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.