CCC in Acadia n.P. History THE CCC IN ACADIA Jack Russell Il friends of Acadia National Park A revere Charles W. Eliot, George B. Dorr, and John D. Rockefeller Jr., the visionary founders of the heritage we serve today. In 2008, all who love Acadia also honor thousands of young men mustered from across Maine to work in the park and the sur- rounding communities as the Civilian Conservation Corps, whose 75th anniversary is observed this year. The park still benefits from the good works of those who came here in hard times to serve family, commu- nity, and nation. When Franklin Roosevelt became presi- dent in March of 1933, America had endured nearly four years of the Great Depression. Thirteen million were unemployed, a quar- ter of the national workforce. Throughout Maine, families suffered as towns struggled to provide relief. In mills from Biddeford to Millinocket, at the Bath ship yard, and in can- neries along the coast, workers lost jobs or took deep pay cuts. The County suffered most: St. John Valley potatoes sold for half their pre-WWI price if they sold at all; pay and jobs in the woods fell. Towns took farm produce and firewood as payment for taxes "Early Mess," an oil painting by Hugh Hegh, depicts a typical Civilian Conservation Corps breakfast at the McFarland Mountain camp. and gave them to their destitute. Hard times had also come to our own island. By 1933, more than 700 unemployed projects overseen primarily by the U.S. Forest owned property just south of Long Pond. (A men from Bar Harbor alone had registered Service and National Park Service (NPS). third camp was established near Ellsworth their need for work. Enrollees earned $30 a month of which $25 in June.) FDR acted swiftly on many fronts to pro- was sent home to their families. The letter of During the next nine years, thousands of vide relief and inspire hope. Of all the New one Maine mother speaks for most parents young men came to these camps for six Deal proposals passed by Congress during with a boy in the CCs: "If you didn't send months or more to work, learn, and grow. the Hundred Days, none helped families as home $25 a month, we couldn't get by." Most were sons of Maine farmers, woodsmen, quickly nor changed the American landscape Superintendent George B. Dorr, ever polit- mill workers, and quarrymen. Some were as deeply as the Civilian Conservation Corps ically-agile, quickly brought the CCC to high school graduates, more were not. Some (CCC), enacted on March 31, 1933. Acadia. By Memorial Day, when Mr. Dorr had labored in fields and woods but few came The "CCs," as it was fondly called by hosted Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes with employable skills, SO they were eager enrollees, gave jobless young men new skills, and National Park Service Director Horace to learn. As the superintendent of the basic education, and healthy bodies through Albright at Old Farm, two CCC camps were MacFarland camp said, "They eat, sleep, employment in conservation work. Men 18- under construction on Mount Desert Island. work, and think as any other healthy Maine- 25 years old from families in need could The first was on MacFarland Mountain at the raised boys do and they are just as interest- enroll for periods of six months. They went current site of park headquarters on Eagle ed in their homes and families as you would to CCC camps run by the army to perform Lake Road. The second occupied privately- expect any Maine man to be." Dorr would 12 Summer tall 2008 Friends of Acadia Journal write that they "furnished the park with all baseball, hockey, basketball, boxing, plays, the labor it has had, road construction apart "A family visiting Acadia today and, most important of all, dances. A few and have enabled it to carry on, uninter- CCCers married island women and stayed. rupted, important work." might camp at Blackwoods, When other New Deal programs employed The important work of the CCC enrollees greet the sun with a walk along island men with quarry and road-building endures throughout Acadia. In 1933, once the Ocean Drive, and enjoy the skills, they occasionally taught CCC boys, as they built their year-round camps, they cleared did the local hands of the Rockefeller road brush and deadfall for fire control. But from mid-morning views from crews, when their work converged with CCC 1934 on, the CCC men maintained and Beech Cliff every step of projects, as they did on the Ocean Drive dur- improved the established trails within the park ing 1933-1937. and built new ones. Their labor built most of their passage through Acadia The CCC work still serves. A family visit- the trails in the rapidly expanding "park exten- would have been opened for ing Acadia today might camp at Blackwoods, sion" on the western side of MDI. CCCers them a long lifetime ago by the greet the sun with a walk along the Ocean made many short connector paths to the Park Drive, and enjoy the mid-morning views LoopRoad and the growing system of carriage CCs." from Beech Cliff. After a swim at Echo Lake roads steadily advanced by Rockefeller crews. they could take the Lurvey Spring fire road over to Long Pond for a walk up the west- ern side and a picnic on the rocks, followed by a hike up the Perpendicular Trail to admire the beautiful stone step work. Their good day might end at sunset beneath the century evergreens of Pretty Marsh. Every step of their passage through Acadia would have been opened for them a long lifetime ago by the CCs. The CCC ended in 1942 with national mobilization for World War II. Three million young men had enrolled in the CCC. More than 90 percent of them served in the war, fully a sixth of all those in uniform. After the war, these men and the families and com- munities they had served were champions for conservation. Fifty years after he worked in Acadia, Charles Arnold of York could say, "It was the best thing that ever happened to me!" Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps at work In 2008, we can say that the Civilian and at play during their time in Acadia. Photos Conservation Corps was one of the best courtesy National Park Service. things that ever happened to Acadia. Some 14 truck trails for fire and recreational design standards and, from 1935 on, were access were built by the boys. They con- conducted under the careful supervision of JACK RUSSELL and his wife, Sandy Wilcox, structed campgrounds and picnic areas, built park landscape architects. live at the north end of Echo Lake. When not 27 toot bridges, and planted thousands of The surrounding communities welcomed volunteering on Acadia's trails, he flies away trees and shrubs to help reclaim areas tem- the CCC boys. They donated furniture and to advise regional economic development porarily disturbed by road and trail develop- books for the camps. (Atwater Kent provid- organizations on strategic planning and polit- ment. All of their projects met established NPS ed a top-of-the-line radio.) Towns hosted ical communication. Friends of Acadia Journal Summer Fall 2008 13 9/9/2015 MF 120 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Acadia National Park I Maine Folklife Center I University of Maine THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE 9/11/15 Collections - MF 120 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Acadia National Park MF 120 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Acadia National Park Number of accessions: 29 Dates when interviews were conducted: summer 2000 and 2001 Time period covered: 1934-1947 Principal interviewers: Anu Dudley, James Moreira, Pamela Dean Finding aides: indexes, transcripts Access restrictions: none Description: A series of interviews conducted by MFC staff with men who were enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corp. in the 1930s and served at one of the three camps run by ANP-the Eagle Lake or Bar Harbor camp (on the site of the current park headquarters), the Long Pond or Southwest Harbor camp (off Clark Point Road); and the Ellsworth camp (on the Buttermilk Road). Also included are interviews with women who married men from the camps and other local residents who remember the camps. Included are 226 photographs (P 8475-P 8701). 2624 Simon Caswell, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 16, 2000 and September 5, 2000. Caswell talks about his experiences in the CCC at Bar Harbor or Eagle Lake camp in Acadia National Park in 1940: camp life; work projects; crew structure; recreation; camp and town connections. Text: 42, 39 pp. transcript, 2 four pp. indexes. Recordings: C 1905 , C1906 3 hours. 2625 Wesley Gray, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 16, 2000 at Gray's home in Orono, Maine. Gray talks about his experiences in the CCC at Southwest Harbor camp in Acadia National Park and Camden Hill camp, 1939-41: family background; camp life, work projects and crew structure, recreation, camp and town connections. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 4 pp. index. Recordings: C 1907 90 minutes. 2626 Ron Doughty, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 22, 2000, August 28, 2000, and June, 26 2001. Doughty talks about his experiences in the CCC in Acadia National Park: camp life; work projects and crew structure; recreation; camp and town connections. Text: 203 pp. transcript, 5 pp. index. Recordings: C 1908, C 1909, C 1940, C 1941 7 hours. 2627 Merrill Morang, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 22, 2000 at his home in Rockland. Morang, born in Lubec in 1918, talks about his experiences in the CCC in Acadia National Park: the effect of the Depression; CCC application process; first impressions of life in the CCC; description of camp accommodations; daily routine; camp structure; work crews; worked cleaning brush, making fire breaks, building roads, and fire fighting; education and training; camp and town connections; lasting impressions. Text: 59 pp. transcript, 3 pp. index. Recordings: C 1910 90 minutes. 