Recently my
wife and I were invited to attend the 100th Anniversary of Roosevelt Dam
on Friday, March 18, 2011. This was a great honor because we attended
the 50th Anniversary of Roosevelt Dam, March 18, 1961. Many times over
the years we had talked about whether or not we would be here for the
100th Anniversary. It was quite a celebration for about two hundred
invited guest. We had an opportunity to visit with Marsh Trimble, Apache
Junction City Councilman Jeff Serdy, Apache Junction City Councilman
Chip Wilson, and many other guest while at the celebration. Lunch was
served on the dam and then various speakers talked about the importance
of the dam to the Arizona, Phoenix and the Salt River Valley. The
keynote speaker of the day was Governor Jan Brewer. Also a Teddy
Roosevelt impersonator gave a speech similar to the one given in 1961,
and of course the original on March 18, 1911.
My wife and I had mixed emotions about
this historic event. Several of my relatives who lived in Tonto Basin
worked on the dam. My Uncle Riley Brunson hauled freight over the
Mesa-Roosevelt Wagon Road for the Packards at the Tonto Basin Store
shortly after the roads completion. Riley Brunson required his family to
walk down Fish Creek Hill on the return trip because of the danger of
losing a wagon on the grade. Yes, the celebration brought back a lot of
memories for our families.
Tom Kollenborn