Join us for a talk about the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC began on April 5, 1933 when President Roosevelt signed the Emergency Conservation Act that was part of the “New Deal” to relieve the poverty and unemployment of the Depression. FDR brought together two unused resources, the young men and the land. He promised he’d have 250,000 men in camps by the end of July 1933. It targeted single men, 18-25 years old, and WWI veterans in relief of families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression. Enrollees were paid a dollar a day. Twenty-five dollars was sent home to their parents and the young men had five dollars spending money. The program provided unskilled manual labor in environmental conservation and the development of natural resources in rural lands. CCC camps were located in all of the 48 states and these territories: Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands- St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. Roosevelt chose the Army to supervise the camps which consisted of approx. 200 men each. The Army moved thousands of enrollees from induction centers to working camps in record time. It used its own regular and reserve officers, together with regulars of the Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy to temporarily command camps and companies. Enrollees received good food, uniforms, shelter, and medical care. During the summer of 1933 they lived in tents; later they moved into wooden buildings.

Marty Podskoch is a retired teacher and the author of 11 books: Adirondack Civilian Conservation Corps Camps: Their History, Memories and Legacy of the CCC; Fire Towers of the Catskills: Their History and Lore, Adirondack Fire Towers: Their History and Lore, the Southern Districts; Adirondack Fire Towers: Their History and Lore, the Northern Districts, Adirondack Stories: Historical Sketches; 101 More Adirondack Stories: Historical Sketches; The Adirondack 102 Club: Your Passport & Guide to the North Country. He also writes a weekly column called “Adirondack Stories,” in five Adirondack newspapers. He has written three travel book: The Adirondack 102 Club, The Connecticut 169 Club and the Rhode Island 39 Club.