THE NPG NEWS
The Newsletter of the Nike
Preservation Group
Volume 2,
Issue 6
August - September 1999
Nike
Preservation Group, Inc., 21277 Clare Avenue, Noblesville Indiana 46060
Editors:
Don and Susan Peterson Phone: (317)
776-3868 E-mail: dspeterson@musa.org
C-47 Subject of Thesis
By Anjanette U. Sivilich
Generations today worry about
bombing a test, not who will be bombed; students know tornado drills, not civil
defense drills; and many younger people know Russia as more of a friend than a
foe. I am a member of this younger
generation. I realize that the Cold War
is a very important part of United States history. This period of history greatly affected the lives of people, especially major manufacturing cites
that were main targets of Russian missile systems. The effect of this era
was so strong that it still influences how we think about and deal with
foreign relation and political issues.
People deserve to be fully educated on the impact the Cold War had and
still has on our lives. Nike missile
sites need to be a part of this education.
The fact that Nike missile sites are an important resource is not
disputed, it is who owns the land, how to acquire the land, and finally how
this resource can be preserved. This is
the focus of my thesis.
Let me take a brief moment to
introduce myself. I am a Ball State
Graduate student completing a Master of Science in Historic Preservation. Questions regarding the Cold War have sat in
the back of my mind for many years. I
just have not had the time to research the subject, until now. Paul Diebold first introduced the subject of
C-47 to me during a presentation that he gave at the 1998 O’Brien
Conference. I immediately recognized
that this was an extremely important resource to preserve since it was
virtually unknown by those that did not live near these defense rings. Since the Nike Preservation Group is trying
to acquire the properties for educational use, I saw an opportunity to help the
NPG and other groups like it to preserve and maintain this resource.
A general history will set the
scene of the thesis. A history of
Pre-Nike armaments will establish a base for the introduction of a more
detailed history of the different Nike missile programs. A brief history of subsequent armament will
round out the history of missile technology surrounding the Cold War. The historical significance of Nike missile
installations does not need to be proven.
Some sites are already listed on the National Register of Historic
Places or have been documented through the Historic American Engineering Record
(HAER). Since many who acquire Nike
missile installations may not immediately have the funds to have a consultant
draw up a preservation plan this specific piece of work is needed.
From what I have been able to
gather, it seems all installations were equal in every respect except for the
layout and location. This allows the
preservation and maintenance plan in the thesis to be applied to all other
installations in the Unites States and Europe.
There will be several different levels of preservation and maintenance
plans presented, from mothballing to long-term maintenance, in the thesis to
accommodate different situations. I
believe that this work will be a benefit to the world of preservation and
military history.
by Don Peterson
Senator Lugar’s office recently contacted the NPG concerning the GSA’s response to their inquiries about the status of C47 and the nomination process. Mr. Robert J. Dunfey, Jr., Regional Administrator for the GSA, indicated that they would forward the nomination packet to the Keeper of the National Register within 30 days.
Mr. Dunfey claims that the GSA has been performing reviews of the eligibility of other Nike sites (for listing on the National Register) and they did not intentionally delay the nomination of C47.
The promise to forward the packet comes after repeated letters from the Indiana Senators and nearly a year of delays.
Nov, 1997 | Army Corps of Engineers, acting as an agent for the GSA, contracts the demolition of C47. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dec 2, 1997 | Army Corps of Engineers requests comments on demolition of C47 from the Indiana DNR, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Letter implies that the demolition has already been performed and compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was being performed after the fact. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mar 30, 1998 | C47 becomes an Indiana State Historic Site.
Apr 14, 1998
|
Indiana DNR, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology makes preliminary
evaluation of C47. Based on information provided by the Army Corps of Engineers,
the site is found not to be eligible for the National Register.
| May 20, 1998
|
Site is nominated to the National Register by the Nike
Preservation Group.
| May 29, 1998
| Indiana DNR, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology reverses it’s earlier
decision after errors surface in the reports being generated by the Army Corps
of Engineers.
In the opinion of the State Preservation Officer,
C47 is eligible for the National Register
| Jul 16, 1998
|
Army Corps of Engineers notifies GSA that the buildings and
structures will not be removed during clean up.
The letter advises the GSA to perform the
106 review process on C47.
| Jul 22, 1998
|
The
NPG writes a letter to Dennis Spearman, Director, Property Disposal Division,
GSA, Chicago.
NO RESPONSE
| Oct 14, 1998
|
Indiana
Historic Preservation Review Board approves the National Registry Nomination of
C47
| Oct 22, 1998
|
The American Legion of Indiana
announces their support of the preservation effort for C47.
| Nov 5, 1998
|
National Registry packet forwarded to GSA’s
Federal Preservation Officer, Constance Werner Ramirez.
