The Civilian Conservation Corps In Arizona'S Rim Country

Cover

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Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

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Contents

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pp. viii-

Illustration

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pp. ix-x

Preface

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pp. xi-xiv

For most of us, the Great Depression–era program called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) rated a couple of paragraphs in our high school history book, and maybe a brief mention by the teacher about the number of trees planted in the forests by...

Acknowledgments

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pp. xv-xvi

The first person I approached with the idea of putting together a special project on the CCC was Fred Green, Chief Recreation Ranger in 1999 for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, Black Mesa Ranger District, in Overgaard, Arizona. Without...

Introduction Relief from Hard Times

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pp. 1-4

“It was the best years of my life.” That is what many of the veterans of service in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) say. It seems an ironic statement considering the fact that the CCC operated during the Great Depression of the 1930s, a time of grinding economic hardship that touched almost every family in America. Unemployment reached..

Chapter 1The CCC in Arizona

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pp. 5-26

Much of the bureaucracy needed to get the CCC started already existed in the government. That convenience, combined with the program’s altruistic objective, made the CCC initially less subject to legal scrutiny than some government programs. Other “alphabet agencies” designed...

Chapter 2 A History of the CCC Camps in Arizona’s Rim Country

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pp. 27-61

At the start of the CCC program in 1933, the army made plans to open twenty-eight camps in Arizona. The forest rangers assigned to supervise the work projects were given great latitude in choosing precise camp locations. Proximity to work projects plus the means to get supplies to the men were major considerations, but not the most important one. Availability...

Chapter 3 The Early Days at Los Burros: Marshall Wood

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pp. 62-72

By the late spring of 1933, many young American men had heard of the CCC program but didn’t really know what it was. The idea sounded good, and the prospects were intriguing. There was the promise of a job and certainly some hard work ahead, but there was also the possibility...

Chapter 4 Time Away from the Job

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pp. 73-84

The CCC camps were more than work centers. They were little towns that the young men thought of as home. In most cases a social community would begin to develop shortly after they arrived at a new camp. After working side by side in the forest, it was natural for the boys to form friendships that carried over to their free time. Some of the young men...

Chapter 5 Payson and Company 807

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pp. 85-90

Bonds of friendship formed through common experiences and adventures became almost routine in the CCC. Less likely was the longterm bond between a CCC unit and the local community. There were,...

Chapter 6 Happily Ever After on the Blue: Eugene Gaddy

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pp. 91-95

Eugene Gaddy was a young man of twenty when he joined the CCC in April 1938. His adventure began when he met the other Texas rookies at Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio. They boarded a train and headed west. The last stop on the line was Silver City, New Mexico. There to...

Chapter 7 The Camp Newspaper

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pp. 96-105

Perhaps the single most unifying element of CCC life, aside from the forest work itself, was the camp newspaper. Almost all of the main camps of the Mogollon Rim and White Mountains had one. It became a source of pride—proof that the camp was a special community. More than any...

Chapter 8 A Pennsylvania Boy in Arizona: Charles Pflugh

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pp. 106-113

Charlie Pflugh would have to catch up with the other Pennsylvania boys. A large group of them had already gone west about two years before. They were Company 3346, and like Charlie, they saw the trip as a grand adventure. Eager to get away from hometown life and experience...

Chapter 9 The Final Years: Richard Thim

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pp. 114-120

Growing up in Chandler, Arizona, Richard Thim was no stranger to outdoor work: I got a job weeding cotton fields for ten cents a row, and they were long rows. I would work all day and maybe get a dollar fifty. My dad had some difficult times too. He worked at whatever job he could get. Times were tough trying to support a....

Chapter 10 Farewell to the CCC

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pp. 121-128

At the end of the first enlistment period, an enrollee had two choices: he could sign up for another six-month tour of duty, or he could go home. For those going home, there was no fanfare, no awards dinner, no special ceremony. A few friends might get together and share some memories, but the nature of the CCC program did not fit with ceremonial...

Appendix 1

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pp. 129-

Appendix 2

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pp. 130-

Notes

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pp. 133-144

Bibliography

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pp. 145-148

Index

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pp. 149-156