Walter Granger

Hello there. This is Nelson Olmsted. Sometimes water is the most precious substance on Earth. Listen to what it did for the Echomor Valley. But first, Clint Groover standing by with a brief message from Pacific Power.

Welcome once again to Stories of Pacific Powerland, a presentation of Pacific Power and Light, a company that has been serving the electric needs of the region's homes, farms and industries through more than half a century of progress and growth.

Now here's Pacific Powerland's favorite storyteller, Nelson Olmsted. A special private railroad car carried Thomas Oaks, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and his party on an inspection tour of the new railroad through the Yakima Valley.

The country that the railroad man saw from the windows of the train was vast and desolate. Clouds of dry, dusty soil puffed up as the train passed. Startled jackrabbits fled from the sight of the massive iron horse.

The sagebrush valley was grey and dry and lonely, except Thomas Oakes noticed, where the settlers had crude patches alongside the Yakimaw River, he remarked, Look there! How green that garden is beside that cabin, where they must take water from the river for irrigation!

By heaven that soil is fertile enough, I wonder if this entire valley could grow crops like that. You know there's only one man I know who can see this the way I can, Walter Granger.

He built those irrigation projects in Montana. Get a touch of Granger for me. Tell him I want to meet with him as soon as possible. When the two men met in the spring of 1889, oaks were shocked.

Was this the water Granger he remembered? Only 34 years of age, the engineer was sick and discouraged. Granger said, oh, I'm about whipped, huh? My money's gone, so is my health. How do you know why you want to talk to a worn out wreck like me?