Roll on Columbia: Woody Guthrie and the Bonneville Power Administration

In spring 1941, the cusp of the Great Depression and Pearl Harbor, a 28 year old, unemployed Dust Bowl balladeer, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie took a one month, temporary job with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) on the Columbia River. The BPA needed a folksinger to promote the benefits of building dams to produce cheap electricity. Guthrie, and his wife and 3 kids needed the paycheck. He wrote 26 songs in 30 days – classics like Roll on Columbia and Pastures of Plenty. This documentary is the story of the most prolific moment in Guthrie’s extraordinary career. For much more information and purchasing instructions, visit the official web site.