2638 Linwood Robshaw, interviewed by James Moreira at Robshaw's home in Orland, Maine, August 17, 2000, October 13, 2000 and June 3, 2002. Robshaw talks about his work at the Bar Harbor or Eagle Lake camp of CCC from 1937 to 1940 as carpenter and wood worker: family background; camp life; relations http://umaine.edu/folklife/archives/collections/mf-120-civilian-conservation-corps-ccc-in-acadia-national-pari 1/5 9/9/2015 MF 120 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Acadia National Park I Maine Folklife Center I University of Maine with officers; work in carpentry shop; boxing; framing for concrete dam; carving signs; building and shingling Thunder Hole comfort station; high school shop training; wood working tools and techniques; supervisor; boatbuilding; education program at camp; wartime service; postwar service in Germany; work at Bucksport paper mill. Text: 87 pp. partial transcript. Recordings: C 1921, 1924, 1925, 1985. Photos: P 12923 - P 13030. "Content Report of Linwood Robshaw's Photo Album": 9 pp. 2639 Arthur Studer, interviewed by James Moreira on August 30, 2000 in Studer's home in Mariaville, Maine. Studer talks about his experiences in the CCC at Gov. Brann camp in Ellsworth: family background; work as electrician and truck driver before joining CCC; camp life; work as truck driver; town-camp relations. Also present is E. Studer, relationship and first name not identified. Text: 60 pp. transcript, 6 pp. tape log. Recordings: C 1922 90 minutes. 2640 Lester Hartford, interviewed by James Moreira, August 18, 2000 and August 30, 2001, at Hartford's home in Beach Hill, Mount Desert Island. In the 1st interview, Hartford talks about growing up in Leeds; family background; the Depression; applying for the CCC; being assigned to Southwest Harbor; adjusting to Army rule; memorabilia from the time; his first of assignments; becoming a carpenter; becoming leader of a crew; carpentry; Leaders Club; Beech Cliff Trail project; boss Pin Lurvy; forester Ben Worcester; carpenter forester Jess Atwood; barracks; camp food. In the 2nd interview, Hartford talks about the process of joining the CCC; first days in the CCC; Beech Cliff Trail project; Ladder Trail project; bos'n's chairs; cleaning up Beach Mountain; carpentry; Atwood; uniforms; troublemakers; Henry Hinkley's/Manset boat shop; his career; photographs. Text: 31 pp. and 71 pp. transcripts (.docx and .rtf), 3 pp. log for C 1923. Recording: C 1923 45 minutes, C 1957 85 minutes. 2641 Walter Woods, interviewed by James Moreira on August 17, 2000 at Southwest Harbor, Maine. Woods talks about his experiences in the CCC at Southwest Harbor camp: family and work background; camp life; officers; boxing; clearing brush. Text: 48 pp. transcript (RTF and .docx), 4 pp. tape log (Note: on the printed version incorrectly labeled cassette in both header and body. Header not continued through the whole document.) Recording: C 1939 80 minutes. 2644 This accession contains scanned copies of The Acadian a newsletter put out by the CCC. Issues included are 7/4, 7/18, 8/19, and 11/27 from 1934 and 1/11, 1/31, 2/20, 3/14, 4/5, 4/19, 5/10, 5/29, and 6/17 from 1935. Text: PDF and TIFF scans of 13 editions of The Acadian. 2646 John Parsons, interviewed by James Moreira, February 23, 2001. Parsons talks about his experiences in the CCC in Acadia National Park. Also included: 12 pp. photocopied documents (missing), 108 photographs. Text: 46 pp. transcript (.rtf and docx) (Note: printed version 55 pp., NA number in header incorrect, and in header and body it says tape instead of cassette tape.) Recordings: C 1927 - C 1928. Photos: P 12805 - P 12922. 2647 Myron Zimmerman, interviewed by James Moreira on February 27, 2001 at his home on Bailey Island in Maine about his experiences in the CCC on Mount Desert Island. Text: C 1929 44 pp., C 1930 22 pp. transcript (66 total for the interview). Recordings: C 1929, C 1930. 2650 Francis Laverdier, interviewed by Anu Dudley on June 21, 2001 in his home in Waterville, Maine. Laverdier talks about his experiences in the CCC in Acadia National Park: family background; working as caddy at country club; father was a barber; helped father with construction projects; Works Progress Administration (renamed during 1939 as the Works Project Administration (WPA); road repair work; daily life in camp; work clearing brush; building trails, building log cabins on Long Pond; winter carnival in Bar Harbor; relations with town. Text: 28 pp. transcript, 6 pp. index. Recording: C 1931 88 minutes. 2651 Lurline Tuttle, interviewed by Pamela Dean, May 2, 2001 and July 26, 2001 at Tuttle's home in http://umaine.edu/folklife/archives/collections/mf-120-civilian-conservation-corps-ccc-in-acadia-national-park 2/5 9/9/2015 MF 120 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Acadia National Park Maine Folklife Center University of Maine Southwest Harbor, Maine. Tuttle talks about her family's interaction with the men in the CCC camp, which was just down the road from her home; her marriage to a man she met there; family background; brothers who hung out at the camp; men from the camp visited in her home; played cards, music, board games; entertainment's at camp she attended; getting rides to school with men from camp; mother did laundry for camp officers. Text: C 1932 35 pp. transcript, C 1945 34 pp. transcript. (Note: printed C 1945 is 37 pages.) Recordings: C 1932 76 minutes, C 1945 66 minutes. 2652 Thomas A. Desjardins, interviewed by Anu Dudley, June 25 and July 2, 2001, Lewiston, Maine. Desjardins discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; impact of the Depression on his family; joining the CCC in 1938; initial impressions of the Bar Harbor camp; hitchhiking home and back; barracks; trunks and storage space; cleaning and organizing the barracks; smokers; laundry; daily routine; meals; influence of military rules; educational opportunities; crew assignments; life guard training and duty; jobs he worked on; brush clearing; work in Otter Cove; finding a shell mound; surveying; painting gypsy moth eggs; building a comfort station at Sieur de Monts spring; later applicability of knowledge he gained in CCC; leisure activities; learning leatherworking; camp library; unfriendly attitude of local people and summer residents; leaving the CCC; and joining the Army in 1940. Text: 46 & 43 pp. transcript, plus first copy edited by Desjardins. (Note: paper copy is 51 & 47 pages respectively.) Recording: C 1933, C 1934 3 hours. 2653 Rene Provencher, interviewed by Anu Dudley, June 28, 2001, Biddeford, Maine. Provencher discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; his early life; joining the CCC in 1940; getting home to visit; camp buildings; daily routine; meals; military structure; uniforms; tension between Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor camps; projects he worked on; locations of work sites; firefighting; life lessons from the CCC; recreation; leaving the CCC; later jobs; practical jokes. Text: 48 pp. transcript, printed is 54 pp. transcript (Note: also some errors corrected by hand on printed pages). Recording: C 1935 79 minutes. 2654 Russell Olson, interviewed by Anu Dudley on June 28, 2001, North Windham, Maine. Olson discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; joining the CCC in 1937; arrival in Southwest Harbor; visiting home; barracks; pay grades; daily routine; basketball; meals; military structure; building campsites; surveying; educational opportunities at camp; and tension between CCC boys and local residents. Text: 33 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1936 90 minutes. 2655 John McLeod, interviewed by Anu Dudley on June 27, 2001, Portland, Maine. McLeod talks about the CCC in Acadia National Park; joining the CCC in October 1940; arrival in Camden; barracks; memorabilia and photos; job details; daily routine; meals; uniforms; command structure; duties in Camden; transfer to Bar Harbor; working as an orderly; beautifying Camden State Park; educational opportunities in the CCC; baseball and basketball teams; recreational opportunities in town; reading material in camp; and more photos. Text: 60 pp. transcript (C 1937 only). Recordings: C 1937, C 1941 / CD 2046, CD 2551. 2656 Harvey Ober, interviewed by Anu Dudley on July 18, 2001, at his home in Gouldsboro, Maine. Ober discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; impact of the Depression on his family; revolting over lack of food due to a dishonest mess chief; arrival in Bar Harbor in 1936; difficulty of hitchhiking in CCC uniform; camp pranks; working for the National Park Service; spraying to prevent pine blister rust; brush clearing; various jobs he did in the CCC; surveying and its benefit to him after the CCC; a leather wallet he made at camp; meeting his future wife; interactions with local people; his later jobs. Text: 41 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1942 65 minutes. 2657 Harris McLean, interviewed by Anu Dudley, July 18, 2001, Sullivan, Maine. McLean talks about the CCC in Acadia National Park; arrival of CCC [McLean's timeline changes through interview]; Rockefeller's involvement in Bar Harbor; CCC boys' interaction with the community; relationships between CCC boys and local girls; CCC as work welfare. Text: 17 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1943 36 minutes. http://umaine.edu/folklife/archives/collections/mf-120-civilian-conservation-corps-ccc-in-acadia-national-park 3/5 9/9/2015 MF 120 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Acadia National Park I Maine Folklife Center I University of Maine 2658 Vernon Wardwell, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 1, 2001, Bucksport, Maine. Wardwell discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; leaving home to work as a farmhand at 14; applying to the CCC in October 1938; military structure of the camp; expense of smoking; hitchhiking home to visit his mother; Franco-Americans in the CCC; boys who went to high school while in the CCC; daily routine; commissary; souvenir pillow cover he bought his mother; seniority and earning stripes; camp officials; carpentry projects; hip roof buildings; CCC classes; going into town; camp recreation; WWII service in the Marines; postwar jobs; benefits of the CCC. Text: 64 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1944 90 minutes. 2659 Ken Farrar, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 2, 2001, Bangor, Maine. Farrar discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; his childhood; ride from Bangor to Bar Harbor; camp barracks; firefighting; uniforms; carpentry work; social activities in town; camp baseball team; hitchhiking to Brockton, Mass., to work; his postwar photography career; 1990s CCC reunion. Text: 31 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1946 65 minutes. 