BEAVERS - ATOMS - BOMBERS RESEARCH PROJECT

By Ray Stein (64)

Introduction
    I cite 33 references in my report, but you can get by
with reading just one - the Club 40 Newsletter by Dale
Gier (ref. #21). When you read Gier's newsletter, you'll
see that he is not an A-bomb apologist, nor is he fond of
political correctness. In his letter, Dale recalls a
meeting in Sept. 1945 where Bombers was first suggested
as a mascot. He states unequivocally that the name
Bombers was to commemorate the B-17, Day's Pay. The
Sandstorm reports that just such a meeting occurred on
Sept. 12th, 1945. Gier is mentioned, as is Fred Littau,
Class Advisor/Head Football Coach. Littau is the source
for an article in the Sept.13th Villager where the name
"Bombers" first appears in print.
    Before Bombers is official, another name, "Richland
Atoms" appears. A student even suggests "Sandstorm" be
changed to "Atom News". The name Atoms would have forever
paid homage to our great nuclear heritage. Instead,
Bombers is picked. How, why or when is a question because
THERE IS NO WRITTEN RECORD FROM THAT ERA about the 
exact circumstances surrounding the name change.
    Based on comments now, I believe that when Bombers
was announced, some students and staff thought about any
WWII bomber, including Day's Pay and the Nagasaki plane.
Others were more concerned with boyfriends, girlfriends,
and a proposed new club that would be named High Spot
(later called Hi-Spot). Some must have thought about an
airplane because shortly thereafter, Bomber athletes were
called "fly-boys". Some must have thought about the
atomic bomb because a bomb mascot was implemented and a
mushroom cloud shows up in the '48 Columbian. While there
was (and still is) an "honest" difference of opinion
about the meaning of Bombers, the genesis of the name was
(and still is) that B-17, Day's Pay Bomber.
    This flight has been a fun mission, but it's time to
bring this Bomber in for landing. I have tried to be the
navigator and I want to thank the rest of our crew -
pilot, Maren Smyth (64); co-pilot, John Adkins (62); and
bombardier Burt Pierard (59).

With Bomber Pride Inside,
Ray Stein (64)
********************************************

Richland Atoms
Today we all know it's Richland Bombers not Richland
Atoms. Back on October 19, 1945, they weren't so sure.
The student newspaper used both terms in reports of two
Richland football games (1). "Atoms" was used exclusively
in the write-up of a 10/5 game with Walla Walla, and
"Bombers" was the choice for the Pasco game on 10/12 and
all games thereafter. The headline "Atoms Disintegrated
By Blue Devils" seems to link the Atoms name with an
Atomic Bomb, like the one dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on
August 9, 1945. The innards of that bomb were
manufactured at Hanford. Bomber means a plane designed
for bombing, like the B-17 Bomber that was purchased by
Hanford workers and christened "Day's Pay" on July 23,
1944. The Plane's name reflected the amount that each of
the 51,000 Hanford workers contributed to buy the bomber
(2). Day's Pay flew 67 successful missions in WWII and
it's exploits were chronicled by the local press through
the summer of 1945 (3) (4). So was the name Bombers
inspired by that B-17, or was the name Bombers adopted as
a result of the Atomic Bomb?

Richland Beavers
Before the name change to "Bombers" in the fall of 1945,
we were called the "Beavers", and before that the
"Broncs". The change to Beavers occurred in the fall of
1944 and according to Kay Weir Fishback (37) was a change
for change’s sake (5). Since we were the Beavers for only
one year, many freshmen from 45-46 now say they don’t
even remember the name Beavers. 

Sandstorms, Columbians, 1946 Green and Gold Handbook
The student publications are strangely silent about the
name change from Beavers to Bombers. The Oct. Sandstorm
(1) gave no explanation for using Atoms or Bombers in
it’s 10/19/45 article. Interestingly, the Sept. Sandstorm
(6) says, ". . . there has been much talk about changing
the name of the school paper the Sandstorm’ to something
else". A lively debate ensued as names like "The
Tattler", "Atom News" and "Atomizer" were suggested (7).
Strangely, no such debate on the merits of mascot names
like "Beavers", "Atoms", or "Bombers" is recorded. The
1946 Green and Gold Handbook (8) told students to be
proud of their name Bomber, but it never explained the
name origin. The 46 Columbian was dedicated to the atomic
bomb with atom rings and lightening bolts throughout (9).
If the name Bombers came from the atomic bomb, you would
expect the yearbook to say so, but it doesn’t contain any
such statement. The atom ring/bolt symbols used to
represent the atomic bomb never become lasting logos or
emblems. There is also a drawing of an airplane on the
foreword page of this yearbook (10). The Columbians
contain several class histories that review events of the
45-46 school year, but there is no mention of the Beaver-
Bomber name change. My guess is that the students didn't
know or didn't care whether Bomber stood for a plane or a
bomb.

Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator, Bombardier, Fly-Boys
Without any definitive statement about the hows, whys and
wherefors of the name change, we can only look at clues
to find where the name Bomber might have originated. Some
clues require interpretation (i.e. Bombers - Atoms), but
others are more direct. In their class history, the 1946
incoming freshmen talk about their Bomber mission and
refer to their class officers as pilot, co-pilot,
navigator, and bombardier (11). Safe to say they must
have thought Bomber stood for an airplane. Shortly after
the name change, Richland athletes were referred to as
"Fly Boys". On March 6, 1947, a Villager headline
screams, "Thousand Fans Watch 'Fly Boys' Win Easily". The
article continues to say, "Fly Boys as they are known at
the high school" (12). The 47 Columbian uses fly boys to
describe the basketball and baseball players (13) (14)
and the 48 Columbian also uses fly boys (15). The term
fly boys was first used to describe WWII pilots. If
Bombers stands for the Atomic Bomb, why would students
use a nickname like fly boys?

Atoms vs Bombers 
What's in a name? If someone wanted to pick a name to
commemorate the atomic bomb, wouldn't they have chosen
something like atoms and not bombers? The Sept. 13, 1945
Villager reported, "Indications are that the Col-Hi
teams, formerly known as the "Beavers" may this year be
known as the "Bombers", (please note this comma) or
"Atomizers" because of the nation-wide publicity the
village has received as the home of the Atomic Bomb"
(16). I emphasize the comma because I believe the editor
intended to separate Bombers from the thoughts that
follow. That editor's intent is impossible to determine,
but this same statement is misquoted (no comma) twice in
the Alumni Sandstorm (17) and the person's intent is
known. I don't think the comma omissions were
intentional, it's just how someone would write the
sentence if they wanted Bombers to go with "home of the
Atomic Bomb". More importantly, here again (much like
Atoms in the Oct. Sandstorm) we have evidence that a word
(Atomizer) closely tied to the atomic bomb is considered,
but never adopted as a nickname.

Day's Pay 
A history of Day's Pay is recorded in a Nov. 2000 Hanford
Reach article.  The comments and corrections are by Ray
Conley (46) and are used with his permission (18).  What
about Day's Pay, wasn't it forgotten after Richland's
role in the atomic bomb was revealed?  Not at all, in the
Dec. 6, 1945 Villager, a committee suggests that Richland
try to get either or both the Nagasaki plane or Day's Pay
(19).  On Dec. 13, 1945, the Villager reports the
committee proposes to only buy the plane Day's Pay (20).
These articles show that Day's Pay was still a big deal
to some Richlanders in late 1945.  As might be expected,
this proposal to pay for the same plane twice never went
anywhere.

Bomb Mascot
What about the bomb mascot, doesn't that clinch the deal
for the Atomic Bomb? Not really, bombers carry bombs,
bombers drop bombs and bombs certainly are linked to
bomber airplanes. The bomb creation naturally follows
from a bomber airplane like a paw print symbol might
follow from an animal nickname. Additionally, as the
March 1, 1955 Tri-City Herald relates, the "official
mascot" green and gold bomb carted onto the floor by
cheerleaders had an airplane affixed to it’s top (note: I
remember that plane on top of the bomb!)

Quotes
What about those that were there? I haven't interviewed
any old grads because I'm not comfortable with that
approach. Instead I've quoted only those people who have
made their views known on some public forum (i. e. the
Alumni Sandstorm). While I sometimes quote out of
context, I've provided a reference so you may read their
entire statement.

Dale Gier (48) 
Words from our Club 40 President, Dale Gier
"Richland High School Veteran's Day Assembly, November
10, 2000 was . . featuring as guest of honor, Alan Cohen,
a radioman on the B-17 bomber the "Days Pay". The
assembly was built around Hanford's WWII history and
school symbol, the Day's Pay Bomber . . As you probably
know the significance of that event led to the decision
by the Col-Hi 1945-46 to change our mascot's name from
the Beavers to Bombers. The current Director of Student
Activities asked me to appear on the agenda as a
Sophomore Student ASB Representative of the Col-Hi
council who participated in that decision in September of
1945. . My purpose of being selected for the program was
to give firsthand testimony to the FACT that the
selection of the word Bombers was in commemoration of
this great war-bird, the B-17, along with all the heroic
airmen who flew her. ." (21) (Gier was a student leader
and soph rep, he was voted all-school most athletic and
in following years was prom king and Jr. Class President)

