Proud of the Cloud - By Bella Bunnage

    Richland High School’s emblem and logo is a mushroom cloud. This logo was created to honor the development of the atomic bomb at Hanford Reach. For most people, there is a distinction between honoring the scientific breakthrough and the scale of mass destruction wrought by its implementation. Many arguments have been made in support of and in opposition to the continued use of the mushroom cloud as the school’s logo, which this article will summarize. 

Photo: Brandon Bunnage

    As a student, it is difficult to distinguish between pride in one's school versus pride in the logo. Growing up in Richland, I had never considered the possibility that the pride I felt when wearing that logo could be seen as offensive to others. Over the past several years, this subject has surfaced on more than one occasion, including nationally, and this paper provided me an opportunity to critically examine both sides. 

    I had a chance to speak with a teacher here at Richland High, who is also a Bomber alumnus, about the facts of how Richland and the cloud came to be. Richland was not always known as "The Bombers," and the evolution of our mascot is worthy of examination. Prior to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the Richland High School (Columbia High School at that time)  mascot evolved from the Richland Colts in the 1930s to the Broncos in the 1940s, and finally, the Beavers in 1944. In 1945, with emotions running high, Richland High School embraced the new logo with a clear sense of pride for the role the community played in ending WWII. 

    The athletic director in 1945, Joe Barker, said, "I solicited the aid of Paul [Nissen], editor of the Villager and his sports writer, and in a short time, the 'Beavers' came off the sweaters and 'Bombers' on. The original idea of the word 'Bombers' was the atom bomb, not the airplane as it is now used." Joe explained that changing the mascot was about the Atomic Bomb and the scientific advancement the US used to end a horrific war. October 19, 1945, was the exact date Columbia High took a new meaning. They were officially known as the "Bombers." The yearbook the following year explained to the public why they changed the name and what it had meant to them. In a foreword, they presented, "For memories sake, and because of its greatness, we have carried the "Atomic Bomb" theme through the annual to symbolize world history, which has been in progress here in Richland, in which we and our parents have a part." This quote still explains what being a student here today means, and that's something different for everyone. Still, at this time, it symbolized greatness and victory in war. Who wouldn't want to stand for that?

Photo: National Geographic (1989)

    For many people, the bomb symbolizes death and destruction. When asked about his opinion of the logo, Mr. Brock Sadler stated that the mushroom cloud “represents the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki” and that he does not feel proud of the cloud because “it was a weapon of mass destruction that was dropped on two cities.” Sadler suggests, “If we are going to use a symbol of death... I think it would be cooler to have a skull and crossbones.” In September 2022, the New York Times noted that Richland’s “boisterous civic pride has at times become a point of contention between those who see the city’s history-making heritage as one deserving of overt celebration and those who find the current motifs far too cavalier for commemorating an event that killed tens of thousands of people.” Mrs. Fletcher, a Richland woman whose grandmother witnessed the cloud outside her classroom window and suffered a lifetime of suffering due to the radiation, implored everyone to “remember the children taken away from their parents. I ask you to remember the families torn away from their homes. I ask, as you move through this community with its numerous reminders of radioactive destruction, that you take time to reflect - that you reflect on the consequences of war and violence, that you reflect on the impact that these daily reminders of this violence mean to an entire group of people, and how it affects them.” After hearing about the horrific things the atomic Bomb did to the communities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, I wanted to learn more about what the staff at Richland High believes about the cloud and why we stand for it.”

    A very Influential character at Richland High is coach Mike Neidhold. After being in classes with him and seeing him lead our football team, I wanted to question him about the cloud and what that means to him. I asked him what his response to the New York Times article was, and he said, "They don't understand the backstory of what we as a community stand for. It's easy to say that it's wrong and innocent people were killed, but if those people really wanna know how Richland feels about the Bomb, then they can talk to me." Coach Neid explains how it's easy to judge the cloud, but if you don't support it, you don't understand what Richland High stands for. The community isn't proud of killing innocent civilians. They are proud of ending war and bringing life back into the world at such a horrific time. To touch more on what the people of Richland stand for, Neid also says, "The horrific things going on during the time of World War II, like mass killings and suffering, ended, and our bomb is what stopped it, and that's why I'm proud of it, I'm amazed at the technical side of it and from a scientific standpoint that amazes me, but from a human perspective the war had to stop, something had to happen to make it stop so the world could heal and start the process of being kind and that’s what our bomb did." Coach Neid firmly believes in standing up for what is right and doing that at any cost. Through his lens, wearing the mushroom cloud on the sides of every football player's helmet stands for bravery. It is standing up for what potentially is why we are here today and why we are at this school and living in this town. I had an opportunity to ask Nicole Anderson, our principal at Richland High School, about what she thinks about the cloud. “The often-misunderstood Mushroom Cloud Logo used for Richland High School is a symbol of the Atomic Age, the determination of a nation, the sacrifice of many families that relocated to this area during a time of war to build it. It is a symbol of how a nation ended WWII. I do not view the RHS logo in a way that highlights death and destruction; but only as a reminder of our capabilities and how dangerous humans can be. Erasing history is dangerous and should not be done. The logo has nothing to do with how the bomb was used, but rather why it was used. And I pray it never is used again.” To many in our community, the atomic Bomb and the cloud are more than a mass destruction and a series of horrific events. It shaped where we are today and represents the school in which we learn and grow. Some would argue without the Bomb, we wouldn't be standing here today, there would be no Richland High School, and possibly not even us. People like Coach Neidhold and Mrs. Anderson firmly believe the bomb is something of great glory. It is what gives us each other.

Photo: RHS Yearbook

    In conclusion, it is clear that both sides feel incredibly passionate about their perspectives regarding the logo. As a student at Richland High School, the only opinion that’s been engraved in my head is to be “proud of the cloud,” but what if the community is hindering us from what should be taught, which should be both sides. I am not writing this article in an attempt to steer one’s mind; I’m writing this to my fellow classmates and peers who have been taught only one side of the story, and that’s commemorating that bomb we dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To some, this event is what shaped our community, but to others, that cloud symbolizes one thing only, and that’s hundreds of thousands of deaths. I can’t speak for my community, but I can speak as a human, and as a human being, I can strongly voice that the scientific advancements we made were astounding. Still, those advancements came with a cost, that being many lives lost, and that is something I will never stand for.