This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Isham, Evans, Diffee, Davis, Parker, Black, Gibbons Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/HU.2ADI/1605 Message Board Post: My father served in the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930's. He was stationed at Vredenburg and Newton Mississippi. His group number was 479. does anyone have any information on the CCC Camp at Vredenburg and has any of the camp books with the pictures and names of the men who served.

See CCC # 479 History: http://nchgs.org/history/ccc/ Also see: Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni web site at www.cccalumni.org. The Civilian Conservation Corps By Ralph Poore Some Newton County residents 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). 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. CCC Company 479, F-18, located 18 miles from the town of Newton, had its beginnings in Vredenburh, Alabama, in June 1933. The camp moved to Newton County in early December 1934. The letter "F" designation indicates that it was assigned to the Forest Service. According to the 1936 CCC Annual, work began on the camp in January 1935. "Work done up to the rime this is being written [1936] includes: 800 acres planted with 800,000 trees; another plantation of 3,000 acres to be ready for planting by the coming winter with 3,000,000 long leaf pines; 1,884 man days have been expended in fire control; 4 miles of fence constructed and 11 miles partially completed; 12 miles of roads and 29 miles of telephone lines have been built; 7 bridges and approximately 46 miles of fire lanes have been built." The annual also states that "The men of this company have taken advantages of all the educational facilities provided for them. U. H. Hassell is the Educational Adviser. Class attendance has averaged about 90% of the enrolled strength. Tennis, basketball and baseball have been the favorite sports. One baseball championship was won by the Company in 1934. Under the 29 various officers who have been assigned to this camp, many improvements have been made. The camp grounds are now as attractive as you could want; the men have china dishes for the mess; the recreational Hall is lighted with fine reading lamps; a moving picture projecture [sic] has been added to the educational department; a camp newspaper is published, as well as many other improvements." 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. I learned from my Dad's records, for example, that he lied to the Mississippi welfare representative who interviewed him as a prospective recruit for the CCC program. My Dad, not yet 17 at the time, 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 he and his impoverished parents 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. 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. 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 indicated 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 [email protected] 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. To learn more about the history of the CCC program, an excellent Internet source is the online publication by John C. Paige, The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933-1942: An Administrative History, National Park Service, Department of the Interior, 1985. It is located at www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/ccc/index.htm. Another Internet source you should check is the Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni web site at www.cccalumni.org. _____________________________________ About the author: Ralph Poore is a native of Mobile, Alabama, now living in Boise, Idaho. He is currently a medical writer and his career has included stints as a newspaper reporter and editor as well as a media relations manager for a Fortune 500 company. He holds degrees in both journalism and history. He is currently writing a history of his Poore family, who settled in Choctaw County, Mississippi about 1840, and moved to Newton County around 1850. He has many relatives living in the Laurel area Home | Guest Book | Membership | Meetings | Officers | Announcements | Query Board 02/26/2006 12:22:34 PM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 10:20 PM Subject: [ALMONROE-L] CCC Camp This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Isham, Evans, Diffee, Davis, Parker, Black, Gibbons Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/HU.2ADI/1605 Message Board Post: My father served in the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930's. He was stationed at Vredenburg and Newton Mississippi. His group number was 479. does anyone have any information on the CCC Camp at Vredenburg and has any of the camp books with the pictures and names of the men who served. ==== ALMONROE Mailing List ==== -- ---------------------------------------- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 255 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now!