History preserved in artwork, 18,300 photos

In the early days of World War II, someone drew up plans to disguise Hoover Dam by building a replica of the structure just upstream so enemy pilots wouldn't know where to drop their bombs.

The idea never got off the drawing board, but a detailed scale model of Black Canyon was built to show what the various false dams and other camouflaging tricks might look like.

Today that model, roughly the size of a pool table, sits beneath a sheet of plastic inside a locked cage just off the floor of the Arizona powerhouse. It is one of thousands of historical objects tucked away inside the dam, far from the public's view.

Welcome to the world of Emme Woodward, museum specialist for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. She sums up her job in five words: "keeping track of old stuff."

Woodward is responsible for Hoover Dam's collection of more than 18,000 photographs, 2,800 historic objects and roughly 2,800 "paper items," including everything from old tourism materials to news clippings and artwork that predate the dam itself.

Only a fraction of that "old stuff" is on display in the visitor center. The rest is locked away inside the dam, so an important part of Woodward's job is knowing which key fits which door or cabinet or drawer.

"I have a key to get into the key box to get the key to get the key," she said with a smile.

Woodward holds a master's degree in anthropology. She spent a few years as a tour guide at the dam before moving into her current job in 1996.

Before her, there was no her.

Woodward said her job grew out of a push by the Department of the Interior to inventory the historic collections at its agencies and facilities nationwide. Until the position was created, no one was assigned full time to track and maintain artifacts, she said.

Historic preservation has not always been such a priority at the dam, according to one expert in the field.

"I just don't think they had the sensibility for it," said Dennis McBride, curator of collections and history for the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas.

McBride has written four books and more than 75 articles on the history of Hoover Dam and Boulder City. Before that, though, he spent much of the 1970s and early '80s editing operations manuals and response plans for the Bureau of Reclamation, a job that required him to explore the dam inside and out.

Back then, McBride said, it wasn't unusual to find tunnels packed with old documents.

"That stuff was always just stuffed and stored down there. (It) wasn't in any secure environment. It wasn't looked at as a historical collection," he said.

Almost inevitably, things disappeared. Perhaps "a great deal" of things, McBride said.

One lost item in particular still haunts the historian: a three-volume set of specifications for the construction of Boulder City. He remembers paging through it when he worked at the dam. He remembers its purple cover.

"I think about it often," McBride said. "I wish I had taken it, which I easily could have done. If I had, we'd have it now."

McBride said the bureau seemed to get more serious about historic preservation at the dam after 1985, when the facility celebrated its 50th anniversary and was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Things really began to change for the better once Woodward was assigned to look after the collection, McBride said.

Today, the bulk of the artifacts are kept a few steps from Woodward's desk, in a climate-controlled storage area lined with shelves and locked cabinets.

There you will find what Woodward herself calls a "random" assortment of relics from the construction of the dam, including dynamite cans, water sampling bottles, survey equipment, and something called an air bleeder valve made from a delicate globe of blown glass.

One shelf holds wattage meters and other instruments in elegant wood cases with leather handles and glossy finishes.

Another shelf holds the old 78 rpm records containing the tour narration once heard by visitors to the dam.

A rack on one wall cradles a section of original wiring, which is neatly squared off and insulated with color-coded cloth that makes it look like one small piece of a much larger tapestry.

One of Woodward's favorite treasures is a Queen Standard potentiometer that looks more like a work of art than an electrician's tool.

Another cherished item is a set of renderings by architect Gordon B. Kaufmann, each showing a slightly different look for what would become Hoover Dam. The drawings are lettered A through E, but the collection has only four of the five. Woodward's theory: "The one that's missing is the one they built."

After donning a pair protective gloves, Woodward opens a drawer and pulls out a handful of company scrip, specially minted coins that were paid to dam workers for use in the company store in Boulder City.

From another drawer, she produces a booklet of cost estimates from the dam's general contractor, Six Companies Inc. Each dollar amount is written neatly in blue, coalescing in a winning bid of $48,890,995.50.

Because the collection is kept inside a working dam and power plant, access to the collection has always been tricky. When security was stepped up after 9/11, it became downright impossible.

Recently, however, the bureau found a way to give the public virtual access to all of the treasures in Woodward's office, thanks to a years-long effort to digitize the entire collection.

Woodward said the grant-funded "conservation survey" involved scanning "18,300-something photos" and cataloging every historical object and paper stored inside the dam.

The work began in 2007 and just wrapped up a few months ago with the launch of a searchable Internet database of photographs and artifacts.

Meanwhile, the collection continues to grow, as old equipment is retired to the museum and new history is made.

That is another unusual aspect of Woodward's job: trying to predict what might be of interest to future history buffs.

For example: When the bureau handed out commemorative antenna toppers for an anniversary event a few years ago, Woodward stashed one away in anticipation of the day when visitors to the dam might wonder, "What's a car antenna?"

Woodward spends most days alone in the office, cataloging items and filling research requests.

When she ventures out, it's usually to check the temperature and humidity monitors that help protect artifacts in the visitor center and elsewhere. To check the monitor inside that cage just off the Arizona powerhouse, Woodward is required by workplace safety rules to wear ear plugs and a hard hat.

McBride said the work of Woodward and other historic preservationists has taken on added significance. After all, the people who built Hoover Dam aren't around to tell their stories anymore.

"As time goes by, this stuff becomes more important because that's what lasts," McBride said. "People die. And once they're dead you can't ask them any more questions."

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.