Structure on the old dam road

[Teresa]

I am sure that this is a very easy question to answer.. and I might be able to look it up.. buuuttt........
I would rather ask someone on here to see if they know first..

Kjell and I walk the old road that goes to the dam south of town..(  Roland Miesch owns it now)
When you almost get to the falls and dam, there is a stone structure that has a few remaining iron step holds on it.
It looks like an old pump house... and is at the top of the side of the river,  up high on the edge...
What was it used for?

[Jo McDonald]

I am surprised you haven't heard from Frank --- surely he skipped school and he and his buddies ambled down that way and knows all about the structure.   

[Jo McDonald]

I am getting to be a regular Blabber-mouth on here today --- guess I needed something to do.   

Teresa, your Daddy said the structure on the old river road - is the foundation of the old water pump house that used to supply city water to  Howard.  I thought that I knew that, but needed to check with him before I posted this.

[Teresa]

Well I figured it was something like that.. but the river water couldn't have been to stable back then and not the most best source.. but I guess it was better than nuttin' honey.. LOL

[frawin]

Jo, you are right I did spend time swimming and other activities at the Dam (which was the NUMBER 1 gathering spot in the good old days) and remember that old concrete struture very well. I dropped in to that river off of the the old cable and steering wheel many a time. I better stop there before I say something I shouldn't. During the terrible drought in the 50s the county set up a pump  quite away above the dam and people could go there and load water tanks to haul for livestock and home use, the river got so low that you could almost walk on a dry area all of the way across the river behind the dam.
Frank

[frawin]

I remember going there to get stock water in the drought of the '50's.
Myrna

[Teresa]

Wow.. I have seen it low, but never where you could walk across it.

We used to skip school and a bunch of us would go down there and swim and just sit around and talk. ( anything was better than being in school on a warm summer day)
I never saw the cable on the structure..but there used to be a rope that we could swing out on, that was tied to a huge old tree branch.
I remember in 1974 Rex Vinette was swinging off the rope and didn't let go out far enough and when he did he was by the bank and hit his head on a rock jutting out that was under the water. Came up and his whole head was covered in blood and they rushed him to the hospital where a ton of stitches were used to sew his scalp back on.
It was horrible. I never did swing off that rope again.. In fact, I don't think that any of us that were there used it again.

[Jo McDonald]

Good grief ----I am glad that I am only now  finding out "things" that went on then--It is funny how you most always supposed that some of that STUFF was going on - but hoped and prayed every day, all day that your "Darling, Perfect Child" was not involved...
Knowing darned well, if they had a chance, they would be the biggest duck in the puddle.  Ohhhhhhhhhhh  Thank the one above, they were safe.  I remembered my high school days -- and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was pay back time, somewhere along the way. 

[Janet Harrington]

We used to skip school and a bunch of us would go down there and swim and just sit around and talk.

Mama Wilma and Mama Jo,

I never skipped school to go do that.  I was the good daughter. 

[Wilma]

No, of course you wouldn't do that, Janet, you wouldn't get into water above your ankles.