17. Vulcan’s Weird Scheme Endeared it to Some, and Infuriated Others
It did not take long before newspapers from coast to coast were talking about Vulcan and its weird ploy to get a bridge. E.g.; The Spokane Daily Chronicle, which wrote: “Soviet officials were amused today by reports that the small town of Vulcan, W.Va. has appealed to the Kremlin for foreign aid… The town, with a population of 200, asked the Soviet government for financial help to build a bridge after the town was turned down by the U.S. and West Virginia governments“.
However, many anticommunist types did not see the humor and were not amused. Radio stations and local newspapers received a flood of bomb threats, threatening to blow up any bridge built with communist foreign aid.