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there.”
    David and Tomas stood outside of the truck and waited for the black Chevy to join them. David lit a Camel and leaned against a post attached to the porch of the barracks. Nolan walked up to him and said, “So, Davey, you still screwing good people over every chance you get?”
    David hated being called Davey. He knew Nolan called him that just to get his goat. “I’ve jobs for my family, but not you. You might be out of luck, Timmy.”
    “Oh, I don’t know. They made a chickenshit Croat into a boss. Can’t be too tough to get along up here. I’ll probably be runnin’ the place before the week’s out.”
    Tomas looked back and forth between his father, his brother-in-law, and Nolan. He hoped they were kidding, but nobody laughed. Nolan held a smirk on his face, and David showed red from the neck up as they stared at each other. Mikhail interrupted the tense scene, “Show us where we stay.”
    The barracks were built to house three-hundred workers without families. Each man lived in a room that had a single bed, a chair, and a bench in the small room. Showers and bathroom were military style located down the hall. There was a mess hall, a bakery, and a bowling alley attached. Mikhail and his son took rooms across the hall from one another. Nolan found an empty room near the end of the opposite end of the building.
    As they unloaded their duffle bags from the Chevy, David approached Mikhail. “You need to be at the Union Hall at 9:00 tomorrow morning. It’s set up for you and Tommy. You’ll be able to go out on afternoon shift tomorrow at 4:00 o’clock. They’ll fix you a lunch next door and keep a tab until payday. I’m staying in a trailer in Hungry Horse behind the Dam Town Bar if you need anything. I’m on day shift. Probably won’t see you for a while. Good luck.”
    Mikhail never said a word. He slung the large army bag over his shoulder and went into his room.
     
     
    Tomas nervously read the April summary sheet as he waited for the bus to take him up to the worksite at the top of Hungry Horse Dam. He stood close to the posted newssheet and squinted through his dark rimmed glasses as he read.
Concrete placing and payrolls soared to new levels for 1952. Concrete placing on the dam averaged 5,500 cubic yards a day during April. Contractors report employment at the 1,600 mark. Total employment on the project including the Bureau of reclamation is at 2,000. Mid-April payrolls exceed the $2,400,000 a month level. Minimum rate of pay at the dam for seven-day week is $114.56 for laborers. Currently, there are 525 laborers, 411 carpenters, 100 steamfitters, 70 mechanics, 61 truck drivers, 54 electricians as well as other crafts and trades.
    At present, the major part of the dam runs up to 454 feet above bedrock, and is 81 feet thick and 1,680 feet across. At the bottom the concrete is 321 feet thick. Cement car shipments to Coram, Montana are currently 71 bulk cars a week.
    Water storage in the reservoir now totals 282,000 acre-feet. Visitors at the project Vista point overlooking dam construction are averaging about 2,500 each Sunday with about 150 visitors on the weekdays. Last year 260,000 visitors saw the dam being built.
    Mikhail joined his son. “Anything good there?”
    “Ya, as laborers, we’re going to make over a hundred dollars a week. That’ll really help Kat with the doctor bills.”
    Mikhail loosened the snaps on his extra large jean coat, “We work seven days a week.”
    Tomas looked up at his father, “Nothing else to do but work I expect. Do ya think Tim Nolan will land a job?”
    The bus pulled up outside of the quonset hut and the men climbed the stairs to the bus. Mikhail nodded his head toward Tomas. They walked out of the building and up the stairs into the bus. Finally he said in a low tone of voice, “Probably. Nolan’s a good electrician. They’ll put him on.”
    Tomas sat near the window on the trip up the hauling road to the top of the dam. As they passed the tiny