," MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MFPFOBP. OREC-.t THURSDAY. OCTOBER 18. 1962 g J
Project Envisioned 40 Years Ago Becoming Reality in Arkansas Basin
KANSAS
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MAP OF PROJECT Waters of the winding expansion to the Arkansas river basin. This
Arkansas and Verdigris rivers will be har- newsmap shows area and location of three of
nessed by a complex of locks and dams to the dams, Kcyston, Oologah and Dardanelle
create a waterway to the Mississippi river (triangles). (UPI)
that should provide a gold mine of economic
- By EDWARD McMANUS
United Press International
Tulsa, Okla. -IUPII Nearly
' 40 years ago, Newt Graham
tood by the lazy Arkansas
river and had a vision.
He saw reservoirs and
dams in eastern Oklahoma
and Arkansas, harnessing the
waters of the winding stream.
He saw huge barges moving
up and dowp the river carry
ing oil, wheat, minerals, mer
chandise. And with this, his
dream pictured a gold mine
of economic expansion for the
' Arkansas River basin.
People laughed at Graham,
but his dream is coming true.
And the development ;nay
reach far beyond what he
hoped for: A barge trip on
the muddy Arkansas may be
the first leg of a voyage to
the moon.
Work Under Way
Work is well under way
toward making navigable the
Arkansas and one of its main
tributaries, the Verdigris riv
er in Oklahoma. The cost, by
present calculations, will be
S1.2 billion - more expensive
than the great St. Lawrence
Seaway and three times the
cost of the Panama canal.
The job is to be finished,
from the Mississippi river to
a point near Tulsa, by 1970.
By that time, North Amer
ican Aviation expects to have
a plant cast of Tulsa turning
out moon rocket components.
Water transportation is a
must for North American's
operations. The huge rocket
fuselages and other items of
space hardware the company
will be putting out arc much
too big to fit on a truck on
any highway, or on a railroad
car. But a Saturn rocket
I DREAMT I ""1
f-i WAS SLLLOItU
FOR SNOW'S
(Only (he best make ill
FOOD IS
v
MDF0Mv2&ik -.Tribune
booster, 3a feiH to diameter
and 80 feet long, would fit
snugly on a big barge lor the
trip to the Mississippi,
through the Gulf of .vlcxico
to Cape Canaveral,
Final Phasi Starti
Recently the final phnse of
construction began At the site
of the Oologah dam and ec
ervoir north of Tulsa. The
Oologah is one of four major
units now under construction
in the navigation project. In
time its reservoir will cover
the birthplace of humorist
Will Rogers, 3'i miles above
the dam site, due for comple
tion next yea
The Oooioiiah d.im will
control the flow of Wilier into
the Verdigris, which winds
through northeast Okliihoma
to the city of Muskogee,
where it meets the Grand
and Arkansas rivers. From
the little town of Catoosa,
just east of Tulsa, to Mus
kogee, 40 miles south, the
banks of the Verdigris will
be stabilized and the channel
will be narrowed and straight
ened, to permit barge traffic.
From Muskogee southeast
ward nearly 500 miles to the
Mississippi river, the same
thing will be done on the
Arkansas.
Cheap Transportation
The net result will be s
waterway providing cheap
transportation, whether it be
for moon rockets, oil ot
wheat moving out of the area
or steel and other products be
ing brought in 10 supply tlu
expanding industry of the
basin.
Only a few of Ui2 men wh;
envisioned this pro.ioct in the
1920s are still alive. The
leader was the late Newton
R. Graham, who took charge
of a Tulsa chamber of com
merce committee for water
ri'sources in 1925.
Graham was born near the
banks of the Arkansas - but
many miles upstream from
Tulsa, at Pueblo, Colo. He
started out in the newspaper
business as a copv boy at
Kansas City, Mo., and later
moved to OkUhoma as an ad
vertising man for the old
Tulsa Democrat.
Then he went into banking,
and eventually became presi
dent of the Tulsa Clearing
House association.
Talking Navigation
Graham started t a 1 k i n g
Arkansas navigation long be
fore most of his contempora
ries considered it a possibil
ity. Scoffers used to suggest
that Newt put his energies
into paving the Arkansas in
stead, to make a highway out
of it. Admirers called him
WELCOME
TOTHEWNDOFPIENTV
Guess what foreign visitors want to see
in America. Our tall buildings, pretty
women and a grocery store.
