational-technical school to serve adults and high-school dropouts, with assistance from HEW and the Appalachian Regional Commission. • Completion of a storm-drainage project, with assistance from the Hull-York Lakeland Resource and Conservation Development Project funded by the Soil Conservation Service. • Development of an airport at Livingston with aid from the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission. • Construction of 50 units of public housing under the program of the U.S. Department of Hous- ing and Urban Development (HUD). • Construction of a new community center, with the assistance of a HUD grant. • Completion of a new county library in Living- ston, with assistance from HEW and the Appalach- ian Commission. • Development of a 9-hole golf course and coun- try club, with financial aid from the Farmers Home Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture. THE JOB'S THE THING— Three workers handle stock in the Old Hickory Furniture plant, Livingston, Tennessee, built with the aid of a $429,000 EDA Joan. The three— from left to right: Charles Reagan, James Melton, and Bobby Lawson — were unemployed when the plant opened. These new basic public facilities have made the area attractive for private industry seeking loca- tions for plants, and the Economic Development Administration has played a key role in helping to provide a location for industrial development. In May 1967, EDA approved a $155,000 grant to pay 50 percent of the cost of developing a 128-acre industrial park near Livingston. The funds helped Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— August 1969 Overton County — '. . . we feel we are on our way again' install water and sewer facilities and construct ac- cess roads for the park. In June 1968, EDA approved a $429,000 loan to help establish a furniture plant in the industrial park. The Old Hickory Furniture Manufacturing Company, one of the park's first tenants, is now operating with 60 full-time male employees and a payroll of approximately $5,000 a week. The plant makes bedroom furniture and living- room tables. "Most of our employees were unem- ployed before, and some of them had been without jobs for a long time," Old Hickory President Ever- ett Carlton declares. "We have orders that could keep 75 men busy, but getting the men trained is the first order of business." He expects an even- tual plant work force of more than 200, with an equal number working in supplying operations. Another firm operating in the park is Livingston Apparel with more than 100 employees. Livingston Tool and Powdered Metals Company has under construction a plant expected to employ 50 skilled workers. Nu-Scientific Industries has announced plans to build in the park an 80,000-square-foot plant to employ 130 men initially in the construc- tion of modular homes. Thompson Upholstery Company has built a new plant adjacent to the park to use the EDA-supported water system. The firm has added several workers. Many Signs Point to Improved Economy The area's industrial growth in recent years has stimulated the opening of a number of new business and commercial enterprises, including one bank. Other downtown establishments in Livingston have remodeled and refurbished. The county's solid growth over the last 3 years is evidenced by a 62-percent increase in retail sales. In addition, bank loans were up from $8,020,000 in 1966 to $11,354,000 in 1968; bank deposits, up from $11,643,000 in 1966 to $15,556,000 in 1968; and bank assets, up from $13,134,000 in 1966 to $17,- 249,000 in 1968. A recent survey by the University of Tennessee indicates that net out-migration from Overton County has been halted and the population is now increasing. Currently it is estimated at 15,282. Travis Anderson, president of the First National Bank of Livingston, has been one of the prime movers in the area's development program. Ander- son says that the community received invaluable assistance from the staff of the Economic Develop- ment Center at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, which was funded for 3 years through EDA technical assistance. District Forms Base for Joint Action In their latest move for growth. Overton County and Livingston have joined 13 other counties in the recently designated Upper Cumberland Eco- nomic Development District. The idea of coopera- tion for growth is a new one that the people of the district have embraced only in the last 2 years. Judge Elmo Swallows, Overton County's chief administrative officer and chairman of the OEDP organization, sums up the community's situation: "For years there was a feeling of futility for our young men. They knew that, if they wanted a job, they had to move away. It has been a terrific drain of our young people. We educated them, and they spent their productive lives elsewhere. "The industrial park has been the greatest thing Overton County has ever had. For the first time we have something to offer industrial prospects, and in turn we have jobs to offer young men. "Our people never get these hills out of their blood," Judge Swallows concludes. "They tell us they had rather live here if they had the oppor- tunity to work. Now we have some families moving back to work in our new industries, and we feel that we are on our way again." INSIDE STORY— Wood stock in a variety of sizes awaits production schedules at the Old Hickory Furniture plai (Chinese chefs in training in San Francisco) In San Francisco they are retraining textile workers to master the ancient art of Chinese cooking. There also are teachers, clerks, ac- countants and other talented persons eager to learn skills in Cantonese and Mandarin cooking — and they are getting the chance through a $58,948 technical assistance grant from the Economic Development Ad- ministration. The results have been both a delight for gourmets who enjoy savory Chinese foods and a lifesaver for many minority unem- ployed in the city's famed Chinatown. Because of the program, there also is hope for a new life in the United States for increasing numbers of immigrants from Hong Kong and Taiwan. One of the new arrivals to the country is Koon Yau Lee, 32, a former Hong Kong textile worker who was among those receiving instruction. He told a San Francisco newspaper: "Why, I haven't graduated yet and I already have a job as an assistant cook. . . . There's a big demand. Everybody seems to like Chinese food in America." Training instructors are quick to agree, especially in view of the job offers received from such faraway places as cities in Louisiana, Montana, and Texas. En- couraging, also, are the $7,000-a-year starting salaries for the new chefs. Despite the hardship of supporting themselves and, in some cases, families during the training, 19 of the initial 25 trainees completed the first 16-week session. Of these, 15 have been placed in jobs, while the others are studying to improve their English. Training officials said the six dropouts all fell victim to a primary need to support families. In all, 75 trainees will be entered in the 1-year program. FEAST FOR EYE AND PALATE— Leung Cheung, assistant director of the chef-training program, points out the merits of a newly prepared dish. The increasing interest in tastily prepared chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork dishes, among others, helped to build the foun- dation for EDA's assistance. It came as the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (Chinese Six Companies) brought to light growing problems of unrest in the tightly knit ethnic urban community. Unemployment had reached 13 percent, more than double that of the San Francisco Bay Area. There also were increasing reports of crime, and concern about poor housing in the community was on the rise, the Six Companies said. Moreover, many of the immigrants and some native-born residents suffered from a language barrier that restricted their job- search efforts to the minority community. Then came the report that a New York restaurateur had sponsored entry into the United States for 20 well-known chefs from Hong Kong for immediate jobs. In addition to receiving the awaiting jobs, they were granted first-preference visas under the Refugee Relief Act — a rating reserved for persons with special and urgently needed skills. Viewing the quick job placement in New York with its own area's rising unem- ployment in mind, the Six Companies told EDA that it believed a more practical course of action was to retrain people already permanently in the United States rather than import skilled chefs. Also, it added, the program would benefit smaller restaurants that cannot recruit abroad and must pay competitive wages to acquire and retain good chefs. With this broad picture of minority unemployment in the face of a demand for skilled workers before it, EDA approved the technical assistance. In doing so, it established the retraining