Calling the newly completed Summersville Dam "a key part of our flood control plan for the entire Ohio and Mississippi River basins" and predicting that the lake it formed would "attract millions of visitors" to Nicholoas County in the years to come, President Lyndon B. Johnson drew warm applause from a crowd of nearly 15,0000 people gathered at the site of the new dam nearly 50 years ago.
In part, the crowd was relieved that Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, made it to the dedication ceremony for the new dam on time, after thick shrouds of fog continued to cling to the walls of the Gauley River Canyon below the dam and the hillsides above it until an hour before the event's scheduled 11 a.m. starting time. But Johnson and his entourage arrived on schedule aboard the presidential Marine helicopter, and it soon became clear that the president had nothing but good words to say about the dam, the people who lived near it, and the elected officials who represented them in Washington.
Starting Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Summersville Convention and Visitors Bureau will host a three-day Golden Anniversary Celebration for Summersville Dam, the second-largest rock-fill dam in the eastern United States, and the structure responsible for creating 2,700-acre Summersville Lake, the state's largest body of water.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday with the arrival of a four-person team from the West Virginia Skydivers of Huntington. One of the parachutists will carry an American flag while the others will stream the colors red, white and blue as they descend to the Summersville Dam Picnic Area.
Following the arrival of the skydivers, a re-dedication ceremony will begin at the same locale, featuring talks by construction workers who helped build the dams, and local elected officials, both past and present, including former Summersville Mayor William Bryant, who greeted LBJ and his wife at the dam in 1960, and drew smiles from them when informed that he was the brother of the White House electrician, whose duties included caring for the Johnsons' pet beagle.
From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., personnel will be on hand to receive items to be included in a time capsule, to be sealed for opening in 2066 during the dam's 100th anniversary. A night fishing tournament starts at 8 p.m. Friday and ends at 7 a.m. Saturday, as part of the Trail of Dreams tournament series.
Saturday's Golden Anniversary activities begin at 8 a.m. with the Active Southern West Virginia Family Triathlon, starting from Summersville Lake's Battle Run Beach. The event is open to those aged 9 or older, who compete as individuals, families or other groups, provided that each group member completes each leg of the event, which involves a 1.2-mile run, a 2-mile bike ride and a 1-mile lake-top paddle. Participants must bring their own gear, and should register by the end of the day on Thursday. Call 304-254-8488 or send email to Melanie@activeswv.com for details.
A free game day for kids begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Battle Run Beach Recreation Area and includes kite-making, sand art, a casting contest, archery, a pick-up-ducks game, a climbing wall and a coloring contest.
The Chippewa Lake Water Ski Show Team will perform in the area between Battle Run Beach and Battle Run Campground at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and a historical photo exhibit of Summersville Dam construction scenes and images of the communities of Gad and Sparks, both flooded in creating the lake, will be on display from 10 a.m. in the food and souvenir vendors' area at Battle Run.
Musical entertainment on Saturday includes performances by Emmalea Deal at 1 p.m., Common Houses at 3 and 4:30 p.m., and Wyatt Turner at 7:30 p.m. followed by a boat parade from Summersville Lake Marina to Battle Run at 8 p.m. and a fireworks display at 9:45 p.m.
On Sunday, public tours of Summersville Dam will take place at 1 and 3 p.m.
As President Johnson predicted back in 1966, Summersville Lake did become a major location for recreation and tourism in West Virginia, although boating, fishing, swimming and camping were the main activities anticipated at the time. Since then, a number of new activities have taken place at the lake.
In 1986, Congress voted to make whitewater recreation an official function of Summersville Dam, and mandated that 20 scheduled releases be made during the fall draw-down of Summersville Lake to augment Gauley River rafting and kayaking. In 2003, a hydro-electric component was added to Summersville Dam, which pumps 80 megawatts of energy into the regional power grid.
Summersville Lake's relative clarity and depths of more than 300 feet led to it becoming a popular destination and training center for scuba diving. Its cliff- and boulder-lined shores have made it a hot spot for rock climbing.
According to the Army Corps of Engineers, Summersville Dam alone is credited with saving $128 million in damage during late June flooding.
"Two and a half years ago I flew over the Ohio River Basin and I saw the destruction that was brought on by one of the worst floods in 20 years," Johnson said during his 1966 speech at Summersville Dam. "I felt anger and frustration that such tragedies could still occur in the most advanced and most powerful nation in all the world. I knew that we had both the ability and the resources to harness these wild forces of nature, and I was anxious to get on with the task. Today, we move one step closer toward this goal."
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169 or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.