The Wyandotte Herald

28,000 WORKERS ON WPA PROJECTS DURING 1940

WPA officials today looked back on a year of accomplishment in Wayne county and viewed with satisfaction the results of close co-operation between the federal government and local community sponsors.

During 1940 the Work Projects Administration and sponsors spent a total of $28,405,920 to provide an average of 28,310 residents of Wayne county with employment on useful public works and community services.

Abner E. Larned, state WPA administrator, today announced that a review of outstanding accomplishments in Wayne county during the past 12 months shows that 14 township school from three to eight rooms each have been constructed together with a new field house in River Rouge, a state police post in Flat Rock, a new library building in Dearborn and a new recreational building in Detroit.

Streets in Wayne county have been paved with 30.8 miles of concrete. Another 50 miles of macadam streets and 11.4 miles of macadam alleys have been built. Work also included the laying of 113 miles of curbing and 57 miles of sidewalk. A total of 84 miles of street drainage sewers with catch basins, manholes and appurtenant work were constructed.

Five miles of sewers were constructed in tunnels at a depth of 20 to 30 feet below the road surface. Water mains completed totaled 35.5 miles. This work included 140 fire hydrants and 9 manholes.

In connection with the defense program, 10 buildings were remodeled at Fort Wayne and three new garages to house mechanized units were constructed. Other improvements at Fort Wayne included the landscaping of 15 acres of parade grounds.

The 322d field artillery armory was rehabilitated to provide for the handling of new equipment and field guns. Remodeling at the Naval armory included the completion of a drill ship.

At the Wayne county airport two miles of additional concrete runways were laid. Also extensive landscaping and ground improvements were completed at the United States veterans' administration facilities on Southfield road.

Services to Wayne county communities included adult education projects giving instructions and citizenship counseling to 23,846 persons. Besides the regular enrollment some 1,700 aliens have been helped in reclassification problems. During the year 1,478 [people] naturalized and received citizenship.

The nursery section of the project enrolled 2,137 children between 2 and 5 years of age who were cared for in the nurseries. The WPA is combining [something] and a musical center project. A total of 1,073 concerts and dances were given, playing to a total of 111,031 people.

The musical therapy, the only one of its kind in the United States, served 700 patients each day at Eloise hospital.

The outstanding achievement of the WPA arts and crafts project was the completion of the statue of Father Gabriel Richard, which was erected in Richard park near Belle Isle bridge.

The WPA museum project completed many educational dioramas for schools and institutions, including The House of Hazards, showing 25 common fire hazards in the home. The diorama is used as a lecture basis for all children in the Detroit public schools. A large map of the state of Michigan, showing the natural resources of the state was completed and has been exhibited before 7,000,000 persons. The map will be displayed throughout the United States.

The WPA writers project compiled and published 12 histories, wrote 13 radio scripts for the department of conservation and sent the Michigan state guide, a complete Michigan guidebook to the publishers.

During the last year the historical records survey published 26 books: Federal Inventories of the Departments of Treasury, Justice, Navy, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Veterans Administration, Farm Credit Administration; County Inventories of Bay, Cheboygan, Genesee, Marquette; Municipal Inventories of the Detroit City Treasurer, Detroit Department of Recreation, Hamtramck City Engineer; Church Inventories of Jewish Bodies, Dearborn Churches, Presbyterian Churches in U.S.A. (Presbytery of Detroit), African Methodist Episcopal (Michigan Conference), Protestant Episcopal (Diocese of Michigan, Western Diocese and Northern Diocese), Manuscript Guides to Depositories in Michigan and Calendar of Baptist Collection, Kalamazoo College; and Minutes of the Charter Commission of Hamtramck, Michigan, 1921-22; Minutes of the Meetings of the Village Council of Hamtramck, Michigan, 1901-05.

The WPA Braille project compiled 450 volumes in Braille.

The WPA library project catalogued a total of 14,799 books and repaired and bound approximately 50,000 volumes.

The WPA sight saving project copied text books, available only in small print, on bulletin typewriters so that they could be read by those children whose vision is impaired. The books are available to children from the second grade through high school.

The WPA bookbinding project sorted, filed and bound 258,616 records and documents.

The WPA research and records project made a survey of traffic devices for Detroit's traffic engineering bureau of over 200 kinds of devices now in use. Another outstanding research project now under way is a transportation study being made by the D.S.R. This project alone employs 500 workers.

In 1940 there was approximately 800 persons employed in the work of county records.

Furniture renovation project placed 1,000 pieces of rural furniture.

Detroit Board of Education, Department of Public Welfare, Hamtramck Board of Education, and the Detroit Wayne county library.