U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fallout Shelter Photographs

Hutchinson-Reno County, Kansas, Date 1968

These photos were taken in Hutchinson-Reno County, Kansas. I have no information on these images except the captions that are on the back of the 8x10 prints. The images are displayed with the captions as they are written on the back of the prints. Any additional comments that I may ad will appear in Italics.

Reno County, Kansas, Courthouse

CD1343- East entrance of Reno County Courthouse. Fallout shelter is located in the basement and can accommodate 1415 people. (13-15 May 1968)

CD1344- In the Civil Defense Office located in the Reno County Courthouse, Secretary Joan Beery and Civil Defense Director J.W. Pederson discuss distribution of public fallout shelters in Hutchinson. (13-15 May 1968)

CD1346- Civil Defense sign on wall in corridor leading to the Civil Defense Office located in the Reno County Courthouse. (13-15 May 1968)

CD1347 - Civil Defense supplies stored in shelter located in the basement of the Reno County Courthouse. This dual-use area is routinely used as a lunchroom. (13-15 May 1968) Is it my imagination, or are we all hiding our faces here?

CD1348- City of Hutchinson-Reno County Civil Defense Emergency Operating Center located in the basement of the Reno County Courthouse. The equipment shown includes a teletype unit, typewriter, speaker units, radio units, converters, telephones and linear amplifiers. Civil Defense Secretary Joan Beery operates the teletype unit. (13-15 May 1968) Notice the Civil Defense fire extinguisher on the floor between the chair and typewriter.

CD1349- Emergency entrance to the City of Hutchinson-Reno County Civil Defense Office and operating center in the Reno County Courthouse. (13-15 May 1968)

Underground Vaults and Storage, Inc.

CD1088 - J. W. Pedersen, Civil Defense Director, Reno County, and Homer J. McConnell, representative of Office of Civil Defense (Industrial Participation), Washington, D.C., examine emergency rations and supplies stored by the City of Hutchinson (Reno County) at the Underground Vaults and Storage, Inc., facility, 650 feet below ground. (13-15 May 1968) This photo, and the one below, really convey the scope of the Fallout Shelter stocking effort. Just imagine how many elevator trips it must have taken to move all of these supplies down into this mine. Underground Vaults and Storage is still in business.

CD1089 - J. W. Pedersen, Civil Defense Director, Reno County, and Homer J. McConnell, representative of Office of Civil Defense (Industrial Participation), Washington, D.C. and Carl Allam, examining the civil defense supplies stored by the City of Hutchinson ( Reno County) Office of Civil Defense at the Underground Vaults and Storage, Inc. facility, 650 feet below ground. (May 1968)

CD1075-Underground Vault and Storage, Inc. conference room, a part of an underground complex comprised of 130 acres of floor space located 650 feet below the surface of the earth. There is unlimited space in the more that 30 miles of corridors with the same temperate conditions. (right to left)Thornton L Miller, Regional Rep. Of the Bureau of Fed. Credit Union, Kansas City Mo.; Carroll Smith, Dir. Div. Of Admin. of BFCU, Washington, DC; Homer J. McConnell, Rep. of OCD (Industrial Particip.) Wash DC. John Schul, Pres. Of Underground Vaults and Storage, Inc.; Geneva L Fleer, Gen Sales Mgr. UV & S. and Carl Allam Records Center Mgr. Discuss work being done by US Army Photographic agency Photographers and general CD problems in relation to records storage. (13-15 May 1968)

The Far-Mar-Co., Inc. Grain Elevator

CD1338- The Far-Mar-Co., Inc. Elevator. This building is located in the north east portion of Reno County and has the largest fallout shelter in the county. It contains space for 8720 persons and is readily available to people in that portion of the county and in north east Hutchinson. (13-15 May 1968)

CD1340- Civil Defense water drums in the basement of the Far-Mar-Co., Inc. Elevator. This building has public fallout shelter space for 8720 persons, the largest shelter in Reno County. (13-15 May 1968)