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Ice Harbor Dam to Celebrate Anniversary by Andy Porter Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, June 15, 2012

BURBANK -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will celebrate the 50th anniversary of completion of construction of Ice Harbor Lock and Dam on Saturday,

The event will begin at 10 a.m. with a ceremony on the south shore of the dam featuring speakers and music by the 204th Army Band from Vancouver, Wash. An open house will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Parking and access to the dam are from State Route 124 on the south shore of the Snake River east of Burbank. Visitors in wheelchairs are welcome and can ride a special shuttle bus. No access is available from the north shore.

Bruce Henrickson, Corps public affairs specialist, urged people to arrive early because a large crowd is expected, similar to an open house at the dam last year that attracted more than 1,200 visitors.

The keynote speaker will be Col. Robert A. Tipton, who took command of the Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today. The division includes the Walla Walla District plus four other districts headquartered in Portland, Seattle, Omaha and Kansas City. Walla Walla District Commander Lt. Col. David A. Caldwell also will speak.

The festivities will mark the effort to build the first Corps dam to initiate commercial traffic in the lower 40 miles of the Snake River. Construction began in January 1956 and the dam was dedicated on May 9, 1962, by then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, who afterward traveled to Walla Walla for an official visit.