What was the CCC and how did it get started?
World War 1 (1914-1918) was over. Americans had answered President Wilson's call "to make
the world safe for democracy." It was now time to enjoy life with illegal liquor, short
skirts, Jazz, The Charlston, and radio. Industrial production, personal wealth, and
stock prices rose rapidly. The number of families owning a car tripled. IT WAS THE
"ROARING TWENTIES." By the late twenties, farm prices and farm profits fell (remember
a much, much, much larger percent of the population made their living from agriculture in the
1920's). Farmers could not pay back money they had borrowed from banks, and many
banks went out of business. People that had bought stock on CREDIT began to sell, and a
panic ensued.
NY State Forester, Gregory Owens explains that
"On October 29, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crashed and soon millions of Americans
were out of work. New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt responded by creating the
Emergency Temporary Relief Administration that put 10,000 men to work in state forestry
projects. Roosevelt believed that conservation was an essential component of any
state or national recovery effort. While governor, he successfully campaigned for the
State Reforestation Act (of 1929) and the Hewitt Amendment (1933) that established New York
as a leader in forest policy and natural resource conservation. Shortly after his
inauguration in 1933, President Roosevelt signed legislation creating the Civilian
Conservation Corps. The CCC, also known as Roosevelt's Tree Army, would ultimately
give work, hope and self respect to three million American men."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president in November of 1932 by an electoral vote of 472
to 59 over incumbent Herbert Hoover.
Just days after Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, he met with congress and proposed
programs to reduce unemployment, stabilize banks, and provide aid to agriculture.
Senate Bill 598 (the Emergency Work Act) was introduced March 27th,
passed both houses in 4 days
with President Roosevelt signing it into law on March 31, 1933. Camps were to be set up
that would provide labor to improve the forests, control erosion on farm and range lands,
control flooding, and do similar projects nearby the camp. The Department of Labor
would select enrollees from the most needy families that were on state relief rolls, the War
Department would administer the camps, and the Agriculture and Interior Departments would
plan and manage work projects.
This group would soon became known as the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC).
The first camp to open was Camp Roosevelt near Edinburg, VA
(see CCC in VA).
On April 17, 1933, the first group of enrollees arrived at Camp Roosevelt.
After pushing their Grey Hound busses to the top of the mountain, they found an open empty
10 acre clearing in which to pitch their tents.
But whoops, no tents, the supply trucks got lost, and soon one of those April showers
(thunderstorms) that bring May flowers started. The "CCC boys" motto soon became
We Can Take It.
Nine years later Congress did not fund the CCC, and the camps closed between May and
July of 1942.
STAFFING:
At the start, there were about 4 applicants for each of the 250,000 jobs available.
There was a camp in Michigan named Camp Kentucky because all the camps in Kentucky and
Indiana were full and Kentucky boys went up to Michigan to join.
There were separate camps for Native Americans (on April 14th Congress authorized the
enrollment of 14,000 Native Americans). On May 11th Congress authorized the enrollment
of 24,000 Veterans, and they also had separate camps.
In 1934, there was a severe drought in the Midwest and an additional 50,000 jobs were made
available in those states. Owen Lee remembers his folks telling that they had just built
their silo and the corn just got a couple of feet tall. The entire crop only filled the
silo half full. By 1935, the number of CCC jobs available increased to over half a
million. By 1937/38, the economy was getting better and recruiters were having some
difficulty getting enough applicants. With our entry into World War II in December 1941,
unemployment was no longer a problem and the economy started to boom.
CCC enrollees were unmarried, unemployed men from 18 to 25 years of age. There was no age
limit for Veterans or Native Americans. When Congress extended the program in 1937, the
age restriction changed to 17 to 23.
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Recruiting Poster
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IDENTIFICATION:
A camp had up to 3 identifiers.
1) They had a common name like Camp Roosevelt.
2) Each camp was assigned to an existing government agency within either the Department of Interior or
Agriculture or to a State agenct to plan, design, and oversee the installation of project measures.
Therefore, each camp was given an ID like SCS-23, NF-1, NP-3. The letters identified
the responsible agency like the USDA - Soil Conservation Service, the National Forest Service,
or the National Park Service. The number was the sequence in which that camp was formed
within a state.
3) Once the Department of Labor with help from state unemployment offices recruited the 'boys',
they turned them over to the Army for physicals,
conditioning, and assignment to a company. The company would then populate a camp.
Some companies would stay for the entire camps existance and the camp would get to be
known as that companies camp, but then other companies were moved to several camps.
