CCC

I welcome the opportunity to extend a greeting to the men who constitute the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is my belief that what is being accomplished will conserve our national resources, create future national wealth and prove of moral and spiritual value, not only to those of you who are taking part, but to the rest of the country as well.

You young men who are enrolled in this work are to be congratulated. It is my honest conviction that what you are doing in the way of constructive service will bring you, personally and individually, returns the value of which it is difficult to estimate.

Physically fit, as demonstrated by the examinations you took before entering the camps, the clean life and hard work, in which you are engaged, cannot fail to help your physical condition. You should emerge from this experience, strong and rugged and ready for entrance into the ranks of industry, better equipped than before.

I want to congratulate you on the opportunity you have, and to extend to you my appreciation for the hearty cooperation which you have given this movement, so vital a step in the nation’s fight for progress, and to wish you a pleasant, wholesome and constructive stay in the CCC.

"THE ADMIRATION OF THE ENTIRE COUNTRY"

Excerpts from a message from the President of the United States to members of the CCC read over NBC network at 7:30 p. m., Friday, April 17, 1936:

To THE million and a half young men and war veterans who have been, or are today, enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps Camps, I extend greeting on this third anniversary of the establishment of the first CCC Camp.

Idle through no fault of your own, you were enrolled from city and rural homes and offered an opportunity to engage in healthful, outdoor work on forest, park and soil conservation projects of definite practical value to all the people of the nation. The promptness with which you seized the opportunity to engage in honest work, the willingness with which you have performed your daily tasks and the fine spirit you have shown in winning the respect of the communities in which your camps have been located, merits the admiration of the entire country. You, and the men who have guided and supervised your efforts, have cause to be proud of the record the CCC has made in the development of sturdy manhood and in the initiation and prosecution of a conservation program of unprecedented proportions.

Since the Corps began some 1,150,000 of you have been graduated, improved in health, self-disciplined, alert and eager for the opportunity to make good in any kind of honest employment. Our records show that the results achieved in the protection and improvement of our timbered domain, in the arrest of soil wastage, in the development of needed recreational areas, in wild life conservation and in flood control have been as impressive as the results achieved in the rehabilitation of youth. Through your spirit and industry it has been demonstrated that young men can be put to work In our forests, parks, and fields on projects which benefit both the nation's youth and conservation generally.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

President of the United States

The United States was gripped in the throws of no work and very little food for many families. President F. D. Roosevelt as one of his actions created the Civilian Conservation Corps (later named) to aid with this problem. Young men from every walk of life were allowed to enlist to work in national forests and provide a myriad of services in tough times. Of the total number of enlistees 10% were to be Black shadowing the population numbers of the day. One of the outstanding companies was 517/C who were stationed in three different locations in the State of Indiana as the years went by. As an all Black Company theirs was an example of effort and education that was hard to match by any other Black Company. While other companies had racial troubles the 517 forged ahead from forestry work to land reclamation with its last base being in Jay County Indiana in an all White town by the name of Portland. Work, Education, Recreation were all part of this company’s accomplishments with the majority of its members going on to serve their country and become valued members of society in peace time. We will show their home, their education efforts and the “FUN” that was had by its members. The pictures shown have come from the members themselves who after many years had gone by, continued to return to Jay County at its Fair Grounds for their reunions. The Fair grounds was the original site of the CCC Camp here in Portland In. Please see the following pages for additional information.

IF YOU HAVE MORE INFORMATION OR PICTURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE 517/C PLEASE CONTACT US AS WE WOULD ENJOY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH OTHERS.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was organized in March and April 1933. On March 31 1933, Congress passed the law which created what is known as the Emergency Conservation Work Program. President Roosevelt in his message to Congress asking for this particular legislation spoke of the proposed program as the Civilian Conservation Corps and due to this fact, this name has remained with the program since that date and is more properly known as the CCC. The purpose of the Civilian Conservation Corps was to relieve wide-spread unemployment existing among the youth of the nation and at the same time to provide a program to restore the nation’s natural resources.