2660 Webster Fox, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 8, 2001, Oakland, Maine. Fox discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; applying to the CCC; initial impressions of the camp in 1934; his daily routine; bad food due to a dishonest captain; military structure of camps; hauling gravel up Cadillac Mountain; improving roads; truck inspections; limited social activities; leaving the CCC after four months; driving a milk route; hauling logs; late Depression making hauling unprofitable; working as a welder 1940-45; vocational training after losing his leg; working as a vehicle mechanic; the value of the CCC. Text: 57 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1947 68 minutes. 2661 Ulysses "Ted" Morin, interviewed by James Moreira, August 9, 2001, East Hartford, Connecticut. Morin, with occasional comments from his wife, talks about the CCC in Acadia National Park; hardship during the Depression; working for farmers in the mid 1930s; moving to town during the winter to be closer to school; his mother hosting parties with chicken stew to earn money; entering the CCC in January 1937; road work for the CCC in Ellsworth; placing granite boulders on Cadillac Mountain; construction of roads in the woods; firefighting in Bar Harbor; jobs he did in Bar Harbor; use of the tractor; clearing brush; recreation; interaction with locals; his later careers; brief military experience in 1943; describes CCC camp photos; the house his mother bought with his CCC money; CCC reunion photos; 1990s newspaper articles about the CCC. Text: 91 pp. transcript. Recordings: C 1948, C 1949 132 minutes. 2662 Damien Blanchette, interviewed by James Moreira, August 13, 2001, Fort Kent, Maine. Blanchette discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; his childhood in Stockholm, Maine in the 1920s and 30s; receiving military surplus; applying to the CCC; CCC boot camp; accommodations at Southwest Harbor camp; wages; earning extra money by ironing; KP (kitchen police or patrol) duty; jobs related to building roads; CCC educational courses; using dynamite in road work; recreational activities, particularly music; transfer to Camden; working in the dispensary and as ambulance driver; serving as staff driver for the regional commander of CCC; jobs done in Camden; survey of photographs of the Camden and Southwest Harbor camps; Christmas Day menu; 1940 Camden roster; leaving the CCC when he got a job; joining the Navy when US entered WWII; career as a Navy baker; serving on ships around Bikini Atoll during atomic bomb tests. Text: 83 pp. transcript. Recordings: C 1950, C 1951 146 minutes. 2663 Roy Doak, interviewed by James Moreira, August 14, 2001, at the home of Roy Doak in Caribou, Maine. Doak talks about the CCC in Acadia National Park; applying to the CCC for lack of other work; camp accommodations and buildings; daily routine; building a sewer line; carpentry; working at the dispensary; the camp baseball team; leaving the CCC for the Army; interactions with local residents; dwindling number of CCC workers 1940-41; domestic military service 1942-1945; CCC experience easing adaptation to military life; awareness of nature he developed in Acadia. Text: 25 pp. transcript. Recordings: C 1952 62 minutes. http://umaine.edu/folklife/archives/collections/mf-120-civilian-conservation-corps-ccc-in-acadia-national-park 4/5 9/9/2015 MF 120 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Acadia National Park I Maine Folklife Center I University of Maine 2664 Eleanor Raynes, interviewed by Anu Dudley, August 14, 2001, at the home of Eleanor Raynes in Bar Harbor, Maine. Raynes discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; growing up during the Depression, CCC boys in Bar Harbor; locals' reactions to CCC workers; socializing with CCC boys; her husband's duties and training; CCC preparing her husband for a surveying career; recreational activities; contributions of CCC workers to the community; Bar Harbor before it was a tourist destination; the fire of 1947; lack of CCC in local knowledge by 2001; location of CCC camp and work sites; local supervisors; financial need. Text: 19 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1953 45 minutes. 2665 Joseph and Priscilla Trafton, interviewed by Anu Dudley on August 14, 2001, at their home in Southwest Harbor, Maine. The Traftons discuss the CCC in Acadia National Park; minimal impact the Depression had on his young adult life; joining the CCC; camp officers; working as a crew boss; jobs he was involved with; brush clearing; putting in culverts; working with the Bar Harbor CCC camp; building park lawns; camp recreation; his later jobs; minimal impact of Depression on her childhood/young adulthood; standing fireplace from CCC camp; her one visit to the camp; monthly pay; CCC workers considered good boys by locals; being introduced to each other by another CCC worker; social activities where CCC boys and locals mingled. Text: 40 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1954 72 minutes. 2666 Claude Beaupre, interviewed by James Moreira on August 22, 2001 at his home in Rockport, Maine. Beaupre discusses the CCC in Acadia National Park; positive impact of CCC; sledding; his father signing him up for CCC; practical jokes in the camp; his travels; CCC work in Millinocket; loneliness at camp; driving a crawler at the CCC camp in Ellsworth; planting trees out of the Bar Harbor camp; lumbering as a teenager; meeting Rockefeller's son; responsibility for his assigned crawler; projects he worked on in Bar Harbor; CCC equipment; placing granite boulders along roads; spraying to prevent pine blister rust; CCC punishing park visitors for damaging trees; clear chains of command; the Ellsworth roller skating rink; an unpopular lieutenant; returning to Bar Harbor after leaving the CCC; his later jobs; how the CCC changed his life. Text: 52 pp. transcript. Recordings: C 1955, C 1956 102 minutes. 3323 Thomas Thornton, interviewed by James Moreira, June 28, 2004, at the Harborside Hotel in Bar Harbor, Maine. Also present: Ann Haley. Thornton, born in 1914 in Massachusetts, talks about his experiences with the Civilian Conservation Corps at the Ellsworth Camp; his family's survival during the Depression; his joining the CCC against his parents' objections; tells stories about life in the camp; saving the barracks from burning down; boxing matches on rainy days; playing poker; worked cleaning out the forest in the winter; cut down marked trees; drinking alcohol; boys became men; changes in Ellsworth and Bar Harbor; getting back his stolen jacket; riprapping; sent money home to his parents; what he did after he left the CCC; joined the Army in spite of his allergies. Text: 30 pp. transcript. Recording: C 2462, C 2463, CD 1017 70 minutes. Back to Collections http://umaine.edu/folklife/archives/collections/mf-120-civilian-conservation-corps-ccc-in-acadia-national-park/ 5/5 Maine Folklife Centernewsfl00oralhis Page 1 of 3 Maine Folklife Center Home Welcome Archives I Exhibits Catalog Order Form Membership Courses Events Newsletter Staff Directions Oral History of CCC at Acadia Park During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps played a critical role in the ongoing development of the national park system. The "CC's" (as they often are called here in Maine) operated three camps in the vicinity of Acadia National Park, where in addition to general forest management workers, built campsites, trails, dams, and other structures, some of which still stand. In order to learn more about this important period in Acadia's history, the National Park Service has contracted with the Maine Folklife Center of the University of Maine to conduct oral history and documentary research on CCC activity relating to the Park. Research will focus on the projects undertaken by the CCC, but will also include a social history of life in the camps and the relations between the camps and nearby towns. The Civilian Conservation Corps grew from the Emergency Conservation Work Act, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law on March 31, 1933. Through the program, a quarter of a million people between the ages of 18 and 25 would be inducted into camps scattered across the country and put to work on a variety of forest management projects national, state, and, private lands. Detractors dubbed it "Roosevelt's Tree Army" and said it would not work. They claimed that unemployed youths, especially those from urban areas where unemployment was most severe, would balk at the idea of living in camps under military rules and working as junior foresters. But by the end of 1 10111C transaction ann ....11.1 4 Maine Folklife Centernewsfl00oralhis Page 2 of 3 June, 250,000 people had been recruited (the ranks would eventually swell to half a million). The CCC would become one of the most popular and far-reaching programs of the New Deal era. By the summer of 1942, when Congress refused to extend it any further, the CCC had provided shelter, food, employment and family support for over three million men in over 4,500 camps nationwide. Over the history of the program, the CCC operated twenty-eight camps in Maine. Those devoted entirely to forest management work - fire protection or insect and disease control - fell mainly under the direction of either the National Forest Service or the Maine Forestry Division. The work of other camps, however, included projects aimed at recreational forest use, and for the most part, they were supervised by the National Park Service. Three camps - CCC Company 154, Eagle Lake, Co. 158, Southwest Harbor, and Co. 193, Ellsworth - contributed directly to the development of Acadia National Park. Three others - Co. 130, Millinocket (Baxter State Park); Co. 1123, Millinocket (also at Baxter Park); and Co. 1130, Camden Hills - were put to work on State recreational sites. Most of the work in Acadia consisted of brush clearing, building fire breaks and access roads, and pest and disease control, but workers also built, extended, or improved many of the Park's trails and completed much of the work on the Seawall campsite and a number of picnic areas. The Ellsworth camp, which existed for less than a year, engaged in clean-up and beautification along the roads leading into the Park. An objective of the current research is to compile an inventory of the projects undertaken by the CCC at Acadia, and to get detailed information on the methods of construction