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Building Community: McNary Dam

They were still working on putting the generators in. I saw each and every one of [them] - one through fourteen - installed at the time they had their dedication ceremony. When I first came here I worked on top of the hill, not down at the dam because there were no offices here at that time. And I worked in security. We had 24 guards, which they do not have now. And a year later I was transferred to the powerhouse. Gloria Lampkin, employed at McNary Dam for over forty years, April 9, 1999 interview with Ernabel Mittelsdorf

McNary Dam provided employment for many, including engineers, fish counters, administrative assistants, control room operators and others. In 1972, over eighty people whose employment began with the 1947 groundbreaking, remained. A few, such as Ernabel Mittelsdorf and Gloria Lampkin, worked at the dam until the 1990s. Daily contact, potlucks, picnics, holiday parties, and long-term employment created significant friendships and a sense of community at McNary Dam.

Gloria Lampkin, left, and Ernabel Mittelsdorf, right, look over imitation owls intended to scare away pigeons in 1959.
The two women worked together at the dam for over forty years. Photo courtesy of Spokane Review, June, 1959

Spokane Review article - "Paper Owls Give Pigeons the Bird"

Oral History transcript of Ernabel Mittelsdorf and Gloria Lampkin, April 9, 1999 Interview

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