Black Out By Rachel Dworkin, archivist
On January 3, 1942 at 9:35pm, every factory whistle and siren in the greater Elmira metro area began to sound the alarm. An attack was imminent. Within minutes, the entire city went dark. Well, dark-ish.
Less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was on edge, bracing for the sorts of nighttime bombings that England had been living with for years. Throughout the first months of 1942, cities across the country began preparing for air raids. Chemung County, which had over a dozen factories involved in war production, not to mention the Horseheads Holding Point, could be considered a prime target. The January 3rd blackout drill was just the first of what would be a regular occurrence throughout the duration of the war. (READ MORE)