program as a demonstration project to consider the ef- fectiveness of using the traditional social structure of a minority community as a development vehicle. With the EDA grant, the Six Com- panies — through an operating arm, the Immigrants Development Center — established a school. It arranged for master Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— March 1972 chefs to serve as instructors and sought contributions of food and linens for the classes. It recruited Chinese-speaking trainees from among poverty-level unemployed and, when work at the training kitchens fell behind schedule, it helped to locate cooperative assistance from the city's Japanese Cultural Center. Instructions range from following recipes to operating entire kitchens. The students begin by preparing various Chinese-American dishes and eventually proceed to the preparation of authentic and traditional Chinese dishes such as the high- cuisine "cold plate," a mixture of abalone, chicken, spiced beef, cucumbers, and plums topped with an ideogram design in egg yolk. Lightheartedly, a student quipped that completion of the course would find most of the trainees qualifying for degrees of "Summa Cum Eggroll." At any rate, he said they don't feel they are prisoners in a fortune cookie factory, and the future appears as bright as the most optimistic greeting. Recipe for a better job Manwy Choy (left), 26, has his mother to support. Leung Kuen (above right), also 26, is married and has a child. Both men were unable to find employment when they arrived in this country as immigrants from Hong Kong early in 1971. Opportunity opened up when they enrolled in the EDA-assisted chef- training program in San Francisco Upon completing the course, they were immediately employed as assistant cooks by local restaurants. t \ * ALL A MATTER OF KNOWING HOW— As his attentive class of aspiring chefs look on, Head Chef Song Hay Leong demonstrates time-honored techniques in Chinese cuisine. Skill Training Opens New Opportunities To Migrant Workers in New Mexico Many workers in the fields around Espanola, New Mexico, have a new goal before them — vocational training and year- round jobs. This is after seeing some of their fellow field workers enroll in the new technical- vocational school at Espanola and then go on to full-time jobs with salaries that looked like the wild blue yonder for men and women who harvested fruits and vegetables for a living. "One young man who migrated with the fruit harvests enrolled in a 6-month meatcutting class," said Eugene LeDoux of the school. "By the end of 2 months of training, he had a job that paid him $4 an hour." Prior to the specialized training, the worker averaged about 6 months' work each year and earned only about $2,000 a year, LeDoux added. This example is cited by school officials as evidence of a reawakening of interest by migrant workers and school dropouts of all ages in acquiring skills to qualify them for jobs that are now unfilled because of labor shortages. Two broad measures of the school's success: — Of the 32 graduates in the initial classes, 31 were placed in jobs. — All 20personswho took the first Gen- eral Ed ucation Development test, passed. The handsome adobe-style school, oc- cupying a prominent desert site in Rio Arriba County at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, was constructed with an $875,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration. Since its opening in the spring of 1971, the school has been the center of attention of the large Mexican-American and Indian population and an increasing number of migrant workers who make their homes in the four-county area served by Espanola. The development of the school epitomizes the role of the Federal Government in serving the needs of distressed communities and demonstrates the role of EDA in providing for the human needs of a com- munity, school officials say. EDA entered the picture when statistics showed Rio Arriba County with unem- ployment exceeding 17 percent and more than half of the families there — estimated at 80 percent Chicano and Indians and in- cluding migrant workers totaling many thousands — with incomes of less than $3,000 a year. At the same time, the New Mexico State Department of Education placed the dropout rate of high school students in the area at 30 percent. All of this was in the face of jobs that were going unfilled because the available labor was not skilled to do the work, officials add. TO BE A WELDER -Shop work at Espanola's new technical-vocational school includes welding. Student Leroy Gonzales wears protective goggles as he joins a pipe to a metal base in a practice weld. With the EDA funds, the school was designed to serve high school and college dropouts, high school graduates, and adults. Instruction is offered to train electronics workers, machine tool operators, welders, accountants, clerk stenographers, clerk typists, dental and medical tech- nicians, and food preparers. The school was built to serve about 200 students daily, but the number already has more than doubled in both day and evening classes. About 18 percent of the students lack a high school diploma and, through coun- seling and aptitude tests, they are directed into a course of study that includes in- struction in basic education as well as skill training. The plight of the migrant workers, which has been a concern to local and Federal planners for many years, was taken into consideration by Espanola school officials. In Rio Arriba and Taos Counties alone, workers who migrate into the neighboring State of Texas to help harvest citrus crops and into Arizona to cultivate vegetables and pick fruits usually return to spend about 6 months without jobs and looking for work. They number about 8,000 annually and live on yearly wages of about $2,000. With supervision from the Espanola school, the New Mexico State Labor Commission now sends counselors to villages to enroll migrant workers with aptitudes for training in the skill classes. It extends a similar service to Indians. "Equipped with new skills, workers won't have to migrate to find jobs," said LeDoux. "They can settle down with full-time jobs and better incomes." The school has created 30 jobs for in- structors and other personnel who earn a combined payroll of about $300,000 a year. New jobs there will increase, officials add, as the training is expanded to serve the more than 5,000 persons a year in the area who the State Department of Education says are in need of vocational skills. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— August 1972 Mayor's Initiative Sets Pace for Georgia County's Growth The story of how Greene County, Georgia, and its county seat of Greensboro reversed a 30-year decline to set a new economy in mo- tion and give local business a 10-percent boost in just 3 years begins with Weldon Smith, Mayor of Greensboro. PACE SETTER— Greensboro Mayor Weldon Smith stands before the Georgia community's city hall, built with financial assistance from the Economic Develop- ment Administration. Elected in 1968 on a platform of economic progress, Mayor Smith was determined to reverse the 3-decade decline that had slowly depleted Greene County's population (down from 13,000 to 10,000) and its base of agri- cultural jobs (down from 8,000-plus to 724) . More than 60 percent of county families sub- sisted on incomes of less than $5,000 a year. With the losses in farm income, some new jobs had come to the county, but they were in the apparel and textile industry, employing mainly women. The largest single source of income outside farming was the Mary Leila Cotton Mill, employing about 300. Then the cotton mill went bankrupt. About this time Mayor Smith took office, and he proceeded to put campaign promises to work. With a team of local leaders he suc- ceeded in finding another textile firm, the Wellington Puritan Textile Co., to take over the closed mill. With the help of the Northeast Georgia Area Planning and Development Commis- sion—the nine-county economic development district of which Greene County is a mem- ber—and Economic Development Adminis- tration field representatives, Smith worked up an application for Federal funds. By March 20, 1968, the application had been ap- proved for a $796,000 loan-grant package for construction of water and sewer facilities to serve both an existing industrial park and a new park that Greensboro was starting to develop. With aid from the development district and EDA, Mayor Smith recruited several firms to locate in the community. Pontiac Plastic Products, Inc., and Regal Brake, Inc., are in operation with a combined work force of 40, which is expected to reach 140 during the months ahead. Keystone-Georgia Metal Co., Inc., will employ a total of 125 when in full operation. Alma Plastics, Inc., expects to employ 50. Now, with the old mill reopened and 300 back at work, the