SPOKANE, Wash. β It was 75 years ago that folk singer Woody Guthrie traveled across Washington and Oregon, composing 26 songs that extolled the virtues of Grand Coulee Dam and the electricity it produced.
It was one of the most productive months of Guthrie's career, and will be celebrated on Saturday at the giant dam on the Columbia River.
The 26 songs composed in the spring of 1941 included favorites like "Roll on Columbia," ''Pastures of Plenty," and "The Biggest Thing that Man has Ever Done." Collectively they are known as "The Columbia River Songs."
In honor of the anniversary, Gov. Jay Inslee proclaimed Saturday as Woody Guthrie Day in the state.
Events at the mile-wide dam, located 80 miles west of Spokane, run from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
