It was a big day yesterday at Gardiner Dam as close to a 1000 people came out to celebrate the 50th Anniversary.

The dam was named after the Fourth Premier of Saskatchewan James Gardiner. His family was on hand for the event including Grandson Mike Gardiner.

"My grandfather was instrumental in having dam structures built throughout the province while he was Minister of Agriculture. So this dam was named after him through Lester B. Pearson, who was Prime Minister at the time - that, of course, is how the structure became known as Gardiner Dam," he said.

Also on hand was David Jamieson, who as an 18-year old, came out to the area from Moosomin in 1961 to work on the dam’s construction, making $8.50 a day.

"We all had a great time - we worked like dogs, but we knew how to work because the people that were our superiors and supervisors made sure we worked. We were happy to work though - we had a job," he said.

Scott Moe, the Provincial Minister responsible for the Water Security Agency says Gardiner Dam is the most critical piece of infrastructure in this province.

He notes our population and businesses are able to grow because we can support them with water which is all made possible by Lake Diefenbaker and Gardiner Dam.