'Roosevelt's Tree Army' Roots Out Information

News of economic turmoil bombards us at every turn these days. It may remind some elderly Americans of the fear that struck the nation at the start of the Great Depression.

During the 1930s, when 25 percent of American workers were unemployed, the confident, patrician tones of Franklin D. Roosevelt offered reassurance to millions of Americans gathered around their radios for the president's "fireside chats."

In one of his early broadcasts, Roosevelt revealed the plan to put thousands of unemployed young men to work as a peacetime army to fight destruction and erosion of the nation's natural resources.

In the spring of 1933, Congress passed and Roosevelt signed a bill creating the Civilian Conservation Corps, known as the CCC.

The departments of agriculture and interior planned and organized projects in every state. The labor department selected and enrolled applicants, and the Army ran the camps.

Initially, men 18 to 25 whose fathers were on relief were eligible to join the CCC. Veterans and Indians were exempt from the age and relief requirements. In 1937, the relief requirement was dropped altogether and the eligibility bracket expanded to ages 17 to 28.

Enlistment Lasted A Year

Upon enrollment, men could request where they wanted to go but were not guaranteed the assignment. They enlisted for 12 months but could be discharged at any time upon proof of employment.

The government paid each enrollee $30 a month and required that $25 be sent back home to support his family. Basically, the men had no personal expenses; they lived in tents or barracks and were given food and clothing. Records show that it cost taxpayers about $1,000 to support each enrollee.

The program helped the economy in two ways. It provided work for unemployed young men, and merchants and farmers near CCC camps earned money by doing business with the camps. They sold fresh meat and vegetables to the CCC, and such businesses as laundries and dairies got a big boost, which enabled them to hire more workers and put more money into local economies. The workers' home communities benefited because of the money sent back to families.

A Chicago judge cited a side benefit, telling the press that crimes committed by men in the 18-to-25 age bracket dropped by 55 percent when the camps took the unemployed off the streets.

Sometimes symbiotic relationships developed between enrollees and the local folks. One of the camps was operated out of the Pocket Recreation Area in north Floyd County, Ga., where my ancestors had lived for several generations.

This was an isolated community where several residents made their living moonshining. Although some in the community resented the intrusion of the CCC "riffraff," as they called them, the local bootleggers welcomed the young men with open arms.

One area old-timer recalled that "the CCC boys would swap Army clothes, boots and green blankets for whiskey and ... the bootleggers often had more clothes than the Army."

The army of workers did make lasting improvements to many communities. They built roads and bridges and strung telephone lines. They were nicknamed "Roosevelt's Tree Army" for the millions of trees they planted.

Ancestors' Files Available

If you think an ancestor joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, you can get his file by writing to the National Personnel Records Center, Civilian Personnel Records, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis MO 63118.

You must include a written authorization from the person who was enrolled or proof that the individual is deceased. (A dated newspaper obituary is acceptable.) Your request should contain the following:

•Full name

•Date of birth

•Home address (city and state) at time of the claimed service

•Parents' names

•Dates of service (day, month and year)

If you prefer not to write an actual letter, you can download a "Request for Discharge Papers" form at www.ccc

legacy.org/history.htm.

Camp records are housed at the National Archives in Washington. The records are massive and should not be tackled by the faint of heart or inexperienced researcher. Your best bet is to contact Gene Morris with the Civilian Records Textual Archives Services at (301) 837-1993 or via e-mail at eugene.morris@nara.gov. If you give him the camp number, he can give you some research guidance, tell you what kind of information is available and the cost of getting it.

Before you contact him, get a list of the camp locations and unit designators at CCC Legacy at www.ccclegacy.org/ camp%20lists.htm. You'll also find historical information and preservation projects.

Since the CCC's history is rooted in America's forests, another research resource is the country's national forest service. Go to gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national _forest/main.htm. Click on the state of interest and find the national forest closest to the camp in which you are interested. Then get in touch with a ranger in that forest.

Rangers are highly knowledgeable, and I've always found them extremely willing to assist researchers. Just ask them about any local history or preservations projects connected with a specific camp. This is how I found a 225-page history project through the Armuchee Ranger Station in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Georgia. It was filled with oral and pictorial history and reported in depth about members of my family who once owned the property.

To learn more about this fascinating aspect of American history, in which your ancestor may have played a part, go to www.archives.gov/ publications/prologue/2006/fall/ccc.html and read an excellent article from the National Archives magazine, Prologue.