They're alwayi amazed at the variety
and abundance. At the free choice of
fooda from all over the country and
world. And from all seasons. At the high
quality, freshness and exciting conven
ience built into so many products. At the
stores themselves. The sheer fun ol shop
ping in such sparkling clean, beautifully
lighted and laid.out food centers. They
see the American grocery as the instant
"Land of Plenty."
They'd be even more tmaied If they
aw the efficiency behind all this. For we
Americans spend a smaller share of our
income than ever (and about hall what
Frenchman has to spend!) for tood.
A BARGAIN
"the admiral of the Arkan
sas." Graham gradually won
supporters and kept close
contact with congressmen
from Oklahoma and Arkan
sas. He made innumerable
trips to Washington to urge
the U.S. Army Corps of Engi
neers, the Interior department
and the congress to look into
his plans.
Graham died of a heart
attack i- 1957. He had spent
the day attending a meeting
of the Oklahoma Planning
and Resources board, which
has played a big part in set
ting up the project.
If Graham spearheaded the
early days of planning the
navigation project, S?n. Rob
ert S. Kerr of Oklahoma has
led the congressional battle
for money to make it a re
ality. Already Reaping Profits
For landlocked Oklahoma
and western Arkansas, the
project already is reaping
profits.
Along the way, some ranch
ers and farmers have had
their own personal dreams
shattered as the construction
crews moved in to buil ' the
dams and create the massive
reservoirs which will inun
date their land.
Some entire communities
very small ones-will be either
eliminated or relocated. But
these problems have not been
major, and in most cases,
property owners have prof
iled financially.
The benefits appear to
outweigh greatly any disad
vantages. The corps of engi
neers has forecast economic
benefits of S64.5 million an
nually from the multi-purpose
development of the Arkansas
basin. Nearly two-thirds of
this total is expected to come
from the 13 million tons ot
commerce forecast 'o move
annually. Other benefits will
be derived from hydroelectric
power, flood control, recrea
tional uses and the saving of
riverbank land through bank
stabilization.
Recreation Attractive
Recreation alone has been
an attractive outgrowth of the
navigation project and its
companion water projects
built in the area over the
years, before the navigation
work got approval in Wash
ington. Boating and fi?hing
have made Arkansas and east
ern Oklahoma popular tourist
areas.
North American, which ex
pects to employ 10.000 to
12.000 persons at its Tulsa
plant eventually, is not the
only company planning to
make use of the river trans
portation. Aveo Manufacturing com
pany has set up an aerospace
research facility here; Sunray
DX Oil company, headquar
tered at Tulsa, will ure the
Arkansas to transport much
of the oil it now moves by
pipeline; John Deere Chem
ical company and Dewey
Portland Cement company
both chose the Tulsa area to
locate plants, with the idea
in mind of future river navi
gation. Other cities on the routc
Muskogee, Fort Smith, Ark.,
and Little Rock-also are at
tracting new industry.
Population is expected to
mount rapidly with comple
tion of the navigation proj
ect. The army engineers pre
dict that the Tulsa county
population, set at 346.038 by
the 1960 census, will increase
to 420.000 by 1970, t- 520,000
by 1980 and to 1,200.000 by
the year 2020.
The engineers have pre
dicted population jumps for
Coffeyville and Independence,
Kennedy
Please note our new
IT'S NEW! IT
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TAKING SHAPE A project that was en- kansas river west of Tulsa. The dam, one of
visioned in the 1920s to create a navigable 11 in the project, is scheduled for completion
waterway from near Tulsa, Okla, to the Mis- In 1964. Navigation from the Mississippi in
sissippi river begins to take shape as giant the Arkansas river basin will be a reality by
cranes work on Keystone Cam in the Ar- 1970. (UPI)
Kan., among others. The proj
ect is expected to have a wide
economic impact - affecting
central and western Okla
homa, southern Kansas and
southwest Missouri as well.
Not Alwayi Landlocked
Oklahoma and Arkansas
have not always been land
locked. Indians and French traders
made use of the river with
dugout canoes and steam
boats plied the waters of the
Arkansas early in the 19th
century.
The heyday of the river-
boat was in the 1840s and
1850s and the boat whistle
was a familiar sound at such
ports as Napoleon, Little
Rock, Van Buren and Fort
Smith, Ark., and Fort Gib
son, Okla.
