Today we try to construct buildings to withstand the effects of earthquakes and tidal waves, but in the 1950s the concern was the Cold War and the possibility of atomic bombs hitting American cities. Read on.

E-mail from Cheryl

Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:

From the Columbia Basin Herald on July 6, 1950:

Book on atomic explosions due

A description of just what happens when an atomic bomb explodes will soon be available to the public in an official government document now being printed at the government printing office. Entitled "The Effects of Atomic Weapons," the book will be released about Aug. 1 and advanced orders may be placed with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C., at $1.25 per copy.

Of primary interest to persons engaged in civilian defense and the building trades, the book contains previously unpublished details on atomic explosions. The damage caused by the atomic bombs in Japan is examined with estimates of the probable effects on American cities.

80 enjoy Grange picnic on Fourth

Eighty persons enjoyed a potluck picnic and a day of conversation and games when Moses Lake Grange members, their families and guests converged on the grange hall at the county fairgrounds July 4.

Wes Wyman, Bryan Miller and Mr. and Mrs. Erwin Turner were in charge of arrangements.

4-H clubs gather to hear report

Sixty-two members of the five 4-H clubs in the Moses Lake area collected in city park Friday afternoon to hear Wanda May Vandeventer report on her experiences at the state 4-H camp at Pullman last month. Les Liebel, assistant county extension agent, gave a brief talk.

The affair was put on by the Knolls Vista Hustlers, of which Charles Robbins is president. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hull, Mrs. D.L. Vandeventer and Mrs. Maurice Pearson, 4-H leaders, assisted.