The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #89940   Message #1700086
Posted By: Abby Sale
22-Mar-06 - 08:29 AM
Thread Name: happy? - Mar 22 (GrandCoulee Dam/Selkie)
Subject: happy? - Mar 22 (GrandCoulee Dam/Selkie)

In central Washington state, the Grand Coulee Dam first made its electricity on 3/22/1941

        Now the world holds seven wonders that the travelers always tell
        Some gardens and some towers, I guess you know them well.
        But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair land,
        It's the big Columbia River and the great Grand Coulee Dam.

                "The Grand Coulee Dam" by Woody Guthrie

(Also: "Roll on Columbia" or "Pastures of Plenty" [both in DigTrad] as well as "Grand Coulee Powder Monkey", "Columbia's Waters", "End of My Line" (in The (nearly) Complete Collection of Woody Guthrie Folk Songs, 1963)

Suffit saith: Guthrie was hired for one month in the spring of 1941 by the Bonneville Power Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to provide songs for an upcoming documentary film called "The Columbia."   At the end of the month, for which his gross pay was $266.66, Woody submitted 26 songs. Three of these recordings were used in the soundtarck of "The Columbia," in 16mm reel-to-reel. They should still be available for rental from the BPA information office. All 26 songs appear in "Roll On Columbia: the Columbia River Collection," published by Sing Out! in 1991.

ALSO:
Not of great importance to much of the Folk World but on 3/22/2002 at 2:00 AM the Ancient Spouse suffered a rare urge to head for the corner store for ice cream. Spouse met a dazed policeman there holding an armfull of kitten rescued from the rushing traffic. Policeman was dazed for not having a clue what to do with it. At exactly 2:20 am "Selkie" Kitten arrived at our house for good. Or evil. Obviously, we sing "The Grey Silkie of Sule Skerry" today because Selkie is a...

Early warning notice: This series of the Happy File noncontinues beginning April 16.
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