Dam Good Idea

This year is the 50th anniversary of the building of the Whitehorse dam, and it was my job to put on an all day 'event' to mark the occasion. That event took place yesterday. First there was a fun run across the dam and around the Millennium Trail. Back in the 70s when the Riverdale bridge was being repaired people drove across the dam to get to work and school. But it's been off limits ever since then because of safety and security reasons, so I think it was a treat for people to have a chance to go across it. We had about 150 show up for that and we had them all decked out in orange or blue t-shirts that read 'Dam Good Idea'.

Next we offered tours of one of the hydro plants. People had to pre-book and my phone didn't stop ringing for two days beforehand. I was amazed at just how many people were interested in seeing the facilities. What was really great was the number of old timers who came. Many of them had worked on the dam when it was built and so this visit really brought back memories for them. They told some amazing stories - far too many to recount here. I will mention that I looked over at one point to see one of these old fellows (I think he said he was 85) down on the ground doing push-ups for a reporter so he could show that he was still in great shape! And boy could he do push-ups: far more than I could do!

The day ended with a gathering by the dam, where there was lots of food, live music, old photo displays and stories told by some of the old timers and by elders who spoke of what it was like before the dam was built.

I heard many good comments so I think the event was a success. Several people said we should do this every year. Hmmm, I'm not sure I have the energy to do that (pardon the pun) but we'll have to see.

Now to switch gears:
Joe and I are off to the Dempster this week-end for our annual cloudberry search. As I write this, I have caribou ribs roasting in the oven, potatoes and eggs cooking for potato salad, several packages of various veggies in foil all ready to be thrown on the coals, a huge amount of fruit and cheese, and Joe has gone downtown to get the 'fill in the blanks' stuff. So even if we don't find any berries we'll certainly dine well.