Many simply gave up. Six families left within a month, and twenty more by the end of that first summer. The government dutifully paid their passages back to the States, where most returned to the welfare rolls. But progress was being made. By October, 140 houses standing among the 200 lots were ready for occupancy. A community center, warehouse, dormitory, and power plant were complete, and work was under way in Palmer for a hospital. Temporary school arrangements with a circuit-rider teacher had been made, and by the following autumn a new central school building was opened in Palmer.
