Happy Census Day!
It’s April 1, and once every 10 years that means more than pranks: Today’s the day the U.S. Census Bureau officially takes its snapshot of the population.
If you haven’t got a Census form yet, don’t panic — addressing problems interfered with some forms, various news outlets reported Wednesday. But if your form still hasn’t arrived by April 12, call 866-872-6868 or visit http://2010.census.gov/2010census/contact/ for advice.
In the meantime, The Columbian took a troll through its archives to revisit many years of Census-related stories. A few noteworthy passages:
Americans Indians must not have counted (March 6, 1950). Describing Clark County’s first Census, in 1850: “At that time there were 95 families in the area, with 11 children in school.” The “area” included everything between the Columbia River and British Columbia, east of the Cowlitz River and west of the Rocky Mountains. Fort Vancouver was the area’s main U.S. settlement.
Big Brother is knocking (Jan. 27, 1930). “For the first time in history, the federal government will go to the stores, restaurants, gasoline filling stations and garages for information about their business for census purposes.”
That was quick (Feb. 24, 1930). “The census supervisor, whose home is in Longview, will begin the work of enumeration on April 2, and he expects to have completed records by April 15.”
Help wanted (May 6, 1930). “With the avowed growth of Clark County comes the legal announcement that all county office holders … will receive an increase in salary. … One new position, that of coroner, which will pay $800 a year, has been created by the new rating. This will relieve the prosecuting attorney’s office of the duties of coroner.”
Urban sprawl (Dec. 27, 1950). Nationwide, between 1940 and 1950, Vancouver “was 13th in percentage of gain among cities of 25,000 and up. It gained 120 per cent in growing from 18,788 to 41,449.”
High-tech survey (March 21, 1960). “Advance census reports, which were mailed a couple of weeks ago, are being tried for the first time this year. Enumerators hope that families will have their reports filled out by the time they call at their doors.”
Trouble on the farm (Nov. 2, 1971). “Don’t look now, but agriculture is disappearing in Clark County. … Clark County showed a total of 1,452 farms in 1969 compared to 2,610 in 1964.”
Budget furniture (Jan. 3, 1980). “Hundreds of temporary offices filled with cardboard chairs and tables are opening up across the country, soon to be filled with an army of census workers.”
Free love (Feb. 15, 1990). “The Census for the first time will attempt in its 1990 population survey to count the number of people who consider themselves “unmarried partners.”
That was nice (May 5, 2000). “The surging economy pushed the nation’s unemployment rate down to a three-decade low of 3.9 percent in April as 340,000 workers found jobs. … The hiring of 73,000 temporary census workers was a big factor.”
Michael Andersen: 360-735-4508 or michael.andersen@columbian.com.
