Celebrating History: Back from Nitro

By Emily Mayer

In last week’s column, I mentioned about 200 Havre men who signed up to work on a government funded manufacturing plant in Nitro, West Virginia. It’s quite the story!

In the Nov. 9, 1918 issue of The Havre Plaindealer on its editorial page, the Promoter printed:

Join the Industrial Army, Be a patriotic worker, Help make General Pershing’s headquarters “Somewhere in Germany” instead of “Somewhere in France”. Strong, able bodied men are wanted to help the government build the fifty million dollar plat at Nitro (near Charleston, W. Va.) You must be able to pass an ordinary physical...