used. The history of CCC activity at Acadia is well documented in the park's administrative records, but it also lives in the memories of those who served in the camps and who did the work. The Maine Folklife Center's researchers are hoping to interview as many CCC alumni as possible. They would also like to speak with the relatives of former CCC enrollees, with local residents who remember the camps and the workers, and with former park employees who may shed light on the ultimate use and disposal of CCC projects. If you know of anyone who can help us with the research, please contact us at (207)581- 1891, or by e-mail at Folklife@maine.edu. -Jamie Moreira Return to Back Next Table of Contents http://www.umaine.edu/folklife/newsfl00oralhis.htm 2/23/2004 Interim Report for an Oral History of the Civilian Conservation Corps at Acadia National Park Submitted by: The Maine Folklife Center 5773 South Stevens University of Maine Orono, ME 04469-5773 Phone: (207) 581-1891 Fax: (207) 581-1823 E-Mail: Folklife@umit.maine.edu Project Administration: Dr. James Moreira, Director, Maine Folklife Center Ms. Bethany Haverlock, Admin. Assistant, Maine Folklife Center Research Team: Principle Investigator: Dr. James H. Moreira Co-Investigator: Dr. Pamela Dean, Archivist, Maine Folklife Center Research Assistants: Ms. Anu Dudley, Doctoral candidate in History Mr. Kevin Champney, Masters candidate in History Overview: Work on this project has been underway since the first week of August. In that time significant headway has been made on the documentary research and the oral interviews are proceeding, though we have some catching up to do on the latter front. Overall, the research is unearthing good materials, and we are confident that the combination of documentary, oral, visual and material sources will provide a solid basis for both publications and exhibits. The sources appear to be especially good for recovering and interpreting the work history of the CCC at Acadia. As outlined in the plan of work for the project, this interim report will address the following: it " will outline the documentary sources checked, describe the nature of the materials located, and give an overview of the oral history interviews, including a brief description of each informant. It will also review the major research themes and assess how well the data will allow us to address the key areas of interest to Park staff." Documentary Research: The documentary research to date has concentrated on the holdings at NARA's Northeastern Regional Office in Waltham, MA. In the course of two trips to the site, Kevin Champney has copied upwards 3000 documents, comprising the contents of 15 of 17 boxes of materials relating to CCC operations administered by Acadia National Park. A further trip to Waltham is planned for this month to complete this work. The documents obtained SO far have been reviewed and Champney is using them to compile a database of all works projects approved by the Works Progress Administration for Acadia. A full descriptive report on the NARA documents and the databases constructed from them is appended. Acadia National Park, CCC Project - Interim Report: Page 2 Included in the Waltham materials are several hundred photographs of CCC projects at various stages of completion. For conservation reasons, NARA will not permit the photographs to be reproduced using a conventional copy stand, SO we are exploring alternative ways of making good quality copies. (Champney has made working photocopies of the images.) We have contacted a professional photographer in Boston who has experience in reproducing historical images. An estimate has been requested and we are hoping that the quote will be one that the budget can support. We are also investigating the possibility of making high resolution scans of the images, which would be much cheaper provided the quality would be adequate. Other documentary research has included a survey of the The Bar Harbor Times and the holdings of the Tremont Historical Society and the Bar Harbor Historical Society. Not a great deal was uncovered through these sources, but there were some items of interest, most notably a reference in the BHT to a short film entitled Pilgrim Forests, which explores CCC work in National Parks including Acadia. A copy of the film has be obtained from Northeast Historic me Film. The Dorr family papers at the Jesop Library in Bar Harbor remain to be checked. The last major fond that needs to be examined is the NARA holdings at the Mid-Atlantic office in Philadelphia. At this point, we are still uncertain as to the relationship between these documents and those held in Waltham: are they a completely different set of records, a duplicate set, or a mix? The most effective means of answering these questions is to have Champney make an overview of the Philadelphia materials. He is in a better position than anyone to assess the degree of uniqueness of the holdings and to recommend what parts need to be copied. Oral History Research: To date we have completed full interviews with seven CCC alumni and partial interviews with three others. Approximately 18 hours of interviews have been completed, all of which have been indexed and transcribed. This is well short of where we expected to be at this stage in the project. Shortly after interviews began in August, the graduate assistant assigned to help with the oral history research, Anu Dudley, was offered a teaching assistantship and was unable to continue with the CCC project beyond the first of September. As a replacement with comparable experience could not be located right away, we decided to place greater emphasis on the documentary research at the outset. The decision was influenced, also, by my teaching load, which this year was significantly heavier in the fall than in the current semester. As of January, we have returned to interviewing with renewed emphasis and hope to regain much of the lost ground over the next two to three months. As work on the documentary sources wraps up, Champney will assist with the oral interviews. The interviews conducted to date cover a broad range of experience. Each of the area camps is represented, as is the secondary camp in Camden, and collectively the informants cover the years from the inception of the CCC program through to its completion. The overall time spent in the camps ranges from six months (a single tour) to nearly two and a half years, though the latter is an unusual case. The men we have interviewed represent a good cross section of experience in terms of the kinds of work they performed for the CCC. Both the documentary and the oral evidence indicates that the vast majority of CCC men spent most of their time on forestry projects: brush clearing for fire hazard reduction and beautification, building trails, and pest control projects. Work of this sort had the double benefit of being labor intensive, keeping large Acadia National Park, CCC Project - Interim Report: Page 3 number of men busy for extended periods of time, and low cost in terms of equipment and raw materials. To some extent, the informants who were employed on forestry projects have generalized recollections about their work. Some, in fact, are more prone to recall incidents that have little connection to work, such as a member of a blister rust patrol who remembered little of how the disease was identified and treated, but vividly recalled a day when his group tried to coral a young deer they came upon in a clearing. Other informants, however, are able to recall the specific trails they worked on and some of the details of the more demanding parts of the projects. Three informants, for example, have discussed the process of driving steel in cliff faces while suspended in a bosun's chair. While the oral histories provide good information on the construction techniques employed, design is another matter. The men we have spoken with, so far, claim to have little knowledge of how trails were laid out or planned. In their words, they simply followed the directions of the forester. Given that men in supervisory positions were likely to be older, we may not find informants at this late date who were involved with the design of trails and roads. We have been very fortunate in that some of our informants worked in very specialized areas: Lester Hartland and Linwood Robshaw both worked in the carpentry shop at the Southwest Harbor Camp; Ron Dougherty was company clerk and later supply sergeant for the Eagle Lake Camp; Arthur Studer was an LEM (locally enlisted man) who worked as a truck driver. Robshaw in particular gave detailed descriptions of construction and shingling of the hipped roofs of campground buildings. Not only were shingles handmade with mallet and froe, but the backs of the shingles were hollowed slightly with a hatchet SO they would lay perfectly flat on the course below. At the hip joints, shingles were laid in an interlocking pattern, carefully planed and fitted so as to be water tight. This is a further example of how the CCC was able to engage in more labor intensive methods than might be possible with a commercial contractor. Indeed, Robshaw noted with regret that as the buildings have been repaired over the years, subsequent carpenters have not sealed the hip joints with the interlocking technique, but have simply laid a pair of battens along the seam. The technique is simple, inexpensive, and effective, but it is a far cry from the craftsmanship that Robshaw felt he was able to invest in his work. Mr. Roshaw also gave comparable descriptions of sign making and of finish carpentry in the camp headquarters. Q Remembrances of social life the camps have been mixed. The routine is recalled consistently, descriptions of camp buildings are uniform but not detailed (though they seem to have been fairly Spartan, so an absence of detail is not surprising), and camp leaders are remembered in terms of their general personalities and abilities, but as yet few concrete incidents have been recounted. In an effort to solicit more detail, we are reviewing the questionnaire to see if a better, more direct way can be found to obtain more substantive information. Below is a list of informants interviewed to date, including a brief description of their CCC experience: Simon Caswell From Medway, ME, but lived in Old Town, Hermon, and Newport at different times. Served one six-month term in the Bar Harbor