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Gregor Gable
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It's no wonder, then, that she's one of the few people at the campus, which she also attended as a student, who remember when Classroom 100 was the designated fallout shelter.
"The classroom was actually underground, and it led to a passage that connected the high school to Thomason Hospital across the street. According to the old-timers, it was like a tunnel," Curry said.
The former underground passage was sealed off at some point, and the only reminder of its existence is the distinctive black and yellow sign above a door at the school.
Like ancient fossils, the forgotten structures turn up unexpectedly at times.
For example, three years ago, El Paso Independent School District officials discovered an elaborate fallout shelter at a home in the 3300 block of North Stanton during demolition work for the Mesita Elementary School expansion.
The shelter was in a home built in 1956. It measured about 6 by 8 by 13 feet, and was equipped with bunk beds, a water pump and air holes.
The Downtown Main Library's old basement also was a designated fallout shelter.
Jack Galindo, spokesman for the city's library system, said workers who were clearing out the basement before the remodeling "found some rations that had been stockpiled for that purpose."
Many older buildings in El Paso, especially in the center of town, were constructed with basements, and during the 1950s they
Among the shelters Downtown back then were the Kress Building, the Cortez Building, Supreme Laundry and Cleaners and old Popular Department Store.
Before it was demolished, the building at Mills at Kansas streets that formerly housed the El Paso Times and the El Paso Herald-Post also had a basement that doubled as a shelter.
The emergency shelters were part of a civil defense plan that evolved during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and its allies.
Maxine Silva, a former board member of the El Paso Independent School District, said it was a frightening time for some people.
"I remember we had a blackout in El Paso, and everyone was saying 'The Russians are coming,' " she said. "We went into the kitchen area with the kids. It was in the 1960s."
People in the region can get a good idea of the events that led to the political tensions and fallout shelters during the Trinity Site tour at White Sands Missile Range in April.
The first above-ground atomic bomb was tested there in 1945, and historians believe it marked the beginning of the Cold War that ended in 1991.
The tour to Trinity Site used to occur once a year, but due to its popularity, officials added a second visit, said Monte Marlin, spokeswoman for the range.
"We can't do them more often than that because White Sands Missile Range is a restricted military installation, which is dedicated to defense," she said.
Officials said the secret test "broke windows 120 miles away and was felt by many at least 160 miles away."
People in El Paso and Juárez also had reported seeing the flash from the initial blast.
Over the years, experts also have agreed that most typical fallout shelters, such as the ones in homes and other buildings in El Paso, probably would not have protected against the initial blast and radiation from a nuclear bomb.
Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.
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