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John F. Kennedy Dedication Speech of Whiskeytown Dam
Transcript
ANNOUNCER:
Remarks of the president at dedication ceremonies of the dam and reservoir at Whiskeytown, California. September 28th, 1963.
[Applause]
JOHN F KENNEDY:
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. My old colleague and your distinguished Congressman, Biz Johnson, Governor Brown, Senator Regan, Assemblywoman Davis, Secretary Udall, Senator Biddle, Mr Rangel representing player, Larry Carr, ladies and gentlemen, Judge Carter, I appreciate the chance to be here in Whiskeytown and to say a few words from this distinguished community. But I was reminded when I read my itinerary of a poem by Stephen Vincent Benet called American names and he started it off:
I have fallen in love with American names,
The sharp names that never get fat,
The snakeskin-titles of mining-claims,
The plumed war-bonnet of Medicine Hat,
Tucson and Deadwood and Lost Mule Flat.
Then he goes on to talk about some famous American names, not Whiskeytown, but I think you could add it to the roster, because the name of this community tells a good deal about the early beginnings of this state and Country. And I've come across the United States in the last five days, starting at Milford Pennsylvania, which was the home of Gifford Pinchot, who was with Theodore Roosevelt, the first great conservationists in this country. Imagine how small their country was, how few of the people, and yet how dangerous it was in the early part of this century. How great was that danger, that this great natural inheritance of ours, given to us by nature, given to us by God would be wiped away. The forest ruined, the streams destroyed, waste for the people, water going to the sea unused. And because of the dedicated work of men actually who did not come from this part of the country, who came from the East, Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt and later, Franklin Roosevelt. This great national effort was made to realize our resources, to make them useful, and all of you who are here today in the state of California are here, because of the wise decisions that were made by those who came before, and the wise decisions that you're making now. When you support the effort which Governor Brown described, to set aside funds for a bond issue for recreation, it may not come before you immediately, but it will make it possible for your children to live better. This country is changing, we had a 58-hour week, a 48-hour week, a 40-hour week, as machines take more and more of the jobs of men, we are going to find the work week reduced and we are going to find people wondering what they should do. And I want to make it possible and you do, make it possible for them to see green grass, to travel throughout this great rich country of ours, not just in other parts of the world but here in the United States, where I've seen parts of this country which are second to none to any in the world. And where too many people East of the Mississippi are unaware of what golden resources we have in our own United States, so we should use them. Water should be used. Land west of the hundredth parallel was never regarded as fertile. So some days after the Civil War a few men began to come out here and made determinations of what could be done, and we've moved ahead and this project is only the most recent. I'm proud of it. It was opposed
for many years, many people wondered whether it would ever pay for itself. The fact of the matter is as a general rule, every time we bet on the future of this country we win. I was there yesterday the day before at the Grand Coulee Dam. 10 years they fought for the Grand Coulee Dam, finally it was built. It will pay for itself in another five or six years, but more important than that, it has met the development of that whole section of the high northwest, the development of the atomic reactors, which had played such a significant part in maintaining the security of the United States. Every time we make a determination to set aside a seashore for the use of future generations, every time we build these great projects, we develop the water resources, we set aside recreational areas, we can be sure they're going to be used. 350 million Americans will live in this country of ours in the short space of less than 40 years, where now there are 180 million. What will they do? What kind of a country will they find? How much recreation will be possible for them? I think if we make the right decisions now, they will be as grateful to us as we were, and are, to Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt for the things they did 45 and 50 years ago.
[Applause]
We witness today the completion of a project which symbolizes the goals to which we're committed. The Whiskeytown Reservoir is not the largest structure on the Trinity River, but its completion is significant because this is the last of the Trinity project dams. The impoundment part of this vast undertaking is now completed. And in that sense, this dam stands not only as the work of the men who built it, but all the men over the years who fought for it, and have brought it to the attention of the state of nation. With the Trinity Division completed, and the upper reaches of the Sacramento now harnessed, Shasta County and its neighbors are assured of Water and Power. They can enjoy new chances for recreational use and new access to open space, and of great importance, the flow of two watersheds can now be regulated for the benefit of the farms and cities in the Lower Valley. For too long this water ran unused to the sea. For too long surface water in one area was wasted, while there was a deficit nearby. Now by diverting these waters to the eastern slope we can irrigate crops on the fertile plains of the Sacramento Valley and supply water also for municipal and industrial use to the cities to the South. And while running their course these waters will generate millions of kilowatt of energy and help expand the economy of the fastest growing state in the nation. In these ways, Whiskeytown Reservoir and the Trinity Division will add to our natural beauty and will show that man can improve on nature. And make it possible for this state to continue to grow. So, I congratulate all of you. I wonder how many people realize in the Eastern United States where I come from, that what a great national asset we have. This is not just California, this is one country, 50 separate states but one country, and people move very freely from east to west and west to east. I wonder how many people here today were born in the state California, would they hold up their hand. [Cheering] Alright. Okay, any how many were not born in California? [Cheering] It shows that what we are doing, we are a mobile, moving country, our national assets belonged to all of us. Children who are born in the east will grew up in the west and the west will grow up in the east, and we will find by concentrating our energy on our national resources, on conserving them but not merely conserving and saving them, but by developing and improving them, the United States will be richer and stronger. We can fulfill our responsibilities to ourselves and those who depend upon us. I'm proud to be here. I'm proud to be associated with those who are contributing to this country. Who are making it better, not merely right now today, but who are looking to the long future of those who come after us. I congratulate you on what you've done, thank you.
[Applause]
Description
President Kennedy's speech dedicating the Whiskeytown Dam.
Credit
Courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Library
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