Joe Barker (Teacher/Coach)  
". . How was the name changed? The name "Beavers" didn't
seem to fit the situation, so I suggested blowing my own
horn, that it be changed to Bombers. . The original idea
of the word "Bombers" was the atomic bomb, not an
airplane as it is now used." (22) (Barker was a brand new
teacher in the fall of 1945 (7), he became a VP the next
year and principal for one year after that, he was well-
liked for his 3 years at Col-Hi, but was a Pasco resident
when he wrote this letter)

Bud Row (47) 
". . now one more thing tonight: there is no way that we
bombers were named for the abomb, i was a bomber before
the word atomic was is an every day word, i would be
hurt? upset, mad, whatever if the name was not for "Day's
Pay" i did give a days pay for that plane not much but i
didn't make much in those days . ." (23)
(Row was the ASB President, captain of the b-ball team,
Columbian sports writer, and the following year was MVP
at the district b-ball tournament)

Dick Roberts (49) 
". . the Beavers name was changed to the Bombers in the
first few days of school in 1945.  That's why I never
remembered the name Beavers. . the name change was
because of the bomb dropped on Japan. That's the way I
remember it." (24)

Dick Harris (49) 
". . I was a freshman at Columbia High School in
September of 1945. I was one of the Managers of the
Basketball Team. . I was never a Manager of the Richland
Beavers. . We were the Richland Bombers, prior to the
dropping of the bomb. . At least, that is the way I
remember and see it!" (25)

Shirley Watts James (49) 
"Frankly, I don't remember the "Beavers", but I most
certainly remember the assembly that was called to
determine whether or not we would change the name to the
Richland Bombers. ." (26)

(The last 3 people were freshmen at Col-Hi, I don't know
all their high school activities, but Harris became the
Frosh Class President later in the year)

Important Dates
Barker's letter (22) begins, "In 1944, they were known as
the Beavers." Using only this letter as a reference,
Bomber Mania states, ". . the name was changed from
Beavers to Bombers in 1944" (27). This statement from the
otherwise historically correct Bomber Mania has led many
(including me) to initially think the name change
occurred in 1944. Gier says that the name change was in
Sept. 1945. The freshmen either don't remember Beavers
(Roberts, James) or don't remember being a Beaver
(Harris), so we have collaboration that the end of
Beavers must have been very early in the school year. A
meeting in early Sept. where representatives from all
classes might have gathered is reported in the Sandstorm
(28), "Representatives and advisers were elected in class
meetings held throughout the school, Wednesday morning."
The end of the article says, "The ca(n)didates for
Student Council offices were introduced to each class
before the meeting adjourned." Here's an indication that
there may also have been a joint meeting. The article
concludes, "The Student Council officers will be elected
next week." As we see on the next page of the Sandstorm
(29), next week is Sept. 20th (a Thursday). Therefore,
the Wednesday meeting was on Sept. 12th. Confirmation of
Gier's statement that a name change to Bombers was
discussed at this Sept. 12th meeting is found in the
Sept. 13th Villager article (16) that says a change to
Bombers/Atomizers is eminent. How did the Villager hear
so quickly about the meeting? Most likely from Head Coach
Fred Littau, who is quoted in the article (16) and as
elected Sophomore Class Advisor (28) was probably at the
Wednesday meeting with Soph rep Dale Gier! Coach Barker
was not elected as a class advisor and was probably not
at the meeting.

Assembly
The Sandstorm calls the football team "Beavers" for a
game on Sept. 21st (6), "Green and Gold" on Sept. 28th
(1), and "Atoms" on Oct. 5th (1). Finally, we're the
Bombers for the Pasco game on Oct. 12th (1). Where was
the change implemented? Most likely at an assembly. I've
heard from most that the name change was announced,
others say Bombers was accepted by acclamation. I won't
guess at which is true, but there are several Sandstorm
reports of assemblies and rallies (1) (6) (28), and there
are no details given about a name change to Bombers.
Since Barker spoke at assemblies (6), he may have been
the one who first announced the name Bombers and that may
be why he takes credit for coming up with the name. There
is absolutely nothing written anywhere at the time that
credits Barker with coming up with the name Bombers.

Conclusions - Comments
The name change from Beavers to Bombers was first
discussed at a school meeting Sept. 12, 1945. Dale Gier,
a sophomore representative who attended, recalls the name
Bombers was to commemorate the B-17 bomber, Day's Pay
(21). The student newspaper (Sandstorm) and the local
paper (Villager) confirm the date of that meeting in a
roundabout way, but there is never any explanation of the
origins of the name Bombers. 