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There were around 4200 camps during the 9 CCC years.
Camps were set up, performed their function, and were either eliminated or moved to work on
their next project. At the peak, there were about 2600 camps open at once.
Every state had at least one camp.
There were camps in Alaska, Hawaii, (AK and HI were not yet states) Puerto Rico, and the
Virgin Islands too. California had the most camps with 538.
The camp shown here was at Wind Cave, SD
(picture from National Park Service).
The first in the entire nation was Camp Roosevelt in
The first two camps overseen by the National Park Service were NP1 and NP2 at Skyland and
Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park, VA. They both opened on May 15th 1933.
The first camp with the purpose of soil conservation was Coon Valley in Wisconsin.
It opened June 17, 1935 (see CCC in WI).
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About 3.5 million men served in the Cs. Employment was divided into 6 month enrollment
periods. An enrollee could stay for a maximum of 2 years. Boys that were
promoted to administrative jobs (cooks, clerks, radio operators, etc) could stay longer.
Each camp was comprised of 100-300 men.
click for pictures
A typical camp would have about 200 workers living in five 40 person barracks.
In additon to the barracks, a camp would have a mess hall, an infirmary, a recreation hall,
an education hall, and garages for vehicle and equipment maintenance.
click for pictures
Their wages were $30 per month with $22 to $25 of
that sent home to their families.
There were also ways of earning extra money. For instance, in one barracks all of the
guys chipped in and paid one boy $2 per month to get up early and make the fire during the
winter months.
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Every workday (Monday- Friday) the boys arose to reveille at 6 am, cleaned up and dressed,
policed the grounds, formed for the flag raising ceremony and roll call, ate a breakfast of
things like fruit, cereal, pancakes, eggs, ham, coffee,(see menu to the left) and then made
their beds and cleaned their barracks before heading off to their worksites at 8 am.
Remember, camps were run by Army Officers!
The boys planted trees (the CCC was also known as Roosevelt's Tree Army), built roads, bridges,
fire lookout towers, telephone lines, cabins, picnic shelters, etc. They fought forest
fires, performed archeological digs, installed conservation measures, etc.
The work day ended at 4 pm.
click for pictures
They were given time to clean up and get in dress uniform for supper. The supper hour
was around 5 pm with plenty of plain but filling food. The average enrollee gained
about 20 pounds (mostly muscle). The menu for Camp 2399 (Fort Belvoir, VA) from
February 28th to March 2nd, 1938 is shown to the left. The cost was the total cost to
serve the 193 men stationed there.
After dinner and weekends were free time.
Popular sporting activities included playing baseball, basketball, volleyball, swimming,
and boxing. Many camps had a recreation hall equipped with ping pong tables, pool
tables, chess sets, cards, board games, and magazines. A real popular activity was
dancing. The boys would either go to a nearby town or invite the girls to camp.
Some camps even had talented orchestras that would play the music!
click for pictures
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The boys were encouraged to improve their literacy and vocational skills in their free time.
Educational classes were optional but encouraged. Many of the boys had never been
to a day of school, were eager to learn, saw this as their chance to improve their lives, and
took full advantage. It is estimated that 400,000 boys were taught to read and write.
Camps had an educational coordinator. He, the LEMs (Locally Experienced Men), or whoever
was available such as school teachers were the instructors so classes varied by the expertise
of these individuals. To the right is the
schedule of classes for Company 2386 near Beach, VA for a week in December 1936.
On the job training was also very valuable to the boys.
click for pictures
Vehicle repair, carpentry, soil conservation, drafting, and accounting were common
opportunities, since most camps used these skills on a daily basis. Pocahontas State
Park was going to be
the model design for all of the parks in the nation, and the boy that drafted the plans for
that park used his skills in WWII and then became a draftsman for his entire working career.
In Pocahontas State Park, VA, a kiln was built so the boys could learn how to make
pottery.
The picture to the left is of a math class in MD Camp 325 that worked to restore the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
The National Park Service picture to the left is from a class at the South Dakota camp that
worked on Wind Cave.
Certificates were awarded for successfully completing classes.
Lights out was usually around 10 o'clock.
Well, some of the boys could NOT take it - whether it was the regimen, homesickness, or
whatever. The desertion rate was about 8%. The only penalty for desertion was
a blemish on the individual's employment record.
