CCC program brings back memories

Susan Davis says she hasn?t heard her father speak that much in years. Her father, Chester Laws, attended a program at the Washington Public Library called ?Dollar-A-Day Boys: A Musical Tribute to the Civilian Conservation Corps,? and was able to share some of his own stories about working in the CCC. Marilyn Crandall also brought her father, Ezra Jones, to the program. She said even though he can?t hear very well due to hearing loss from his military service, he still wanted to attend the program so he could share some of his stories of serving in the CCC as well. Marilyn?s parents met while her father was in the CCC, and presenter Bill Jamerson shared many stories about couples who started due to the Depression-Era program.

Similar to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program, the CCC employed young men who were out of work due to the Great Depression. The program was run under the auspices of the Army, so men were housed in Army-like camps and provided with clothes and food during their service time, but they were still considered civilians. Jones was a cook in the CCC and became a leader in his camp, supervising as many as 20-25 men. Jamerson shared stories about the excellent food provided to the CCC boys, which was much more abundant than it would have been ?back home.? The CCC boys built state parks, roads, telephone lines, and electric lines in Iowa and helped farmers with soil erosion projects. At least one program attendee remembered seeing the camps as a little girl when she was 5 years old.

The 40 attendees at the program enjoyed the stories and music shared by Jamerson, and many stayed after to share their own stories as well. Jamerson comes through Iowa on tour every April, and said that of the handful of programs he?s done in Iowa this year, this is the first one attended by former CCC boys. He spoke with Laws after the program and will be sharing some of those stories in future programs. The Washington Public Library sponsored the presentation as part of their celebration of National Library Week.