I don’t know if I’ve ever had an occasion to tell anybody that I was involved in it because I don’t think it’s ever been high on my priorities.” “Other than that, it’s just like many of the other things that happen in life,” Blakeley said. While walking down the street, his young children would often point out his signs. As president, however, Harding said he pushed to make sure they were allowed into the organization.īecause of Blakeley’s tendency to keep quiet about his achievements, Harding said she didn’t learn this until after he passed away.īlakeley’s own account resembles Harding’s in his dismissal of his personal achievements. They could do a lot of good for you.’”įrom there, Harding said that Blakeley rose through the ranks until he became president.Īccording to Harding, women were not in full membership at the time of Blakeley’s joining.

“Somebody came up to him afterward and said, ‘You ought to join this organization.

“He gave a presentation when he was in the Army Corps of Engineers, and I guess he didn’t do the greatest job on it,” Harding said. Harding said that if Blakeley wanted to be known for anything, it was his time spent as president of Toastmasters International. Jean Harding, Blakeley’s niece, works with WSU’s Counseling and Psychological Services Center. “Whatever we developed, it would have to be usable in Manhattan when all the lights are out and people are on the street and don’t know where to go,” Blakeley said.Īccording to Blakeley’s family, he wasn’t the kind of man to boast about his accomplishments, nor was the fallout shelter design his proudest. He dismissed a suggestion that it be made from railroad board, which he said would easily go up in flames in a nuclear blast. His experience in the Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War influenced his work on the symbol. Though Blakeley is credited with the symbol’s design, he did not have experience in graphic design. These shelters were stocked with food and water and labeled with Blakeley’s symbol. Kennedy commissioned a network of fallout shelters intended to protect those inside from nuclear blasts. (Sara Parker / The Signpost)Īs a response to the growing threat of nuclear attack from Russia, President John F. Fallout shelter sign in the Technical Education Building at Weber State. What may not be as familiar, however, is that its late creator was Ogden native and Weber State University alumnus Robert Blakeley, who passed away at the age of 95 on October 25, 2017. To anyone who has seen a propaganda film from the 1960s, the iconic fallout shelter design is probably familiar.

How to play fallout shelter symbols