UMATILLA, Ore. — The community gathered Sept. 21 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the McNary Lock and Dam. 

The Umatilla Museum & Historical Foundation and the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosted the event.

The McNary Lock and Dam is a run-of-the-river dam stretching across the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington, connecting Umatilla and Benton counties. Construction of the dam began in 1947 and was completed in 1954. 

The dam is 7,365 feet long, rising approximately 183 feet above the streambed.

Umatilla Museum & Historical Foundation President Angie Humell said the area would be different without the McNary Lock and Dam. 

“The amount of electricity that it produces, flood control and irrigation system played an important role in Umatilla County,” she said.  

Samuel Nobles, 88, of Umatilla, was attending Umatilla High School during the construction of the dam. He stood in front of his favorite photo at the McNary Lock and Dam exhibition. The image was a large black-and-white print of the development of the barrier. 

“Umatilla is still here today and thriving because of McNary Dam,” Nobles said.

Guest speaker Daniel Kranz, chief of the technical section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Walla Walla District, spoke of the historical significance of the structure and its future. 

Kranz said the dam was a game-changer for energy. This put a sudden rush for hydropower and river development, leading several new studies of the Columbia River and Snake River systems.  

“What we do is not for glory or money,” Kranz said. “We do what we do for the betterment of the communities and for our great nation.” 

Gloria Lapkin, 97, who worked as a secretary at McNary for 40 years, joined the festivities and reminisced about the day of the ceremonial opening of the dam.  

“I was there for Eisenhower’s dedication,” Lapkin said. “It was exciting because we had a lot of people show up and a lot of visitors and everyone wanted to see him.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke to an estimated 25,000-30,000 in the crowd during the official dedication of the dam on Sept. 23, 1954.  

“This structure symbolizes the purpose of using, for the benefit of all our people, the tremendous natural legacy with which the Almighty so abundantly endowed our land,” Eisenhower said. “Wisely and providently we must use and develop these resources, so that each succeeding generation of Americans may share in their benefits. It is for us to see that they shall not be wasted or neglected and denied to generations yet to come.”

According to the Corps of Engineers website, the dedication ceremony included performances by area high school bands, a flying demonstration by the Navy’s Blue Angels and a water show featuring the Tri-City Aqua Acrobats.