A few asides:
1) After WWI, the federal government had set aside funds that were to be used to provide
"Bonuses" for wartime service. The Bonuses were to be paid in 1945. Economic conditions
were so desperate during the great depression that veterans marched on Washington in 1932, in 1933,
and again in 1934 to demand early payment of these bonuses.
In 1932 (during Hoover's Administration), veterans started marching in Oregon, and by the time they
reached Washington DC, they were 20,000 strong. The Senate defeated a bill to pay early.
The Army evicted the marchers.
In 1933, 3,000 veterans attended a "Bonus Convention" from May 7-12. Early bonuses were
not paid, but FDR offered the marchers jobs in the newly created CCC, and almost 90% accepted.
Pictured to the right is the camp where they stayed at Fort Hunt.
In 1934, only about 1500 veterans attended the "convention." Fort Hunt was now a CCC camp.
The CCC boys moved out, and the conventioneers stayed there which interupted CCC work. There
was little support for paying early, about half of the attendees joined the CCC, the rest went home. |
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2) Mrs. Roosevelt was strongly in favor of extending the enrollment in the CCC to women.
She was not successful, but under different legislation a similar program became
available to women. Mrs. Roosevelt is shown here visting one of those "SheSheShe"
camps. This one was located in Bear Mountain State Park in New York.
Alysia Vivona (archivist at FDR's Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY) found that
"Mrs. Roosevelt's efforts (along with those of Labor Secretary Frances Perkins) first
resulted in Camp TERA, sponsored by New York State's Temporary Relief Administration in
June 1933. By 1936, ninety educational camps for women had been established under the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration's Emergency Education Program (EEP)." |
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3) Some women found work with the WPA. These women are making dolls, quilts, and
uniforms. The dolls are in the parks archives.
Picture provided by Jane Sundberg from Colonial National Historical Park, VA. |
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4) The Twentieth Ammendment to the Constitution ratified on January 23rd, 1933 set
the term for the president and vice-president to start at noon on the 20th day of January.
It was too late for Roosevelt's first term which started on March 4, 1933, but his
second term started at noon on January 20th, 1937. His first term was actually only
3 years, 10 months, and 16 days long! |
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5) The inaugural class to the Baseball Hall of Fame was elected in 1936. That class
included Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Walter Johnson. The National Baseball Hall
of Fame and Museum opened June 12, 1939. The WPA helped build DoubleDay Field. |
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6) This unfinished portrait of FDR by Elizabeth Shoumatoff was in progress on
April 12, 1945 when FDR experienced the Cerebral Hemorrhage that killed him later that
day. It hangs at the historic site at Warm Springs, Georgia. |
Here are a few of the employees of the Soil Conservation Service that started
in the CCC. Let this be a tribute to all of those that accomplished so much in the nine
year life of the CCC program.
- Helmer “Andy” Anderson (99) began his career with the Forest Service as a supervisor in
a CCC camp. He started with SCS in 1950 as a Soil Conservationist in Chippewa County,
WI. He passed away June 22, 2006.
- Glenn H. Baker worked at Camp Rowan in Union, WV, right out of West Virginia University as
an engineer. He was responsible for laying out diversion terraces and check dams for
gully control, and was well known for huge dynamite blasts to 'get out' the limestone.
- Kenneth B. "P.T." Barnum was a foreman in Camp Rowan at Union, WV. Later he moved
to Camp Fairfax in Berkeley County. One of the main activities in Monroe County was
grinding and burning limestone for use in treating farm land.
- Frank Beeba worked for the Cs in Camp SCS14 at Henry, IL. He spent much of his SCS
career as District Conservationist in Stark County, IL.
- Norm Berg's brother John was in the Cs in the state of Washington.
- Harold W. “Hal” Biggerstaff (89) served with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Alaska in 1938 and 39.
He served in the Air Force in World War II, and his career with SCS was as a soil scientist.
Hal passed away March 1, 2008.
- Raymond S. Brown (95) started his career as an engineer in the CCC camps in Illinois.
Ray retired as Ohio's State Conservationist in April 1970, and passed away October 6,
2002.
- Loren Bryan worked for the Cs in Camp SCS14 at Henry, IL. He spent much of his SCS
career as District Conservationist in LaSalle County, IL.
- Glendon P. Burton was assigned to Camp Crawford at Elizabeth, WV, and later moved to
Milton. He worked on farms in erosion control activities. He passed away
March 9, 1969.
- Evans Butler worked for the Cs in Camp SCS14 at Henry, IL. He spent his SCS career
right there in Henry first as a Technician and then as District Conservationist for
Marshall County Soil Conservation District.
