SAA’s 60th birthday April 26 City’s “best and brightest” lead bounce-back from base closing
Thanksgiving turkeys were on the thaw in November 1964 when shockwaves bounded like a thorny tumbleweed through Salina and north-central Kansas. The Department of Defense announced it was stripping the regional center of its major employer with the closing of Schilling Air Force Base, part of the nation’s Strategic Air Command. It was home to more than 5,000 men. The move eliminated a substantial chunk of the city’s workforce and threatened the futures of countless businesses. Some churches even closed. Schilling was among 574 other military bases around the world that were marked for closure, “due to a shift in military strategy and budget constraints,” according to some news reports. Others suggested it was for political reasons.
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