Show STORY STOnY OP OF SPECTACLE LAKE I Spectacle Lake Reservoir Boulder Boul Boul- Boulder 1 der ocr Mountain Utah Taken primarily from Information information information tion tion supplied by Franklin C. C Hansen of the comBy com com- pany 1 1 By Clyde T. T Lowe Lowe District Conservationist Conser continued from issue of March Actual construction began inJune in Juno June of 1931 with Francis Lyman Lyman Lyman Ly- Ly man supervising the work Lynn was employed ed to construct the manWay and concrete outlet Excavation Excavation Excavation Ex Ex- of oC a key wa way in the bed bedrock bedrock bedrock rock was done with hand drills Soil SoU and and rock material was moved moved moved ed o out t of the ke wa and fill material transported to the fill fillon fillon fillon on horse-drawn horse wagons Pits dirt traps and A frames were used with teams and scrapers to torill fill rill the wagons Rocks were r eI e dragged in on horse-drawn horse stone boats for use in rip-rap rip and back backfill backfill backfill fill material Cold weather veather forced an en end to construction work on October 6 G with the uncompleted structure left left to to the elements Almost super-human super efforts for 72 hours kept the uncompleted uncompleted uncompleted dam from Crom being washed away during the tho following spring run We certainly thought all of our previous work had come to naught as as we looked at atthe atthe atthe the surging water tearing at our structure The dam was completed after a fashion in 1932 but due to i the wa way it had been Jeen built and our limited finances the structure did not come up to specifications in cross sections or in spillway a adequacy d e q u II a C y However small amounts of or water were stored toward toward toward to to- ward the end of the spring runoff runoff runoff run run- off from 1932 to 1936 Then came the first big set set- back The dam failed in 1936 A section of the dam washed out and in addition to th the loss of the storage space a great deal of damage was done to the stream streambed bed For about 20 miles bridges were torn out and a small sm amount of farming land was ruined For two years the ruins remained re remained remained re- re there a constant remind reminder rel lintl- lintl er of oC the statement haste makes waste However in 19 J b the project received considerable impetus when it qualified for fot governmental go aid as a WP A. A project Mr J J. J H. H Blake of oC Salina was in charge of the W. W P. P A A. up set-up and Arthur Ahe Alvey of Boulder Boul Doul- Boulder Doulder der was construction or recon recon- reconstruction reconstruction foreman Due to the almo almost t incessant rains of 1938 nd the distance from I I work was ver very slow and so soI I concentrated on tho the thoI North Creek Reservoir Escalante Escalante Escalante Esca- Esca I lante River drainage during 1939 and 1940 It seemed as though work would never be resumed on the Spectacle Lake project However in u A 1911 1941 lh D Bernard D. D Larsen Larson in charge went to work again Use of a Garfield County tractor and dozer speeded up road repairs to the project It ItI I was also used in constructing a way key across the breach in tho the dam al aided ed in back Jack filling and placing of rip Outlets were extended both Joth up stream and down stream Everything pointed to an early completion in 1942 I but the Japs did a wonderful job of or messing up the detail when the they bombed Pearl Harbor In 1943 Boulder had been in included included included in- in in the newly organized Escalante River lUver o of which Boulder Boulder Boulder Boul Boul- der creek is a tributary Soil Soli I Conservation District Completion Completion Completion Comple Comple- tion of the Spectacle Lake project project project pro pro- was quickly presented as a a. necessity to the welfare of the people from this part of or the dis dis- dis- dis During 1944 a group of Soil Conservation Service personnel including Mr Bamesberger and Mr Love from Albuquerque met with tho the J people eople of Boulder It was agreed that if the people ot of Boulder would construct a better road to the tho reservoir site that Soil Conservation Service personnel personnel personnel person person- nel and equipment would move moYO in and help bring the project to toa a successful climax More to show our good faith than for any other reason a road crew was put to work in the fall of 1944 an and again in the spring of or 1945 As per agreement construction was again started on August 1 I 1946 1945 The power shovel sho which had been Jeen contracted for use had to tobe tobe be repaired When It was ready to go to work the fall rains had set In Bad Dad roads and mud made use of oC the machine impractical so it was shelved until the following following following fol fol- lowing spring and all work during during during dur dur- ing the fall of 1945 was done with small Ford tractors and Overland scrapers They were too light for the hea heavy work of or loading the trucks and the work was slow Not a great deal was accomplished that fall but we were hopeful about the prospects for 1946 Continued next week |