- Charlie B. Cape (89) started his career with the CCC's at Bartlett, TX after having worked
in Knox City, Memphis, and San Benito, TX. He passed away January 30, 2002.
- Mel Carlson (92) started his career in the CCC’s at a camp near Salmon, ID. Mel
retired in June 1974 as the State Forester for Idaho. He passed away January 8, 2006.
- Norris R. "Lefty" Caryl worked on Soil Erosion Service Project 13 at Spencer, WV right
after he graduated from the New York Ranger School.
- Bradus B. Coffman (90) started his career in the CCC's. He retired as an Engineering
Technician in June 1972. Mr. Coffman was killed in an auto accident on February 28,
2003 near Duncan, OK.
- Calvin Coolidge worked for the Cs in Camp SCS14 at Henry, IL. He spent much of
his SCS career as a Conservationist in northern Illinois.
- Adrian C. Fox (97) from Leeds, ND, was born January 28, 1905, and received BS and MS
degrees from ND State University in the early 1930's. He was first employed as the
Grand Forks County extension Agent in the sugar beet acreage control program.
On May 11, 1935, he joined the SCS as a biologist and forester at Huron, SD.
A few months later he transferred to Park River, ND to work on the first soil and water
demonstration project in ND. He was in charge of wildlife management.
In June of 39, he moved to Mandan, ND and was in charge of wildlife and forestry for the
ND CCC camps. He served in the U.S Navy from 1942 to 1945. After the war, he
went to Lincoln, NE to work on Soil Conservation and Education Relations.
The last 10 years of his career he worked in Washington, DC as head of the educational
branch. He passed away July 11, 2002.
- John "Hoot" Gibson (89) started his career in the CCC’s. John retired as Assistant
State Conservationist in Maryland during June 1974. He passed away January 4, 2004.
- Grenfall Harms (95) started his career in the CCC camp at Spring Valley, MN.
He retired from SCS as a Soil Scientist in December 1965, and then worked 12 years for
the University of Minnesota. He passed away September 30, 2005.
- Harold Hart worked for the Cs in Camp SCS-14 at Henry, IL. He spent much of his SCS
career as District Conservationist in Fulton County, IL.
- Ned A. Hood (97) started his career with the CCC in Davidson County, NC. He started
with SCS in 1935, and retired as the District Conservationist in Yadkinville, NC in 1971.
Ned passed away January 19, 2008.
- Ralph O. Lewis (96) was in charge of the CCC camp in Parsons, AZ. His SCS career took
him to Kansas, Lincoln, NE, and the National Office. He retired in March 1972.
He also worked for the State Department where he spent several years in assignments to Asia.
He passed away May 31, 2001 in Peoria, AZ.
- Hampton "Hamp" Long worked for the Cs in Camp SCS-14 at Henry, IL. He spent much of
his SCS career as Area Conservationist in Macomb, IL.
- Ross H. Mellinger started at Project 13 in Spencer, WV in the summer of 1934. At the
end of that summer, he was administratively attached to the CCC Camp at Billings in Roane
County. This camp was occupied by World War I veterans. The next spring, there
was expansion of the CCC camps under SCS and he was assigned as Camp Forester at Camp Rowan
in Union County. That camp was moved to Hedgesville (Camp Fairfax). Before that
camp was disbanded, he was transferred to Pt. Pleasant to set up a project in Mason County
called the "Farm Forestry Project." That project didn't last long - along came World
War II.
- Keith F. Meyers (87) started with the CCC’s. Keith served as State Conservationist in
Kentucky and Nebraska and retired as Midwest NTC Director. He passed away June 29,
2006.
- John H. "Jack" Myers worked on Project 13 at Spencer, WV in the early part of 1934.
In the summer of 1935, he went to Camp Lewis in Greenbrier County, and then later to Monroe
County.
- Dan H. Norton (92) started his career in the CCC's in Georgia?. Dan was an Engineer,
and passed away January 22, 2005.
- Paul Nylander worked for the Cs in Alma and Tecumseh, NE, and retired from SCS as the
National Design Engineer. He is 92 years old, and lives in Mechanisburg, VA.
- Bernie D. Peterson (95) started as the first District Conservationist for Pierce County,
WI following his days in the CCC. He retired in October 1969, and passed away October
27, 2004.
- John T. Phelan worked for the Cs in Hebron, NE, and retired from SCS as the National
Engineering Division Director. He now lives in Arlington, VA.
