Stanley R. Marean was born in Washington, D.C., in 1885. He attended the schools of the area, becoming particularly interested in scientific subjects. When he began to consider a career, Marean was offered an opportunity to work at the Newlands Reclamation Project in western Nevada. Arriving in Nevada in 1906, he immediately began his first work in western reclamation, first as a laborer and later as the water master on the Newlands Project. In pursuing his career in the management of land and water, Marean also worked on the construction of the Rye Patch Dam near Lovelock, Nevada, and on the Minidoka Reclamation Project on the Snake River in Idaho. Retired in 1949 from the Minidoka Project, Marean and his wife returned to Reno where they enjoyed many interesting years. Stanley Marean died in Reno in the summer of 1966.

The reminiscence recorded by Stanley Marean includes a resume of his early life; accounts of his work on the Newlands Project, the Rye Patch Dams and the Minidoka Project; observations on the towns where he lived; and a discussion of the problems of retirement.