Early in April 1933, Mr. Robert Fechner was appointed Director of the CCC and the first enrollment was begun.

On May 11, 1933 three CCC Companies were established in the State of Indiana. These were Company 514, located in the Clark County State Forrest near Henryville Indiana and Companies 515 and 516, located in the Morgan Monroe State Forrest near Martinsville Indiana. These Companies were organized at a conditioning center at Fort Knox, Kentucky and were transferred to these sites. During the next few weeks several other camp sites were established in the state and the organization of other companies began. From this humble beginning of three companies the number rose to 57 companies in the state of Indiana at one time.

During these early days of organization and selection of camp sites the responsibility of administration of the Indiana camps was vested in Headquarters Indiana Military Area, Indianapolis Indiana. The first district organization was commanded by Lt. Col. Warner W. Carr, Infantry. On or about June 8^th 1933, the Corps Area Commander who was in charge of all CCC affairs in the Fifth Corps issued an order placed all CCC work Camps in Indiana under the command of the Post Commander Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. At this time Brigadier General George H Jamerson, USA , Commanding General of Fort Benjamin Harrison assumed command. On December 1,1933, the camp of Indiana were grouped into what was known as the Fort Benjamin Harrison District CCC, which was organized into four districts for the purpose of coordinating command. These were known as the District of Northern Indiana with Headquarters at Camp S-58, Medaryville Indiana the District of Central Indiana with Headquarters at Camp SP-4 Spencer Indiana, the District of Eastern Indiana with Headquarters at Camp SP-6 Madison Indiana and the District of Western Indiana with Headquarters at Camp E-63, Jasper Indiana.

At this time there were 31 camps already established, with several others being built and cadres being formed for new companies. In the early part of December 1933, Brigadier General William K. Naylor, USA. assumed command of Fort Benjamin Harrison Indiana and the Fort Benjamin Harrison CCC.

General Naylor was always very enthusiastic about the CCC program and under his guidance the district soon became known as one of the best in the United States. In April 1935 the title of “District” was changed to “Sector”. At this time the state was divided into five sectors namely Cromwell Sector, Spencer Sector, Madison Sector, Mitchell Sector and Fort Benjamin Harrison Sector, the name being derived from the town of its location. In the early months of 1937 when the great flood struck its blow in the heart of the Ohio-Mississippi valley the CCC Camps in Indiana and Kentucky were sent to the aid of those sections suffering most from the flood. The exemplary record made by the personnel of this district in this situation will always be outstanding in the history of these two states.

One would make the hole. The second would drop in a sapling. The third would tamp the ground back into shape. Tree after tree after tree.

And the young men who planted them are senior citizens who scan through group photographs in scrapbooks and identify friends lost to the passing of time.

“It’s amazing” said Frank Wilson of Muncie this week. “Those trees are 40 or 50 feet high now. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Those guys who have never been back will be really shocked”.

Wilson 78 will join an estimated 75 veterans of Indiana’s black Civilian Conservation Corps companies Sunday for a reunion at Wyandotte Woods State Recreation Area a state facility near Corydon, which they built with their own hands.

Created as a public works program by President Franklin Roosevelt in the Great depression, the CCC eventually had 56 separate companies in the state of Indiana. They worked on a variety of conservation-related projects; reducing soil erosion, rebuilding drainage systems, and planting trees.

Of those 56, eight were for African-Americans only, in keeping with the segregationist policies of the time.

The largest and longest lasting was Company 517, which worked on projects in Corydon, South Bend and Portland. The group was disbanded in 1941 on the eve of World War II, and the Portland camp near the Jay County Fairgrounds was abandoned. But for about 15 years the veterans of 517 gathered here for a reunion, to trade old stories and share photos of their children and grandchildren.