(Federal guidelines indicate that GSA
should act within 90 Days)
| Dec 1998
|
National Park Service personnel contact Indiana State
Preservation Officer indicating they had conducted a primary review of the
nomination and found the application to be in good order.
The NPS also indicates that they have
requested the GSA to forward the original packet to them for approval.
| July 30, 1999
|
Indiana
State Preservation Officer contacts the Nike Preservation Group and indicates
that the GSA is not following the federal guidelines (36 CFR 60) which govern
the nomination of properties.
| |
Now that the GSA has
been motivated to move forward, the NPG must wait for their recommendation and
the impact that it may have on the nomination to the National Register. The GSA is expected to be in general
non-concurrence. Mr. Dunfey has
indicated in earlier correspondence that they feel the site is not worthy of a
place on the National Register. It is possible that the Keeper of the National
Register may overlook the opinion of the GSA and base their decision on the
recommendation of the State of Indiana.
Nomination to the
National Register is critical to the ultimate goal of the Nike Preservation
Group. If the site is placed on the
National Register, then a possibility exists that a public benefit transfer of
the site to the State of Indiana and the Nike Preservation Group could
occur. There is nothing for members to
do at this point other than wait for the outcome and hope for the best. The NPG
appreciates all the support that its members have given for so long. Hopefully
there will be some action very soon!
Over the last year or so I’ve enjoyed
visiting old Nike bases in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area. At first I
used my 35mm camera to record what I saw. But to make it easier to share the
pictures with my fellow Nike veterans and Nike friends I bought a digital
camera so I could download the pictures I took and E-mail them out. A good
basic digital camera costs about $175.
But
wanting to give my pictures a wider audience I decided to build my own web
page. A person no longer needs to be an html programmer to build a web page. I
used a program called “Composer” which is fairly easy to use. It is what is
called a ‘what you see is what you get” program. After building by web page I
had to find an ISP (internet service provider) to host it. There are many ISP’s
that will do that for free. But there still is a price to pay for a “free” web
page. The ISP I use puts an ad at the bottom of all my pages. But I get 5 Meg
of space for my pages though.
The
subject of my first Nike web page is “Recent Pictures of Nike Missiles Bases”.
Over the last year I’ve traveled to the cities of Baltimore, Washington DC and
San Francisco. I was able to visit several on Nike sites and take pictures for
the web page.
The URL of these pages
is: http://www.pcpages.com/phoneman/picturepage.html
I have started a second and different
Nike related web page also. I have always had an interest in the distinctive
insignia, known as DI, (regimental crests) of Army units. I still have mine. As
I bought several air defense artillery and missile battalion DI for my
collection I used my scanner to get pictures to use on my web page. The title
of this page is “Distinctive Insignia of Army Nike Missile Units”. I am proud
of this page for as far as I know no one else on the web is showing so many
Nike unit distinctive insignia. With the Army changing unit designations of
Nike units several times over their life span there is hundreds of DI to be
found and displayed.
The URL is: http://www.pcpages.com/phoneman/insignia.html
Please visit these two sites and let
me know what you think. If you have any pictures, new or old, of Nike bases
please send to me and I’ll put them on the web. Also I have put a couple of
insignia on the web page that I can’t fully identify and need information on.
My e-mail is: phoneman@adsnet.com
New
Members Since Last Issue
James D. Wilson
Johnson
City, TN
Served at Cleveland, Ohio (CL02) 1959-62
Paul W.D. Rosner *Lifetime Member*
Indianapolis,
IN
Frank A. Martinez *Lifetime Member*
Alpharetta,
GA
Served at Wheeler, Indiana
(C47) 1967-68
Aerial photo of C47 available!
The Nike Preservation
Group, Inc. has an aerial photo of C47, (Wheeler, Indiana) from 1975. It clearly shows all the buildings, roads
and structures of both the Launcher Area, the IFC Area and the town of
Wheeler. A great tool for anyone doing
research on C47 or any Nike site. You
can get a copy by sending $6.00 to the NPG to cover reproduction, shipping and
handling. Any profit goes to support
the NPG.
Still Available, But Not For Long!
“The Nike Hercules Story” Video
as
told by the United States Army
This
historic footage tells the public affairs version of the Nike Hercules
development and deployment. 30 minutes of family entertainment. Yours free when you make a donation
to the Nike Preservation Group of $18.00 or more.
Send your donation to:
The Nike Preservation Group, Inc., 21277 Clare Avenue, Noblesville, Indiana
46060
Available in VHS only. Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery. The Nike
Hercules Story - produced in 1958/59 by Herbert Kerkow, Inc. of New York