For a decade and a half my father labored hard to build support for a dam on the Grand River that he was sure would renew economic growth and energy in Northwest Missouri.

It seemed that every few days, he would be going somewhere to make a speech, taking a trip to the state capital in Jefferson City or even going to Washington to rally support. In fact, he spent 12 years serving on the Missouri Water Resources Board, in large part because of his commitment to this dream.

But There Was Dam Support!

Actually support existed within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which felt a series of six dams along the river would lessen flooding danger. But locally opinions were definitely split.

The dam near Gallatin would have created a 42,500-acre lake that would have wiped out the city of Pattonsburg, along with many fertile bottomland farms. Pattonsburg, a town of about 600, too often bore the brunt of flooding from the Grand River.

So Much for ‘Progressives’

In his book, County Seat Weekly, Dad recalled a letter from an advertiser. “Dear Joe: Please cancel our ad. We need to save all we can so that when a few of you ‘progressive people’ eliminate our homes and businesses, we might have a few dollars left to live on….” The letter was from a Pattonsburg businessman.

Not that Pattonsburg would have been destroyed. One leg of the plan included moving the town to high ground on the new Interstate 35, likely a prosperous site near the recreation possibilities the dam would have offered.

Economic Revival for Northwest Missouri

Dad viewed the project as an economic opportunity to revive a county that had depended upon agriculture for more than a century and which had watched its population decline in the face of economic and financial benefit offered in nearby cities and larger towns.

But the idea spurred years of dispute within the larger Daviess County community. There were ill feelings among friends, neighbors, even relatives, and the relationship between Gallatin and Pattonsburg was tense.

Yellow Paint

Two firms in Pattonsburg, a lumber yard and a bank, were hit with yellow graffiti because their owners thought the dam and a new Pattonsburg made sense. Other business people and citizens became intimidated.

As Dad wrote, “None of this was pleasant for me…. I never felt anger at those who opposed the project. I was sympathetic to the problems those directly affected would face, including the loss of homes and farms that had been in some families for a century.”

But Dad felt the pluses outweighed the minuses and felt it was his job to say so in the newspaper.

Leave It to the Highway Department

In the end, the project fizzled due primarily to legislative inaction. The state highway commission had to make a decision about the bridges that would have been needed to span the large lake, and eventually decided upon a plan for lower bridges. This meant another big expense if those bridges had to be replaced to accommodate the lake.

‘With Some Regret’

So Dad concluded his long, long battle with a front page editorial, entitled “With Some Regret.” That editorial announced the newspaper’s withdrawal of support for the dam. Despite his conviction that the project would bring a much-needed economic boost, he felt the time to end the strife was now.

Even now, when I read that piece, I feel heartbreak and regret for the area and for Dad’s vision.

“In all honesty I found myself regretting the years I had spent trying to achieve what I thought would be good for the area” he wrote…. “In a couple of weeks we will have completed 22 years in Daviess County with two goals in mind. One, to make a decent living; second, to contribute something of value while occupying space on this planet. Unfortunately we do no believe we have another 22 years to devote to an exercise in futility.”

As for Pattonsburg

After Dad’s front page editorial, he received a letter from a Pattonsburg resident, Mrs. Gladys Fanning. She wrote, “For years we tried to build up our town to get new residents or businesses, then along would come a flood or heavy rains, and away would go our image….

“You have been a good spokesman for us, and I thank you.”

Funny thing, though. A severe flood in 1993 pretty much wiped out the town, whose citizens then chose to relocate the town a few miles away to higher ground. Of course, there’s no lake.

But how different things could have been. And how sad it is for me to reflect upon my father’s deep disappointment.