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Antelope, California is a small city approximately 15 miles outside of Sacramento. Over the last few years, the area, including Roseville and other surrounding communities, has seen more and more people move in to take advantage of promising economic opportunities and lower property prices in the northern part of the state. Prior to the 1990s, however, this was not the case. Antelope was a small community that was completely wiped off the map by a bomb before it could be rebuilt as a city. Its story is literally one that rises from the ashes.

At 8:03 am in May of 1973, a rail car carrying aircraft bombs exploded—en route to Concord and then to Vietnam– in the switchyard just on the edge of the Antelope community. At the time, it was made up of a few homes, a post office, and a general store; in less than a day, the entire place was leveled. Miraculously, no one died, but the explosions went on for the entire day and into the next, as fires spread from one car to another, igniting the bombs and causing huge explosions heard all the way in downtown Sacramento. The capitol building was even shut down for the day as workers worried the resulting ground concussions would compromise the structure.

Antelope was a pile of charred wood and debris following the explosions. It went from being a bedroom community to a ghost town, dilapidated, with surrounding rail yards damaged for decades. Some of the bombs that did not detonate were left on-site in the inoperational rail cars, making it a hazardous corridor for any rail travel until Union Pacific undertook a remodeling project of the rail yards in the 1990s.

With that remodeling came a reconstructed vision for Antelope. No longer an ashy wasteland, it grew from the ground up to become an incorporated city for the first time in 1994. It took several years of effort, planning, and cost, but eventually, Antelope enjoyed growth as a sizeable town in Northern California thanks to the dedicated efforts of Union Pacific as well as citizens who wanted to see the area experience a new day in the sun. Now, several thousand people live in Antelope, and it is likely they do not recall that fateful day in 1973. Determined to see their community continue to grow, the citizens of Antelope look forward to a bright future of continued prosperity after several decades of decay.

The story of Antelope is a reminder that even after devastating loss, people can still start over and maintain an optimistic spirit. Grades may plummet, academic performance may falter, but it’s never too late to recommit and rebuild a work ethic to see success. Antelope would not have been built up again without the dedication of Union Pacific, just as good grades aren’t often achieved without the dedication of a tutor to help students start over and recommit to a bright future—bigger and better than before.