Operation BOLD (Paperback)

Rich Aarstad

ISBN 10: 1886591385 / ISBN 13: 9781886591387

Published by Blue Creek Press, 2025

About this Item

Paperback. On August 24, 1975, President Gerald Ford and Donald S. MacDonald, Canadian Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, completed Operation B.O.L.D by flipping a symbolic wooden switch to signal the first turbine at Libby Dam to start producing electricity. This was the culmination of decades of speculation, planning, international negotiations and over nine years of construction work. To commemorate 50 years of flood control and energy production, Montana State Archivist Rich Aarstad leads us through the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the men and women who put together Libby Dam. The book has over 130 illustrations, most of which were garnered from the US Army Corps of Engineers archives at Libby Dam chronicling the project from relocation of the Great Northern Railroad Mainline through the dedication by President Gerald Ford in August of 1975. Aarstad also shares historical tidbits regarding the small towns that were drowned and the people forced to move by the rising waters of Lake Koocanusa behind the dam. Aarstad graduated from the University of Montana in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts, followed two years later by Master of Arts in History. He works for the Montana Historical Society. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781886591387

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Operation BOLD (Paperback)
• Publisher: Blue Creek Press
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1886591385
• ISBN 13: 9781886591387
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

On August 24, 1975, President Gerald Ford and Donald S. MacDonald, Canadian Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, completed Operation B.O.L.D by flipping a symbolic wooden switch to signal the first turbine at Libby Dam to start producing electricity. This was the culmination of decades of speculation, planning, international negotiations and over nine years of construction work. To commemorate 50 years of flood control and energy production, Montana State Archivist Rich Aarstad leads us through the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the men and women who put together Libby Dam.

The book has over 130 illustrations, most of which were garnered from the US Army Corps of Engineers archives at Libby Dam chronicling the project from relocation of the Great Northern Railroad Mainline through the dedication by President Gerald Ford in August of 1975.

Aarstad also shares historical tidbits regarding the small towns that were drowned and the people forced to move by the rising waters of Lake Koocanusa behind the dam.

Aarstad graduated from the University of Montana in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts, followed two years later by Master of Arts in History. He works for the Montana Historical Society.