Speaking of Vision and Execution with respect to Mount Rushmore, I’m looking back on my Blog Log (yes, I have a list of all blogs!), and I’m shocked I didn’t write about the Hoover Dam that we visited when we were in Las Vegas last February. Built from 1931 – 1936 while Mount Rushmore was being carved (1927 – 1941), the Hoover Dam project is an incredible feat of engineering, persistence, and plain hard work:

Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques were unproven. The torrid summer weather and lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned the dam over to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. [“Six Companies” was the creative(!) name of the consortium that built the dam] – Wikipedia

The workforce consisted of 3,000 – 5,000 men, and we were told they had two days off per year, Christmas and the 4th of July. It was during the Depression, so men needed the work. Read the whole article. The technical details are astounding from temporarily rerouting the Colorado River, to pouring the concrete incrementally and figuring out how to cool it. It goes on and on. It was a massive project.

A total of 3,250,000 cubic yards of concrete was used in the dam before concrete pouring ceased on May 29, 1935. In addition, 1,110,000 cu yd were used in the power plant and other works. More than 582 miles of cooling pipes were placed within the concrete. Overall, there is enough concrete in the dam to pave a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York.

The dam is worth a visit if you’re in the area, about an hour’s drive from Las Vegas.

I admire what can be done with a “can-do” spirit and men who are willing to work as part of a team. Today, with all our advanced technology, we probably couldn’t find the workers nor could we jump through all the legal and bureaucratic hoops to do such a thing. Seems a shame.

The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” (Genesis 11.6, NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, NIV) – And they were Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the earth…without radio, television, Internet, air travel, all the things we have at our disposal!