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Copyright University of Nevada Oral History Program 2002 We encourage researchers to use this material. To view our use policy, please check our Web site or call us at 775/784/6932. Carl Merrill: Nobody’s mentioned the dormitories. When I came in here, most of the workmen on the dam that were not married and in the mess hall lived in dormitories. Well, the dormitory rooms were about 8 feet by 10 feet with a bed- -that was it. And anything else that ended up in the room, you put it there- -like a dresser or a bureau- -that was up to you. You had a bull cook. Now, some of you don’t know what a bull cook is; he was the one that was the janitor for the dormitory. Well, if you wanted to, you would slip him some extra money, and he would clean your room for you. Otherwise, you had to do it yourself. Living in the dormitories, you had to eat in the mess hall. And though the food was good and wholesome, you got tired of it. So it wasn’t long before I moved out, and I moved up and started living with the ranger that lived on Arizona Street on the lower side. He had quite a large basement under that house, and I think there was 4 or 5 of us that had beds in that room. I think it cost us $5 a month or something like that. And then also there were homes in Boulder City that would take in roomers and maybe room and board. And I lived on California Street for a while and had a room in a private home.

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Before You Build the Dam	Politics of Building the Dam	Construction of the Dam
Controversy over Naming the Dam	Oral Histories	A Last Look at the Hoover Dam