Memories from Jordan Dam
Joe McDonald
(lived in Jordan village 1946-65)
e Jordan Dam village was a safe area where one could
go anywhere day or night, without fear. Not only did we
not lock our doors, we didn't even have a key to the front
door of our home.
e company encouraged employees to live in the village
by charging $15-a-month rent for a five-room house. In the
early '60s it was increased to $25 a month and included
free water and exterior painting, and any repairs were
furnished by the company. e dams and steam plants
were usually located in remote areas and, by furnishing
housing, the company had the readily available workforce
whenever breakdowns occurred or they needed to have
employees raise floodgates during the spring floods.
During outages (such as water turbine maintenance) in
the fall, employees would work 12-hour shis, seven days
a week. Being only 5-10 minutes from home was beneficial
to employees working such long hours.
From about age 12, I had a boat and a 7.5-horsepower
outboard motor. I would walk about a quarter-mile from
my house to the lake every day in the summer to fish. In
1954, at age 12, I won third place in the company fishing
contest by catching a 1.5-pound shellcracker bream. With
the $10 cash prize, I was a rich kid!"
Hubert Adamson in a goat cart that he, his brother Leonard,
and father made. (Image courtesy Gloria Adamson Johnson)
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| 2018 Vol: 4