number of new jobs brought to Greensboro totals 615. Also, these firms have pumped $2.5 million in capital investments into the economy, further stim- ulating growth, which is registered in two areas— retail sales and family income. "The Northeast Georgia economic devel- opment district is an extremely strong and aggressive group," EDA's Wilbur S. Hatten- dorf says. "They deserve a lot of credit for the growth, not only in Greene County, but over the district." PLASTIC PIPE— Workers check out the finished product at Pontiac Plastic Products, Inc., one of the industries brought to Greensboro with the help of a $796,000 boost from EDA. Reprinted from DEVELOPMENT LETTER— June 1975 American Indians Take Their Arts, Crafts to Europe For Wider Market, New Job Opportunities at Home Record crowds of businessmen and visitors viewed American Indian arts and crafts on display in West Germany at a trade fair sponsored in May by the Economic Develop- ment Administration and other Commerce Department agencies. More than 2,300 persons— the largest num- ber ever to attend a U.S. trade fair— were on hand for the first showing of Indian products in Europe from May 24 to June 1 at the U.S. Trade Center in Frankfurt. Wilmer D. Mizell, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, ex- pected the fair to bring representatives of eight Indian tribes in contact with German and other European buyers. "I am encouraged at the possibilities of new jobs and incomes that can result from this meeting of tribal producers with buyers. Hopefully, the tribes will receive new orders for their arts and crafts and other products from this fair," Mizell said. Pottery of l J tr Mountain Tribe, Colorado The fair was jointly sponsored by the Com merce Department's Office of Internationa Markets in the Domestic and Internationa Business Administration (DIBA) and EDA West Germany has an estimated 700 Amer- ican Indian Clubs whose members corre spond with tribal leaders on the history and folkways of the individual tribes. Eugene Shaw of DIBA says, "We chose Germany for this first American Indian trade fair because of the great interest there in our native cultures. Also because of the high standard of living and the sophistication of the people. Frankfurt is a marketing and financial center for Germany and attracts important buyers." Interest by West German businessmen and the public centered on Indian-made jewelry, moccasins, dolls, pottery, woodcarvings, and reed work. "Ordinarily in a trade fair like this, con- tacts are made with 30 businessmen," said one Commerce official. "But in this show, in- terest in buying and distributing the Indian- made objects was displayed by 152 busi- nessmen." One firm has expressed an interest in dis- tributing fish products throughout Europe. Among the tribes participating and the products they exhibited are: Swinomish of LaConner, Washington- canned fish Navajo of Window Rock, Arizona— jewelry, rugs, sand paintings, pottery, and baskets Zuni of New Mexico— baskets and turquoise jewelry Ute of Towaoc, Colorado— pottery Passamaquoddy of Maine— baskets Cherokee, North Carolina— wood products Pine Ridge, South Dakota— moccasins and dolls Alaska Native, Anchorage, Alaska- ivory carvings. Wilbur Paul of the EDA Indian Affairs Office accompanied the tribal group and served as a manager of the fair. □ Reprinted from DEVELOPMENT LETTER— June 1975 ADDED ATTRACTIONS— Gelene Bcgaye, Miss Navajo of 1975, and Wilbur Paul of EDA's Indian Affairs Office exchange greetings in front of the U.S. Trade Center in Frankfurt. AN EYE FOR QUALITY— This Cherokee Indian basket, woven of oak splits and colored with natural root dyes, is'one of the many handcrafted products exhibited at the American Indian arts and crafts fair held in May at the U.S. Trade Center in Frankfurt, West Germany. William Crowe (right) of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, North Carolina, represented two Cherokee firms — Warrior's Woodcraft, Inc., and Qualla Arts and Crafts — at the fair. Here he describes the basket's fine points to a manager of the fair, Wilbur Paul, a Blackfeet, of the Office of Indian Affairs, EDA. Wat* SALES TALK— In view of hand- crafted Zuni jewelry products dis- played at the U.S. Trade Center in Frankfurt, West Germany, discussion on a possible purchase for the West German market proceeds between, left to right, Terrell Piechowski, director of The Zuni Craftsmen's Cooperative Assoc, Zuni, New Mexico: Julius Greenwald, consultant to the Zuni Pueblo; and D.F. Bruce, owner of the "Arizona Galerie" in Reit im Winkel, a German border community south- east of Munich. National Puerto Rican Forum A Helping Hand In Job Development When Puerto Ricans need help to find jobs or become businessmen, ready to extend a helping hand is the National Puerto Rican Forum. The Forum is a nonprofit organization, which joined in part- nership with the Economic Develop- ment Administration in 1969 chiefly to encourage Puerto Ricans to utilize their cultural heritage in becoming small businessmen. No less important, however, has been the Forum's success in developing jobs for workers by helping to overcome troublesome language and training barriers. Building on a foundation of $228,645 in EDA grants, the Forum has con- structed a solid record of economic and social successes, which reads like this: — Nearly 350 new jobs created for Puerto Ricans. — Assistance in processing ap- plications for $4.1 million in loans approved to establish new or expand existing Puerto Rican businesses. — Technical assistance to Spanish- surnamed businessmen who have since increased retail sales by $11.6 million. "No longer are Puerto Ricans standing on the sidelines; they are now moving into business where they should be represented," says Hector I. Vazquez, executive director of the Forum. "In coming years we expect to see Puerto Ricans operating large-type businesses and competing with other minorities in the best business centers in the country." The optimism displayed by Vazquez is reflected by many more of the estimated 1.3 million English- and Spanish-speaking Puerto Ricans in the country who now talk about advancing from operators of traditional neigh- borhood grocery stores and restaurants to larger scale automobile dealerships and fashionable boutiques. Established as a single New York City office in 1957, the Forum started to grow in 1969 when EDA helped it launch a business development program. As interest in the program boomed, the Forum opened branch offices in the South Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens areas of New York and another in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Because it offers assistance to Puerto Ricans throughout the country, it is considered a national forum. "Without EDA's help we could not have started the business program, and we would not be this far along in helping people," says Vazquez. An unusual aspect of the program is its brotherly attitude toward persons who show an interest in entering business. Its protective nature can be seen in many ways, observes Vazquez, but principally in the efforts to sur- mount language and cultural dif- ferences facing Puerto Ricans. In addition to analyzing each proposed business, the Forum reviews pertinent market and supply con- ditions, helps to prepare loan ap- plications, and, of chief importance, prepares the businessman for the language skills he will need to serve the public. While standard English courses, says Vazquez, may be concerned with simple words like "book, table, and pen," the Forum teaches the more practical language of "prices, costs, and amounts." Typical of its success stories is one that tells how the Forum helped Mario Serrano parlay one small clothing store in Brooklyn with two employees into three stores, two drycleaning establish- ments, and a work force of 20. Unable to get a bank loan with which to expand, Serrano went to the Forum, and it, in turn, persuaded a New York bank to advance him $25,000 to be repaid in 5 years. The Forum guaranteed 50 percent of the principal and interest and then went to work assisting Serrano in guiding the business onto a forward-moving course. John Torres, a Puerto Rican graduate of New York University, organized and now directs the Metro Spanish Merchants Co-op. A former grocer, Torres said he found that the average Puerto Rican grocer in New York worked about 108 hours a week to earn a modest living and knew little about the basic procedures of running a business. With Forum help, Torres secured a $15,000 bank loan to establish the cooperative and offer management assistance as well as the benefits of volume buying to grocers. The business leader said co-op members in 1971 earned 2 percent on their annual purchases from the organization plus 8 percent on their capital investment. To make it all possible, Torres says, the Forum hired an