The construction of McNary Dam is another example of what can be accomplished where brains, brawn and materials are properly proportioned and scientifically blended. Of the three, brawn is the least important and is rapidly being crowded out. In time it will be almost eliminated by brains.

A very few years ago, a job such as the construction of McNary Dam would have required three times as many men as are employed here today to do the same amount of work in the same length of time. All of us who have followed construction work for years are amazed at the rate of progress on this job, and I am certain that the old-timers in this area must be impressed with the changes that are taking place at the Umatilla Rapids.

Three years ago these Rapids were just another difficult stretch of river to navigate. A year ago there was a part of the lock, fishway and spillway starting to rise above the ground on the Washington shore. Today, barges are going through the lock. The fishladder is completed, and the spillway, which was practically on dry ground a few weeks ago, is now carrying the entire flow of the Columbia River.

While all this had been going on on the Washington shore during the past year, another operation has developed on the Oregon shore that has now reached its peak of activity. The concrete structure is well advanced for the first two of the fourteen power units, the station service bay and the assembly bay. The second step cofferdam, which incloses the area in which will be built the remaining twelve power units and remaining nine of the twenty-two spillway bays, is almost completed. The closure embankment, which forced the entire flow of the Columbia River through the thirteen spillway bays on the Washington shore, forms a part of this second-step cofferdam.

Everyone connected with this river closure should be proud of the part they played. Those who conceived the idea of using tetrahedrons for this difficult task should get a hearty slap on the back, and the contractor's men who developed and constructed the cableway, and the Government men who were out there day and night "calling the shots," should also receive a word of praise. Nor should we forget to give deserving credit to the hydraulic laboratory boys who constructed and operated the closure model. The information gained from this field model, operating concurrently with the prototype, made a difficult job comparatively easy. This river closure gained national attention and the information obtained will be of great value to the Engineering profession.

Now that we are up to 1951 and the river closure is made, let's see what 1951 holds in store for us. By May 1951, we will have completed the present work within the junior cofferdam on the Oregon shore. The final big contract will be awarded in April of this year. The work provided for in this contract will complete the main dam structure, including the remaining nine spillway bays, the right and left embankments and all other work necessary to make the dam operative, except the installation of the power units and all electrical and mechanical installations in the powerhouse and fish passage facilities.

It is expected that this last large contract at the peak of operations will provide employment for approximately 2500, 1000 more than are presently employed by the contractor. Three years will be required to complete the work contained in this contract. It looks like some of us will be around here for sometime yet. Hope the duck and pheasant hunting gets better!

All work and no play is not good for any of us, which gets me around to the subject of living - something which I am sure most of us get some pleasure out of. Nothing could be more important to a job such as McNary than high morale and genuine friendliness between the contractor's people and the Government personnel, and nothing could contribute more to bringing about this than happiness on the part of individuals and a mingling of all concerned. Our Recreation Association has done the trick. Never have I seen an organization accomplish more in such a a short length of time. I should not have to enumerate what they have done in the past year. All of us at McNary know what has taken place.

Given an Recreation hall and a few facilities, the Association has provided fun and recreation for all who cared to participate.

There is one more thing that I believe deserves mentioning. All who have lived at McNary for a year or more can remember the dust storms of the past. Let us hope that the two to three hundred acres planted to grass the past year will keep the area from blowing to the East today and back to the West tomorrow.

Let's make 1951 one more successful year at McNary!