FROM THE ARCHIVES: Dworshak Called Last Of Its Kind

Oct. 2—This story originally appeared in the Tribune on June 16, 1973, the day after Dworshak Dam was dedicated. The dam has now stood for 50 years.

AHSAHKA — "We are dedicating what is probably the last structure of its kind in the Clearwater Basin," Gov. Cecil D. Andrus said Friday at the dedication of Dworshak Dam two miles above this small town on the North Fork of the Clearwater River.

"This is undoubtedly the last," he said. "We speak of multiple use and this is multiple use — the reservoir for recreation, generator facilities and free-flowing rivers. We recognize some of the rivers have to remain free flowing." Andrus also called the construction of the dam a "tribute to community tenacity" that will generate enough power to light the lights of all Idaho as well as other states for years to come.

Dworshak is the largest dam ever built by the Army Corps of Engineers and is the highest straight axis concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere, according to Corps officials. It rises 717 feet high and tapers from a 525 feet wide at the base to a slender 30 feet width at the top, spanning a 3,300-foot gorge.

The dam is expected to add 400,000 kilowatts of power for a network reaching throughout the Northwest, flood control that will have effects the length of the Columbia Basin and recreation for thousands of residents and tourists, most of whom will have to have boats to have access to the campgrounds on the pool behind the dam.

The dam is capable of producing 1.06-million kilowatts if and when three more generators are added. Corps officials have said a re-regulating dam at Lenore might be needed if Dworshak is to achieve its full potential, but Gov. Andrus, a former Orofino resident, has remained opposed to its construction.

The completion of the dam is a crossroads with "a look into the past and a look into the future," Maj. Gen. A.P. Rollins, Chief Deputy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said. People now look back to the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition and dream of what the country was like before there were 200 million in the nation, but by 2020 a projected population of 400 million will look back in the same way.

People demand a guaranteed supply of water and power, preservation of fish and wildlife and entertainment areas, he said, and all of them must "blend into the surrounding environment."

"That what Dworshak Dam is all about."

Col. Richard M. Connell, Walla Walla district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, who is being transferred to Virginia later this summer, was honored by Gov. Andrus. Andrus called him "an understanding and true friend to the entire nation and particularly to this valley. He is not for us or to us, but with us."

"The Army is extremely proud to have the Dworshak name affixed to this great dam and I and the Army are equally proud of the Corps of Engineers," Secretary of the Army Howard H. Callaway said. "They have proved through the years that they are able to handle any project from small combat bridges to this great dam."

Through the years, this has amounted to billions of dollars in construction for the American people, he said, "and through all those years there has never been the slightest hint of scandal."

The dam will be a source of clean electricity at a time when there is a shortage and it has already been proved a source of flood control, Callaway said. "Literally millions will come here to see all this beauty, and who can tell how it will influence the lives of millions of people through the generations."

Callaway went on to speak of the "new Army." "I'm not going so far as to adopt a new slogan that has been suggested — Army is Beautiful —" he said, "but it would not be so far off either because the modern army is sensitive to beauty and to individual tastes."

The mission of the Army is to provide protection so that people can live in peace, protect the national security and provide relief for natural disasters at home, but now it must all be done without the draft, he said. To draw the mature adult men and women necessary for a strong force they must be offered more than the opportunity to undergo financial exigencies, he continued. Added incentives to enlist, he said, are higher pay, more privacy and individual freedom and better educational opportunities."

The Army will be different than many remember it, he said, but it will remain a disciplined Army prepared to fight. It will not become a permissive Army.

Neither will it become a representative of a single social strata as some have feared, he promised. It will be representative of all economic levels, all parts of the country, all ethnic groups. It will also retain its high quality and not succumb to pressures brought on by attempting to enlist large numbers of men and women, he said.

"It will maintain the high standards of the past; it will be a different Army, but one you can be proud of."

Nez Perce Tribal dancers performed, including an interpretation of "The Lord's Prayer" at the opening of the ceremony. The Timberline High School band, located between Pierce and Weippe, also played as a crowd estimated by Corps of Engineers officials at 3,000 to 4,000 gathered on the viewpoint.

Mrs. Henry C. Dworshak, widow of the senator for whom the dam is named, uncovered a plaque bearing her husband's picture. She was accompanied by her three sons and several other members of the Family.

Also present was a roster of state and regional officials of government agencies and private firms, including Lt. Gov. Jack Murphy, State Auditor Joe Williams, Atty Gen. Anthony Park, Treasurer Marjorie R. Moon, Secretary of State Peter Cannurusa, and Maj. Gen. Richard E. McConnell. Carl D. Moore, Lewiston Port manager, was chairman of the dedication committee and master of ceremonies.