Civilian Conservation Corp Veterans Project oral history collection

The Civilian Conservation Corp was a public work relief program under President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal program. Established in 1933, the CCC provided employment to unemployed, unmarried men aged 18-25 through conservation and natural resources development work. Enlistees were employed on rural lands owned by Federal, State, and Local Governments. The camps were run by reserve officers of the U.S. Army. The program ended in 1942, following the entrance of the United States into World War II the previous year.

Maryland had an average of 21 CCC camps over the nine years the program was in existence. Over 30,000 men were employed at camp sites across the state, primarily in Western Maryland. Work included reclaiming forests, fighting forest fires, restoring historic structures, and building trails, campsites and cabins.

The interviews conducted for this project were with men who attended a reunion of CCC Veterans sponsored by the Maryland Forest and Park Services in the Department of Natural Resources. Most worked in Maryland CCC camps; at the time the interviews were conducted, all of the interviewees were residents of Maryland. The majority of the interviewees were enrollees in the CCC. A few of the interviews are with LEM's (Local Experienced Men), who were employed in supervisory positions, providing knowledge of the conservation work and guidance to the enrollees. There are also interviews with camp staff members including Foresters, U.S. Army and Navy servicemen, an Education Advisor, and a Soil Conservation Engineer.