and drama productions could be given. The facility formally opened in June 1915 and attracted considerable attention at the time. A train depot was also built in 1915, and catered to both freight and passenger service. Later that summer, in August, a group of men representing the Chamber of Commerce came to Newdale by train and were entertained at this community center before making the loop back to Idaho Falls. The US Post Office established a Newdale Post Office and on February 15, 1916, appointed Sam Schwendiman as the first post master. On March 17, 1916, the water system was completed, including a wooden elevated water storage tank and underground wooded water mains. The project cost $15,000 (some records say $18,000). The Newdale Investment Company made land available for the townsite of Newdale, which was surveyed and plotted by engineers Cotton and Wilson in April 1916. In May, several hundred shade trees, apple trees, and other fruit trees were planted throughout the town. The LDS Newdale Ward was organized on December 17, 1916, with Lester Hanson as the first bishop. School and church meetings were held in a vacant building on Main Street. In 1916, a contract was negotiated with the Utah Power and Light Company, to bring electricity to Newdale. Telephone service came shortly after. The Idaho Falls Daily Post published a notice with headlines that read: "Newdale bright lights beckon to the world. All over the Upper Snake Valley the question has been asked, 'What are these many electric lights we see twinkling up on the bench every night?'" The Village of Newdale was incorporated in January 1917. The first town board was: Joseph Fleischman as chairman, Frank Williams as clerk, Burt L. Garner as treasurer, and Edwin Stocks, George Bean, Henry Campeau as board members. In the fall of 1915 an incorporated Company, known as the Farmer's Warehouse Company, built a large warehouse in Newdale, which became the shipping point for crops raised in the surrounding area. Sugar beets were the main crop of the area, followed by grains, alfalfa, and seed peas. Potatoes would become the main crop after 1920. In 1918, the Spanish Influenza hit, and the whole town masked their faces when going out in public. School was let out for the year because of the flu. The year 1918 produced one of the best crops that has even been produced in this area.