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Did a loved one go off to a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp? Published: 19 September 2010 By: Shirley Gage Hodges Biography & Archived Articles
Many women across America did send their sons to these camps. The Corp was established during the Depression as a means of providing employment to young men who could not find work during that period. By the time that the CCC program ended in 1942 over three million men in the U. S. were enrolled in the camps. Young men all across American left their homes and went to CCC camps located around the country. The majority of these men were between the ages of 18-21 years of age. They had to be healthy, from families in need and not attending school. They were single men who joined the CCC, so that they could have employment and help their families. They earned a salary of $30 a month and they had to agree to have about $25 of that amount sent directly to their families. Each company would have about 200 men in the camp. They would sign up for a six-month period. There was a two-year limit for employment. In the early months of the program the men lived in tents. They helped to build wooden barracks which would house the men during the later enrollments. There were also some men in the CCC who were older. They were World War I veterans who had not been able to find work. Most of them would have been between 30-40. Historians believe that about 10% of the enrollees were in this category.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worker statue During their years of existence CCC workers helped to reforest America in addition to many other types of jobs they performed. It is believed that they planted about 3 billion trees. Many of our state parks came into existence during this program. There were many young men who worked in the CCC camps who went on to leave their mark in history and America: Chuck Yeager; Walter Matthau; Robert Mitchum; Hyman G. Rickover and Stan Musial just to name a few. Many of these young men left the CCC camps and joined the military. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor men were recruited from the CCC camps. Many soldiers, sailors and marines found adjustment to military life much easier because they had lived in the camps. One of my friends and colleagues, Cynthia Theusch, has graciously provided examples of records of one of her husband's ancestors so that we can see the types of information that we can learn from these records. Michigan had over 100,000 participants in the CCC and there were 77 camps in the state. In fact, Michigan ranked eighth highest of all the states. Some of the contributions to the development of Michigan by the CCC were:
In the beginning there were not enough axes, hoes and shovels to supply the men. The camps borrowed tools from Michigan State College and the University of Michigan to get the camps started. If you have diaries or letters that survived from this period, make sure that you are using these when you tell the stories of your ancestor's lives. Until next time :) Shirley Hodges, biography & genealogy lectures; email: genealogyshirl@hotmail.com Editor's Note: Shirley Hodges is the author of the popular Guide to United States Census, 1790-1930 Browse the resources at GlobalGenealogy.com:
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