As the country struggled through the Great Depression, nearly 3 million young men came together in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) with the motto, "We can take it."


Between 1933 and 1942, the CCC built 125,000 miles of roads, strung 89,000 miles of telephone lines and revegetated almost a million acres of rangeland. This year, the veterans of the CCC are holding reunions to celebrate the bond they developed over 50 years ago. "It's the camaraderie of the CCC experience that brings us together," says Bob Robeson, a CCC alumnus from Oregon. The nonprofit National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni is sponsoring reunions throughout late summer: in Boise, Idaho, Aug. 8-9; Seattle, Wash., Sept. 9; Libby, Mont., Sept. 17-19; and St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 25-26. For more information, contact the National Association of CCC Alumni at Jefferson Barracks, P.O. Box 16429, St. Louis, MO 63125-0429. (314/487-8666).


* Jennifer Chergo