AUDIOVISUAL
"Vanishing Act"
"Vanishing Act"
70 minute presentation at WV State Archives covering a century at the NOP.
NYA at the NOP
NYA at the NOP
18 minute full color film from 1940 detailing the NYA's activities at the Naval Ordnance Plant.
President John F. Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy
AUDIO ONLY: At his ninth press conference, the President announced the sale of the NOP to FMC Corporation (at 2:27).
1961 - Preparations begin to sell the NOP. (WV Archives & History).
1963 - (1:27) A bus full of FMC Ordnance workers can be seen boarding to join the Civil Rights March in Washington D.C. (WV Archives & History).
The world around it
The world around it
While not directly involving the NOP, these videos help bring the Plant's context into focus.
While not directly involving the NOP, these videos help bring the Plant's context into focus.
1937-41 - Gov. Homer Holt speaks to the Central West Virginia Mining Institute. (WV Archives & History)
Holt was Governor of West Virginia when President Roosevelt toured the NOP in September 1940, and rode with him in his Secret Service car for the entirety of his visit.1938 - Senator Neely speaks at an event. (WV Archives & History)
Neely rode with Roosevelt on his inspection tour of the NOP in 1940. He would follow Homer Holt as the next governor of West Virginia.1958 - Senators Jennings Randolph and Robert C. Byrd shortly after being elected. (WV Archives & History)
Both Byrd and Randolph cosponsored legislation that later brought ARA and MDTA funds to West Virginia--funds that were used in part to retrain out-of-work coal and chemical workers for jobs on the FMC assembly line (see "FMC & Vietnam").1960 - Candidate John F. Kennedy campaigns on the West Virginia Capitol steps. (WV Archives & History)
Then-Senator Kennedy lays out the crux of his economic policies in an impassioned speech to West Virginia primary voters. He mentions the Area Redevelopment bill which, vetoed twice by President Eisenhower, would become law the following year under President Kennedy, and directly resulted in the FMC Ordnance contracts that brought thousands of jobs to the Kanawha Valley from 1961-1969.1963 - Governor Wallace Barron speaks about poverty and joblessness in West Virginia. (WV Archives & History)
Baron and a number of West Virginia legislators (Byrd, Randolph, and Slack most prominently) worked with President John F. Kennedy's administration on numerous occasions to bring new industry and training programs to areas of economic hardship in the state.
We're working with our archival partners to bring you more perspectives on this century of history.
We're working with our archival partners to bring you more perspectives on this century of history.