Jones Nose loop to Saddle Ball on the CCC Dynamite Trail looking for dynamite!

In March 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt announced the creation of an emergency conservation work program which became known as the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC. Its purpose was to provide employment opportunities for the many young men who were out of work and to improve the forest and recreational resources of the country.

The CCC was a bold and visionary program developed quickly on a large scale. Harold O. Cook, the Chief Forester in Massachusetts, was responsible for laying out the state’s work program. He initially prepared applications for seven camps but was told by Forest Service officials in Washington that Massachusetts was scheduled to have 31 camps.  By July 1933 all 31 Massachusetts camps were in operation, with 6,200 enrollees and approximately 350 supervisors.

CCC camps usually consisted of about 200 enrollees, typically young unemployed men recruited from urban areas, although there were also a few veterans camps. Enrollees were provided with basic accommodations, uniforms and three meals a day. The salary was $30 per month, of which $25 was to be sent home to support their families. Each camp also had a smaller number of locally experienced men or LEMS who served as foremen for the day-to-day work and liaisons with the community. Direction of the camps was divided between a commanding officer, provided by the Army, who oversaw camp operations and logistics, and a camp superintendent, usually someone with forestry experience, who was responsible for overseeing the work program laid out by the Department of Conservation. Initially all work projects were directed by the US Forest Service, but camps with a recreational focus were later placed under the auspices of the National Park Service. Forest Service camps were typically labeled “S” or “SA”, while Park Service camps were designated “SP”. There were also specialized camps to deal with pest eradication which were designated “P”.

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