In 1941 the U.S. Government hired folk singer
Woodie Guthrie to write songs extolling the virtues of hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest. Woodie was paid $266.66 for the month long project and when the month was over he had produced 26 songs, including
Grand Coulee Dam,
Roll on Columbia and
Pastures of Plenty.
Undoubtedly the largest single project of the Public Works Administration, construction of the Grand Coulee Dam began in 1933, not being completed until 1941, just in time to provide power for wartime industry of the Pacific Northwest. $63 million was allocated for the initial phase of construction, with the final cost coming to $163 million in 1943 dollars. However, repairs due to design flaws and to finish the power stations through the '40s and '50s added another $107 million, bringing the total cost to $270 million. The later addition of the Third Powerplant from 1967 to 1974 added another $460 million, bringing the final cost in 1973 to $730 million. Construction of the dam also cost the lives of 77 of the thousands of workmen employed on the project, with an additional four men killed during the construction of the Third Power Plant and Forebay Dam from 1967 to 1975.
Grand Coulee Dam remains the largest dam in the United States and one of the largest in the world. Initially conceived to provide irrigation, the dam quickly came to be seen as a three fold resource, providing not only water to irrigate more than 671,000 acres, but also providing flood control of the Columbia River and producing 21 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. With a generating capacity of 6,809 megawatts, far and away the most of any hydro facility in the country, the dam produces electricity for all or parts of eleven states. This mammoth structure stands 550 feet high and is 1.2 miles wide. Within the dam's three powerhouses are no less than 33 turbines and generators, the main generators varying in size from 150,000 horsepower to 1,053,900 horsepower.
Lake Roosevelt, impounded behind the dam, covers 82,300 acres, stretching 151 miles to the Canadian border, with a storage capacity of 9,562,000 acre feet of water. The lake provides recreational opportunities for a million people each year, with 35 campgrounds around the lake and several more boat launches.
Prior to the commencement of construction of the dam, the area was occupied only by sagebrush, sand and rocks. As thousands came to the area in the Depression looking for work towns were built, with four towns now surrounding the dam, Elmer City, the most northerly, Coulee Dam, just north of the dam, Grand Coulee, to the southwest, and Electric City further west.
Coordinates given are at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center, an excellent viewing location.
Woody Guthrie's Fertile Month on the Columbia River
In May 1941, folk singer Woody Guthrie spent one month working for the federal government. His job was to travel to the Pacific Northwest and write songs promoting huge hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.
The government faced powerful opposition from private utilities and hoped that folk songs would prompt more public support. Out of this month of work came some of Guthrie's best-known songs.
Riding with Woody
Elmer Buehler, now 96 years old, was appointed Guthrie's driver and guide for the month. Buehler remembers the day Guthrie, not yet a folk-music legend, auditioned for Paul Raver at the Bonneville Power Administration.<
"He sat there on the administrator's desk," Buehler recalls, "and strummed on his 'gee-tar,' as he always said. I don't think he was there over half an hour and Dr. Raver said, 'Well, you're hired.'"
Raver paid Guthrie $266.66. When the month was over, the folk singer had written 26 songs, among them "Roll on Columbia," "Grand Coulee Dam" and "Pastures of Plenty." Guthrie recorded a few of the tunes in the basement of the agency's headquarters.
Songs for the People
Guthrie's songs echoed this optimistic period in the West. Few were thinking of the salmon the dams would sacrifice. Instead, it was all about harnessing nature's power to help people.
Bill Murlin is a folk singer and former Bonneville employee who took a special interest in Guthrie's time with the agency.
He says if Guthrie's tune to "Grand Coulee Dam" sounds familiar, think "Wabash Cannonball." Murlin says Guthrie's gift was lyrics — the folk singer often "borrowed" melodies from other musicians.
Murlin says it's clear Guthrie was struck by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
From NPR Music