materials related to Harry W. Morrison

Harry W. Morrison born was February 23, 1885 on his family's homestead on Salt Creek near Kenney, Illinois. In 1904 he moved to Idaho to began a job as a concrete superintendent for water reclamation projects with the Bates & Rogers Company. In 1912, Morrison teamed up with Morris Hans Knudsen, a Danish immigrant who moved to Idaho with his wife in 1905. The Morrison-Knudsen Company is responsible for many noteable projects including the Hoover Dam, airfield facilities on Midway and Wake Islands during World War II, San Francisco Bay Bridge, Penn Station, Buenos Aires Subway. Noteable local projects include the New York Canal, Bogus Basin, Cascade Reservoir, and Boise Memorial Bridge.

Morrison married Anna Daly, born April 26, 1884 in Centerville, Idaho. She worked alongside him on project sites as the company book keeper as well as aiding sick and injured workers. Together they founded the Harry W. Morrison Foundation in 1952 to support educational and charitable instututions throughout Idaho. Upon Ann's death on October 25, 1957, Morrison dedicated 153 acres of land to the City of Boise to create Ann Morrison Park.

Harry Morrison met Velma Vivian Mitchell, born August 1, 1920 in Tipton, California, at her restaurant, "The Broiler," in Bakersfield, California while he was traveling for work. He asked Velma if she would like to accompany him as his traveling nurse. They married in 1959 and continued traveling together until his death on July 19, 1971.