A CCC crew rests from work in the Chopawamsic RDA. National Park Service

Frank Kuhn of Spotsylvania celebrated at a March reunion at Prince William Forest Park with other CCC alumni. National Park Service

Prince William Forest Park is one of many parks nationwide that benefited from work done by CCC workers during the Depression era

Date published: 5/24/2008

DURING THE 1930s, unemployment in the United States soared as the Roaring '20s crashed into the Great Depression. Soon after taking office in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the New Deal, a nationwide effort to fight the ravages of the Depression. Part of this endeavor was a program to reduce unemployment, conserve natural resources and provide training to unskilled young men--the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The CCC became one of the most popular programs in Roosevelt's New Deal, recruiting more than 2 million men from 1933 to 1942. Its goal was to get young men off the streets and improve their health and morale while boosting America's economy. CCC men, usually 18 to 25 years old, earned $30 per month and were required to send $25 to their families.

In 1939 Frank Kuhn of Spotsylvania County was a young man of 22 living in Philadelphia when he enlisted in the CCC. His first assignment was to Camp Lost Creek in Norton, a region of deep poverty, Kuhn said.

Kuhn, 90, remembers riding into camp in the company truck along with about 40 other newcomers. Recruits were restricted to camp the first week and warned to stay out of Norton--townsfolk didn't like the CCCers.

"Of course, I was a tough guy in those days. I was not afraid of anyone," Kuhn said.

So the young man decided to take his chance in town. Fortunately, he discovered that the locals were quite welcoming,

"The town people waved to me and were very friendly," Kuhn said. However, he did get reprimanded for breaking the rule and restricted to camp for another week.

Kuhn was one of many men who worked on projects in every state. Their main goal was creating outdoor recreation areas for public use. CCC crews worked in state and national parks, building dams, campgrounds, bridges and roads. They planted trees, stocked streams with fish and fought fires.

"They built so much and made an incredible contribution to modern-day America," Prince William Forest Park chief of interpretation Laura Cohen said.

Date published: 5/24/2008