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History of the Gulf ordnance Factory by Brent Coleman

When I undertook the task of writing a feature on the World War II Gulf Ordnance Munitions Plant at Prairie, Mississippi, I was astonished to find there was almost no material or information recorded. At first I could find almost no pictures of the plant during its operational years, 1942-45. It was a munitions plant; there was always a threat of sabotage, so security was of the utmost importance. I then discovered that the plant had its own newspaper but those papers were not kept by the Aberdeen library or if they were, had later been thrown away. Eventually I tracked down many copies of The Tracer kept by former workers and then Procter & Gamble sent me copies of their archives as pertained to the Gulf plant, which was invaluable in compiling this journal. When it was publicized that I was researching the Gulf Ordnance Plant, I began getting calls from everywhere from people still alive who had worked in the plant. At the end of 1941, America was at war with Germany and Japan. All the men who were able were either n the service or soon going to be. The big news on the local home front, however, was that a huge munitions plant would be built at the small town of Prairie, in Monroe County, just south-west of Aberdeen. The plant, which would be contracted to Procter & Gamble, would primarily hire women to load and pack shells. This was indeed good news in the Tombigbee River area which had not fully recovered from the Great Depression. It was startling news for women; for many it meant they would be able to hold a job making excellent wages for the first time in their lives. Working at the new Gulf Ordnance Plant would not only be socially acceptable for women, it would be considered a patriotic duty to do so. When the plant closed, it left thousands of men and women with work skills that they were able to use in obtaining employment in the private sector, an advantage they never would have had without the Gulf Ordnance Plant. The plant poured countless millions of dollars into the economy of Northeast Mississippi and was the catalyst that broke the back of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Estimates of the workers at the plant at one time range from 6,000 to 10,000. In a few years of its existence the huge plant would touch and change the lives of almost every person then living in the Tombigbee River area of Mississippi and Alabama. copyright Brent Coleman. Here is the link to Mr. Coleman's website: http://brentcoleman.tripod.com/index-gulfordnance.html Visit Mr. Coleman's page this man has dug up the most extensive back ground and history on the Gulf Ordnance there is! copyright Brent Coleman. here is the link to Mr Coleman's website: http://brentcoleman.tripod.com/index-gulfordnance.html Visit Mr. Coleman's page this man has dug up the most extensive back ground and history on the Gulf Ordnance there is!

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