- Ralph Schwartz (97) started his career in the CCC days and served on the historic Dust Bowl
Survey. Ralph was was a legendary conservationist and soil scientist in Texas. He
retired from the SCS in 1965, but continued his “career” until 1992, serving as Executive
Director of the Middle Clear Fork Soil and Water Conservation District. He was a
graduate of Ohio State University. He also served in World War II as an administrative
officer in the Army Air Corps. Ralph passed away February 21, 2004 in Abilene, Texas.
- M. W. (Bill) Shugart (89) began his career as a conservationist with the CCC camp in
Franklinton, NC. He served as District Conservationist in the Halifax Field Office
from 1939 until his retirement in 1969. He was an active cattle farmer after his
retirement. He passed away December 14, 2002.
- Joseph A. Steingraeber (87) graduated from high school in 1933 during the height of the
Great Depression. Then he enlisted in the CCC where he worked to conserve natural
resources in the upper peninsula of Michigan on the Seney National Wildlife Refuge.
He passed away June 26, 2003.
- Homer E. Stennett (90) a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, class of 1934, taught
vocational agriculture for three years and in 1937, began working for the USDA, Soil
Conservation Service as a technician in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He served in
the CCC camps for five years. For twenty years, Mr. Stennett was District
Conservationist in Cattaraugus County, then held the same position in Chautauqua County.
He served as RC&D Coordinator for Seneca Trail RC&D Area, and retired in 1975.
After his retirement, Mr. Stennett was active in volunteer work with WCA Hospital for 16
years. He was a master gardener and a member of the board of directors of the Chautaqua
Adult Day Care Center. He passed away August 6, 2001 in Jamestown, NY.
- Harold F. Thatcher (94) started in the CCC camps in Wyoming. After a couple years
with the Dept. of Interior in Colorado, he joined SCS in 1941 and retired as an agronomist.
He missed a trip to the Olympics in 1928 because he could not get sponsors to cover his
travel costs. One of his most valued possessions was his Olympic certificate signed by
Douglas MacArthur. He passed away September 19, 2001 in Santa Fe, NM.
- Ralph L. Turman (90) started his career in the CCC’s at Mandan, ND. Ralph retired in
1972 as an engineer in ND, and passed away December 28, 2004.
- Richard P. “Dick” Williams (91) worked for the CCC and Forest Service in MT before his 37
year SCS career in Steele and Linton, ND. After retirement, he returned to college
and became the oldest student at that time to receive a Ph.D. from NDSU (64 years old).
He passed away January 17, 2006 in Fargo, ND.
- Robert L Donahue Syracuse, NY
- Elisha C Sease Newberry, SC
- Louis B Earle Wichita, KS
- Willie J Frederick Denver, CO
- Raymond R Irwin N Plainfield, NJ
- Louis A Parton Orangevale, CA
- Wm G Patterson Bishophill, SC
- Rudy J Pederson San Angelo, TX
- Gilbert A Schultz Bloomington, MN
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Links to other CCC web sites:
- The National Association of CCC Alumni
- Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation
- Virginia's Pocahontas
State Park
- Gilbert Lake State Park, NY
- The CCC in
Florida - Highlands State Park in Sebring contains a CCC museum.
- West Virginia CCC Museum Assoc.
- Giant City Illinois State Park
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Roscommon, MI
- A New
Deal Case Study by John A. Salmond
Web Links to reference materials:
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THE FOREST SERVICE AND THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORP: 1933-42
MUSEUMS
- There is a MI CCC museum in North Higgins Lake State Park about 100 miles north of Lansing.
Open during the summer. Phone number is (517) 373-3559.
- There is a NY CCC museum located at Letchworth State Park in Castile, NY. Phone number
is (585) 493-2760.
- There is a NY CCC museum located at Gilbert Lake State Park in Laurens, NY.
- There is a VA CCC museum located in Pocahontas State Park which is about 15 miles Southwest
of Richmond.
- There is a WV CCC museum located about 45 miles south of Morgantown along Interstate Highway
79 near exit 115. It is housed in the old Quiet Dell school building.
- There is a WV CCC museum in Watoga State Park which is located in southern WV near the
Virginia border.
Books and DVDs
- Four books by Raymond Daugherty from Camp Hardy, WV. Contact Lost River State Park.
- A DVD about Coon Creek Watershed in WI by NRCS and Extension Service.
- A DVD about the CCC in WV by Robert C. Wetsell (304) 637-5806.
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