The Civilian Conservation Corps, one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal programs, was in operation from 1933 to 1942.
With millions of Americans unemployed as the Great Depression worsened, the newly elected president instituted the CCC for unemployed and unmarried men, ages 18 to 25, to work in rural areas of every state in the union, where they preserved and developed the natural resources.
In "Adirondack Civilian Conservation Camps: History, Memories & Legacy of the CCC," Martin Podskoch focuses on the CCC's presence in 25 Adirondack locations, from Arietta to Warrensburg. Podskoch chronicles the work accomplished by each camp, while gathering the recollections of Adirondackers who were part of the CCC.
Adirondack Civilian Conservation Camps is a timely book. The CCC was a solution to a problem we face today: massive unemployment. Willing workers could not find jobs, which led to another problem: crimes committed by the jobless, especially young men. The CCC was designed to get these unemployed "boys" off the streets, reduce crime and provide job training, while preventing the erosion of our natural resources.
Young men, and later World War I veterans, enrolled for at least six months, then housed in camps of about 200. The camp had a military structure and, in fact, the early CCC workers wore old World War I army uniforms. Training the men were LEMs, local experienced men, who were "experienced in carpentry, logging, masonry," according to Podskach. At camp, workers could take classes — learning how to read and write — and see entertainment provided by professional actors the federal government took off unemployment lines.
Each worker was paid $1 per day. At the end of the month, he received $5, and the other $25 was sent to his parents.
This was one of the responses of FDR, who was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, to the economic crisis facing America: an "army" that was paid and trained, and whose income was shared by their families to be spent at home and stimulate the economy. Perhaps the most startling aspect of the CCC is that, in contrast to the legislative paralysis and name calling in today's Washington, D.C., this bill was passed by both houses of Congress in four days, signed by FDR on March 27 and in operation by the first of April.
Podskoch's Adirondack focus on this extraordinary domestic policy is well-organized, enlightening and delightful. In addition to an overview of program's legislation and history, he describes each of the Adirondack camps and catalogs the work it accomplished.
Cumberland Head State Park is part of the CCC legacy in the area. Before the CCC transformed it, Podskoch tells us the insect-filled area was known as "Stove Pipe Village," home to French-speaking anglers who fished Cumberland Bay, in boats and on the ice.
Near Lake Placid, CCC workers built a dam on the trail to Mt. Marcy, creating a pond for hikers. Eventually this dam was replaced, but its replacement was destroyed by Tropical Storm Irene last August.
Now we have the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pick up the pieces when a storm such as Irene hits. In another reminder of the parallels between our time and that of the CCC, Podskoch notes the CCC's response to natural disasters, such as the terrible rains that drenched New York and New England on Sept. 11, 1938, which killed more than 50 on Long Island: "CCC enrollees were sent to clear the roads and remove downed tree in the forests."
In addition to the big CCC picture, Podskoch provides the memories of CCC veterans at the camps. Gerald Patnode was at the Cumberland Head camp, and after his first week, he and his cousin, Rubin Rober, walked 34 miles home to Churubusco.
This is a good history book; Podskoch's writing is simple and clear, and there are many vintage photographs. It's a good reminder of a time when the government invested in its people and its land instead of arguing about who is to blame and worried about who will get credit for a solution. In his foreword to the book, the late Clarence Petty, who was a CCC captain, wrote, "We must not forget their accomplishments in the forests and state parks that continue to be enjoyed by millions of people."
For years, Jerry McGovern was the Press-Republican's coordinator of Newspapers-in-Education. He also taught in New York state's public schools and now teaches in the Communications Department at Plattsburgh State.
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