Cecil Stevenson took a break from his official duties as Greenwood Township Supervisor long enough to grace the Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society with his presence.

Every seat in the large banquet room of Station 5 was occupied as folks from all over the area and beyond came to hear Stevenson's program about Keystone Ordinance Works, also known as KOW.

Not only were there people from Conneaut Lake and all surrounding “suburbs,” but there were several in attendance from Greenville, including many who are affiliated with the Greenville Historical Society.

Many thanks were given to the Greenville group for the plethora of information they had supplied for the program.

Stevenson began by humbly stating that many of the people in attendance had far more knowledge of the KOW than he.

The area in which the KOW was located encompassed most all of Greenwood Township. Stevenson said that in October of 1941 an article in the Meadville Tribune stated that the government was going build a TNT plant in Greenwood Township.

In November of 41, the boundaries were announced and in 1942, the land had been purchased, for the most part. Stevenson said the amount of land was approximately 22 square miles and the township only has about 23 square miles, which didn't leave a lot of “wiggle room.”

The money allocated for the purchase amounted to $560,000. Construction took place from 1941 through 1943 with a total cost of 300 million dollars, when all was said and done. Locals are familiar with the term “igloo,” which was the name given to the storage areas for the materials that were produced at the facility.

Stevenson explained that the igloos were, or are, since many still stand, 60 feet long, 27 feet wide with walls reaching the 10 foot mark. The floors and walls are extremely thick due to the delicate nature of the materials that were once stored within.

He also touched on the spacing of the igloos, which were built in a staggered manner every 600 feet. The openings did not face one another because of the danger of one exploding and causing a chain reaction sort of scenario.

The area in which the TNT was actually manufactured was located behind strictly guarded fencing and was described as a village of sorts. Currently, PPG and JM Industries, to name two, are housed in that region.

Stevenson said that horses were used to patrol the fences back when the plant was operational. He also mentioned that a railroad was utilized and is still used today by the above mentioned industries. Eventually, the government sold the land and since then, the igloos have been used in a variety of ways including: housing, barns, storage and one was even converted into a dance hall at one time.

Greenwood Township also owns four of them for storage of large equipment, etc.

In addition to the igloos in which some people live and the businesses, there is also a large military shooting range on 500 of the acres. Stevenson explained a bit about this. “The G.I.'s who are in the reserves have to have so much time on the range. So, they'll come to the range up here and--- they're aiming towards our house!” The crowd cracked up on that note.

He went on to say that they “play soldier” once in a while and helicopters can often be heard overhead during those times.

Many in the audience added to the program by expressing memories with the crowd. One woman in particular described the government's use of eminent domain at the time as quite awful for many of the people. She said they took land and did not pay enough for it, leaving many farmers and citizens “heartbroken.”

It was also brought to light that Geneva did boom during the time of the KOW but afterward, since farmers had been uprooted and citizens no longer lived there, the town was described as a ghost town.

One lady in attendance wanted to be sure to let Stevenson know that there had never been a bar in Geneva at any time.

Another woman had actually worked as a laboratory technician and said she made $100 a month. The wages were advertised as the highest wages of the day and Stevenson asked her if this was true!

The subject of the cancer rate being high in the area was also broached by a participant in the audience.

The facility was supposed to be decontaminated after its use but some in attendance expressed their distrust in general of the government's involvement in the process.

Stevenson said tests had been taken of certain areas by the DEP but the results had not been imparted to him.

On a lighter note, some reflected on a bus that would transport the workers from the Conneaut Lake, Harmonsburg, and other regions to the facility. Many of the neighboring cities actually had buses that brought workers in as well.

An exact number of employees was not known, but the KOW ran three shifts continually during its time of operation.

According to some, it was quite easy to get hired on at the facility and often people became gainfully employed directly after asking about the position.

Another person said that some of the kids whose parents worked at the plant were nicknamed “TNT kids” by the others at school.

One of the people in attendance had a father who worked at the KOW and had mentioned an “acid house.” There were showers on site in case a worker came in contact with acid and had to wash right away.

An interesting fact that came to light as well was the reason for the government choosing the Greenwood Township location.

Evidently, cloud coverage was a deciding factor. “The swamp and the way things work..it made cloud cover and therefore, they couldn't fly over...We don't see much sunshine out there do we?” Stevenson said as the crowd laughed.

There were many more stories and memories shared and then the group took a 15 minute break, as is customary, prior to the business meeting.

If anyone is interested in learning more details about this subject, two good places to start would be the Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society and the Greenville Historical Society.

Good news in the business portion of the meeting as President Bobbie Moyers imparted that after all the recent museum renovations and work, the society ended the year in the black.

She said they were able to do this due to contributions from the memorial fund through the years.

Also, two very active members of the society, Dave and Kathy Lynch, are retired from Exxon. Because of this, they participate in the Exxon Volunteer Program.

This was explained as somewhat of a matching fund scenario but, instead of money being matched, what happens is this. For every volunteer hour worked by the couple, Exxon matches that time with money. So, due to the vast amount of volunteer time put in by the Lynch duo, the society has benefited a great deal.

Both Dave and Kathy are the first to give credit to other folks who help out on the various committees as well.

The next speaker at the society will be Jonathan Helmreich, who will present a program called, “Letters from a Civil War Soldier.”

The society invites all area residents to come out to this program and to the others in the new year. Their goal is to pack the house every month like they did this time and they ask for your help in reaching that goal.

The meetings begin at 7:30 on the third Monday of every month with the program being presented first, followed by the business meeting. They take place at Station 5, formerly known as the Park Fire Hall, on Route 618 in Conneaut Lake.

One need not be a member to attend nor does one need to stay for the business meeting portion of the evening.