expert on cooperatives from the University of Puerto Rico who taught him the philosophy of the cooperative movement. "The professor gave me the tricks of keeping the group together," he says. "The Forum gave the assistance I needed — inventory control, setting up books, how to deal with employees, and administration." To stimulate the growth of small business among Puerto Ricans, the Forum has established a local development corporation and a minority enterprise small business investment company (MESBIC). In addition to seeking individual loans for businessmen, the Forum operates a loan-guarantee program for high-risk ventures. Initiated with a $250,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, the Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— March 1973 FOOD SPECIALTY -A Puerto Rican businessman oversees preparation of packaged food for freezing in a shop established with assistance from the National Puerto Rican Forum. program has deposited the funds in two banks to serve as collateral to guarantee short-term loans. The list of other services and ac- complishments of the Forum is im- pressive: business development assistance to nearly 1,000 persons; technical assistance to almost 500 firms; contract bid assistance to some 1,400 Puerto Rican businessmen; language training to more than 600 persons, and the referral of nearly 300 technical and professional persons to employment sources. Vazquez believes these services will be returned in benefits to the country. He adds: "The man who leaves his homeland to make a new life for himself has courage. He will face problems which may seem impossible to solve. . . But his biggest problem is maintaining pride in his heritage and gaining true leadership in his community. The prices he pays are great, indeed, but the rewards can be enormous." The rewards, he says, are better businessmen and workers. End of the Line . . . and a New Beginning WHEN THE UNION DEPOT in Du- luth, Minnesota, was built in 7892, eight different railroads departed the city carrying homesteaders from the Scandinavian countries to the northern sectors of the United States. But for the last 2 years, the picturesgue Norman-style building has stood vacant, as every railroad eventually eliminated Du/uth as a stop. With the help of a $352,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration, under the Public Works Impact Program, the building now is to be converted into a cultural center with railroad and industrial museums. Housed within the former station will be the St. Louis County Historical Society and the Du/uth Art Institute. An auditorium is to be constructed nearby to house the Duluth Civic Ballet and the Du/uth Playhouse. To the rear, six railroad tracks that dead end at the station will be used to display antique passenger cars and other historical artifacts. □ Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— January 1973 BUILDING computer peripheral systems at Hewlett-Packard Co. Industrial Park Proves a Good Neighbor In Residential Community I n San Diego, near the site where California's first mission was established, a spectacular new type of development is making its mark. It is a modern-day industrial park within a new community — Rancho Bernardo — located in the foothills of a plateau and recreating in many ways those aspects of community life that flourished here during the area's earliest recorded history. The park is providing livelihoods for people in the community today as the land originally did as a land grant, deeded by the King of Spain in 1789. There are other similarities. As would be expected, however, there are contrasts, too, between the modern park and Rancho Bernardo as it existed when California was attracting its first visitors. The 2,300 jobs and $20 million in annual incomes today make a strikingly different picture than was described by the area's 18th-century economy. And the latest electronic gadgetry produced in the park is far removed from the grapes and corn once grown in the foothills. But developers and city planners say the respect shown to the land in its development today adheres to the tradition established many years ago. Initiated with a $672,000 grant from the Economic Development Ad- ministration in 1967, the park is considered a model urban manufac- turing complex. As one developer says: "It demonstrates that clean and light industry can be located within residential communities and exist to the mutual satisfaction of all parties." He adds that the development "exemplifies EDA's success in helping communities to stimulate economic growth." And the park is so new that its developers expect expanding industries soon to occupy all 600 acres, boosting the jobs available to some 5,100, with a $40 million annual payroll. The park is now home for these industries: — National Cash Register Co., which employs 1,650 workers in the research, development, and manufacturing of electronic data-processing systems. The company constructed a $10-million plant on a 114-acre site. Its annual payroll is $15 million, and it expects to expand its employment to 1,800 by late 1972. — Hewlett-Packard Co., employing 534 persons in the fabrication and assembly of computer peripheral systems. The company has constructed a $2.5-million plant on a 72-acre site. It has a $4.6 million yearly payroll and will expand its production to hire another 150 employees within 2 years. Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— December 1972 TESTING electronic data equipment at National Cash Register Co. — Burroughs Corp., whose $5- million plant on a 20-acre site is the home of 125 employees who fabricate microelectronic components for business machines. The SI. 5 million current payroll will increase to $2 million as the company increases its staff to 200 in 1973. — Sony Corp., which opened a $4- million plant in August 1972 designed to produce 20,000 television sets a month. It will employ 400 workers to meet its schedules and will have a $4 million annual payroll. In addition, negotiations are under way with other electronics-oriented industries to open facilities at Rancho FORMING microelectronic components for business machines at Burroughs Corp. Bernardo. Another 2,000 jobs could be created by the new firms. Minority workers — blacks and Indians and persons of Mexican, Filipino, Japanese, and Chinese descent — hold jobs at the plants in percentages ranging from 12 to 17 percent. Besides the jobs and incomes for San Diego, the industries already pay more than $1,250,000 in property taxes. "We think the park has had a positive effect on this area," says H.L. Trautman of Avco Community Developers, Inc. "We have jobs and incomes and an attractive development that was a turning point in San Diego's economy." Business and community leaders agree that Rancho Bernardo sparked a revitalization of San Diego's economy in 1967 at a time when the city was suffering from serious cutbacks in missile and aircraft production. Avco planned a 5,400-acre new community at the historic Rancho Bernardo. Skirting both sides of Interstate Highway No. 15 and located about 20 miles north of downtown San Diego, the new community included an in- dustrial park that National Cash Register had selected as the location for a new plant. The company's announce- ment was the key to the upward swing in jobs and growth there. City officials welcomed the development also as an opportunity to create new work sources for the hard- core unemployed. As undeveloped land, however, the proposed industrial park lacked the roads and utilities vital to economic growth. The developers of Rancho Bernardo said they had invested $15 million in utilities within the new community, and San Diego added another $2 million to extend services to the residential areas. It was then that the city turned to EDA for assistance in installing sewer and water facilities and constructing access roads in the industrial park. "EDA's decision to help was an excellent form of Federal investment in local areas," says Trautman. "It gave San Diego new jobs and hope for the future — in addition to bringing back to life a part of its history." □ Tribal Action Advances Goal of New Jobs on Nevada Reservation The dismantling of a machinery shed to make way for progress in a bustling city such as Las Vegas normally is a routine, humdrum affair. It was hardly routine, though, when the Moapa Band of Paiute purchased a large shed for removal to the Moapa River Indian Reservation in southern Nevada. As an incentive to expedite removal of the structure, the seller offered a bonus of one-third the purchase price if the building were removed in 15 days. It was on the reservation, 55 miles away, in 10 days! Valued for its tin sheathing and wood beams, the building will be reerected for use by the Moapa farming enterprise. Agricultural expansion is the foundation of the reservation's overall economic devel- opment program, Chairman Preston Tom of the Moapa Business Council said. Working in cooperation with the Inter- Tribal Council of Nevada, the Moapa Bus- iness Council has launched a program to con- vert forage produced on the reservation into beef. This expanded beef production will help create year-round jobs— the goal of the Moapa Paiute economic development pro- gram. The Economic Development Administra- tion has approved two grants totaling $192.