Pago 10
Daily Nobrsskan
Wednesday, December 12, 1934
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'rstwhile bomb plant
falls to farm troops
Land once used to advance the
war effort now is being used to
advance agricultural experiments
and knowledge as part of the
UNL Field Laboratory near Mead.
At the site, the university is
usiss 9,600 acres of an original
1 7,000 acres for grazing, farming,
veterinary science and other pur
poses. Many of the older buildings,
which formerly comprised
National Gypsum Company, an
ordinance plant that operated
during World War II and the
Korean War, now are being used
as extension offices and labora
tories of nine departments on
East Campus.
The remaining 7,400 acres
belong to private owners and the
National Guard.
According to Gary Lesoing, an
administrative assistant and
research technician at the field
lab, there was once six ammuni
tion load-line3 that produced
rockets, shells, bombs and demo
lition blocks. Each load-line was
about three-fourths of a mile long,
and was one mile apart
Approximately 3,000 workers,
mostly women, operated the
load-lines around the clock in
three shifts each day.
"The workers wore special shoes
and clothes," Lesoing said. "They
changed clothes in changing
houses, and had to take two
showers a day."
Lesoing also said there were
even laundry facilities on the
premises for washing all the
clothes.
Within each load-line, workers
assembled and transported the
various explosive components by
way of a railroad. A loading dock
was at the end of each line from
where ammunition was either sent
by train for immediate use or
sent by truck to one of the 111
igloo storage dumps until a train
could pick it up.
NGC was formed in IM2 by a
contract with the federal gov
ernment. The company remained
in full-scale use until 1959 when
it was abandoned.
Only load-line 1 remains nearly
intact, but part of it was dam
aged by fire five yean ago, Leso
ing said.
Lesoing said the land occupied
by load-line 1 "will hopefully be
cleared out someday if money
can be appropriated for it"
The land, which now belongs to
the university, was bought from
the federal government oh April
12, 1982, for atoken charge of $1.
A 20-year agreement was
arranged, at the end of which the
university had to file a report on
progress and how the land was
being used. - t
In 1932, the land belonged to
UNL with no strings . attached,
Lesoing said.
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