Much the same is planned of Sunday’s reunion at Wyandotte Woods, where the low-key agenda calls for conversation, games of horseshoes and checkers, and tours of the park that Company 517 built.

For the men of 517 and their counterparts in other units, the CCC was a life-shaping experience, something, which lifted them up, offered them opportunity, taught them skills, and gave them a foundation to build a life upon.

Born and raised in Indianapolis he dropped out of school after the eighth grade. The truant officer, he recalled didn’t even bother to come looking for him. He was just another black kid headed for the streets.

But with the economy in disarray in the early years of the Great Depression, Roosevelt pushed through Congress a number of job creating programs, the most successful of which was the CCC sometimes nicknamed “Roosevelt’s Tree Army”.

For young Frank Wilson, it represented a lifeline, a chance for a better life, and he reached out for it. In fact, he reached for it before he was even eligible. He applied when he was 16, though the age limit was 18. A year later using his older brothers birth date when he filled out the forms, he made it in though he was still a year to young.

“A lot of guys came in at 15 and 16” Wilson said. “It was supposed to be something to help the young man, but it was really helping the house too”

That’s because CCC rules required that most of a CCC members pay be sent home. The pay wasn’t much by today’s standards -- $30 a month – but $25 of that was sent home to neighborhoods desperate for income. “That was a lot of money in those days” Wilson said.

The other $5 stayed with the young CCC member. “Times were so tough that we felt like we were rich after we got in the CCC”. Said Wilson. “And we had fun working”

Wilson joined the CCC in 1934 and was sent along with the rest of Company 517 to Fort Knox, Ky., for training. Thirty days later, the company was moved to a camp near Corydon, where CCC members would work on projects in the Harrison-Crawford State Forest in what is now Wyandotte Woods State Recreation Area.

CCC members graded roads, built stonewalls, planted stands of trees, and constructed a number of buildings, including the shelter house which will be the focus of Sundays reunion.

“That shelter house looks just like it did when we left” Wilson said. “That was really some outfit”

When the Ohio River flooded in 1937. Company 517 joined in relief efforts of low-lying areas and setting up shelters.

When he had filled out some application forms he listed that he had taken a cooking class in the eighth grade. It was good enough to move him into the kitchen.

Becoming a cook offered several advantages. Wilson received special training at Fort Benjamin Harrison. “I could take a hind quarter and cut out any kind of steak ” he said. He received a little extra pay that he could hang onto. And designated as a leader, he was allowed to stay in the CCC longer than usual. In fact he was able to stay with Company 517 throughout its life.

From southern Indiana the company was moved to South Bend where it was stationed for 2 years.

Then in 1939, CCC orders sent Company 517 to Portland In. “I often wondered how they determined where we would go Wilson said.

Did the arrival of some 250 young black men in a nearly all-white community pose problems? Wilson believes they were minimal. “There were 250 of us after all. It was an all black unit. And It worried a lot of the towns we went into” he said. “But it was a good bunch of fellows and I think we had the best reception of all in Portland”

Company 515 set up camp near the Jay County Fairgrounds and set to work on a variety of projects. “We did soil erosion work, ditching, and planting trees” Wilson recalled

CCC crews rebuilt Headwalls in drainage ditches. Fencerows were rebuilt, and ditches were cleaned.

At the end of the day Wilson said there was time for a shower and maybe a game of pool in the camps recreation hall before lights out. And there was also time for education. Tindolph Cooke a graduate of Tuskegee Institute was education advisor for Company 517 and helped numerous young men complete their high school education, including Frank Wilson who received the equivalent of his GED while in the CCC.

Other names pop up from Company 517’s past. F.A. Taylor, a first lieutenant in the infantry reserves, was the company commander. F.M.Poole was the project superintendent. And a tough taskmaster by the name of H.M. Brown directed much of the work.

“The guys hated him” Wilson said of Brown, ”but he taught them how to work”.