- 000 to enable the reservation to carry out projects in connection with the expanding farm program. EDA-assisted projects include the lining of irrigation ditches with cement to help con- serve water and the construction of fences for pastures, corrals, and a small feed lot. Raymond Anderson, who heads the tribal farming enterprise, estimates that half of the reservation's 1,174 acres is planted in alfalfa, barley, and milo. Anderson, Tom, and other tribal officials already are at work seeking additional acreage for the Moapa farmers. Despite the bright outlook, the Moapa Paiute are not putting all of their hopes on agriculture. A handcraft association has been estab- lished, and 15 persons are employed at work- shops on the reservation. The workshops themselves are another example of the deter- mination of the Moapa. The tribe obtained three barracks build- ings from the Nevada Test Site of the Atomic Energy Commission. With help from "a lot of people" the buildings were moved 140 miles to the Moapa Reservation. Moapa Band of Paiute tribal members learn to drill a water well (above) and to lay a concrete lining in an irrigation ditch (below) to supply water for their fields and for the fields of neighboring farmers. ;L * ■ Two of them were renovated for use by the handcraft association. The third will serve as a temporary community center. Now that the Moapa have their workshops, attention is being focused on the possibility of establishing an arts and crafts sales center in Las Vegas. Access to the Las Vegas tour- ist traffic would strengthen the reservation's handcraft industry and help provide jobs on a year-round basis, said Wallace Kay, chair- man of the leathercrafts operations. □ Reprinted from DEVELOPMENT LETTER— September 1974 Appalachian Stoneware for America's Dinner Tables: The Iron Mountain Story By Andy Leon Harney Andy Leon Harney is a Washington, D.C., freelance writer who has written articles on crafts in both India and the United States. She reviews Washington area craft exhibitions for Craft Hori- zons magazine, published by the Ameri- can Crafts Council. Blue Ridge, Roan Mountain, White- top and Pond Mountain may be well-known places to many Appalachians, but to thousands of Americans they are the names of dinnerware patterns produced by Iron Mountain Stoneware. To the 60 workers at Iron Mountain who use their hands and machines to make the dinnerware, work at Iron Mountain is not just another job-it's an important and exciting experience. Lo- cated in the village of Laurel Bloomery, at the foot of the Iron Mountains in the far northeastern corner of Tennessee, the company has pioneered a unique economic development model for the entire Appalachian Region. This is not only a craft industry whose workers feel personally involved in the production of "their" dinnerware, but also a successful small industry in an area where oppor- tunities for employment have been badly needed. The stoneware it produces is heavy, durable and bold in its design. Cups have broad handles big enough for a man's fingers. Dishes are deep enough to hold juices or sauces easily. Glazes range from the deep blues and greens of the Blue Ridge pattern to the gay off- white, orange and green of the Whisper- ing Pines pattern. Iron Mountain stoneware is marketed by the exclusive New York firm of Georg Jensen and distributed to posh design-conscious shops and department stores across the country. The products are in demand everywhere, and the firm is expanding rapidly. Gross sales last year were $524,000, up 28 percent from the previous year. Sales have increased nearly 50 percent in the past four years alone. Equally important is the fact that the work force has tripled since the firm's inception in 1965. Despite its big-city marketing, Iron Mountain is uniquely Appalachian, with a personal sense to it that blends in with its tranquil village, not just because its workers live there, but because they have made the plant theirs. If a worker has to run home to catch a stray cow or fix a broken-down tractor, everyone understands, and time is made up later, without benefit of time cards. Situated on Route 91 between Da- mascus, Virginia, and Mountain City, Tennessee, the plant nestles atop a small rise. As the visitor approaches, he passes through a Japanese garden with an ab- stract sculpture in the center of a pond. Decorative drainpipes made of glazed ceramics hang from the roof. A large shop sells firsts and seconds of every pattern, along with Finnish Marimekko fabrics and modern stainless-steel flatware. First Steps Ten years ago Iron Mountain was nothing more than an idea in the minds of Nancy Patterson, a Los Angeles ce- ramics designer, and Albert Mock, an architect-businessman from Damascus. The two were introduced by friends in Boston in 1961 . Miss Patterson wanted to start a stoneware plant. Mock was enthusiastic and suggested the area of his boyhood home— the border region of southwestern Virginia and eastern Ten- nessee. The two studied the market and the possibilities for such a venture and pre- pared lengthy applications for govern- ment loans. It took close to three years to develop the plans, find land and tool the plant. Their idea became a reality in 1965, when a loan from the Area Rede- velopment Administration (now the Economic Development Administration) materialized. According to Jack Strickland, execu- tive director of the First Tennessee- Virginia Development District, Iron Mountain was the spearhead for the de- velopment of the entire area: "Back in 1965, statisticians and economists said that, based on all their calculations, there was no hope for Mountain City [the neighboring town] and Johnson County." The advent of Iron Mountain, Inc. (the legal name of the firm), changed their predictions. "You've got to have something that moves, that lifts the spirit, and I think Iron Mountain did this," says Strickland. "The area seemed so perfect for a ce- ramic plant," explains Iron Mountain President Nancy Patterson. "We are near transportation to almost every part of the country, with the exception of the West Coast, in the middle of the sources of good clay, and in a place where people needed work and the area needed industry." Once the farmland in Laurel Bloom- ery had been selected for the first plant, Miss Patterson rented a two-room log cabin just down the road. There she de- veloped plans for the plant's machinery and set up a small studio to experiment with various clays and glazes for the dinnerware designs she had developed. She worked and waited in the log cabin until sufficient working capital was raised. The 1 965 loan of $ 1 07 ,000 which the firm received from the Area Rede- velopment Administration was 60 per- cent of the total needed for land, build- ing and equipment. It was this crucial loan that got Iron Mountain over the hill. Local banks put in 20 percent, and the two founders put up another 10 per- cent. The Johnson County Industrial . ^^^HkM^dUAiL M (Left) The Iron Mountain plant. (Right, above) The plant's successful shop. (Right, below) "Nancy Patterson Lamb and her husband, Joe. Commission pitched in with the remain- ing 10 percent. Another $86,000 was raised through stock sales to provide working capital. Despite the fact that no one knew much about the workings of a ceramic plant, members of the Johnson County Indus- trial Commission had little difficulty selling common stock to local residents at $10 per share. Mac Wright, secre- tary of the Johnson County Industrial Commission, chairman of the First Tennessee-Virginia Development District and a successful businessman himself, was one of the key salesmen of the stock. "People didn't invest in Iron Moun- tain because they thought they were going to make a lot of money," says Wright. "They invested in the commu- nity, in the jobs that the new industry would create for the community." One of those early stockholders was Miss Cettie Keyes, owner of the log cabin Miss Patterson rented until the plant was ready. Miss Keyes sold the company the land on which the plant is located and then reinvested in Iron Mountain stock. Mac Wright, active from the beginning, is still secretary of the company, and until last year helped in the day-to-day financial administra- tion of the plant. The company's board is largely made up of local people, including several bankers, attorneys and merchants, with a few investors from the