Bringing the Past Into The Present – A Promotional Video for My Upcoming Presentation

I have been invited by the Canyon Club of Page Arizona to speak about my time growing up in Page during the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and the early years of the (then) town of Page. I will be presenting a large number of photos from that time that have come to me over the years and talking about many of the details in each one. In addition, I will be reflecting on my time living in Page from 1960-1985.

If you’ve followed my website, https://mikesdamphotojournal.com – you’re already aware of some of the photos I have shared there. But I have many more that I’ll be talking about as well. There will be plenty of time for Q&A and for those in attendance to share their memories of each photo of that era gone by.

This casual evening is being held at the Page Marriott beginning at 6:00 PM on Friday, July 30th, 2021. There is no charge for admission and an electronic copy of my presentation will be available afterward for attendees who want a copy. This video is a short promotional I put together in advance of that evening.

The Amazing Glen Canyon Dam Footbridge

This is one of the clearest photos of the footbridge I’ve seen. This footbridge was just upstream from the dam. This is looking toward the Page side of the canyon. Click image to zoom in. You’ll see people coming toward you at the other end of the bridge, and the small parking area on that side of the canyon. There was also a small parking lot behind the photographer. You can see remnants of that parking lot on Google Earth. That area is closed to public access now.

Glen Canyon Dam Concrete Batch Plant

With the social distancing that we’re doing, I thought I would take advantage of the down time and make a few videos for Mike’s Dam Photo Journal. The concrete batch plant at the Glen Canyon Dam was something I always wanted to go inside of, but never had an opportunity. Here’s a few narrated images of it for your visual enjoyment.

Gunsight Butte Before Lake Powell

Photo: USBR, 1962. Source: The LeGate family. No other caption on back.

Here’s a 1962 photo of Gunsight Butte before there was a Padre Bay and a Lake Powell. For reference, Gunsight Bay will eventually be on the other side of the Butte and Last Chance Bay is behind the photographer. This view is looking southwest across the future Padre Bay. Click the image to enlarge it in a new window.

Post-Construction Glen Canyon Dam Site

Photo: F. S. Finch, USBR. July 23, 1965. My Source: Tim McDaniels.

This is a great 1965 aerial photo of the Glen Canyon Dam site. It shows the remnants of the construction days and what was still in place from those years. Click on it to enlarge it in a new window. You’ll notice on the right side of the photo that the cableway towers, which were between the Beehive and the canyon wall, are gone and the tracks they rode on have been removed. Construction of the Visitor’s Center hadn’t begun yet.

Moving upstream along the canyon, both spillways are clearly visible, as is the horseshoe-shaped road/parking area where the footbridge once stood. The faint white-dashed line spanning the canyon was the log jam to prevent boaters from getting too close to the dam and spillways. The nighttime trout fishing with the boat tied to the log jam was always good.

The aggregate piles are still there where the conveyor belts once stood. The red line on the photo may have been a proposed route for the road to Wahweap. There are still a few buildings from the construction days and an electric substation near the Beehive. I made a then-and-now post of the Beehive you can see at The Beehive Then and Now.

-Enjoy!

Video: Glen Canyon Dam Construction

I came across this video showing some good footage of the Glen Canyon Dam construction as well as some great shots of early Page Arizona. Some of the narration gets a little cheesy but the footage is amazing. You may even recognize some of the faces. I was surprised to see Chet Huntley narrating it. After the first minute and half to two minutes in, it picks up and gets good. The total length is only 27 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Real First Bucket

Photo: A. E. Turner, USBR. Linda Farris and Petey Lloyd Dietz and a really big bucket. Photo courtesy of Petey Lloyd Dietz.

This photo of Petey Lloyd Dietz and Linda Farris is amazing and it’s one of my faves! The back of the photo reads:

“P-557-420-4905, Glen Canyon Dam. Petey Lloyd and Linda Farris demonstrate the procedure for releasing concrete from the giant 12-cubic-yard capacity concrete bucket. They show how Secretary of the Interior Fred A Seaton will pull the lanyard and trip the first bucket of concrete on June 17, 1960.  5/26/60, Bureau of Reclamation Photo by: A.E. Turner”

Petey told me, “P.S.,  Our father, Lewis H. Lloyd, was the (first) concrete superintendent on the dam from 1957 – 1963. Perhaps I had a little ‘in’ on being selected for this photo.” 🙂

Thank you for this Petey!

LINK: Remembering Linda Farris

-Mike

Airing Their Laundry

Photo: USBR. Undated. Source: Terry Edwards

This is a fantastic photo! It captures a true moment in the pioneering life of early Page. I’ve closely studied the details in this picture and I’ve concluded that this was taken from behind the transit homes, near South Navajo Drive and Aspen Street. If you click on the pic and open it, you can zoom in and take a look at some of the detail with me. Do you see the tanks on the right side of the image? You can get another look at them in THIS EARLIER POST of the transit homes to see what I’m referring to. In the picture above, the building to the left of the silver tank may be one of the Butler Buildings that housed the first school. Once zoomed in, you can see the canyon in the distance under the laundry. Also notice the second person hanging up clothes and what may be a little girl sitting by the car.

If you know who this woman is, please let me know.

-Mike

Country Club Living

Undated and Unsourced. Royce & Dora Knight’s back yard?

This picture is undated and I don’t remember where I got it. I’m guessing it’s 1962-ish, based on the height of the dam and the fact it’s not visible yet. It gets pretty grainy when you zoom in, so I can’t make out any of the faces. But I think the guy in the white shirt standing in the back on the left could be Royce Knight. Just a guess. How about you? Do you recognize anyone? Check out the chaise lounge chairs. And that poor tree needs to be staked before the Page winds rip it out of the ground!

Enjoy!