Cousin Sam

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

GRAND COULEE DAM WEB LINKS

Washington History Day Topic Guide

A selection of some of the better sites concerning the Grand Coulee Dam

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Washington History Day Topic Guide

http://washingtonhistoryday.wetpaint.com/page/Grand+Coulee+Dam

Lists Primary Sources; also a link to Secondary Sources:

History Link: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?keyword=Grand+Coulee+Dam&DisplayPage=results.cfm&Submit=Go Great River of the West:

Essays on the Columbia River by William L. Lang (Editor), Robert C. Carriker (Editor), David Lowenthal Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River by William Dietrich The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River by Richard White
A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia by Blaine Harden
River of the West: Stories from the Columbia by Robert Clark,
Voyage of a Summer Sun: Canoeing the Columbia River by Robin Cody
BPA and the Struggle for Power at Cost b Gene Tollefson
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BIG BEND RAILROAD HISTORY http://sdp45.blogspot.com/
THIS BLOG FEATURES HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON THE RAILROAD LINES OF THE BIG BEND/COLUMBIA PLATEAU REGION OF WASHINGTON STATE.

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Grand Coulee Dam: History and purpose

Site has several links of interest, including construction photos, and an index to other pages on Columbia River History.

http://www.nwcouncil.org/history/GrandCouleeHistory.asp

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Grand Coulee Dam Project Tour
contains a bibliography and some interesting pages.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/barnes/grandcoulee/gcdintro3.html

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Lake Roosevelt Admisistrative History
Chapter 2 includes a picture of the dam site taken January 23, 1934, showing the Grant County Ferry (not easily seen).

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/laro/adhi/adhi2.htm

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Northeast Washington Genealogical Society
Proudly Covering Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille Counties
Books to Aid You in Your Research

http://www.newgs.org/cpage.php?pt=23

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Monday, July 25, 2011

FAMILY SCRAPBOOK INDEX: MISCELLANEOUS

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

DAM DIGGING IS ONE-THIRD DONE

          from the Wenatchee World, February 10, 1934:

DAM DIGGING IS ONE-THIRD DONE
                _________

Progress Chart Shows Contractors Far Ahead of Time Schedule
                _________

     GRAND COULEE DAM SITE, Feb. 10.--With only about one-fourth of the allowed time passed, subcontractors under David H. Ryan, at the end of Thursday's three-shift routine had removed more than one-third of the contracted 2,000,000 yards of earth for the abutments of the giant hydroelectric dam here.
     According to the chart of progress kept by E. Paul Ford, general superintendent, the 666,666 cubic yard mark was passed sometime during the day on Thursday. The volume moved is divided almost equally between the two sides.
        When working full force, five shovels are employed by Goodfellow Brothers
   on the east side and two shovels plus two 12-yard Le Tourneau scrapers on the
   east shore.
     After a rather hectic two days on Wednesday and Thursday when the rainfall made passage to the damsite over the highway leading to the Almira-Coulee City highway junction impossible, activity resumed normality again yesterday even though the highway was still closed.
               Visitors Walk
     The fallen sector of the road is still the main attraction here with many visitors coming in cars and walking to the damsite to see the sight. Work was progressing rapidly yesterday as trucks dump load after load of sand and gravel on the roadbed. However because work has been started on the lower end of the road with the top area undisturbed long rows of cars still lined the damsite highway above the crevices.
               River Current Turned
     The river bottom below the Goodfellow fill is bulging more and more under the weight of the fill pressure and Ford, who traveled up and down the river in his sea-sled "The Miss Coulee" remarked that the current running straight down the river before now had been turned toward the east shore because of the rising west side.
     The first sidewalk to be seen at the damsite was completed yesterday between the office of the Grand Coulee Development company and Thompson's Beer Parlor. Although only about 25 yards long, the construction marks another step forward in the progress of the building of a city here.
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          from the Grand Coulee News, mid-February, 1934

Type of Dam To Be Selected In Two Weeks

     Selection of the type of dam to be constructed at Grand Coulee will be made in about two weeks, James O'Sullivan, chairman of the Columbia Basin Commission told the News Saturday. Here with Mr. O'Sullivan were Rufus Woods and Senator Holands, members of the commission, who looked over work at the dam.  Mr. Rolands is the new member of the commission and this was his first visit to the damsite.
     Ten different designs are now being drafted by the reclamation office at Denver. The commission will meet with the reclamation department in two weeks, when the designs will be completed. The commission has not the power to choose the type, but acts in an advisory role.
     Reports current that a type had been chosen are erroneous, O'Sullivan said. The commission, he declared, was working for a gravity type dam, with the base for the high dam. Plans will include both the high dam and various types for the low gravity dam, that can be built into the higher dam later.
     Saturday and Sunday Frank A. Banks, chief engineer, and J. L. Savage, chief designing engineer, went over the dam site. With Mr. savage was Dr. C. R. Burkey, chief geologist of the U. S. reclamation service, who was here to inspect the cores obtained in drilling to test the foundation.
     Dr. Burkey declared that the foundation was ideal for the dam.
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     from the Wenatchee World, February 10, 1934:

DAMSITE WATER SUPPLY TESTED
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Approval Of H2O Is Expected From Seattle--Electricity To Be Turned On
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     GRAND COULEE DAM SITE, Feb. 10.--Dr. I. E. Sorenson, representative of the Spokane Medical Service Bureau here, who is also state health inspector for the damsite, yesterday announced that specimens of water from the various wells and springs hereabouts had been sent to Seattle for official test as to their purity. It is anticipated that the drinking supplies will be approved.
        Richard Classen, manager of the Three Engineers, Inc., of Seattle, yesterday
   announced that the huge 400-kilowatt dynamo would be ready to go into action
   at the beginning of next week. The big machine will furnish light for the damsite
   area in place of the three auxiliary units now being used.
     February 15 was the date set by officials of the company as the approximate date when the Grand Coulee townsite will be furnished with its first electricity. Oil lamps are the most popular lighting facility at present with a few small dynamos also working. The coming of electricity here will bring radio with it. To date only battery sets, and few of them, can be heard here.
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          The following headline and caption appeared with a picture in the Wenatchee World,
     Feb. 6, 1934:

Pioneer Moves Out As Shovel Moves In--Moving Day For Sam Seaton

     SAM SEATON IS MOVING OUT. Relentlessly and inexorably machinery and men move in on the time-weary homestead home of the damsite pioneer and in another day, perhaps even today, the house that was built from lumber floated down the Columbia will be brushed aside to make way for a dam. The power shovel can be seen digging away only a few feet from the house.
     Seatonkanogan bank of the Columbia.

Friday, July 15, 2011

SEATON TO VACATE DAMSITE HOME

          The following are from the Grand Coulee News, early 1934:

Seaton to Vacate Damsite Home

     Sam Seaton, ferryman at the dam site, is given seven days by the federal government to vacate his present home, in an agreement signed by Seaton with Frank A. Banks, construction engineer, Wednesday.
     Seaton will be allowed to build two small houses, one for his family, and a second for operators of the ferry, at a place designated by Banks. Construction of the new houses started yesterday.
     The agreement will permit Seaton to operate the ferry until either the bridge is completed or the work of the excavating starts on the dam proper.
     With the chicken house already demolished, it is only a question of days until the excavating on the east side will reach the Seaton house.
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(untitled)

     Did you ever stop to think that it must be pretty tough to stand by and see your old homestead disappear before your eyes. Well, that is what is happening to Sam Seaton and family. The big shovels are eating up the farm, devouring it in mighty chunks. Almost like cannibalism. A consoling thought is that while the work now is destructive, in the end it will be constructive. The dam will endure as a monument to the constructive genius of man.
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NEW BOAT ARRIVES

     Another ferry boat, previously the property of McPherson of Brewster, was brought to the dam site this week by Tuttle Bros. The boat is 56 feet long, with 16-foot beam. It will be used as an auxiliary service for David Ryan, general excavation contractor, to supplement the barge now in use. The new boat will carry about 22 tons.
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Settling of Road Forms Cracks in Damsite Highway

     Traffic to the dam site was threatened to be stopped this week when giant cracks appeared in the road leading to the dam. The cracks bisect the road and lead up to the rock formation. In places the road has settled at least two feet, and the condition is rapidly becoming worse.
     Joe Meehan, representative at the dam site for the Columbia Basin commission, said Wednesday that the commission had taken charge and would have the road repaired. He believed the condition was caused by the natural settling of the road. This road was put in only a year ago. He discounted the theory that it was caused by any "pull" from the big dirt fill just below the road by Goodfellow Bros.
     Large cracks are also appearing in the "fill" on the east side of the river.
     This week was also marked by a big slide of dirt on the east side, across the Ross-Rowland boundary. However, as the sub-contractors are paid by the yard, it is immaterial whether the dirt has to be excavated by Rowlands or Ross, the two sub-contractors on that side.
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Finish Airport by May 1

     The new airport for the damsite, located a mile and a half south of the dam, will be finished about May 1, according to John S. Peterson, working manager of the CWA in Okanogan county.
     Okanogan county has secured $13,000 for development of the port, and it will be a first class field, when completed, Peterson told the News.
     Work is now under way. The sagebrush is being cleared off and the ground graded. The runway will be graveled and will be 3400 feet long by 40 feet wide. * C. Nitteberg is superintending construction.
     With Mr. Peterson was his son, John Jr., and Paul Johnson, both of Omak.

*     This airport no longer exists and has not existed in my lifetime. There is a small community airport in Grant County a few miles south.--CousinSam
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Bridge Site Is Changed

     Change of the location of the bridge to be built across the Columbia at the dam site to 1000 feet farther down stream is announced by Frank A. Banks, chief engineer.
     Mr. Banks declared that plans are being rushed on the two center piers so that bids may be called as soon as possible, so that there may be the least possible delay.
     Bids will be called on two types of bridges, a cantilever and suspension type, within the next two weeks. The cost will determine which one is finally selected. Bids will be called within the next few weeks on the joint entry highway, also.

      In the mid 1940s my parents built and operated a Texaco service station on the Southeast corner across the street from the east end of that bridge.--CousinSam
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Sink Well In Canyon

     Final arrangements for the taking over of the water system franchise for Grand Coulee were being completed between Paul M. Donaldson and the N. C. Jannsen Drilling Co., Seattle, at Seattle yesterday.
     Water will be pumped from a well to be sunk in Rattlesnake canyon. The pump will have a 346 head, the water being lifted to a reservoir at the 1575-foot level in Grand Coulee. It will take about 4000 feet of pipe. Location of the will is now chosen and drilling will start soon.
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          The type and style of the following clipping differs from the above; there is no note as to what paper it came from.

Last of Power Unit Taken To Damsite

Last of 400-Kilowatt Unit Which Will Furnish Light and Power for Damsite People

     The remaining unit of the 400 kilowatt power plant being installed at the damsite to furnish light and power for the damsite era was unloaded from cars here Saturday and on Sunday was transported to the damsite, where it will be installed with the 300 kilowatt unit taken there several days ago.
     The unit consists of a large two cylinder Diesel engine with direct drive generator and weigh nearly twenty tons. It is the property of the three engineers inc., and was hauled to its destination by A. T. Warsinke, contractor from Spokane. The large power unit formerly belonged to the Great Northern Railway.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

EVEN CHICKEN HOUSE TOSSED (1934)

          from the Wenatchee World, Jan. 24, 1934:

Sam Seaton's Back Yard Is Hub-Bub Of Activity Today
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Even Chicken House Is Tossed Out Of The Way
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     GRAND COULEE DAMSITE, Jan. 24.--Ferryman Sam Seaton's prize white Leghorn chickens, in which group is included a very cocky youn rooster, were without a home last night because during the day a shovel picked up their coop and moved it with a resounding crack and much flying boards out of the way of excavation work.
     When work bagins on a still lower level, Seaton's home will be lifted and destroyed in the same manner. The entire backyard of the old Seaton residence has become a hub of activity. Core drilling is going on near the house and shovels are digging immediately in back of it.
     Another building is on the way. A welding plant is being constructed on the west side, near the gas station. Work on the tire company service plant has also been started as has laying out of a row of houses on the hill between the Three Engineer's office and McCaslin's eating house. The houses will be used as living quarters for men who will remain here permanently, such as foremen and others, who wish to bring their wives and families here.
     When thse structures have been completed the number of buildings on the damsite, used directly by the contractors, engineers, will be over the 100 mark.
     The huge generator of the Three Engineers, Inc., is slated to arrive today, according to Al Warsinski, moving contractor.
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           from the Wenatchee World, Jan. 25, 1934:

GRAVEL BED IS FOUND AT DAM
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Contractors Uncover 20,000 Yard Deposit--Will Save Government Money
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     GRAND COULEE DAM SITE, Jan. 25.--E. Paul Ford, general superintendent for David H. Ryan, excavation contractor, yesterday announced that a vein of 20,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel struck by Ross on the east side, would be hauled in trucks to a point near the bridge site and be used in the concrete for the bridge abutments and anchorage.
     The uncovering of the sand and gravel last week came as a surprise. It was immediately tested as to fitness for use in concrete necessary for the $1,000,000 steel suspension bridge and was declared excellent in quality, according to Ford.
     The supply is to be hauled by the contractors to the bridge site beginning some time next week, or just as soon as the shovels are ready to begin on another lower 15-foot cut. The discovery of the sand and gravel will save the government much money in the awarding of the bridge bids.
     The material to be used both for the bridge abutments and for the huge anchorage blocks which will hold the strong steel cables from which will hang the floor fo the bridge.
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          from paper uncertain, January 27, 1934:

ADD NEW FERRY AT COULEE DAM
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     GRAND COULEE DAM SITE, Jan. 27.--(Special.)--Beginning the first of the week, Sam Seaton, pioneer ferry operator, will have a monopoly here no longer.
     Another ferry, formerly operated at Brewster, is making its way up the Columbia river now and will be put into operation here within four days, E. Paul Ford, general superintendent for David H. Ryan, announced yesterday.
     The "vessel" will be manned by Tuttle Brothers, owners of the 80-ton barge, Pomonavis, located here, and will be capable of carrying 30 tons, sufficient to take care of the heavy equipment that is being taken across the river daily from the west to the east side.
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          from the Wenatchee World, Jan. 27, 1934 (the headline is missing from this clipping):

     GRAND COULEE DAM SITE, Jan. 27.--Another Ferry, to take care of the ever-increasing number of cars and trucks hauling equipment across the Columbia river daily, will start service here within a few days, E. Paul Ford, general superintendent for David H. Ryan, excavation contractor told the World yesterday.
     The new river-crossing vessel is being transported up the river from Brewster and is known there as the "Brewster Power Ferry." It is a side-wheeler type in contrast to the cable ferry now used by Sam Seaton, pioneer operator here.
     According to Ford, the new ferry will be operated by Tuttle Brothers and is capable of carrying 30 tons, thus enabling heavy trucks and other machinery to cross the river at greater speed and safety than on Seaton's vessel which is not equipedconveyer, Ford said.
     Extra-heavy equipment still will be taken across the Columbia on the 80-ton barge, "Pomonavis," also owned by Tuttle brothers. The ferry, escorted by one of the launches located here, had arrived at Bridgeport from Brewster last night and will arrive here in about four days.
     The former Brewster vessel will use the slips, located about 100 yards downstream from the old landing, which to date have been used solely by the "Pomonavis."
     Ford pointed out that in the near future the roadway to Seaton's ferry would be dug up by the excavators and that unless Seaton planned to build a new roadway the present ferry would not be able to operate.
     Tuttle brothers have secured an official permit to operate in competition with Seaton, Ford said.

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           from the Wenatchee World (?), Feb. 8, 1934:

Uncle Sam Claims More Damsite Land
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     SPOKANE, Wash., Feb. 8. (AP)--Uncle Sam laid claim to more land for construction of the Grand Coulee dam when today condemnation suit was filed against Eva D. Burdin of Okanogan county.
     By filing the suit the reclamation service takes title to the land and can use it pending adjudication of the sale price. The land in question is assertedly needed for the reservoir to be created by the dam.

GRAND COULEE STILL PIONEER BERG (1934)

          from the Wenatchee World, Feb. 12, 1934:

Grand Coulee Is Still A Pioneer Berg
     * * *         * * *         * * *
Everyone Greets Neighbor With "Hello"
     * * *         * * *         * * *
Sheep Band Disrupts Town's Dignity
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             By HU BLONK
     GRAND COULEE DAM SITE, Feb. 12.--Just when Grand Coulee townsite, the most developed area here to date, was beginning to feel dignified and was adopting an air of a metropolis, along comes someone to take away that pleasant feeling of importance.
     Day by day, the growing town is gaining more and more the aspects of a real honest-to-goodness modern city. Sidewalks came this week, graveled streets arrived two weeks ago, refrigeration plants have been installed in a few business houses, the water supply system will be here soon, electricity is just around the corner, with it will come radio, phone service is available, mail arrives every day, the weekly newspaper is doing a thriving business and various other things have made Grand Coulee townsite feel that it has a right to be proud.
               Is It Any Wonder
     No wonder that many of the residents were slightly perturbed and the civic dignity disturbed yesterday. Some neglectful farmer, with malice aforethought, beyond question drove his herd of sheep right through mainstreet.
     Now everyone knowsokane, Seattle, Portland, all cities of unquestionable importance, certainly do not have bawling sheep cluttering down its avenues. "There ought to be a law" certainly against degrading a city the size of Grand Coulee by running a herd of wooly creatures through its thoroughfares.
       Hard as it has tried, however, to paint the picture truly, Grand Coulee is
   still just a pioneer town. Roads are still six-inches deep of mud during rainy
   weather, entrance to the townsite is still via a one-way road with rough
   bounces and shakes accompanying every ride to the town.
     Baths are at a premium, rooms too are costly. Wallpaper is a luxury indeed, a sewage system a thing to dream of. Main street is still pitch dark at night and the ever-present sagebrush plant still grows along the roadways.
               A Pioneer Spirit
     Everyone knows everyone else, a cheery "hello" accompanies every meeting. The school is still a one-room building and books are few and far between. Pressed trousers are a scarcity, the hightop shoes and rolled pantleg being the prevailing mode here.
     One-room cabins, tents and shacks, are "homes" to most of the pioneers here and a half-gallon wash basin is the bathtub. Water is brought in by the bucket, running water would be "elite" here for sure.
     A post-office is to come here soon but now the newspaper office and its editor is the mailing place and the postmaster. Housewives don't bemoan a half-inch of wet clay on their floors for rugs are yet in the coming. Beer parlors with their poker games are still the community gathering places and tenders serve all there is unreservedly over the bars.
       But despite all the inconveniences and all the hardships, Grand Coulee
   is a happy town. Everybody's optimistic and a pessimist can find a few to
   be pessimistic to. For all who live here where the "big dam" is going up
   see better days ahead.
     Grand Coulee has more smiles per front foot than any city in the world. Ask anyone here.

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          from the Seattle Post Intelligenser, 1934 (exact date not showing in clipping):

Newest Town of U. S. Springs Up on Grand Coulee
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New Site Already Boasts Score of Business Houses; Dam Work Progressing
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     Over on the river flats of Grand Coulee, where the sage brush grew undisturbed six months ago as it had grown for thousands of years, are the buildings of the newest town in the United States.
     And where the coyotes wailed at the moon as it rose above the buttes, is now the clamor and bustle of a town, the piping of machine-shop whistles and the grunt of steam shovels.
     For Grand Coulee, the town, has sprung up on the site of the great dam which is to span the Columbia River in the rugged basin cut by the river among the great hills.

SMALL HOMES GOING UP

     Under the shadows of the towering bare walls, baked by the suns of summer to yellow and brown and carved by the freshets of spring into weird sculptures, the townsite now boasts a score or more of business houses. New small homes are going up every day as workers arrive to join the swarms of men laboring along the river banks.
     Contractors' camps and shops line the shores of the Columbia, and a ferry plies back and forth all day, transporting men and machinery across the swirling waters which soon will be tamed.

SHOVELS GNAWING AT HILLS

     Batteries of power shovels are gnawing away a hill on the west bank, excavating for the dam foundations. The work goes on all night under huge floodlights which throw long reflections upward toward the lonely hilltops.
     One of the most difficult feats confronting the engineers of the project was in floating ponderous power shovels and other heavy equipment across the river so work could progress on both banks at once. This was accomplished by the use of barges.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

RESEARCH ON ROBERT VANSICKLE

United States Census, 1900 for Robert B Vansickle

Name:	Robert B Vansickle
Titles:
Residence:	Brents, Columbia, Condon, Grand Coulee, and Meridian Precincts, Lincoln, Washington
Birth Date:	Jan 1863
Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Relationship to Head-of-Household:	Self
Spouse Name:
Spouse Titles:
Spouse Birth Place:
Father Name:
Father Titles:
Father Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Mother Name:
Mother Titles:
Mother Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Race or Color (expanded):	White
Head-of-household Name:
Gender:	Male
Marital Status:	Widowed
Years Married:
Estimated Marriage Year:
Mother How Many Children:
Number Living Children:
Immigration Year:
Enumeration District:	0034
Sheet Number and Letter:	6A
Household ID:	108
Reference Number:	27
GSU Film Number:	1241747
Image Number:	00248
	Household	Gender	Age
	Robert B Vansickle	M
Child	Albert L Vansickle	M
Child	Charles S Vansickle	M
	Electa J Bonney	F
Child	Myrtie M Bouney

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United States Census, 1910 for Rober B Vansickle

Name:	Rober B Vansickle
Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Relationship to Head of Household:	Self
Residence:	Condon, Lincoln, Washington
Marital Status:	Married
Race :	White
Gender:	Male
Immigration Year:
Father's Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Mother's Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Family Number:	113
Page Number:	8
	Household	Gender	Age
	Rober B Vansickle	M	49y
Child	Albert L Vansickle	M	17y
Child	Charles S Vansickle	M	16y

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United States Census, 1920 for Robert E Vansickle

Name:	Robert E Vansickle
Residence:	, Lincoln, Washington
Estimated Birth Year:	1918
Age:	2
Birthplace:	Washington
Relationship to Head of Household:	Son
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Marital Status:	Single
Father's Birthplace:	Washington
Mother's Birthplace:	West Virginia
Film Number:	1821933
Digital Folder Number:	4390969
Image Number:	00862
Sheet Number:	4
	Household	Gender	Age
Parent	Charles S Vansickle	M	25y
Parent	Myra V Vansickle	F	22y
	Vallie L Vansickle	M	5y
	Robert E Vansickle	M	2y10m

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Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960 for Robert Vansickle

Name:	Robert Vansickle
Death Date:	03 Mar 1944
Death Place:	Spokane, Spokane, Washington
Gender:	Male
Race (Displayed on Form):
Age at Death:	83 years 1 month 18 days
Estimated Birth Year:	1861
Birth Date:
Birth Place:
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Mary Vansickle
Father's Name:	Levi Vansickle
Father's Birth Place:
Mother's Name:	Sarah Seaton
Mother's Birth Place:
Occupation:
Street Address:
Residence:
Cemetery:
Burial Place:
Burial Date:
Additional Relatives:
Film Number:	2032393
Digital GS Number:	4224995
Image Number:	1705
Volume/Page/Certificate Number:	360

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