Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 20–Senators Porter, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Coffin, Jacobsen, James, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, O’Connell, O’Donnell, Raggio, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

 

March 14, 2001

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Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Brown, Anderson, Angle, Arberry, Bache, Beers, Berman, Brower, Buckley, Carpenter, Cegavske, Chowning, Claborn, Collins, de Braga, Dini, Freeman, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Gustavson, Hettrick, Humke, Koivisto, Lee, Leslie, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, Mortenson, Neighbors, Nolan, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Parks, Parnell, Perkins, Price, Smith, Tiffany, Von Tobel and Williams

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Read and Adopted

 

SUMMARY—Recognizes 70th anniversary of Boulder City. (BDR R‑1491)

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Recognizing the 70th anniversary of Boulder City.

 

1-1    Whereas, In 1928, as part of the Boulder Canyon Project Act,

1-2  Congress authorized the construction of a dam in Black Canyon, between

1-3  Nevada and Arizona, to tame the raging Colorado River; and

1-4    Whereas, The dam was named “Hoover Dam” in honor of President

1-5  Herbert Hoover and had many purposes, including the storage of water,

1-6  control of floods and generation of hydroelectric power; and

1-7    Whereas, Hoover Dam would later be selected by the American

1-8  Society of Civil Engineers as one of the “Seven Modern Engineering

1-9  Wonders of the United States”; and

1-10    Whereas, To accomplish the construction of this major project, the

1-11  Bureau of Reclamation would create what was to be a temporary city in the

1-12  barren desert to accommodate the multitude of workers needed to build the

1-13  dam; and

2-1    Whereas, Hoover Dam was built during the Great Depression and jobs

2-2  were scarce, with unemployment as high as 80 percent in some parts of the

2-3  country; and

2-4    Whereas, With no guarantee of food, shelter or work, thousands of

2-5  jobless people packed up their families and flocked to the area, now known

2-6  as “Boulder City,” where jobs were plentiful and housing was provided,

2-7  looking for the American dream; and

2-8    Whereas, Because the city planners had not expected the workers to

2-9  bring their families with them, they had not prepared for the influx of

2-10  women and children and had not provided for schools or churches; and

2-11    Whereas, With true pioneer spirit, the people of Boulder City picked

2-12  up where the city planners had left off, starting schools using chairs and

2-13  desks donated by the people in the community and buying books with

2-14  money from their own pockets; and

2-15    Whereas, Churches were built, businesses were started, and social and

2-16  spiritual ties were formed; and

2-17    Whereas, At the height of the dam construction, Boulder City had the

2-18  largest population in the State of Nevada, with approximately 7,000

2-19  people; and

2-20    Whereas, Some roads in the area were being graded using mules and

2-21  others using state-of-the-art equipment, showing the transition of the

2-22  country towards mechanized and technological development; and

2-23    Whereas, After the completion of Hoover Dam in 1935, with the

2-24  dedication of the dam by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the future

2-25  of Boulder City was uncertain, with some considering tearing down the

2-26  houses and abandoning the city; and

2-27    Whereas, The residents who had raised their families and built a

2-28  thriving community in Boulder City were determined to stay in what had

2-29  become known as “the city that built Hoover Dam” and successfully fought

2-30  to become independent of rule by the Bureau of Reclamation; and

2-31    Whereas, The city that started out as a temporary one has flourished

2-32  and is ideally situated close to Lake Mead National Recreation Area,

2-33  Hoover Dam and Las Vegas; and

2-34    Whereas, Listed on the “National Register of Historic Places,”

2-35  Boulder City is home to the stately Boulder Dam Hotel which has housed

2-36  presidents and movie stars; and

2-37    Whereas, Boulder City, once a desert, now provides an oasis of grass

2-38  and trees and many recreational opportunities, including a golf course, a

2-39  swimming pool, a racquetball complex, tennis courts, athletic fields, parks

2-40  and a BMX bicycle track; now, therefore, be it

2-41    Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the Assembly

2-42  Concurring, That the Nevada Legislature hereby declares the week of

2-43  March 11 through March 17, 2001, as “Boulder City Days” in recognition

2-44  of the 70th anniversary of its founding; and be it further

2-45    Resolved, That the Legislature invites all Nevadans to join in the

2-46  celebration of that anniversary; and be it further

2-47    Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and transmit a copy

2-48  of this resolution to Robert Ferraro, the Mayor of Boulder City.

 

2-49  H