Page 86 - 2005 DT 12 Issues

November Hoover Dam, continued from p. 1 Wilbur appointed 69 year-old Sims Ely
to establish and run the city with near-
were accidents that could have been
D e s k S c h e d u l e dictatorial powers. In his memoirs,
avoided with better safety precautions. Wilbur said that Ely would have “full
Discontent became rampant. If they control and keep off the reservation
Tues/1 M. Slagle OPEN expected compassionate action from those who socially misbehaved in any

Wed/2 V. Sperry C. Gilmore the Six Companies’ management, it way.” Ely really wanted Boulder City
soon proved to be a fatuous hope.
Thurs/3 G. Fazio J. Barrett to be a good and pretty place to live
Workers went on strike in August, and tolerated nothing and no one who
Fri/4 R. Kinn W./I. Baumann 1931. Things must have been bad, for stood in the way. Gambling, prostitu-

Sat/5 W. Barbuck W. Barbuck this was the Great Depression when tion and alcohol were banned. Long
you were lucky just to have a job. Ex-
Sun/6 L. Eaton OPEN after Prohibition was lifted, Boulder
servicemen were favored in the hiring City kept the ban on the sale of liquor.
Mon/7 A. Berg S. Stenzel process, but Orientals and blacks were If you were caught with an infraction
Tues/8 M. Slagle J. Geier excluded—unthinkable today, but it of the rules, you were tossed out of the
was a different era. The pay . . . $4
Wed/9 J. Geier C. Gilmore Boulder City reservation. Some people
a day for the typical worker. Frank, thought of Ely as fair and firm, while
Thurs/10 V. Sperry J. Barrett “Hurry-Up” Crowe, ran things. He was one dam worker, Tex Nunley, recalled,
Fri/11 OPEN D. Powers a civil engineer dedicated to efficiency, “He was a little Hitler.” Regardless,
and the man most associated with
Sat/12 P. VanDooremaal W./I. Baumann Boulder City became a model govern-
building the dam. He was an executive ment town. Ely ran the show for ten
E. Schliepp of Morrison-Knudsen Construction years, finally retiring in 1941 at the age
Sun/13 L. Eaton R. Erickson of 79. After that, Boulder City had a
Mon/14 S. Stenzel F. Rhea typical city manager administration.

Tues/15 M. Slagle C. Gilmore Boulder Dam was completed in
1935, close to budget and nearly two
Wed/16 P. Oleson D. Powers years ahead of schedule. Approximate-
Thurs/17 OPEN J. Barrett ly 100 lives had been lost to various

Fri/18 OPEN N. Kresge causes. It had been an incredible feat,
despite brutal hardship, questionable
Sat/19 J. Kissosondi R. Erickson business practices and assorted disap-
Sun/20 B. Saperstein M./L. Utah pointments. The giant undertaking was
Mon/21 S. Stenzel OPEN a marvel of the age, the biggest dam
in the world. It remains a wondrous
Tues/22 G. Fazio N. Kresge
achievement. Building the four tunnels
Wed/23 R. Erickson C. Gilmore that diverted the Colorado, so the dam
Thurs/24 Happy Thanksgiving Day could be built, was a daunting task in
Company, one of the “Six,” and he itself. Two on the Nevada side and two
Fri/25 OPEN E. Schliepp supervised all construction with an iron on the Arizona side, they were 56 feet

V. Sperry hand. He was determined to break the in diameter and their combined length
strike quickly and completely. He fired
Sat/26 M. Lolich M. Lolich was nearly 16,000 feet.
nearly everyone, hired new crews and Hoover Dam, as it has been called
R. Conductor told a reporter from the Las Vegas Age since 1947, is operated by the Bureau
Sun/27 OPEN M./L. Utah that the strike was due to agitators. He of Reclamation under the U.S. De-

Mon/28 OPEN S. Stenzel was “glad to get rid of such.” There partment of the Interior. It rises 726
were no more strikes. feet above the base which is 660 feet
Tues/29 R. Erickson J. Geier In the meantime, a related but dif- thick, gradually thinning out to 45
Wed/30 J. Geier C. Gilmore ferent story was going on with Boulder feet thick at the top. It has tamed the
City. It must have seemed a paradise Colorado, and in doing so has provided
in comparison to the miserable camps. water, irrigation, power and recreation
Changes/fill-ins? Call Gina Mele, 515-5355 Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman for millions of people. Without the

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