Off-work hours also provided time for ball games and boxing. Wilson—under the nickname “Technick” –boxed Golden Gloves while in Company 517, back in the era when segregation forced the use of separate rings for black and white boxers.

By 1941, the mission of the CCC had become less vital to the nation. The Great Depression had begun to ease its grip and war loomed on the horizon. That year, Company 517 was disbanded.

Though there are no records of how many trees were planted or how many miles of ditch work was done in the Portland Area the national figures are staggering.

When the CCC was disbanded, it had built 3,470 fire towers and 97,000 miles of road. Erosion work was done which protected more than 20 million acres. More than 2.3 billion trees were planted. More than 4 million man-days were devoted to fighting fires.

On top of all that, it transformed the lives of the young men, black and white who had been the heart and soul of the CCC.

Frank Wilson, who had been a dropout before “the C’s” considered college briefly before settling in Muncie Indiana where he worked for 25 years for NCR. After his first retirement he joined Marhofer working for several more years until the Muncie operation closed. Then still reflecting the work ethic developed during the CCC years, he took another job working as a courier for American National bank.

And while working as a bank courier, he launched his own business, Wilson’s Flagpoles and Flag Company,

Along the way, he and his wife raised a son and daughter. The son is now a physician and the daughter a special education teacher. Both reside in southern California.

About the time he turned 70 Wilson felt the call to the ministry. He preached his first sermon just weeks after his 70^th birthday.

His story and the impact of the CCC on his life are typical of the many members of Company 517 Wilson said.

Members of 517 went on to become successful businessmen, civic leaders clergymen and educators.

“I’ve had a real good life and it all stems from the CCC Camp” said Wilson. “That was a good life for young men who were just on the streets when we started.

The above article taken from the October 7, 1944 Commercial Review with their permission

In Late July of 1945 it was announced in local papers that approximately 600 men would be billeted in Eaton to help with the harvest of tomatoes and work in canning factories in the area. This announcement (July 28, 1945) preceded the actual work of setting up the Camp which was done by Trustees (German POW’s) from Windfall, IN.

The first use of POW labor was the year before (1944) when 10 to 12 men were sent from the Windfall Camp to work for The Butterfield Canning Company. As this arrangement worked out so well, application

was made thru the Indiana Canners Association to establish a Camp in Eaton for the following canning season.

A land area of 17 acres was set aside for a camp area by Butterfield’s NE of the factory.

A ten foot barbed wire fence was erected around the camp with guard towers being erected at the North East and South West corners. The towers were small large enough for only one guard but they did mount a machine gun which could cover the field area. The prisoners as well as the military were billeted in five man canvas tents.

In addition a latrine, a small store and library were provided for the POW’s The prisoners were paid for each days work (80cents) and had the ability to spend the script that they were paid with in their small store. Due to the fear of escape the POW’s were not paid in currency. Only one individual escaped from the camp but returned a few days later on his own. When questioned as to his whereabouts while gone he stated that he had stayed with a woman in an adjoining town.

The men housed at the Eaton Camp were for the most part conscripted men who averaged 17-25 years of age. Several men were in their sixties and one youth only seventeen. He had been a paratrooper and had served since the age of 12.

The Camp was commanded by 1^st Lt. Lawrence J. Androit Jr. 1^st Lt. William J Offerlie served as Executive officer.

American enlisted guard strength was listed at 44. The seventh of September saw the addition of 100 German Officers. They were part of a new group of 1200 captured officers and included some Luftwaffe pilots.

Workers were provided for area canning factories in a 50 mile radius. Workers were transported each day to work-in the plants. Portland In (Naas Canning) received the larger share of workers and only 12 were sent to Geneva In (Luftwaffe personal)

The Provost Marshal General’s office (records group 389) POW Information Bureau list condition reports as well as inspections and general administrative papers.

The Camp existed until November 1, 1945 when it was disbanded due to the lack of workers needed and the winter weather. Remnants of the camp existed until 1976/77 when the last pieces were disposed.