The Tooele Transcript Bulletin has published Tooele County news since 1894. Here is a flashback of local front-page news from 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago that occurred during the fourth week of September.
Sept. 21-23, 1993
More than 1,000 Tooele Army Depot workers received a Reduction in Force letter during the third week of September with 370 given layoff notices and 750 assigned to a different job.
TEAD spokesman Jeff Lindblad said that 402 employees were assigned to a lower grade job, but all would retain current wages under “Save Grade, Save Pay.”
The total number of impacted employees was 1,052. Layoffs and internal realignment would become effective Jan. 23, 1994. The depot’s workforce at the time was 2,144.
The front page featured a story on the return of ammo blasts at Tooele Army Depot.
After more than a year of silence, the sight and sound of exploding ammunition would resume at TEAD’s North Area.
Depot officials said the blasts would begin again in early October, and they had irrefutable data that proved the aerial plumes from the explosions were harmless.
A TEAD spokesman said a 200-plus page analysis conducted in 1992 at the depot’s South Area detonation site, downplayed critics’ claims that the plumes contained heavy metals and other poisons.
Sept. 17-20, 1968
Parson Construction Company built a gravel pit at Mills Junction as construction work began on the Lake Point to Burmester section of Interstate 80. The contractor began moving in heavy equipment to be used on the 11-mile section of road during the previous week.
Work also was proceeding on other parts of the new route to Wendover including the Timpie to Burmester and Knolls to Salt Flats sections. Grading was completed on the Wendover to Salt Flats section.
Later in the week, the Tooele County School Board indicated Accord Harris Construction Company of Salt Lake City submitted the lowest bid to build a new auditorium at Tooele High School. Twelve companies bid on the new addition at THS.
The lowest bid came in at $858,995. The bid included an additional $84,229 to complete the proposed music section of the building and $31,200 for air conditioning equipment.
An official contract had not been finalized. The board planned to meet with the architects during the following week to attempt to trim the cost
Sept. 21-24, 1943
All elementary schools of Tooele County were scheduled to reopen after health officials said that no new cases of infantile paralysis had developed in the county in the previous 10 days.
Schools scheduled to open on Sept. 7 were closed due to the breakout of polio among the children of the county at that time. The high schools and junior high schools were reopened on Sept. 13, and with the commencement of work in the lower grades, the entire school system would be back in full swing.
In other school news, after special preparations had been made for increased attendance in Tooele County schools, all enrollments showed a decrease over the previous year, according to Superintendent Sterling R. Harris.
The greatest decrease had taken place at Tooele and Grantsville high schools, and the anticipated enrollment from TEAD was far below expectation. Other schools throughout the county also saw a decrease.
Sept. 6, 13 and 20, 1918
The Sept. 6 front page featured a story on the departure of a large contingent of Tooele County men for military service.
A large crowd escorted the boys from Liberty Park in Salt Lake City to Warner Station in Tooele and gave them a grand ovation before they left for Camp Kearney, California.
The Sept. 13 front page included a recap of an outing for senior citizens provided by the Tooele Daughters of Utah Pioneers at the warm springs near St. John. Automobiles were provided by the citizens of Tooele to transport the honored guests to the warm springs. A sumptuous feast was prepared and about 300 people attended the event.
The Sept. 20 front page provided an account of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in France, which was fought Sept. 12-15. It was the first and only offensive launched solely by the United States Army in World War I, and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating. This meant that their artillery was out of place and the American attack, coming up against disorganized German forces, proved more successful than expected.
Staff Writer Mark Watson compiled this report.