camp in 1940 before joining the military. Worked on trails and roads on Cadillac Mountain, Bubble Mountain, and at Sieur du Monts Springs. Spent some time Acadia National Park, CCC Project - Interim Report: Page 4 drilling holes in the cliff faces to anchor steel rods used to support a catwalk along the cliff. Also did general construction on the Black Woods campground. Ron Dougherty From St. Stephen, NB, though his family moved to Calais when he was quite young. He served in the Bar Harbor camp for two years from 1937-39. Spent less than a month working on forestry crews before opting for a job as company clerk. Eventually became Supply Sargent for the camp, and thus he has a superb knowledge of the administrative operations. Somewhat surprisingly, he had little or no contact with senior Park administrators, such as Dorr, but his work was more closely tied to the Department of War which administered the actual camps. Has extensive memorabilia and photograph collection relating to the CCC. Lester Hartford Grew up in Leeds in southern Maine and entered the Southwest Harbor camp in the fall of 1935. Worked that fall on the Beach Cliff trail building catwalks along the cliff face, and spent the winter on a brush burning detail. After that he applied for work in the carpentry shop and spent the rest of his time in the CCC working their. Worked on many of the same projects as Linwood Robshaw. Has photographs, documents, badges, and other memorabilia from the CCC. Wesley Gray From Old Town, served in the Southwest Harbor and Camden camps from 1939 to 1941. Spent most of his time working on forestry and road building jobs, but served his last six months in Camden doing some clerical work and also helping with shore front improvements in the camp grounds. Discussed one project for which the CCC built a circular drive in front of a local high school (Southwest Harbor). Has photos, including camp officers W. C. Williams, Jesse Atwood, and J. C. Peck [Atwood oversaw most of the carpentry operations at the Southwest Harbor camp]. Merrill Morang From Eastport originally but moved to Rockland as a teenager. Served one year in the Southwest Harbor camp (1937-38). Worked on many different projects: gypsy moth control, built sewer lines for the Seawall campgrounds, built fire roads near the Rockefeller estate, worked on the lighthouse on Cranberry Island, and assisted with the dismantling of the Ellsworth CCC camp. John Parsons From Winslow; did two shifts in the Bar Harbor camp beginning in 1933. He left in 1934, but signed up for another tour from 1935 to 36. Worked mainly on trails and fire roads. Unfortunately, he is reluctant to be interviewed on tape, but is "thinking about it." He has a large collection of photographs covering all facets of life and work in the camps. Some of them suffered considerable water damage in a flood but most are still in good condition. He also has some bundles of documents, including certificates and a typescript training manual from a CCC course. For a time, Mr. Parsons worked directly with George Dorr, at a rather unusual task: Dorr Acadia National Park, CCC Project - Interim Report: Page 5 edited his in-coming correspondence and Parson was given the job of re-copying the revised versions of the letters. Eugene Paradis From Old Town, served one term in the CCC before joining the Marines in the spring of 1941. Only entered the CCC because none of the services were recruiting in the fall of 1940 when he entered the job market. Worked in the Bar Harbor camp, primarily on trails and roads. Earned a certification in handling explosives by working on blasting crews on road work. Linwood Robshaw Born in Fort Fairfield, but the family moved several times during his childhood. Finally settled in Bucksport. Entered the Southwest Harbor CCC camp in December 1937 and stayed until May of 1940. His family knew Jesse Atwood, and because he had manual training in high school he was given a job in the carpentry shop. He has provided detailed descriptions of his work constructing sign posts and hand carving signs throughout the Park; also of his work shingling hipped-roof structures in one of the campgrounds. He also built, on CCC time, a flat bottom row boat for Atwood's personal use. A photograph of FDR still stands on Mr. Robshaw's desk. Following our last interview, he called to say that he had found some photos from his time in the CCC, though I have not yet had a chance to return to look at them. Arthur Studer From Ellsworth. Worked briefly as an electrician and truck driver before joining the Ellsworth CCC camp in 1933 as an LEM (Local Enlisted Man). Spent all his time in the CCC driving a truck. Carried men and equipment to their work sites, but also provided transport on projects outside the National Park, such as the dismantling of the radio station at Schoudic and the relocation of the CCC camp at Bennington. Men at his camp were engaged on road beautification projects on Highway 3 and other public roads in the vicinity of the park. Left the Ellsworth camp in August 1935 and was stationed for a while in the Portland headquarters. Has some photos of his trucks and the camp, plus a CCC issue shaving kit and other memorabilia. Walter Woods Born in Rockland and grew up in Blue Hill. Spent a year in the Southwest Harbor camp from 1933 to 1934, and was employed on forestry projects. Mr. Woods is quite aged and his memories are not especially clear, but he had some good observations about the camaraderie of the CCC crews. Acadia National Park, CCC Project - Interim Report: Page 6 Research Themes The plan of work identified seven thematic areas that would likely serve as chapter headings in the final report. The following paragraphs briefly outline how the information recovered will enable us to address those themes. 1) Introduction and historical overview of the CCC camps administered by Acadia National Park: The camp records held by NARA will be the strongest source for this section, as they give both itemized and summary accounts of the year to year progress of each camp. A clear timeline for each camp and the transitions in leadership can be established (though we have not yet establish absolutely when the camps were finally disbanded), and correspondence in the NARA files has enabled us to sort out the re-assignment of the Ellsworth camp in 1937. We've been keeping an eye on project developments and changes in administrative procedures that might point to transitions in the overall philosophy of the CCC, though we have yet to find indications of a marked shift in policy. The favored projects through the life of the program appear to have been those that kept a lot of men occupied with relatively little investment in equipment and materials, hence a steady emphasis on trail construction, brush clearing, and pest control. There are indications that by the late thirties some projects included activities that may have had military implications, even though the CCC officially maintained its non-military mandate til the end. This section of the report was to include profiles of or at least a discussion of the chief administrators who planned the work on behalf of the park. This is one area where neither the oral testimony nor the documentary record is particularly strong. (Granted the Dorr family papers have yet to be surveyed.) None of our informants claim to have substantive knowledge of how projects were planned or of what design principles were used. Nor do they claim to have had much direct involvement with senior park staff. Only one informant, John Parsons, acknowledges having any degree of contact with George Dorr, and the work he performed for Dorr does not appear to bear directly on CCC operations. Perhaps out best guide to understanding the planning process will be from a close reading the work proposals, to see how specific kinds of projects are prioritized and justified. 2) Physical description of the camps: We have many sources to draw on for an impression of what the camps looked like and what they were like to live in. There are many photographs available showing both the earliest days when the men were housed in tents and the established camps. John Parsons has provided us with shots of some secondary camps, which for the most part were dining stations where the men congregated to eat when they were too far out in the woods to return to camp for lunch. 3) Work projects: Again, very strong material is available for research on this topic. The documentary records cover virtually every project undertaken from proposal to conclusion (missing Acadia National Park, CCC Project - Interim Report: Page 7 project numbers appear to represent projects that were applied for but not approved). In the case of trail construction and brush clearing, the descriptive details in the written record tend to be sparse, but "before and after" photographs in the project reports provide a visual means of assessing the work. For more specialized projects, the applications and reports tend to give quite good descriptions of objectives and the work required to accomplish them. Given that some three hundred project applications were approved for Acadia National Park, a good deal of condensation and generalization will be necessary when writing this chapter. We will strive to give as comprehensive a view as possible of the many kinds of work undertaken by the CCC, including some interesting experimental projects, such as a series of radio trials made to test the effectiveness of UHF radio as a fire fighting tool. Where particularly large projects are involved or where especially good descriptions are available from documents or through interviews, we will have an opportunity to go more deeply into the work techniques employed. As noted above, we have spoken to a couple of informants who have good knowledge of the construction techniques used on certain projects. We are trying to locate someone with knowledge of the stonework that was done, but SO far we have come up empty. One informant felt that this work may have been contracted out to a professional mason. In the course of the research, we have become especially interested in the forest management work undertaken by the CCC at Acadia, since our reading indicates that such work was quite new at the time. We have contacted researchers at the University of Maine's Forestry School to help us learn more about the pests and diseases that the CCC foresters were trying to control, and also to learn about historical developments in forestry, that may help us interpret the work that was being done by the CCC. 4) Camp demographics: Relatively little headway has been made on this part of the project to date. The oral evidence is that most of the enrollees came from Maine, though this may be less true of the Ellsworth camp. In the documentary record, there are several lists of enrollees and their home location, though we haven't yet made a tally of the lists to see if we have all years for all camps. 