An Honest Day's Work

At a time when 11,000,000 able-bodied American workers were out of a job, the Civilian Conservation Corps offered young men an opportunity to learn new skills while doing an honest day's work.

The schedule varied from camp to camp, but most workers put in an eight-hour day, with an early start and an hour break for lunch, leaving evenings free for education and recreation. Each camp had a strict workday schedule that enrollees were required to follow.

The type of work conducted depended upon the location of each camp; enrollees assigned in northern Minnesota, like Michael T. Sanchelli, Alfred E. Nelson, and James Clark, focused on forestry projects in state and national forests. Boys in the southern part of the state concentrated on soil conservation, like John Buskowiak. Young men of the CCC planted 124,000,000 trees in Minnesota, built roads, dams and firebreaks, and saved thousands of acres of valuable farmland from unnecessary erosion.

Citations:

• Sanchelli, Michael T., Forest Fire, Friday, April 13th, 1934, Isabella, Minn., Camp 1721, C.C.C.s. MHS Manuscripts Collection.
• Nelson, Alfred, E. (Irv); Stanley Johnson, Interviewer, Oral History Interview. MHS Oral History Collection, 1976.
• Clark, James; Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Interviewer, Mille Lacs Ojibwe Social History Project, Oral History, 1992. Mille Lacs Tribal Archives, Onamia, Minn.
• Buskowiak, R. John My Days in the C.C.C.'s. MHS Manuscripts Collection, 1993.
• Drake, Robert M. A Prideful Recollection of the Old CCC. The Minnesota Volunteer. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, July-August, 1983, Vol. 46, No. 269, p. 3-9.