One of the side benefits to this job is the people you meet and the places that you get to go to.

I was honored to represent The Marshall Democrat-News at the Missouri Press Association newspaper awards last week in Lake Ozark. The area is beautiful and the drive there was relaxing, well, except for that traffic jam leaving Jefferson City due to the road work. (Funny, they made us all go into the left lane when the right lane wasn't even blocked. Go figure.)

I know when I travel on behalf of the paper, I represent more than myself or even my editorial staff. There are more than 30 individuals who work in various capacities here at the paper, and believe me, we need every one of them to bring your paper to you each afternoon.

The work is a team effort and when the team wins awards, as we did with the four honorable mentions -- two in sports, one in feature writing and one in general excellence -- the whole team shares in those honors. It's only fair. Sports editor Chris Allen wouldn't be able to write his fine articles and publish his pictures of local sporting activities if there were no advertisements, no press run and no one working in the mailroom in the circulation department to get the papers readied for delivery.

Without office staff or pre-press, we just wouldn't get the job done.

So as one person of a team of more than 30 individuals, it was especially gratifying to accept the awards from Missouri Press Association President Stephen M. Oldfield of the Adrian Journal.

Now all of Missouri knows what Marshall knows -- we've got a great group of people working to bring you the news, sports and features of your community. And don't expect us to stop now. We're just getting warmed up.

Another side benefit to my trip south was visiting the Bagnell Dam area.

The huge lake -- more than 1,150 miles of shoreline and 600 billion gallons of water, yes, that's billions with a "B," is something to behold.

The Lake of the Ozarks Bagnell Dam area is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. In a wonderful little book put together by Carole Tellman Pilkington and published by Lake Area Chamber of Commerce in 1989, the story of the damming of the Osage River and the building of Bagnell Dam is told.

Interestingly, did you know that not only is the Lake of the Ozarks a wonderful recreational pursuit but also a conservation strategy?

The electricity derived from the passage of the water through the dam mechanism is saving resources. According to signs posted at the dam overlook, the hydroelectric power generated saves one million barrels of oil or one million tons of coal used in a year's time.

The idea to dam the Osage River first surfaced in 1912, according to Pilkington's book. Ralph W. Street of Kansas City looked at the idea prior to the establishment of the Federal Water Power Act of 1920, which provided a mechanism for such a lofty endeavor.

In November 1924, a preliminary permit was issued to Walter Cravens of Kansas City, who joined forces with Street. According to Pilkington, the Missouri Hydro-Electric Power Company was issued incorporation papers by the state of Missouri -- also in November 1924.

The Federal Power Commission approved transfer of the property on July 27, 1929, and a contract was sealed for 150 million kilowatt hours to Union Electric Light and Power Company of St. Louis. It was, noted Pilkington, "the largest power contract to that time."

As they say, the rest is history.

Note the year. 1929. The Great Depression.

Yes, when the Bagnell Dam was being built, America was in the midst of The Great Depression. Pilkington noted that while the stock market crashed and business shuttered, "the building of Bagnell Dam was the largest construction project going on anywhere in the country." More than 20,500 individuals would be employed on the project and the mess hall dishing the chow to the workers served more than 8 million meals.

The workers, on an average, made 35 cents an hour, and were glad to get those wages in light of everyone else who was struggling economically.

I think one excerpt in Pilkington's book about Bagnell Dame says it all:

"A lazy river has been put to work for the benefit of mankind; Missouri's natural resources are ready for more extensive development; greater progress and prosperity lie ahead for our great commonwealth. And with progress and prosperity comes those physical advantages that make for a cultural and social growth."

Those words, in Missouri, published by the Missouri State Chamber of Commerce, were written in 1931.

In 28 months, according to Pilkington:

-- A village was constructed to accommodate 1,200 men and 72 families.

-- The existing railroad was extended four and half miles from Bagnell to the dam site and a bridge was built over the Osage River.

-- Fourteen miles of yard tracks were laid.

-- A power plant was built to power the construction effort.

-- Sand, gravel and concrete-mixing plants were built.

-- Storage facilities were built.

-- An airplane landing field was constructed.

-- The river was controlled by man-made means.

-- The dam and the powerhouse were built.

-- Two electricity transmission lines were built. One was 120 miles long and the other -- a double circuit line -- was 136 miles long.

-- Ninety-five square miles of reservoir were prepared.

Makes you tired just thinking about it, doesn't it? Think about it. The project is 148 feet above the bedrock, or as Pilkington put it, "the equivalent of a building 12 stories high."

Today, we enjoy the fruits of those labors as tourists and new home sites continue to populate the Lake of the Ozarks.

Ironically, while I was at Lake Ozark, the electricity went out four times in the space of an hour or two. Kinda spoils that 75th anniversary party. I didn't mind. I just walked outside, sat down in a rocking chair and chilled.

It felt so good.

Mason is the editor of The Marshall Democrat-News. Spectrum appears on Friday.