Men old enough to have served in World War II, may also have
served in the Great Depression-era Emergency Conservation Work program, better
known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). My Dad, Ralph E. Poore, was one of them.
Every state and most communities contain parks or other
projects constructed by young men who served in the CCC.
One of President Roosevelt’s New Deal projects, the CCC began
in 1933 and ended with the beginning of World War II. Under the program, CCC
recruits planted trees, pruned and harvested trees in state, municipal, and
private forests. These young men built recreation areas and beautified picnic,
camp, and park grounds. The young men also constructed shelter belts, fire lanes,
trails and rural roads.
More than 3 million young men joined the CCC and their
records are available to genealogy researchers. You can gather a wealth of
details about your ancestor’s life from his CCC file in the National Archives.
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| Ralph Poore at about the time he served in the CCCs. |
I learned from my Dad’s records, for example, that he lied
to the Mississippi welfare agent who interviewed him as a prospective recruit
for the CCC program. My Dad, not yet 17 at the time and living with his parents
north of Laurel, Miss., told the relief agent that he was almost 19.
The program accepted only young men between the ages of 18
and 28. My Dad may have lied because his parents and siblings needed the money
he could earn—$30 a month, $25 of which was sent home. Recruits retained the
other $5 a month for personal expenses.
Or perhaps the recruiter, taking pity on the Poore family,
simply entered the higher age himself, because my Dad, at 5-foot, 7 ¼-inch,
111-pounds, certainly didn’t look nearly 19. His application also indicated
that he hadn’t participated in activities such as the Red Cross, Boy Scouts or
4-H Club, activities that the recruiters usually looked for in the youth they
offered applications.
My Dad didn’t serve in any of the CCC companies in Jones
County where he lived. CCC officials sent him, like many other young men, to a
camp in another county. He first went to a camp at New Augusta, and later to
one near Citronelle, Ala.
You, too, can discover these kinds of details and more in
your ancestor’s records.
In your CCC research, start by writing the National Archives
and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, Civilian
Personnel Records, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis, MO 63118.
In your letter, explain that you are interested in getting
copies of the records of service with the CCC for your ancestor. Provide his
name, Social Security Number, and birth and death dates. Also list the Federal
Employing Agency, in this case, the CCC.
If you know it, include the CCC’s company number and the
federal or state agency the camp was assigned to. Initials, such as “F” for
Forest Service or “SP” for State Parks, designated the agencies. If you know
the time period your ancestor served, include that as well.
You also need to provide proof of death. A photocopy of a
death certificate will do.
You can expect to receive your ancestor’s Application for
Enrollment that lists a home address, place and date of birth, education,
community activities, last job held, work experience, Record of Service in the
Civilian Conservation Corps, CCC work record, health exam, and discharge
information. In my Dad’s case, these records showed that he had served in more
than one CCC camp, which I hadn’t known before.
You can request a search for photographs by e-mail at
stillpix@nara.gov. Provide the same information as in your request for records.
Be sure to include your mailing address because a report of the results of the
search, which takes two to four weeks, is by regular mail.
You can find out about life at your ancestor’s camp, although
not necessarily specific information about your ancestor, by requesting the CCC
camp inspection records for your ancestor’s particular camp. To get these
records, write to the National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park,
MD 20740-6001.
Provide the same information on your ancestor as in the other record requests.
What you will receive from the National Archives are forms
for ordering copies of the files they find. These forms include a brief
description of what is in the files, the number of pages and an estimate of the
cost of copies. You pay the estimate, but you are billed for the difference if
the cost is greater.
A word of warning—these estimates are notoriously bad. In my
case I received an estimated total of $25. The final bill totaled about twice
that.
These inspection reports include camp commanders’ reports of
the activities of the young men, including work and recreation. Of particular
interest to me were the mess hall’s daily menus that told me my Dad got hearty
meals three times a day. I also learned that the camp inspector found bed bugs
in the bunks and ordered them cleaned.
Other Internet resources you should check include:
