History

Part of the success of the project was the spectacular Boulder Canyon project, now known as Hoover Dam. The DWP, manager of its own hydroelectric power facilities along the Los Angeles Aqueduct, was instrumental in the struggle to gain federal approval for the project which combined flood control, water supply, and energy production for the three states that form the lower Colorado River basin.

Los Angeles, as primary consumer of the power, guaranteed its power purchases against the federal government’s costs for the dam. Completed in 1935, the dam began furnishing power to the city the following year over a 226-mile transmission line built by the DWP.

The story of Dad's work on this project also included working on the lines from Boulder to Phoenix. It seems that Arizona had negotiated a contract with the Department of Water and Power (DWP) to build their lines as well, since DWP had experienced crews.

1936? Dad was 21 years old.