5) Occupational folklife in the camps: We have broad range of information on this topic, but as noted above we are hoping to refocus some our interview questions in order to add depth. The basic routine of camp life - induction, daily schedule, division of work crews, meals, recreational opportunities, leave, and discharge - is well covered. A couple of informants have also told us about practices or events that helped bond work crews together as a unit: things like sending new inductees on "fool's errands," practical jokes, methods of settling disputes, special sights or encounters with wildlife, informal competitions between work crews, and so on. Several of the informants also have photographs that help to illustrate the social side of life Acadia National Park, CCC Project - Interim Report: Page 8 in the camps. We hope to solicit more of these kinds of materials, because when we ask informants what they value most about their CCC experience, the response invariably is that it taught them to live and work with other people. We want to be able to demonstrate as concretely as possible what that process of living and working together entailed. 6) Town/camp relations: Our informants have offered mixed views on this matter. Some feel they were treated well by local residents, while others are critical of their reception on the island. So far, no incidents have come to light that would point to deeply rooted tensions. We will hopefully get a more comprehensive view of this theme as we start to interview residents of Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, and Ellsworth. The documentary record contains some material pertaining to town/camp relations, and it too points to largely positive interactions. Problems of course come up, but in the correspondence one tends to find administrators trying to dispel rumor and insinuation rather than making amends or taking disciplinary action for specific acts. Equally if not more significant are the letters of support from town leaders calling on Washington to extend the program when Congress threatened to terminate it. 7) Educational mission of the CCC: Few of our informants appear to have taken advantage of the evening educational programs available to CCC members. A few had no involvement and at least one signed up for a course that he did not complete. There are exceptions, however; John Parsons took a forestry course in the CCC and he still has the typescript training manual. Most informants acknowledged that there were men in the camps who were able 10 get high school equivalency and that there were cases where even basic literacy was taught. Again, however, such information is usually presented in general terms with few specifics. On the job training is another matter. Most of the informants claim to have learned at least one occupational skill in the CCC, ranging from heavy equipment operation, specialized carpentry skills, to handling explosives. A number of informants still have certificates of competency issued by the CCC. This is another area that we hope to learn more about as the interviews proceed. One source has come to light that may contribute to our knowledge of education programs. As a result of the article in the Acadia newsletter, we received a call from Mimi Barnes of Mount Desert whose father, Ernest Mills, was the chaplain at the Eagle Lake Camp in the late thirties. Though Mr. Mills died in the 1950s, the family still has his diaries, in which he discusses, among other things, the evening courses he taught for the CCC. 154th Company Eagle Lake Camp (Bar Harbor, Maine) (May 1934 - June 1942) The Eagle Lake Camp was supervised by the National Park Service. of the work of the 154th Company concerned blister rust control, fire hazza reduction, landscaping, trail construction, selective pruning, and genera clean-up of Acadia National Park. Fred Spear, of West Auburn, Maine, was one of several from Auburn in 154th Company. He states, "We were part of the very first to go in when C.C.C. started up, and went to Fort Williams originally. After minimal 'Basi Training' and less than the prescribed preparation we were trucked by Fifth Infantry to Eagle Lake Camp site, just beyond Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor. We were dumped there with tents and field ranges and had to do it ourselves - - to eat, sleep, etc. That was in the Spring of 1933, and we built quite a camp in the next few months. The main work in Acadia National Park was blister rust control through eradication of the gooseberry link." William MacFarland, of Wiscasset, Maine, enlisted in the C.C.C. im January 1934 and was discharged in May 1937. He relates his experience in the 154th Company by recalling: "For the first three months I swung an axe, them for a year and a half I was a transit man for Acadia Park Engineers doing boundary and road surveys. The final year and a half I was Supply Sergeant or Store Keeper. It was up to me to keep the boys clothed and furnish clean bedding, make sure they had mess kits, etc. It was also part of my job to furnish tires and parts for the Army trucks, as well as suitable kitchem utensils, pots and pans for the Mess Hall, sports equipment for the Recreation Hall, etc." Another enrollee at the Eagle Lake Camp was Howard H. Milliken, M. D. He details his service at the 154th Company as follows: "At Fort Williams we were all put up in cots in barracks, issued the standard C.C.C. clothes. This consisted of Khaki pants and shirts, military shoes and fatigue hats. We were all given a physical and shots. After this was completed, which only took two plus days, we were divided into groups. Many of the men were sent to the Greenville camp, about 16 or 20 of us were sent to Eagle Lake Camp Co. 154 Bar Harbor, Me., a short distance from beautiful Eagle Lake and in clear view of Cadillac Mountain. This I was to realize, is one of the most picturesque scenes in the world. The Mountain comes out of the seas of Frenchman's Bay part of the Gulf of Maine and the Atlantic Ocean. "At the time I arrived at the 154th Co., the Headquarters building was established. The first building was the Mess Hall which was composed of a large kitchen and a large dining area. Here we had large group tables to eat from and benches attached to tables for seats. "There were two barracks completed and a third nearly completed. We were quickly assigned our cots for the duration and were told how to keep our beds neatly made, hang our clothes and place our boots. Quickly we fell into the routine of the camp. "I should mention at this time that the latrine was an open pit with a covered shelter and men were assigned to see that this was kept clean. This was difficult, but it was inspected daily and always kept up to snuff. "Bear in mind that virtually all members of the C.C.C. were unemployed who for the most part had been eating limited rations because of lack of mey to buy food. The country was in a deep depression. "The food at the Eagle Lake camp was good wholesome chow that the cooks oked en masse in giant pots or vats. There was always plenty of it. The ood was hot and it was self service as you went down the line. "The atmosphere in the dining room was jovial and friendly. Everybody grateful for good wholesome nourishing meals with enough food to always tisfy every appetite. "After the meals we had clean metal garbage cans which were filled with iling water with good soap suds. These two cans were set over a fire to the water boiling. The first can was to wash off the canteen, messkit, ife, fork and spoon; the second can of clean boiling water was to rinse the ting utensils. The water was changed as soon as it got dirty. There were cans with two lines of men going down one line on the right and another on the left of the cans. "At no time while I was there did we have any dysentery or cross fection from the eating utensils. "One day while waiting in line to wash the dishes Eleanor Roosevelt Wife) came to our camp. She asked the boys how they liked the food and life, all responded that the food was better than anyone had had during ir life, they also said they enjoyed camp life and the work projects. Personal "This truly represented the feeling of all enrollees, obviously the Writ C.C. was doing a good job in one of its missions. This was to keep the le busy and to keep them off the streets. "Capt. Deroin was our Commanding Officer. I found out the Capt. was a duate of Amherst College. He was activated into the Army from the erves. His dress was quite immaculate and his carriage was real military, brown eyes, neatly parted hair, well groomed brown suntan shirt and He wore leather puttees and neatly shined shoes; he was a fine figure a man. He had no trouble making good and firm decisions, he was a good riplinarian. "With his military bearing he would make inspections of all the tracks, mess hall, latrine, grounds and office each day at 9 a.m. He knew man in camp and he knew his job. With all this he had a good sense of and frequently kidded with the men. He was a good leader and he led us "Lieutenant Harris was our number two man in the echelon of camp gement. He was physically smaller than Capt. Deroin and stayed somewhat the background. He did his job well in a very unassuming manner. He was a company man', who got along well with his Chief. He also was well liked the boys despite the fact that he spent a lot of time in the office and efore was less well known. 