# Really obscure "what was this story"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-obscure-what-was-this-story/462559>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 8, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-obscure-what-was-this-story/462559 "2008-09-08T01:53:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-obscure-what-was-this-story/462559/1 "2008-09-08T01:53:11Z")

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Because it was in a school textbook, of all things. In what I seem to recall was a grade school social studies book(???), the working part was interspersed with a story about a boy whose father was in charge of a project that called for building an entire city, from scratch, out west in the middle of the desert somewhere. The story followed the progress of boy and city over the years. Anyone else ever see this?

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**Author:** ![gnagtcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@gnagtcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnagtcha)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-obscure-what-was-this-story/462559/2 "2008-09-08T06:00:57Z")

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Tom Swift and His Repelatron Vegas Skyway?

Sorry, it’s late and I’m just being silly.

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-obscure-what-was-this-story/462559/3 "2008-09-08T14:47:51Z")

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> [@Lumpy](#):
>
> Because it was in a school textbook, of all things. In what I seem to recall was a grade school social studies book(???), the working part was interspersed with a story about a boy whose father was in charge of a project that called for building an entire city, from scratch, out west in the middle of the desert somewhere. The story followed the progress of boy and city over the years. Anyone else ever see this?

Yes, and at the end there was a section “Ten Years After”. Lots of stuff about water projects. We did this book in first grade, which would have been 1962-63.

Can’t remember the name, though.

Regards,  
Shodan