Ohs and ahs were the favorite two words uttered in the early days when visitors viewed Grand Coulee Dam.

My first experience with the dam was in 1948, when a couple of buddies and I escaped the halls of our high school for the day and drove up here. I can’t say we were too excited, but it was clearly a memorable event.

We started out from Palouse, hit Spokane, then the coulee, and we ended up in Moses Lake.

My next trip here was in 1953, after I was married, when we moved to Grand Coulee after I took a job grading lumber at the mill in Lincoln.

The coulee was abuzz with tourists here to see the dam.

One of the things we used to do was to drive around and see how many cars there were from different states. If you think there are a lot of tourists now, you should have been here during the early days. It truly seemed to be the “8th wonder of the world.”

The dam during the early years had character. There were tons of water being spilled 24 hours a day, you could drive over the top of the dam, and tours permitted you to see the workmanship in the interior of the dam, the hallways, and rooms.

There were some pretty interesting displays for visitors to see. We had a steady stream of visitors who came to see us, probably though to see the dam. The town was alive with shops, and the Green Hut Restaurant was a good draw for those with a bit of money. We enjoyed going to the Green Hut, but not often.

I remember when the emperor of Ethiopia made his celebrated visit here.

I wasn’t around when presidents Roosevelt and Truman visited, but I am sure some might still be around.

The excitement of seeing the water go over the spillway and feel the ground tremble continued until the third powerhouse started up.

In the summer, when it got hot, we used to spend many evenings in Douglas Park below the dam. It was easily 10 degrees cooler there. When the wind blew you could catch the spray, though it wasn’t always welcome. We enjoyed living in Grand Coulee and being here when people were excited about the dam. We left for college in 1955, and only returned in 1990, when the pleasant experience we had back then pulled us back.

I could easily list 10 reasons why I was glad to leave the Seattle area to retire in Electric City.