But low water and sand
bars hampered the traffic,
and the end of the paddle
wheelers was signaled on
Christmas day, 1871, when
the first KATY (Missouri-Kansas-Texas
railroad) loco
motive crossed the Arkansas.
Ironically, it is the railroad
industry that stands to lose
the most from rcvitalization
of the Arkansas river. The
trains just can't move freight
as cheaply as water transpor
tation. Paddlewheel Boat
Fire Injures 18
Dallas-iliPH-Thc inboard mo
tor of the paddlewheel boat
"Dixie Bell" exploded Tues
day night during a pleasure
cruise on a lagoon at the State
Fair of Texas, injuring at least
18 persons.
A puff of blue flame shot
up,' partially burning the 20-foot-long
canopy covered boat.
Witnesses said the 20 occu
pants of the craft tumbled
into the five-foot-deep lagoon
walcr.
Six persons waded Into the
water and pulled the boat to
shore. The flames were ex
tinguished quickly.
Telemeters Useful
for Testing Autos
North Hollywood, Calif. -HPli
- The same type of equip
ment used to check on earth-
orbiting satellites and missiles
is helping automobile engin
eers make cars quieter.
To get an accurate check
on all noise and vibration, car
manufacturers can use a two
channel electronic telemetry
system that "listens" to the
sounds test cars make on the
road and transmits signals to
a sensitive receiver in a fol
lowing vehicle. The system
was designed by the Bendix
corporation here, which built
the telemetry equipment used
In the Project Mercury pro
gram to receive data from
U. S. astronauts.
Fuel Oil
phone number . .
'S DIFFERENT!
1 515
r . 'I
a.4" vi m x-1
1 ,ej.vs
if
Chili Con Came
from Nalley Valley
Ho) or Mild
Giant
30-oz. can
2 r ?1
Nalley'i
Giant 30 ok.
Can
BEEF STEW
69c
24 oi. can
SpaghatH &
! 33c
NALLEY'S MAYONNAISE
Full Quart 59c
BEEFSTE
NORTHERN
BATHROOM TISSUE
4 Roll Pack
REG. 43c
NORTHERN
PAPER TOWELS
G
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eg. 35c Ea. ...
Reg
BONNIE ?ood
. (cats li&e it too)
Tall Cans
tW Bof for any Ptf
ms si in
OCCIDENTFLOUR
iHElu".
10
Limit Right Reserved
Price Good Thurs. Nite Thru Sun.
n
I II 1202
I 11 No
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Star lac
Borden's
STARLAC Reg. 79e
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8-qt. pkg,
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Zjzs tz? c
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Roll
BLUE BELL
POTATO CHIPS
Regular or Chips for Dip
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49C Pkg.
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ASS AT
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Top Quality
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...
Markct
LYNDON B.
Johnson
Vice President of
the United States
at the
Welcoming
DINNER
TOMORROW, FRIDAY. OCT. 19th -6 P.M.
Rogue Valley Country Club
FREE PUBLIC RALLY!
8 P.M. at Hedrick' Jr. High School
Meet and talk to your vict president
end other party notabl.t including:
Wayne Morse, Robert Y. Thornton
And Robert Duncan
Pd. Pol. Ad. Democratic Party of Jackson Co., Jean A.
Will
Agad
Delicious!
SHORT
Lean, Meat
Well
Trimmed
LOCKER
BEEF
WE WILL PROCESS YOUR DEER!
BRING IT TO US
FOLGER'S
COFFEE
1 lb. Re,ulr 63C
2 c.. $1.25
U oi. Initint .... . 89c
10 $1.39
Goose & Duck
Hunting
SEASON OPENS
SATURDAY See Us
For All Your
Shotgun Shells
NEW LOW PRICEI
Cellophaned CARROTS Full Mb. Bags
Select your Halloween Pumpkin NOW
ABM.MBBa Bel
OPEN TILL iMlm I
BEEF ROASTS!
BIADE
CUT f f lb
RIBS
COUNTRY
STYLE
29
O.K.'s
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or homo freeier. Beef from
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Cut-Wrapped Frozen
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Full Gallon
Glass Jugs
2 Milk
, DRY ONIONS
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3 Good Quality C C P"'lmmon, JQC
Medium Six II
f W lb Carm.l Applet I UC Ea.
pa fa. Be am m m
Tickets 5.00
Available at Walt Young's,
Purucker's, Labor Temple
& Democratic Headquarters
For further information
CALL 779-1351
Mills, Chmn, 942 Alia St.
59
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