61. "As everybody knows, a first sergeant is a powerful figure in the Army. He sees and enforces all decrees or orders from above. This is true in the Army and was also true in the C.C.C. Sgt. Holmes was a rather massive man who had spent long years at desks. Therefore he was obese and fat as we all thought. He was very pleasant and especially well liked by the troops. He too dressed in Army sun tan shirt and pants and wore an overseas cap. "He was regular Army, he had greater than 20 years of Army service and had the stripes and hash marks to prove it. As I think of it, he was really my first exposure to a regular Army soldier. His manner was great and remained a good example of how a soldier should live. "Later in my life I was to spend nearly four years in the Army, 1942-45 in the European Theatre and be exposed to many soldiers. However, in the back of my mind, I always remembered Sgt. Holmes as a true soldier and as they say about 'Tuborg Beer', he had class. "Mr. Conners was our Chief Forester and reforestation was what the C.C.C. was all about. Therefore he was in charge of all the crews during the working day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mr. Conners was a man about 6' 2" tall. He had a big frame with broad shoulders and his hair was graying. He was the only man in camp who dressed in civilian clothes. Apparently he was not in the formal C.C.C., but he was on loan probably from the State. Nevertheless, he was an integral part of our unit and like Capt. Deroin, Lt. Harris and Sgt. Holmes knew all the men and they knew him. He managed the crews. "There were other members on loan to the 154th Co. Two of them were engineers employed by the National Park Service on Mount Desert Island. One was a Mr. Higgins, who was an older man with a great sense of humor, he was an engineer. The second engineer was a Mr. Sherman who was younger, bright, pleasant and helpful. It was my privilege to work some with these 2 men. "The standard surveying crew has an Engineer and usually a front and rear rod man. The engineer runs the transit and tells the front and rear rod men when to set the point. In this way land can be surveyed. Lines can be run straight or at any angle that the deed may call for, and in any direction, North, West, East or South. Our crew was led by Mr. Higgins and Sherman, our transit man was Don Boone. Front rod man was a boy named Small. I served as rear rod man. We surveyed Schoodic Point on one side of Frenchman's Bay. It took us 2 hours by car to get there and 2 hours to get home. We surely enjoyed our rides to and from work riding in a rumble seat. In the keeping of a camp the size of the 154th Co., there were many varieties of jobs from cooks, to helpers, to office workers to K.P. to latrine duty to wood cutters to workers in the Dispensary. "Somehow I got to work for a period in the Dispensary. My father was a physician, my aunt was a nurse, and I had a great uncle who was a physician on Mount Desert Island and 2 uncles who were physicians. Later I was to study medicine. This dispensary duty was my first exposure to caring for the sick and I liked it. The dispensary was located at one end of barracks #2. It was a room about 12 by 14 feet. In this we had a bed, a dressing table which had anteseptic, iodine and mercurochrome, throat sticks, cotton applicators and aspirin, adhesive tape, 4 X 4 gauze, some suture material and needle holders. These were our work materials. "We had a Lt. Sherwin who was an M.D. He was assigned to three C.C.C. Camps. One in Ellsworth, Southwest Harbor and the 154th Co. at Bar Harbor. It was his custom to visit each camp daily, where he held sick call. Our job was basically giving occasional first aid and lining up patients for Dr. Sherwin. The Lieut. did not live at our camp. I believe he made his headquarters at the Ellsworth camp. He dressed in Army clothes and wore his 1st Lt. bars. I really did not get well acquainted with him, but he was professional, efficient, and we had no serious illnesses or epidemics while I was at the 154th Co. The head of our dispensary crew was a man named Kelley who came from Portland. Kelly will always stand out in my mind. He had a delightful sense of humor and could kid with the sick-call patients. This in itself would make them feel better. I remember on one occasion when Capt. Deroin and his inspection staff passed through the dispensary, Capt. Deroin noticed some article that had not been picked up and stored in its proper place. He picked up the article (I do not remember what it was) and handed it to Kelley and asked 'What about this?' Kelley looked at the Capt. and said with total surprise, 'Where did you get that?' The Capt. looked at him with a wry smile and the Inspection continued. It was at that moment that I learned that a serious situation can often be made light with the proper attitude and appropriate jest. I have often applied this approach to a somber or serious matter, usually with the same good results. For this I am indebted to friend Kelley of the 154th Co., C.C.C. for a lifelong useful practice. "The Pine Blister Rust program became the main function of the 154th Co. Our area was to start on Mount Desert Island and then spread as directed by Mr. Neil Viollette, our Chief Forester. Mr. Conners picked his crews, 6 or 7 men and a foreman. This took a lot of men to cover an area. It gave work to many men and continued a needed program that had been in progress for years. All the men were happy. They felt useful and needed. It was something that every able bodied man could do. It produced healthy, happy campers. Our morale was very great. Truly, it was like a shot in the arm to each camper. "One of the first buildings established to the 154th Co., was the Headquarters building. The back part of the building was for sleeping & housing quarters for Capt. Deroin and resting areas for Lt. Harris, Sgt. Holmes, Mr. Conners and other top brass. "The front part of this building was the offices for all. This was not a large area but included a desk for Capt. Deroin, Lt. Harris and another desk for Sgt. Holmes. All entries to the office went through Sgt. Holmes. There was also room for a Company Clerk. At one time-for about three weeks, I was assigned to the office and enjoyed my exposure to these fine military men and to Eugene Arata who was Co. Clerk. "Records of all the men were kept here-- sick call, home address, any leaves, disciplinary problems and all communications from higher echelon were stored here. The office ran smoothly and again the morale at the top was excellent, guided by Capt. Deroin and ably assisted by Lt. Harris and Sgt. lmes. "Retreat at the 154th Co. was conducted about the same as any Military post. We had a nice flag pole and retreat area in the front of Company Headquarters. The men were called into formation by Sgt. Holmes. We lined up 63. Field kitchen and lister bag of the 154th Co., , Bar Harbor, 1934. 154th Co , Bar Harbor, McFarland Field with aerial view of the C.C.C. camp and Cadillac Mt., , 1935. 65. 158th Company Great Pond Camp (Southwest Harbor, Maine) (May 1933 - September 1941) Another camp under the direction of the National Park Service and responsible for working in Acadia National Park was the Great Pond Camp. The men of the 158th Company worked on suppressing forest fires and built several miles of fire trails in the park area. They also cleared acres of burned trees that posed a fire hazzard. The company built many scenic trails throughout the park and developed recreational facilities on the beaches of the park's lakes. As Ensio Matson, now of Haworth, N.J., says, "Among my duties (at the Southwest Harbor Camp) were pine blister rust control, road building, digging drainage ditches, and landscapping. A description of the early years of the camp is offered by Fred E. Holt, former forest commissioner: "The Southwest Harbor camp was opened about May, 1933 with enrollees recting and living in tents while construction of the roll roofing covered arracks continued. An aerial photo dated September 5, 1933 shows four arracks buildings and four service buildings in place. Officers quarters, spensary and living quarters for the Commanding officer were added later. last two were of log construction. "The camp was located at the height of ground on the west side of the ad leading from Southwest Harbor village to the south end of Great Pond. is was near Acadia Park lands where most of the work-projects took place. is park being one of the National Park System came under the jurisdiction of U.S. Department of the Interior. Consequently the Department of the erior controlled the employees and type of work projects carried out on the und. "This was a typical 200 man camp. All enrollees were Maine residents. ilial relationships were scarce but for most living conditions were a great provement over depression years living conditions at home. Living editions, discipline and in-camp activities were the concern of the U.S. "One of the highlights of the summer of 1935 was an inspection visit by art Fechner, Director of the C.C.C. from Washington, D.C. "The log visitor center at Echo Lake was to be the site of a noon dinner Fechner, his staff and probably fifty other dignataries from state and areas. Landscaping the grounds was a major project -- all raw soil had covered with leaf mold collected by the basket from outlying areas and read. All walks and nearby trails had to be surfaced with tan bark. was hemlock bark of coin size recovered from the tanning process. The ult was a path of light pink to rose colored surface flanked on both by ancient weathered leaves. Fechner appeared impressed but it's ful he was taken in by the ancient appearance paid for by his budget. 67. Epp, Ronald From: Epp, Ronald Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 11:23 AM To: 'James Moreira' Cc: Epp, Ronald Subject: RE: Acadia & George Dorr Dear Jamie, I spent Monday at the NARA facility in Waltham pouring over the ECW/CCC material relative to Acadia National Park. It was a useful exercise and I came away with a new appreciation of the administrative workload of Asst. Superintendent Benjamin Hadley. Over the past two days I've been reviewing your October 2002 "Civilian Conservation Corps at Acadia National Park" which Brooke Childrey provided. Your work has helped me better understand the importance of the CCC to park development when you provided the justification for the assertion that "the CCC provided ANP with resources that it has not known before or since." While I am still reviewing this document, perhaps you could field a couple of questions: 1. Is there a more polished version available? Has it been finalized? 2. I saw no bibliography other than what was embedded in the footnotes. Is there one? 3. There appear to be no citations to seminal monographs of a more general nature dealing with the ECW, CCC, and the NPS. Were these to be added later? 