outside. The first formal meeting of stockholders and directors was held on February 29, 1964. Word traveled, and people began to see that something important was taking place in Laurel Bloomery. Local resi- dents began to stop in at the log cabin in search of a job. No advertisements had appeared; yet by the time the plant was ready to open, some 400 applica- tions had been submitted. Training Program Mr. Mock and Miss Patterson turned their attention to the problem of finding workers for their plant. They met with a local representative of the Council of the Southern Mountains, who offered to help them set up a training program. A curriculum was developed for an inten- sive ten-week program for about 45 trainees. Department of Labor funding was obtained for the project, and the process of selecting 45 trainees out of 400 applicants began. After meeting so many of the people who had applied for work, Mr. Mock and Miss Patterson decided that they wanted to hire as many chronically un- employed as possible-people with no other means of support but with a desire to learn. With the help of this criterion and a simple aptitude test, they nar- rowed the list to 45 eager trainees. They were family people (most had no fewer than four dependents) and were not young-the average age was 35. All were novices when it came to ceramics. The actual work with clay was the most important part of the course— and the most fun. "I made one of the big- gest birdhouses ever made in this area- and all in clay," remembers one of the plant foremen, Bob Gentry. "And it broke, too— right as we were taking it out of the kiln," he laughs. Many pieces were broken, but many were saved. Through the shards came an important understanding of the en- tire process of making stoneware. At the end of the ten-week session, a certifi- cate was awarded to each trainee, and 16 were selected as the plant's first em- ployees. (About ten of those original workers are still with Iron Mountain, seven years later.) At the end of the first year, 25 people had been hired. (Left) Wilma Farmer. (Right, top) Mac Wright. (Right, bottom) Cettie Keyes. Progress Today the plant employs 60 people. The first two patterns of dinnerware, Blue Ridge and Roan Mountain, have grown to eight; the stoneware has been nationally distributed since 1967. Jensen markets Iron Mountain products to large shops across the country, while Iron Mountain sells its own ware in craft shops and in the factory shop. The plant has expanded. A large ad- dition was built in 1968, and a third, larger kiln was purchased. For the past three years, regular dividends have been paid to stockholders. Future plans in- clude opening a series of workshops for serious individual craftsmen on the farm adjoining the plant and possibly opening a small group of visitors' cabins and a restaurant. The shop alone now sells $125,000 worth of dinnerware a year to people who drive in from neighboring states to see where "their" dinnerware came from. Positive Fallout The area too has grown. Before Iron Mountain came to the valley of Laurel Bloomery, the only local industries were Leko Manufacturing in Mountain City (makers of pajamas, robes and other night wear) and a small glove factory. A large textile company (Burlington Indus- tries), a shoe-manufacturing plant and several other large industries have moved into Johnson County. Industrial jobs in the county have grown from zero in 1960 to 1,500 in 1970. Several motels have sprouted in the area, a 50-bed hos- pital is going up in Mountain City and an airstrip has been built. A new $1 -million high school was financed without any federal assistance. In short, the area is booming, and it is because its people believe in what it has to offer. Not all of that is due to Iron Moun- tain, but the company has played an im- portant part in the development of the entire region. It can play an even more important role in the development of Appalachia if others will adapt it as a model for other industries. Hand and Machine: An Easy Mesh Nancy Patterson selected the combi- nation of handwork and mechanization partly out of necessity and partly out of a belief that things made with the hand are more interesting, more pleasant to own, to touch, to use. "Studio pottery," she points out, "is too small an operation to manufacture items and still keep the unit cost down. A highly mechanized approach is just too expensive. The hand-and-machine approach is more interesting. There has to be something of the hand to make it happen. It doesn't ever come out the same. I don't like to see a cup where the roses are always in the same place. Hand-decorated and hand-dipped work is unique; no one piece is ever exactly the same as any other." At Iron Mountain, machinery is re- lied upon to process the clay and to fire it. All the other important steps— fitting the clay into molds, trimming the dried, unfired pieces and decorating— are done by hand. It is these tasks which make each ceramic a unique product. Why Is Iron Mountain Such an Important Model? Along with areas of the Southwest and New England, Appalachia is one of the nation's centers for traditional hand- crafted work. Across the nation there is a growing demand for hand-crafted ob- jects of fine design. There is also a growing need for both federal and state governments to support and encourage the development of craft industries. The Federal Interagency Crafts Com- mittee recently issued a report, "En- couraging American Craftsmen," in which author-craftsman Charles Counts calls for government agencies to give greater assistance in developing craft and design industries into viable economic ventures. Counts recommends that ". . . the Economic Development Ad- ministration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce and other federal agencies encourage hand crafts by giving techni- cal assistance to carefully selected craft projects in depressed areas." Craft industries can mean jobs for thousands of people. Appalachia can become a center for fine handcrafted design industries. Ceramic plants, wood furniture factories , silver factories, weaving and fabric-printing firms all readily adapt to the model. The approach Iron Mountain suggests is that one should begin with a reason- able economic motive, not simply an altruistic mission to preserve dying arts and crafts. The individual craftsman will never stop being important to these burgeoning industries, just as Nancy Patterson's drive and technical skills are vital to Iron Mountain. An industry which allows for hand- work, yet does not exclude the use of machinery to produce quality items in quantity, provides something far beyond its product; it also provides jobs and support for people in the community- not for just a few scattered artists and native craftsmen. It builds not only de- sign, but also community. Iron Moun- tain did not happen to the people of Laurel Bloomery; they made it happen. An increasingly important aspect in this choice of hand/machine production is the satisfaction derived from the work. Corporate heads, politicians, psycholo- gists and sociologists are becoming in- creasingly concerned over the effects that boredom in industrial jobs is having on the nation's workers. The relaxed atmosphere at Iron Mountain, the need for every individual to put forth, seem to erase traces of boredom. "There are a few jobs here which are boring," says Nancy Patterson, "but if an employee has any talent at all and shows any in- terest, we try and move him on to other more interesting jobs as soon as we can." When asked, for example, how she develops new patterns, Miss Patterson replied, "We all work on it." Everyone helps— the moldmaker, the people in production, the glazing department. In this way each worker has a say in the development of the company. And to- gether they make Iron Mountain work. Time Clocks There are no time clocks at Iron Mountain, and no one seems to take ad- vantage of the lack. The work day is from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. "Most everyone is in by five or ten of seven," says foreman Bob Gentry. "And the ones that are late are always late, and we know who they are." The firm shows even greater flexibil- ity with its "night shift," a group of six to nine daytime farmers who work from 4:30 to 12:30 p.m. in the summer and 3: 30 to 1 1 : 30 in the winter. "Some- times one or two of them will have to rush out and chase a cow that's got Iron Mountain's first home. loose on their farm, but they always make it up," says Nancy's husband, Joe Lamb. "We try to make everyone feel that this is more than just another job, that it's really important for them to be here with us and that they each have a valuable job to perform." For that rea- son, the plant has a rule that it never takes back a worker who leaves. The management is working to make the plant the highest paid in the