The Fire Prevention Parade
Digital painting, 2009
Light box enlargement
Read the introduction to the Remixing the Hanford Declassified Project paintings
What the Hanford Declassified Project archive shows is that life was one long parade in Richland
Parades are a recurring theme in the Hanford Declassified Project archive. Their intent was to build morale and a sense of community among a non-local citizenry shipped in from all over the country.
Another common theme is fire prevention, and for good reason. The last thing anyone wanted was a wall of flame barreling down on the Hanford plant, though by “anyone” I don’t necessarily include the children who were conscripted to participate in fire prevention parades for an opportunity at center-of-attention costumed fun, because it’s doubtful that any of them were aware that fire posed a more potent threat for nuking the area than the much-dreaded Cold War villain, Russia.
For the children, the drilled dread was that fire might destroy their homes, rather than rush off to Hanford through the desert and cause a nuclear meltdown.
The big guns that showed up at the parade were heady confirmation the government loved the little desert hamlet of Richland, and if you did your part in protecting your homes from errant sparks cascading off the cigarettes of careless parents, then Nike missiles and cannon would save you from a Ruskie Slim Pickens. Having parents who smoked–and whose parents didn’t smoke?–I recollect well my own vigilance, attentive and en garde when cigarettes were wielded too casually, ash missing the lip of an ashtray and falling on the table. With every red spark, I could hear the tumbleweeds scream. For the message given us was that our parents weren’t responsible enough to not burn down their homes. Adults were something like mindless idiots who might behave at their day jobs but could be counted upon, at night, to drink too much, forget where they lived, that they had a house and children at all, and pass out in an eventual, self-medicated stupor with cigarette still lit. We, their dependents, had the job of protecting our progenitors from themselves each night, so in the morning we would all wake up with a roof over our heads.
That it was our responsibility was impressed so greatly upon us by our teachers, I remember asking one of them what of single adults who had no children to care for them and their cigarettes? Who would keep them from burning down their house?
The digital painting is based on this photo:
Fire Prevention Parade Costumes, 1955
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020140”
Accession Number N1D0020140
Document Number 14481-3-NEG-Q
Alternate Document Number 14481-3-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-20
More images from fire prevention parades:
Fire Prevention Parade, 1954
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0008048”
Accession Number N1D0008048
Document Number 10961-NEG-P
Alternate Document Number 10961-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE – FLOATS
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) FIRE PREVENTION,HANFORD SITE,PARADE FLOAT
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 02-Oct-1954
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-2002
Fire Prevention Parade 1955, Bikes
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020106”
Accession Number N1D0020106
Document Number 14481-NEG
Alternate Document Number 14481-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-2002
Fire Prevention Parade, Bikes, 1955
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020088”
Accession Number N1D0020088
Document Number 14481-2-NEG-C
Alternate Document Number 14481-2-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-2002
Fire Prevention Parade GE Float, 1955
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020122”
Accession Number N1D0020122
Document Number 14481-NEG-R
Alternate Document Number 14481-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-2002
Fire Prevention Parade, Bikes, 1955
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020088”
Accession Number N1D0020088
Document Number 14481-2-NEG-C
Alternate Document Number 14481-2-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-2002
Fire Prevention Parade 1955, School Crossing Guards
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020140”
Accession Number N1D0020140
Document Number 14481-3-NEG-Q
Alternate Document Number 14481-3-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-20
Fire Prevention Parade, 1955, The Nike Missile!
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020078”
Accession Number N1D0020078
Document Number 14481-2-NEG-O
Alternate Document Number 14481-2-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-2002
Fire Prevention Parade 1955, Cannon!
DDRS Record Details for Record Accession Number
“N1D0020128”
Accession Number N1D0020128
Document Number 14481-3-NEG-I
Alternate Document Number 14481-3-NEG
Title Description FIRE PREVENTION PARADE
Number of Pages 1
Key Word(s) HANFORD SITE
Author(s)
Company(s)
Document Date 08-Oct-1955
Public Availability Date 14-Feb-2002
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