Prior to the name Bombers becoming official, two names
with ties to the atomic bomb are mentioned in the press.
The Villager says "Atomizer" may be the new name because
Richland is the "home of the Atomic Bomb". The Sandstorm
uses the term "Richland Atoms" in a report of an Oct. 5th
football game with Walla Walla. The headline "Atoms
Disintegrated By Blue Devils" makes it clear that Atoms
goes with the atomic bomb. Neither of these atomic bomb
names finds a permanent place at Col-Hi. 

The name change to Bombers is announced at an assembly
and shortly thereafter, Richland athletes are called
"fly-boys" by the students and local media (12). Further
evidence that some students think of Bomber as an
airplane is found in a yearbook (11) where the incoming
1946 freshmen call their class officers pilot, co-pilot,
navigator, and bombardier. Symbols like the bomb,
however, suggest that other students see Bombers as
representing the A-bomb. 

The mascot for the Bombers is first a bomb with an
airplane attached to the top. As the years go by,
mascots, nicknames, symbols change as each class of
bombers leaves it's mark on the school. Fly-boys
disappears; the plane comes off the bomb, but goes on
cheerleader coats (30); a mushroom cloud appears, first
in the 48 Columbian (31), then again with vigor in the
80's and becomes our official symbol; Col-Hi becomes
Richland High; a mural goes on the wall to commemorate
Day's Pay; a B-17 flyby enlivens a graduation (32); and
who knows what comes next. It's whatever our current
Bombers decide! 

Plane or Bomb? Really what difference does is make? We're
all Bombers and proud of our connection to the atomic
bomb, and also proud of Day's Pay. I conclude with a
quote from a bomber grad who also expresses my feelings. 

"Let's stop the thing about where the name "Bombers" came
from be proud whether it was "Day's Pay" or the A-bomb, I
am proud of either and/or both" Bud Row (47), (33) 

 
References 
(1) Sandstorm (10/19/45), pg 3 
(2) Day's Pay Photo and Hanford Worker Certificate 
(3) Richland Villager (summer 1945), "Day's Pay In News Again" 
(4) Richland Villager (summer 1945), "Fly Crew Of Day's Pay Decorated" 
(5) Alumni Sandstorm (01/08/01),
    From: Kay Weir Fishback (37) Re: Basketball 
(6) Sandstorm (09/28/45), pg 1
    Blow Up 
(7) Sandstorm (10/19/45), pg 4 
(8) 1946 Green and Gold Handbook, pgs 12, 13 
(9) 46 Columbian, "First Page" 
(10) 46 Columbian, "Foreword" 
(11) 47 Columbian, "Freshmen Class History" 
(12) Richland Villager (3/6/47), "Bombers Win Title"
     Blow Up 
(13) 47 Columbian, "Tournament Champions" 
(14) 47 Columbian, "Baseball" 
(15) 48 Columbian, "Baseball" 
(16) Richland Villager (09/13/45), "Fifty-Two Out for Col-Hi Football"
     Blow Up of Critical Paragraph 
(17) Alumni Sandstorm (12/01/00),
     From: Burt Pierard (59) Re: Day's Pay & Bomber 
     Alumni Sandstorm (01/12/01), From: Burt Pierard (59) 
(18) Hanford Reach (11/27/00), "Wartime Hanford featured at RHS . ." 
(19) Richland Villager (12/06/45), ". . Buy Day's Pay And Nagasaki Plane" 
(20) Richland Villager (12/13/45), "May Buy Day's Pay" 
(21) Club 40 Newsletter, "Words from our Club 40 President, Dale Gier" 
(22) Tri-City Herald (2/27/55), "Here's How Name Change Was Made" 
(23) Alumni Sandstorm (11/15/99), From: Bud Row (47) 
(24) Alumni Sandstorm (11/21/99), From: Dick Roberts (49) 
(25) Alumni Sandstorm (11/19/99), From: Dick Harris (49) 
(26) Alumni Sandstorm (11/22/99), From: Shirley Watts James (49) 
(27) Bomber Mania (1980). pg 4 
(28) Sandstorm (10/19/45), pg 1 
(29) Sandstorm (10/19/45), pg 2 
(30) 62 Columbian, pg 123 
(31) 48 Columbian, "Inside Front Cover" 
(32) Tri-City Herald (06/97), "Richland B-17 bid pays off" 
(33) Alumni Sandstorm (11/22/99), From: Bud Row (47)