LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - OCTOBER 28, 2018 LeRoy During the Cold War by Lynne Belluscio Quite a while ago, I noticed that there was a fallout shelter sign on the front of the Jell-O building on North Street, and I had asked if it could be taken down and brought to the His- torical Society. That never hap- pened, but this last week, Ann Frew dropped off one of the signs from the Wolcott Street School. These metal black and yellow signs are evidence of the Cold War in the 50s and 60s. I learned that the signs were de- signed by Robert Blakeley for the Army Corps of Engineers and 1.4 million signs were made to mark the way to fall- out shelters where millions of Americans were to take refuge from the deadly radioactivity of thermonuclear explosions. They were posted on town halls, schools, courthouses and other buildings which also served as storage areas for canned sup- plies and water which were to be used to sustain people for weeks, in the event of nuclear destruction. The Federal Gov- ernment started the Commu- nity Fallout Shelter Program in 1961. President Kennedy wrote a letter for Life Magazine which advised the use of fallout shelters. There were plans for an enormous network of con- crete lined underground shelters throughout the United States. In the meantime, inAu- gust 1961, the Russians erected the Berlin wall. I remember that in particular, because my family was on a cross-country camping trip, and our only communica- tion was with the radio. Certain- ly it seemed like the Cold War was escalating. Although we were supposed to be on vaca- tion, I couldn’t wait to get back home where it seemed to be safer. Federal funding for fall- out shelters was discontinued in the 1970s. Surprisingly, it wasn’t until last year, that New York City began removing the yellow and black fallout shelter signs. There was concern that people might believe that the shelters were still operational and might seek refuge only to discover that doors were locked and chained. There are stories of fully stocked fallout shelters with food and water canisters - - - over 50 years old. I was in elementa- ry school in Rochester before 1961, and remember air raid drills. The bell that rang was distinctly different from the fire drill bell. The fire drill bell was a series of short rings, but the air raid bell was a long ring. We would file out into the hall or into the basement, where there were no windows and sit on the floor with our arms over our heads. There were also drills where we would climb under our desks. In 1956, the Federal Government attempted to install a warning system with sirens on schools and fire halls. It re- minded me of what I had seen on old newsreels of the air raids in London during World War II. There were a couple of practice alerts, but eventually it was de- cided that it wasn’t feasible. It was discontinued in 1967. I think it was all a false sense of security. As a kid, I don’t think I really believed that we would survive a nucle- ar blast. I had seen the photos of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I have often wondered what my teachers and my parents thought about the Cold War, but I don’t remember a conver- sation. I think my father once took us down to the basement and pointed out a corner that he thought would be safe, but we didn’t have food and water put away. My brother remem- bered dreams - - he always sur- vived. I always wondered how thousands of people could live underground for weeks. There was speculation about who in the neighborhood had a fall- out shelter, but people did not talk about it because they were afraid people would force into the shelters. There was even talk of having guns to defend the fall out shelters. So the Historical Soci- ety has in its collection a metal sign, but perhaps more valu- able are the stories that people re member. Please, share your stories and memories – histori- calleroy@gmail.com