The weekly news update featuring Building of Fort Knox
To all North Pole City Elves, those in Santa's Village, in the Lower 48 and all around the world, this is your weekly update for the week of June 27, 2022. I'm your host Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone and I'm your co-host, Becky "Marshmallow" Livingstone, Let's go to press.
For the week of June 27, 2022 your sponsor will be Henrietta’s Hot Cocoa. If you are having a large gathering and need gallons of Cocoa, call Henrietta and her team and they will take care of you. Specializing in mass production of high quality Hot Cocoa, Henrietta’s Hot Cocoa is there for all you party and special occasion needs.
Mrs. Claus is asking for volunteers for anyone wishing to head out to the Claus' Cabin at Polar Bear Lake to help in getting it ready for their arrival next week. With the reindeer games coming up, it is time to have the cabin straightened up and stocked for the celebration week. Anyone who does volunteer this year will be welcomed to stay with the Clauses during the Reindeer Game weekend and will be exclusively invited to come to the Claus' fireside nights.
Edward Hinklemyer is sending the Security Division out to Polar Bear Lake this week to search and patrol all of the areas and woods around the Elf Campground to make sure nothing was missed in their investigation and to see if there has been any additional activity in the area. The Security Division will be installing monitors and sensors around the area to make sure the entire perimeter is safe for all elves that will be out at the campground.
Uncle Sam will not be able to make it back up to North Pole City this year to work with the department on his website; however, there is enough information to at least get the structure of the site setup and released soon. He has agreed to connect with the office through "Elf Link" (which is a special Internet based video conference service exclusive to the Department of Elfland Security) in order to get some more information for his webpage.
This week looks to be a traditional weather week here in North Pole City. Temperatures will hover around freezing and snow will be expected on Friday and Saturday. The rest of the week looks to be sunny so be sure to head outside sometime this week to enjoy the nice weather.
This past week we started the Secret Word of the Day contest. It turned out that only 1 of the 5 elves we randomly called answered and they could not remember the word of the day. No stickers were distributed this week at all...
It was on June 28, 1935 that the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, KY, one of six United States Mint facilities and home to a large portion of the gold bullion of the United States was ordered by Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was requested so the gold reserves could be moved away from coastal cities to areas less vulnerable to foreign military invasion. The initial plans were to be completed by August and called for a 10,000 square foot building costing no more than $450,000.
Construction of the Depository began in 1935 and was not completed until December 1936, at a cost of $560,000. It was constructed under the supervision of the procurement division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Upon completion, the Depository was placed under the jurisdiction of the Director of the Mint. The facility is equipped with state of the art security systems and the latest technological advancements.
The Depository is headed by an "Officer in Charge", who is responsible for ensuring the security of the bullion. The facility is protected by the United States Mint Police, and the officers are hand-selected by the U.S. Mint Headquarters in Washington, D.C. These officers must complete a rigorous training program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GaAand pass a thorough background investigation.
The actual structure and content of the facility is known by only a few, and no one person knows all the procedures to open the vault. No visitors are permitted into the facility and only one president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Congressional delegation on September 23, 1974, and a group, including the first Secretary of the Treasury to visit, on August 21, 2017 have been inside the vault.
What is known though is that the building measures 105 feet by 121 feet and is 42 feet above ground level with a 4,000 square foot, 2 story vault. It contains 16,000 cubic feet of granite, 4,200 cubic yards of concrete, 750 tons of reinforced steel and 670 tons of structural steel. Also, the Mosler Safe Company made the vault reported, in their brochure, that both the vault door and emergency door are 21 inches thick and made of the latest torch-and-drill-resistant material of the time. The main vault door weighs 20 short tons (18 metric tons), and the vault casing is 25 inches.
The first gold was moved to the Depository by railroad in January 11, 1937 and it was shipped there by the United States Postal Service as it was the only method of providing insurance for the gold because, at the time, the U.S.P.S. was the only agency that could accept the liability if any assets were lost. The initial series of gold shipments was completed on June 17, 1937, making the United States Bullion Depository fully operational at that time.
The gold bars stored there are similar in size to an ordinary brick, measuring approximately seven inches in length, three and a half inches in width and one and three quarters inches in thickness. Each of these gold bars contains approximately 400 troy ounces of pure gold.
The North Pole City Commerce will be going around to all of the business in North Pole City to collect donations and items for the basket raffles that will take place during the Reindeer Games weekend and campout out at Polar Bear Lake. As usual there will be no charge for tickets for the raffle; however, this year the are asking for elves to bring items that will be used for the games in exchange for tickets. The North Pole City Sports League is in need of sponges, used wrapping paper, hula hoops, ping-pong balls, and wiffle balls. For each item you bring with you to camp, you will receive one ticket for the basket raffle.
North Pole City Council has put out a memo that the elders will be sending messengers out to the four elf clan villages that are not living here at North Pole City. All we know at this time is that this is something related to the meeting that Santa had with the elders this past week at Claus mansion. As you recall, rumor speculates that a former member of the Assembly of Legendary Figures may have recruited elves from outside North Pole City to invade Santa's Village and cause issues trying to prevent this year's deliveries. Still, no official statement has been given from Santa, the Department of Elfland Security, or the town elders. You may remember that there have only been a few individuals that have ever been removed from the Assembly of Legendary Figures, so WELF is looking into their whereabouts at this time to try to ascertain more information.
The North Pole City sports league will be posting the information for the Reindeer Games on their website. If you have not registered your team yet for the events, you need to do that soon. Registration for camp sites will be opening up this week on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the league office. Please submit a count of how many campsites you will need this year so that a map can be drawn up. These sites fill up quick, so the sooner you submit your request the better.
This week we want you to join in on National Gingersnap Day on July 1st by enjoying this sweet and savory treat. Mrs. Claus' Kitchen will be supplying gingersnaps for all in city center all day on July 1. If you can't make it out, maybe you could make some of your own. Recipes for gingersnap cookies typically call for molasses, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and brown sugar. The combination of sweet and spicy has long been enjoyed for generations and we know you love them as much as peppermint. Mr. and Mrs. Claus have asked once again for everyone to delay any type of celebration of their Anniversary which is also July 1st until a camp out cookout they will be hosting for everyone at this year's Reindeer Games campout later this month. They have had many and would rather celebrate the whole elf village rather than just themselves.
500th birthday of Jimmy Twinklestein who has been working at the Twinklestein Pharmacy since he was knee high to a grasshopper with his family. We wish you many more happy years.
This is Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone and Becky "Marshmallow" Livingstone with the reminder: Never, ever, underestimate the importance of having fun..
Have a good evening, and be sure to tune in next week for another WELF-NPC North Pole Radio News Update.
