Photo courtesy of Oregon State Forestry Center
2008 is the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Today its work is still enjoyed in parks and forests around the state. Through interviews with former enrollees, and historic film and pictures, the program tells the story of the CCC in Oregon.
Five days after his 1933 inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called an emergency session of Congress to install one of his most popular New Deal programs – the Conservation Civilian Corps. It was known as the CCC.
The program targeted unemployed young men, veterans and American Indians hard hit by the Great Depression. The CCC boys, as they were called, were required to send a portion of their wages home to their parents. The boys also received free education, healthcare and job training.
Throughout its nine-year existence, the program put millions to work on federal and state land for the 'prevention of forest fires, floods, and soil erosion, plant, pest, and disease control.' Nationwide, enrollees planted three billion trees and came to be known as the Tree Army.
Oregon hosted dozens of CCC camps all over the state. Enrollees fought fires on the Tillamook Burns, helped build ski areas on Mt Hood, built telephone and electrical wires, and improved farm lands.
Today, Oregonians continue to enjoy the CCC legacy at parks and forests around the state.
Resources
Books
Cole, Olen Jr., The African American Experience in the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Cohen, Stan, The Tree Army: A Pictorial History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933 1942.
Cornebise, Alfred E. Jefferson, The CCC Chronicles: camp newspapers of the Civilian Conservation Corps,1933-1942
Hill, Edwin G. Holland, Kenneth and Frank Ernest Hill , In the Shadow of the Mountain: The Spirit of the CCC. 1990
Howell, Glenn, CCC Boys Remember: A Pictorial History of the CCC
Nolte, M. Chester ed, Civilian Conservation Corps: The Way We Remember It, 1933 – 1942 - Personal Stories of Life in the CCC.
Schultz, Michael John. Thomaton, In the Shadow of the Trees
Smith, Kathy Mays, Gold Medal CCC Company 1538: A Documentary. Backbone of our nation and our military
Web sites
Civilian Conservation Corps Blog Spot Resource Page
Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni Web Site
James F. Justin Civilian Conservation Corps Online Museum
Oregon State Archives: The Civilian Conservation Corps
Broadcast Date: November 02, 2009