This is our Town
Those yesteryears in war born Henderson, Nevada
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This is Our Town: Those Yesteryears in War Born Henderson
By Alexandra Osborn Spotti
August 19, 2021
The sinister glow of flames whipping high and spitting sparks into the dark sky confronted the residents of Basic Townsite on the night of March 6, 1942. The blaze was coming from the BMI command post, the administrative building. Without sufficient water available yet, there was no hope of saving it from incineration and the firestorm quickly engulfed the structure. Before the building burned to the ground, the talk in town was that Bruce McNeil, McNeil Construction’s assistant general manager, jumped on a bulldozer posthaste, put it in gear, and fast-forwarded it right through the ball of fire to push the building’s vault to safety. Was the fire electrical in nature? Was it an act of subversives? Newspapers reported that both BMI and McNeil Company officials believed that the fire was deliberately set by a culprit or culprits bent on undermining the work at the complex. Rumors would fly, but no determination on the cause of the fire was ever brought to view. It remained a mystery. If not for the dedicated workers who stared down ever challenge, this unfortunate event could have been a crushing setback. In the aftermath of the inferno, not a second was wasted in getting another structure off the ground and replacing the equipment. The new nerve center was completed, functional, and back in business in only about six days. This fire would not be the last at BMI.
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About the Book
With World War II raging throughout Europe, the United States knew it needed to produce magnesium—the “miracle metal”—in prodigious quantities.
Thousands of souls from across the United States heeded the call and traveled to Southern Nevada to build the world’s largest magnesium production plant. Living conditions were harsh in the parched desert encampment that some called Tent City.
But the iron-willed men and women who answered the call would break all records in magnesium production. When the war ended, however, a mass exodus from the settlement left it on the brink of becoming just another ghost town.
In this book, the author offers readers a front-row seat to the development of Henderson, Nevada. In plain, straightforward language, she examines the forces that propelled the small community through the war and how it continued to thrive into the twenty-first century.
Whether you’re interested in World War II, the history of Nevada, or the history of Henderson in particular, this book reveals the powerful impact of a small desert town.
About the Author
Nevada became the author’s home when her parents brought their young family from the Midwest to settle in Henderson in the fifties. Growing up in what was then a small desert town, Alexandra remembers the penny candy at Julie and Bill Byrne’s grocery on Army Street, the fifteen-cent admission to the Victory Theatre, the Skyway Drive-in and its roundabout ride, and the excitement of the Industrial Days parades and the carnivals. Like so many others, she spent endless summer days swimming at the BMI pool where she would later be a swim instructor and compete on the city’s swim team. During her high school years, Alexandra served as a candy striper at Rose de Lima Hospital, was as a member of the Basic High School Desertaires, Future Teachers of America, Sun Youth Forum, Girls Athletic Association, the Lone Wolf newsletter staff, and other organizations. She also penned the “Wolves Howl” that appeared regularly in the Henderson Home News. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Science Degree from the University of Nevada and was a teacher/library media specialist with the Clark County School District for over twenty years. During her teaching career, she authored a monthly column on children’s literature published in the Henderson Home News. Spending time with family and friends, reading and getting lost in bookstores, writing, traveling, and scouring antique shops are her most favored pastimes.