** The plain simple answer was that the bishops of those dioceses, Bishops Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln and the late John Keating of Arlington, were both explicitly, vocally and publicly committed to orthodoxy in Catholic teaching and practice.**
It makes a difference!
I am going out on a limb here. In terms of practicing Catholics who actively seek out the Sacraments, there is not a priest shortage. Sure, there aren't enough priests, but in real terms, the number of worshippers (every Sunday and confession) per priest is probably smaller than in the 1950s, when nearly every Catholic was a faithful and practicing Catholic.