OH215 Edward O\u27Dell Oral History

Abstract

Edward O\u27Dell describes working for the Tennessee Valley Authority during the construction of the Kentucky Dam. He discussed his early years of living in Calvert City and Marshall County, Kentucky during the 1920s and 1930s. He recollected working as a laborer in the strawberry fields, the mill in Calvert City, aboard a steamboat and for the county highway department. He detailed his daily duties as a laborer and warehouse supervisor. He mentions alcohol being consumed on the job, the theft of government property by employees, problems between laborers and iron workers, interactions between labor and management, race relations, industrial accidents and social events at Kentucky Dam Village. He concluded by highlighting the many positive changes that occurred in the region following the completion of the dam