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An oral history interview is a primary source document created in an interview setting with a witness to or a participant in a historical event. Its purpose is to collect and preserve the person ’s firsthand information—and make it available to others. The oral histories in this book are primarily from the Arrowhead Civilian Conservation Corps Documentation Project (acccdp) and the Minnesota Civilian Conservation Corps Documentation Project (mcccdp). The acccdp was organized in 1982 by Edward P . Nelson, archivist at the Iron Range Research Center in Chisholm, to document the work of the ccc in northeastern Minnesota. Completed in June 1983 in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the ccc, it focused on the Arrowhead region of Minnesota. The mcccdp, a smaller project done by the author and funded by a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society , followed the acccdp by about ten years. It focused on collecting information on the work of the ccc in southeastern Minnesota and on documenting the experiences ofAfricanAmerican and Native American enrollees. The acccdp used a team of interviewers working from the same basic question format. This gave the project uniformity while allowing for adaptation for specific needs. Interviews generally followed a chronological order,beginning with a description of the narrator’s life prior to joining the ccc and ending with “thought questions” about what the ccc meant to each. The body of the interview focused on life in the camps and on work projects. Although the bulk of the interviews were with ccc enrollees,the acccdp also interviewed military personnel,camp administrators,work project supervisors, and lems.Thus, narrators represented nearly all aspects of ccc camp life and work. Interviews gave narrators the chance to put on record their views about a program that, for most, had a profound impact on their lives. mcccdp interview questions followed the same format as the acccdp for uniformity, with specific questions developed as needed.As with the acccdp,abstracts were developed for all interviews and a select number were fully transcribed . Together, the acccdp and mcccdp resulted in 109 interviews,each between one and two hours long. These interviews are held at the Iron Range Research Center. Excerpts from the interviews are used throughout this book. Combined with other primary source information and with secondary sources, they help tell the story of not only what happened but how and why. Practitioners of oral history often use the interview format to collect information from adults about adult experiences. However, historians are increasingly realizing that documenting events that occurred during childhood can provide unique insights.The interviews in this book were recorded with men as they reached or passed retirement age, but the events discussed occurred for many during their teenage and young adult years. When they spoke of the disintegration of families during the Great Depression or of not having enough to eat,narrators were describing situations they faced not as grown men but as teenagers and young adults. Food was important : the lack of it at home and the types and amounts served in the ccc camps. For many, it was a symbol of the difficulties at home and the relative security of camp life. Their comments in the interviews reflected this. General statements about the camps also can provide insight into the ccc experience.At first glance,many descriptions sound alike.But when one examines and compares the comments of white, African American, and American Indian enrollees, even general statements can be quite revealing.In some cases,they transcend race and ethnicity,helping us understand the universality of the Depression and ccc experiences . In other cases,they bring to light the 182 ORAL HISTORY SOURCE NOTE racial intolerance and segregation patterns of the times. For the most part, narrators in both oral history projects spoke positively of the ccc. In the interest of objectivity, criticisms and concerns are included wherever indicated by the research, sometimes with comments from the narrators as a balance. The discussion of the treatment of African American enrollees is the most critical in this book, reflecting local views in some cases along with the standard U.S. Army segregation policy of the time and its enforcement by district commanders overseeing Minnesota camps. Oral history projects often end up collecting more than just the spoken word.This was true of the acccdp and the mcccdp. Both projects unearthed a wealth of photographs, camp newsletters, cookbooks, memory books, and other documents related to camp...

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