Motion picture activities in the Corps of Engineers’ are comparatively new. In October 1947, the Office of Chief of Engineers instigated a study on motion picture activities and an official letter was sent to all Division Engineers, in which their suggestions were solicited. Approximately a year passed and, in the summer of 1948, Col. Theron Weaver, then Division Engineer of the North Pacific Division, undertook the organization of a comprehensive motion picture program which eventually was to embrace all major projects within the Division.

The first project to be filmed was McNary Dam, and research, covering the past history of the project, was conducted. Actual filming began late in 1946 and with the activation of the Walla Walla District, Frederick Giermann was added to the Technical Information Branch of the District for the purpose of coordinating motion picture photography. The initial film was to include the past history of Umatilla, of the Umatilla Dam, the growth of the Inland Empire and inital pases of construction. The second film has as its main theme the final closure of the river, and the third and final film will deal with the construction of the powerhouse and bring the project to its’ conclusion.

It is intended to re-edit these three films upon completion of the project into a film show in the growth of McNary Dam from its inception to its dedication. The first film, entitled “Birth of a Giant” was completed in May 1950, and received the 175th anniversary of the Corps of Engineers at the Capitol Theater in Walla Walla. Shortly after, it was shown at McNary Dam to an invited audience consisting of personnel as well as civic organizations. Since then this motion picture was released to the general public and has since been shown to over a half million people. Requests for this film are received almost daily from Boards of Education, Civic Clubs Granges, Universities and Eastern television stations. It may well be assumed that within a year, several million people all over the nation will have viewed this film and people in all walks of life will have been informed as to the activities of the Corps of Engineers in the Pacific Northwest.

The second film, as yet untitled, is 75% complete and should be ready for release approximately March 1951. This film is geared for showing to the general public and a technical film on the many problems of the final closure is being assembled and will be ready for release to Engineering personnel at approximately the same time. During the past few years, the production of progress films has been an established and important activity of the North Pacific Division. The projected program for construction work indicates that this activity will continue for the foreseeable future. In the spring of 1950, a Motion Picture Unit was established in the North Pacific Division. This Motion Picture Unit is maintained for the present in Walla Walla, is under the technical supervision of the North Pacific Division Engineer and under the administrative control of the Walla Walla District Engineer. All motion picture work is now being coordinated by this unit and some eight films on projects within the Division are in production or in a planning stage. The projects to be covered by motion picture films are Chief Joseph Dam, Mud Mountain Dam and Albani Falls in the Seattle District; a film on concreting at Detroit Dam, Oregon, entitled “Operation Concrete” is ready for release and over-all progress films on the building of Detroit Dam and Meridian Dam in the Portland District are authorized. For the Walla Walla District, a progress film on Lucky Peak Dam, Boise, Idaho, is in production and a 20-minute color film dealing with the migration of Salmon from the Bay of Astoria to their spawning grounds in the Imnaha River, Oregon, was completed in the fall of 1949, and has been shown to approximatley 200,000 persons since its release.

The Motion Picture Unit, North Pacific Division, consists of three people, Chief of the Unit is Frederick Giermann Photographic Superivsor is Sam Tomlin and Jessie Miller, a graduate of McNary Dam Field Office, does a great many things, all pertaining to motion picture work. . .