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    Work was not lacking. Between 1940and 1966, when the base was closed down, several thousand non-military personnel were employed. At the high point of the base's construction, between 1,500 and 2,000 civilians found work there, and as time passed they occupied posts of considerable responsibility. If the French did not hold management jobs, they contributed much to the general manpower, putting to good use their natural gifts as carpenters or plumbers-and receiving, when necessary, appropriate training. For the first time, the region's inhabitants had easy access to the benefits of the great American economy, and quite naturally, acquired a taste for it. But on the cultural level, there were unforeseen consequences.

    Firstly, the Acadians, for whom the Stephenville area had provided fertile land, saw the land swept clean to make way for runways. Some stayed to work for the Americans, others went into business, in the hotel trade, for example. Others simply left, some moving to the peninsula, others seeking land further out from Stephenville, at Kippens and other places. For those who remained in the town, there was the possibility of a better material life, but at the price of being swallowed up not only by the Americans, their language and culture, but also by the numerous outsiders, almost always anglophones, who came to Stephenville with the hope of making their fortunes. Acadian culture was submerged.