Parker, Thomas R., 1913-1994

Thomas Robert “Bob” Parker was born in Grand Junction, Colorado on September 28, 1913 to Robert Calvin and Georgiana Parker. In 1931 the Parker family moved from Grand Junction to Las Vegas, Nevada after a recommendation from the family physician to cure their daughter’s constant asthma and pneumonia in a warmer and drier climate. Upon arrival, Parker and his father sought employment with the new Boulder Dam Project, now known as the Hoover Dam. At the age of 17, Parker began work as a "swamper’s helper," scrubbing and mopping the floors of the mess hall in one of Six Companies Inc. residential barracks. Eventually Parker began working in the cement warehouse and mixing plant, supervising concrete and slab tests. Bob Parker died in Boulder City, Nevada on February 27, 1994.

The Boulder Dam Project began on April 20, 1931, concrete placement was completed on May 29, 1935 and all other features were completed by March 1, 1936, however power generating units continued to be added and installed through 1961.

Sources:

Andrew J. Dunbar and Dennis McBride, Building the Hoover Dam: An Oral History of the Great Depression, Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1993.

"Hoover Dam, Hydropower at Hoover Dam" Bureau of Reclamation. Accessed February 11, 2020, https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/powerfaq.html

"Hoover Dam, Frequently Asked Questions" Bureau of Reclamation. Accessed February 11, 2020, https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/damfaqs.html