4. Two years ago I spent several days at the Harpers Ferry Center using the NPS historical collection as well as the reference services at the nearby NPS Conservation Center. www.nps.gov/hfc/library/ccc.htm. I wondered if you had investigated. 5. I was intrigued by the discussion regarding the role of aesthetics in ECW projects and its context within the twin mandates of the 1916 NPS Organic Act: to both preserve and make accessible park lands. My research has yielded several significant articles on these conceptual issues should you be interested. 6. Finally, on three minor points. I recall seeing ECW/CCC material on earlier visits to the Rockefeller Archive Center. You make reference to "Jr." but I saw no indication that you had investigated this awesome repository. I'm planning a July visit and could investigate if this project is still ongoing and you would like me to pursue it. Second, Olmsted Landcape Architect Margie Coffin is the author of the study credited several times to Chris Barter. Third, on page 149 you state in the final sentence that "we hope to be able to correlate the various trail reports in order to give a more complete overview of Acadia trail development during the CCC era." Was this realized? And lastly, were you able to make contact with Mr. Parsons or his family as you indicated in your most email to me? Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Director of Shapiro Library Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 03106 603-668-2211, ext. 2164 603-645-9685 fax Original Message From: James Moreira [mailto:James Moreira@umit.maine.edu] Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 3:02 PM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: Acadia & George Dorr I haven't had a chance to contact Mr. Parsons (or his family) yet but will do so this 1 week. Re. the Richard Hale Collection, there is an index, but it does not appear to refer to Dorr or ANP. Note, though, that this is a fairly small collection. Our accessions are searchable through the URSUS library catalog, which is accessible through the University of Maine's website. You may find that resource helpful. Cheers Jamie "Epp, Ronald" writes: >Dear Jamie, > >I appreciate your offer to use CCC material for my biography of Mr. >Dorr. Your comments about Mr. Parsons fuel additional interest in him >despite his restrictions on your use of his comments about Dorr. Since >your email on March 18th have you had an opportunity to determine >whether "he is still with us"? If he is and you would share his full >name and address with me, I'd like to write him a letter and see >whether he will agree to be interviewed by me--either on or off the >record. > >I will try and schedule a visit to the MFC in the weeks ahead. I am very interested in MF043, 062, 086, 113, 119, and of course 120. Could you have someone on your staff determine whether there is a finding aid for MF 086 (Richard Hale Collection). >If so, could it be surveyed for any indications of discussions about Mr. Dorr or the Park? 2 1 Epp, Ronald From: James Moreira [James_Moreira@umit.maine.edu Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 11:41 AM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: MFC, ANP & George Dorr Dear Mr. Epp; My apologies for taking so long to get back to you. I have had several pressing deadlines in the last month and am just now getting caught up. By all means, you are welcome to use whatever material we have compiled for the CCC project, though relatively little of what we uncovered relates specifically to Dorr. The CCC men with whom we spoke had very little contact with the higher-ups in the Park administration. The individual you mention worked as an assistant to Dorr in an informal capacity, and from what I recall, spent most of his time filing papers. When I interviewed Mr. Parsons, he was uneasy about discussing his relationship with Dorr, though I don't know why, and he called me up after the inview and asked that his comments about Dorr be restricted. Parson's was very forthcoming on other aspects of his time in the CCC and in fact was immensely helpful. To be honest, I haven't seen him in some time, and he was 93 when I interviewed him, SO I'll have to check to see whether he is still with us. As for the project database, it is not complete but is usable. When I was compiling the report, I found the actual Park correspondence more useful. We have copies of the reports here at the Folklife Center. Please feel free to get in touch or visit at any time. All the best Jamie Moreira "Epp, Ronald" kr.epp@snhu.edu> writes: >Dear Professor Moreira: > >For the past four years I have been intensely involved in an >archival-based biography of George B. Dorr. Curator Brooke Childrey at >the Sawtelle Archives at ANP has been very supportive. During my >December visit she permitted me to copy portions of your interium report for an oral history of the CCC at ANP. I am currently examining it in detail and making comparisons with related CCC manuscript material I have examined at the National Archives (College Park), the NPS Historical Collections (Harpers Ferry W VA), the Rockefeller Archive Center, and the Dorr Papers at the Jesup Memorial Library. > >It may be useful for us to meet and discuss our overlapping interests >more fully. For example, is the database project of all works projects >approved the the WPA for Acadia completed? If so, is it accessible to researchers? On another front, you mention an interview candidate who worked closely with George Dorr but has been reisting your overtures. Any recent success? If you provide contact information, would you mind if I approached him? > >I've taped quite a few interviews since last spring which have not yet >been transcribed and which may prove of interest to you. > >If I whetted your appetite, please contact me. I journey to MDI often and could easily arrange a detour to the MFC when I next visit in mid-March. > > > >Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 1 Epp, Ronald From: Epp, Ronald Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 2:16 PM To: 'James Moreira' Cc: Epp, Ronald Subject: Acadia & George Dorr ear Jamie, I appreciate your offer to use CCC material for my biography of Mr. Dorr. Your comments about Mr. Parsons fuel additional interest in him despite his restrictions on your use of his comments about Dorr. Since your email on March 18th have you had an opportunity to determine whether "he is still with us"? If he is and you would share his full name and address with me, I'd like to write him a letter and see whether he will agree to be interviewed by me--either on or off the record. I will try and schedule a visit to the MFC in the weeks ahead. I am very interested in MF043, 062, 086, 113, 119, and of course 120. Could you have someone on your staff determine whether there is a finding aid for MF 086 (Richard Hale Collection). If so, could it be surveyed for any indications of discussions about Mr. Dorr or the Park? Looking forward to meeting you! Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Director of Shapiro Library Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 03106 603-668-2211, ext. 2164 603-645-9685 fax --Original Message From: James Moreira [mailto:James Moreira@umit.maine.edu Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 11:41 AM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: MFC, ANP & George Dorr Dear Mr. Epp; My apologies for taking so long to get back to you. I have had several pressing deadlines in the last month and am just now getting caught up. By all means, you are welcome to use whatever material we have compiled for the CCC project, though relatively little of what we uncovered relates specifically to Dorr. The CCC men with whom we spoke had very little contact with the higher-ups in the Park administration. The individual you mention worked as an assistant to Dorr in an informal capacity, and from what I recall, spent most of his time filing papers. When I interviewed Mr. Parsons, he was uneasy about discussing his relationship with Dorr, though I don't know why, and he called me up after the inview and asked that his comments about Dorr be restricted. Parson's was very forthcoming on other aspects of his time in the CCC and in fact was immensely helpful. To be honest, I haven't seen him in some time, and he was 93 when I interviewed him, so I'll have to check to see whether he is still with us. As for the project database, it is not complete but is usable. When I was compiling the report, I found the actual Park correspondence more useful. We have copies of the reports here at the Folklife Center. Please feel free to get in touch or visit at any time. 1 All the best Jamie Moreira "Epp, Ronald" kr.epp@snhu.edu> writes: >Dear Professor Moreira: > >For the past four years I have been intensely involved in an >archival-based biography of George B. Dorr. Curator Brooke Childrey at >the Sawtelle Archives at ANP has been very supportive. During my >December visit she permitted me to copy portions of your interium report for an oral history of the CCC at ANP. I am currently examining it in detail and making comparisons with related CCC manuscript material I have examined at the National Archives (College Park) , the NPS Historical Collections (Harpers Ferry W VA), the Rockefeller Archive Center, and the Dorr Papers at the Jesup Memorial Library. > >It may be useful for us to meet and discuss our overlapping interests >more fully. For example, is the database project of all works projects >approved the the WPA for Acadia completed? If so, is it accessible to researchers? On another front, you mention an interview candidate who worked closely with George Dorr but has been reisting your overtures. Any recent success? If you provide contact information, would you mind if I approached him? > >I've taped quite a few interviews since last spring which have not yet >been transcribed and which may prove of interest to you. > >If I whetted your appetite, please contact me. I journey to MDI often and could easily arrange a detour to the MFC when I next visit in mid-March. > > > >Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. >Director of Shapiro Library >Southern New Hampshire University >Manchester, NH 03106 > > > >603-668-2211, ext. 2164 >603=645-9685 fax when 2