13. Calloway Creek Dam

12. Political Discussions

Royal G. Jackson: Was there ever any political discussions at all? Among the fellows? That you remember?

Edward Sekermestrovich: No. The only time we had any discussion was when we had a fire hose fight [Laughter], and got the captain in on it and everything else, and he got wet, soaking wet, and he was mad then. We was quarantined for a couple of weeks, but that's all right.

Royal G. Jackson: One barracks against another?

Edward Sekermestrovich: That's right.

Royal G. Jackson: Did you have a lot of horse play like that?

Edward Sekermestrovich: That's the biggest one we had.

Royal G. Jackson: What exactly happened?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Well, like one fellow starts out as a joke, he opens up a door and another guy's there with a fire extinguisher, squirts him, and then he figures, well, I'll fix you. There's a hose around the side and there's a spigot there, and he turns that on. And the other guy goes to the back and there's another one in the back, so there we go. Or else they go down to the other barracks -- the hose will reach to the next barrack, you know; the barracks were twenty-five feet apart, something like that, they were in rows.

Royal G. Jackson: Were each of the barracks named?

Edward Sekermestrovich: No, just numbered.

Royal G. Jackson: What was your barrack, do you remember?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Well, like C-24, C-30, or whatever the heck it is.

13. Calloway Creek Dam

Royal G. Jackson: Have you been back to the Arboretum since you left?

Edward Sekermestrovich: I was back there two weeks ago, three weeks ago; I took my neighbor up there to look at it. We built a dam up on top, too, by the nursery; we used to go swimming in there.

Royal G. Jackson: Did you help build that dam?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Yes.

Royal G. Jackson: On Calloway Creek?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Yes, we put them rocks in there. All around that darn thing.

Royal G. Jackson: Tell me about that. What was that project like?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Well, that was a good job. [Laughter] They just dug it out, carried the mud away.

Royal G. Jackson: Did they dig it with shovels, or with mechanical devices like Caterpillars?

Edward Sekermestrovich: No, they never had Caterpillars up there. Shovels, shovels, yes. We never had a backhoe up there, or anything like that. There was a hole there, before we started. Then we put a plug in it, a valve so you could drain it; it could drain right now. Then we put a platform out there, a diving board. Now they tell me they've got fish in there.

Royal G. Jackson: Are you talking about Cronemiller Lake?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Cronemiller? I don't know what it's called. We never had a name for it that I know of.

Royal G. Jackson: But you were there when they actually damned it up and filled it?

Edward Sekermestrovich: That's right.

Royal G. Jackson: Were you there when they first started building the reservoir? Or was it already in progress?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Oh, no, it wasn't in progress. We were there the first to build it.

Royal G. Jackson: How long did it take to build it from start to end, do you know?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Well, I don't think it took six to seven months from the time they piled the rock in there.

Royal G. Jackson: So you guys went swimming in there?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Yes.

Royal G. Jackson: In the evenings or in the day?

Edward Sekermestrovich: In the evenings. There was no women around there, just Mac's wife.

Royal G. Jackson: Mary McDaniel?

Edward Sekermestrovich: Yes, she was a way down below at that time. Then they built her house up towards the lake. Do you remember the house, or did you see the house?

Royal G. Jackson: Yes.

Edward Sekermestrovich: Remember the first house you come to?

Royal G. Jackson: Yes.

Edward Sekermestrovich: On the left hand side, that used to be the nursery. And a house built on top of it, kind of like a three-car garage, or two-car garage in it. They built the house there, then they finally built them a nice house up two city blocks or something.