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
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline We can take it.
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