84 Years Ago
The March 6, 1941 Colorado Transcript was brimming with optimism for the future. The Depression was finally easing up and we had not yet entered World War II. The previous December, President Roosevelt had announced that we would support our allies by becoming The Arsenal of Democracy.
To that end, the Federal Government was about to build an arms plant on the former Hayden Ranch, on Green Mountain. To Golden, the plant was a sure harbinger of prosperity. The plant would bring thousands of new jobs to the area, and all of those new residents would need homes. Surely, a significant number of them would want to live in Golden.
The plant was also bringing upgrades to the infrastructure. Sixth Avenue was going to be significantly widened and improved to provide access to the plant, and it would be extended to Golden. The Denver and Intermountain Railway, which had carried people and freight between Denver and Golden since the 1890s, was being upgraded and a spur being built to service the new arms plant. There was talk of a new bus line to transport plant workers.
The lead article in the March 6th edition celebrated “Busy Summer In Prospect For Local Men – Regular Pay Checks Three Times More Than WPA.” The WPA had been a great boon during the Depression–it provided jobs and paychecks that kept many families fed and housed–but the pay for those government jobs was never generous.
The Transcript article explains that WPA “common laborers” had been working 120 hours a month at 38 cents per hour, for a total of $45.60 per month. The new “common laborer” union jobs at the arms plant were going to pay 71.4 cents per hour for the first forty hours and time and a half on Sundays, which they were expected to work during construction. This meant that pay at the arms plant would be $147 per month. Skilled laborers would earn more.
The Golden Local No. 410, which was based on the second floor of the Stewart building at 10th and Washington, had been founded in 1934. Several charter members were still on the roll, and the membership was expected to swell with the new jobs on the way.
The Remington Arms Plant produced munitions throughout World War II, and afterwards that site became the Denver Federal Center.