area- wages now run from $1.60 per hour up to $2.60. They feel they have one of the better health and welfare programs; the firm pays a healthy Christmas bonus and is now working on a possible profit- sharing plan for the employees and a dental program for their children. Every plan may not work out, but it is clear from talking with both management and the employees that a real sense of loy- alty has developed between the people who work there and the company itself. It's important to Lila Dunn that all the plates are properly trimmed; it's im- portant to the three women who know how to hand-pull the handles on all the cups that they are just right; it's impor- tant to Fern Severt that the glazes come out just right. There are many other people who play key roles in making the product right. A man who sits on an as- sembly line in Detroit, or a woman who works a sewing machine for' making gloves, gets little satisfaction out of knowing that the third bolt on the right was fastened by him, or that the third finger on the right glove was stitched by her. At Iron Mountain, hand and ma- chine combine to make a unique prod- uct, with a lesson for all of Appalachia. D Mainers Protect Nature's Heritage In Developing Historic Mattawamkeag Wilderness According to archeological findings, the Penobscot Indians have been living in what is now known as the State of Maine since about 3000 B.C. Their earliest recorded home was in a wooded area called "Matta- wamkeag," which means "where two rivers meet." Tourists to "Mattawamkeag" this summer can swim these rivers, hike the rolling hills, and enjoy the endless other wonders of this legendary tribal birthplace. Preservation of the 1,018-acre wilderness area rep- resents the achievement of a longtime goal of the town of Mattawamkeag. To reach its goal, the town re- quested and received from the Economic Development Administration a $367,000 grant under the Public Works Impact Program. "When it's all completed, this should be an excellent example of a wilderness protected and used at the same time to create jobs," says Executive Director James B. Coffey, Jr., of the Eastern Maine Development District. It is estimated that about 100 workmen have had jobs building inconspicuous camping facilities among trees in the "Mattawamkeag" wilderness. Many more persons are expected to find work serv- ing the tourists in the town of Mattawamkeag. Visitors numbering in the thousands each year are anticipated as the area's many natural wonders to be studied and enjoyed become better known. White and yellow birches, hemlocks, firs, maples, cedars, and many other species of trees create a shady, quiet retreat for tourists and a panoramic burst of color in spring and fall. The pines there are again coming close to the storied 100-foot heights of the 18th-century trees that were branded with a "king's arrow" and reserved for use as ship masts by the representatives of the crown colonies. Wildflowers abound on the hillsides — red and white trillium, lilies of the valley, wild orchids, and a wide variety of ferns. Mainers, not noted for giving undue praise, concede that "Mattawamkeag" is one of the natural showplaces of a State where scenic sites are sometimes common- place. Some view it as "an island where the passage of time is observed only in the changing colors, the levels of the water, and in new wildlife." Virgil Wyman, a Mattawamkeag town planner, who sparked the 25-year drive to preserve the wilderness area for public use. has pledged to make only those improvements that are in keeping with the natural setting. Attention was focused on the wilderness — known as 'town lots" and deeded to Mattawamkeag by the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts in 1860 after the Penob- scot Indians had moved southward — as a means of jconomic growth. "Mattawamkeag," townfolk decided, :ould attract tourists without changing the character )f the area. To make their stay comfortable as well as enjoyable, ■vork has been completed on 20 Adirondack camp .helters — open-front log cabins with fireplaces; sites r or 52 campers and small trailers, and 25 tent sites. Snowmobile trails, a horse corral, conversion of a ormer tote road into a 14.3-mile nature trail with A WILDERNESS TO ENJOY— Visitors to Mattawamkeag will discover a variety of recreational activities in a natural woodland setting, and help the area's economy while enjoying themselves. overlooks on the Mattawamkeag River, canoeing fa- cilities, and shelters for horseback riding in summer and snowmobiling in winter add to opportunities for recreation. A service and administration building has been con- structed containing showers and laundering and rest- room facilities, with sewage disposal designed to pre- vent pollution. Wyman takes greatest pride in the nature trail, which follows the path tramped by early river drivers guiding logs through the falls and rapids. The trail winds along the banks as the river narrows from 300 feet to about 50 feet in width, wending its way through gorges with steep canyon walls, over both Upper and Lower Gordon Falls, and into the "heaters" — a series of rapids cre- ated by the river diving into crevices and surfacing again in a display of white water and mist that brought 18th-century loggers to mind of boiling water, hence the name "heaters." Indian lore relates that the trail was made by early Frenchmen transporting logs in small "bateaux" to a point just short of the falls and rapids. There, they unloaded the logs from the boats into the water, walk- ing the path beside them and untangling the inevitable log jams with poles. Canoeists will have an opportunity to relive this history in outings beginning as far away as Lake Matta- wamkeag, some 60 miles north. The State of Maine has found sufficient interest in canoeing to develop a camp- site for visitors on the west branch of the river, outside the wilderness. The Mattawamkeag River is one of the few remain- ing "clean" rivers in the country, local leaders say. It is suitable for swimming, boating, fishing, and other recreational activities. From its headwaters in Penob- scot and Aroostook Counties, it flows southerly until it meets with the Penobscot River — the confluence of rivers that the early Indians called "Mattawamkeag." □ Reprinted from EDA FIELD REPORTS— February 1974 Bustling Port of Brownsville, Texas Creates Jobs for Mexican-Americans When a trawler cuts through the morn- ing mist at Brownsville, Texas, in search of the prized Gulf of Mexico shrimp, the captain and crew are probably Mexican- Americans employed in some of the many new jobs created in partnership with the Economic Development Administration. With $2,216,000 in EDA aid, the bustling port of Brownsville, at the southern tip of Texas, since 1968 has created at least 500 jobs, most of them filled by Mexican- Americans. It expects eventually to add another 1.700 jobs and to further stimulate growth of all types of sea-and-shipping-related activities, which now represent a $100-million in- vestment. The United States-Mexico border port provides employment for an estimated 5,000 persons, including the jobs created with EDA assistance. The port's success is written, not only in job development, but also in port hiring and promotion policies for minorities and in workers' on-the-job performance. In a reverse twist for national minorities, Mexican-Americans represent a 55-percent majority of the population in Brownsville, a growth center for the Lower Rio Grande Valley Economic Development District. Though not associated in great numbers with the growing Chicano and la raza ac- tivist movements, local Mexican-Americans are concentrating on promoting em- ployment opportunities, on acquiring skills required by the shipping trades, and on qualifying for highly technical employment, port officials say. "Fully 75 percent of the people working at the port are Mexican-Americans," said E. G. Lantz, director of engineering and planning. "Many are holding down technical and skilled jobs and executive and managerial posts. This is true both at the port and at companies that lease space here." Ygnacio Garza, Jr., commissioner chairman of the publicly owned Brownsville Navigation District, which operates the port, and Al Cisneros, general manager, are both Mexican- Americans. DOUBLED CAPACITY- The 12 concrete silos In the foreground were built with the help of an Economic Development Administration grant of $337,000 at the port of Brownsville, Texas. The construction doubled the port's grain-storage capacity and increased job opportunities for Mexican-Americans in the area. EDA assistance approved for the port expansion in 1968 includes: —A $682,000 grant to add a third basin to the fishing harbor and a I -million-gallon elevated water tank. The improvements have allowed the port to increase the number of trawlers berthed at the harbor to more