Sunday, April 10, 2016

Record of Service in Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps existed between 1933 and 1942.  It employed millions of unmarried men between the ages of 17 and 25 on projects in rural areas owned primarily by federal, state, and local governments. The CCC was designed to provide jobs for young men, to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States.  The men served a term of six months, but they could serve up to four terms. They earned $30 a month, $25 of which was sent home to their families.

This is a copy of my maternal grandfather's Record of Service in the Civilian Conservation Corps.  My great-grandfather died when my grandfather was nine years old.  When he finished grammar school, my grandfather got a job to help support his family.  At the time he signed his application to join the CCC,  he had been unemployed for two years.  He left his job as a grocery clerk in December 1932 at 15 years of age.  $25 of his $30 a month earnings while in the CCC was sent home to his mother to help support his family.  Most men in the CCC did the same, naming their mothers as their dependent relative.

From 3 January 1935 to 1 June 1937 and from 13 June to 7 October 1937, my grandfather participated in mosquito control in Lewes, Delaware. His unit drained mosquito-infested swamps on Delaware farms by digging drainage ditches leading away from the marshy areas. Stagnant ponds and streams, mosquito breeding places, were freshened by pumping fresh water into the stagnant water areas. The fresh water killed the mosquito larvae.

From 2 June to 12 June 1937 (a break from mosquito control), my grandfather participated in life saving school in Lewes, Delaware.  I grew up hearing that my grandfather was a lifeguard in Lewes.  I think I found a connection!

From 7 October to 11 October 1937, my grandfather traveled to Slate Creek, Idaho.  Once there he participated in road construction until 15 December 1937.

From 16 December 1937 to 1 April 1938, he did forestry labor with a pick in Gibbon, Oregon.  After that, he must have had enough of the Civilian Conservation Corps, because he declined to reenlist.  From 1 April to 5 April he traveled to Camp Dix, New Jersey.  He was discharged from there on 8 April 1938.



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