Monument to dam dead may be pursued

A total of 81 workers were killed during construction of Grand Coulee Dam, and there isn't a single marker to commemorate their deaths.

That could change if a current effort to develop interest in a commemorative monument is successful.

Researcher Susan Dechant was here Tuesday to meet with Coulee Dam Mayor Greg Wilder, and others, to see if there was interest in pursuing a monument.

Dechant has been invited back to present the story to council members at their April 23 meeting, when she will explain how she got interested in the project and has come up with 72 names of those who died building the dam.

Actually, a monument did exist, back in 1938, with 44 names on it, but it was taken away by the monument maker in Colville because of non-payment.

The monument was ordered by the local American Legion Post, whose members put up a $200 deposit. The large George granite stone was placed at a site near Delano where the highway then existed.

Despite pleas from the monument maker, John Citkovich, the monument stood on a concrete base until he and a group of citizens from the Colville area came down one night, rifles at the ready in case there was trouble, and took the monument away.

This same monument, altered for a different cause, stands today in front of the Stevens County courthouse with the names of that county's service personnel killed during the country's major wars.

The granite monument shaft arrived in Spokane by train and Citkovich worked night and day to complete it.

It was delivered to Grand Coulee on May 25, 1938, along with a bill for $1,725. It was to be dedicated during a Memorial Day celebration with Gov. Clarence D. Martin attending.

At that time, 48 workers had already been killed on the project, and their names were placed on the decorated granite column.

Two years later, Citkovich warned of his impatience with waiting to be paid. An effort by the city of Grand Coulee and local organizations to raise the money failed by the May 1 deadline.

That's when Citkovich and his party of monument takers arrived late at night and recovered the granite slab.

Dechant heard about the story and became enchanted by it and continued efforts to develop the names of others killed on the project. She currently has identified 72 of the 81 workers killed between 1933 and 1953, and seeks information that will lead her to the remainder.

Tuesday she showed Mayor Wilder pictures of the monument and the plaque of names.

She would like to see a proper memorial placed somewhere near the dam where visitors can see the sacrifices made to construct the dam.