than 500. With the enlarged facilities, the harbor now accounts for the major share of the $22.8 million annual shrimp catch tot the Brownsville area. —A $337,000 grant to construct 12 vertical concrete silos, thus doubling the port's grain-storage capacity. The bins enabled the district to store 40,000 ad- ditional long tons of grain, bringing a savings of $50,000 annually to farmers of the Rio Grande Valley. Truck shipments of milo sorghum to the silos went up in number from 1 1 ,349 in 1 969 to 1 5,543 in 1 970. There were as many as 10,000 railroad cars used to transship the grain and other cargo from the port, which also serves as a rail center. —A $147,000 grant to construct an 800- foot barge wharf to facilitate shipment of bulk goods. Shortly after completion it provided wharfage for six barges to load ore bound for northern States bordering the Mississippi River. One company expects to ship 100,000 tons of bulk materials annually from the wharf. —A $1,050,000 grant to widen and deepen a 10-mile section of the Brownsville Shipping Channel to allow for the passage of oil-drilling barges measuring 19 feet width and 354 feet in length. The inv provements will allow the R. G. Le Tour- neau Company, Inc., to locate a plant in the navigation district's industrial area to manufacture and assemble the barges. The company expects to employ 1,777 new workers at the plant. When the port applied for the EDA assistance in 1968, it estimated that 350 new jobs would be created within 5 years and that additional fishing harbor lease-space would be available during a 10-year period. Both estimates were met and exceeded in just 3 years. New jobs already are estimated at about 500, and the new areas created at the third fishing basin are entirely leased. Port of- ficials look forward to continued growth for many reasons, including a tongue-in-cheek reference to an instinctive early-warning system on economic changes for cargo handling. When King Cotton lost its royal Reprinted from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT— October 1972 status (the port handled 1 million bales in 1960 and only 30,000 bales last year), the port developed a petroleum- and petrochemical-handling facility to fill the gap. Shipbuilding and other types of construction also are increasing and further diversifying the port's industrial base. In all, more than 40 new industrial firms have located in Brownsville in the last 3 years because of the water-oriented service, officials report. Again, Mexican-Americans were hired for the new jobs. Of special pride to the port district is its ability to expand without sacrificing its efforts to control pollution. To keep the waters clean, it spends an- nually $15,000 on solid waste disposal, $6,500 to operate ballast pits for tankers to pipe storage residues, and $2,000 on engineering studies to prevent pollution. The district has approved a $100,000 sewage-treatment plant and is considering a $50,000 proposal to prepare oxidation ponds for chemical effluent control. This defense against pollution is necessary, especially in view of the growing public interest in seafood and the increasing attention of the Brownsville trawlers to the valuable Gulf of Mexico shrimp, which must be processed on shore, adding to the burden of sewage collection and treatment. Trawlers home-ported at Brownsville netted nearly 30 million pounds of tasty, king-sized shrimp from the gulf last year, capturing almost 14 percent of the total value of all shrimp off-loaded in the country and reinforcing the city's claim as "the shrimp capital of the world." "Is there any wonder why the trawler fleet at Brownsville is on the rise and the EDA assistance was a good investment?" asked Lantz. The squatty, 80-foot trawlers may remain in the gulf for as long as 3 weeks, returning to port with a catch of forty 100-pound crates of headless shrimp, bringing an income of about $4,000 to ship and crew. WASHED AND READY -After delivery by pneumatic tube from the hold of a trawler to the wash tank, shrimp next are moved along a conveyor for loading on trucks and shipment to market. Lantz likes to recall the success stories of men who now captain the trawlers. Two captains, N. R. Barrera and George Gonzales, began as "headers," doing the most unskilled work available — removing the heads from shrimp on board the trawlers. In just a few years, says Lantz, Barrera has bought and operated two trawlers and leases 135 feet of harbor dock space, and Gonzales now leases 1 acre as a building site for a new trawler. "The opportunities in the field of fishing are limitless," Lantz pointed out. Off in the future lie the new deepwater fishing grounds of the gulf studied by Government scientists. Because the country imports about half of the shrimp consumed annually, the studies considered methods of pinpointing the presence of the species, thereby reducing the present time- consuming trial and error practice of lowering nets in a virgin fishery. The purpose is to boost the annual shrimp catch for domestic consumption. To do it, more people will be hired to man the trawlers, and a still larger number will be needed in the shoreside processing plants. Currently, plants in Brownsville process both the shrimp off-loaded there and an even greater amount shipped from other domestic and foreign ports. It is estimated that as many as 4,000 persons are employed in on-shore operations related to shrimp fishing. Working with Matamoros, its ciudud hermana — sister city — across the border. Brownsville looks forward to continued expansion of all types of shipping activities and employment at the port. Cisneros, who at 35 may be America's youngest port manager, says public ownership of the port allows it to select the best industries for the future and to keep a tight rein on pollution control. Referring to the new industries already attracted, he said: Continued on next page W S*S^ HEADED FOR MARKET- Gulf of Mexico shrimp — deheaded, washed, and weighed —are loaded on a waiting delivery truck. READ Y FOR SERVICE— This barge wharf at the port of Brownsville was constructed with a $147,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration. One company expects to ship 100,000 tons of bulk materials annually from the new facility. "They came tor many reasons, all of them valid. Plentiful skilled labor. . . and low-cost water transportation. A great number of companies located here to take advantage of Mexico's border industrialization program, which enabled them to set up 'twin plant' assembly operations in Brownsville and across the river in Matamoros. "Union Carbide located its petrochemical plant here because of the port and also because of abundant raw materials. The oil and gas production in the valley is a $65- million-a-year industry. We've got plenty of fresh water, too, and that's important to many industries." The port handles nearly all the cotton grown in northeastern Mexico, and last summer it handled 240,000 boxes of Mexican oranges for shipment to Germany. And in serving Monterrey, "the Pitts- burgh of Mexico," the port has processed valves, plumbing fixtures, and tools for South America and the Caribbean; auto wheels for Europe; fenders for Detroit; beer bottles for Jamaica; and more fragile glassware for South America, the United States, and other areas. Moreover, Mexico imports many goods through the port of Brownsville. For example, 400 tons of caprolactam and 600 tons of polyethylene enter the port monthly from Rotterdam. Shipped in heavy-duty plastic bags, the chemicals are stored at port warehouses until called for by Fibras Quimicas of Monterrey. Economic growth in the port area was recently described in this way: "There is a solid ring of industrial en- terprises expanding around the immediate area. ... In all, there are over 100 lessees of various types and annual payrolls of ap- proximately $18 million. . . .'" Brownsville, which likes to think of itself as "Amigoland," believes the forward pace can be maintained. The Mexican-American majority believes its bilingual ways will stimulate more international trade and attract more tourists, who numbered more than 1 1 million in the city last year. Although Brownsville and Matamoros are sister cities, new jobs at the port area are generally given first to U.S. residents. Port officials require port employees to be U.S. residents who have taken their first steps toward acquiring citizenship. Did EDA help to stimulate the growth that Brownsville is experiencing?, Lantz asked rhetorically and then replied: "1 believe that the EDA grants were the shot in the arm that got the port develop- ment off dead center. I think they set off the tremendous boom that we are now experiencing." □ Stories are reprinted from issues of Economic Development Administration publications except for articles reprinted with permission from other sources, as indicated.