Desperate times take desperate measures. Less than a week after Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as president, he called an emergency session of Congress to enact a law creating the Civilian Conservation Corps, a peacetime "army" of unemployed and undernourished young men caught in the grip of the Great Depression.

By 1935, a half-million enrollees populated 2,650 camps in every state of the union. The young men worked hard, ate well, learned much, and send badly-needed cash home to their families.

The multitude of enduring monuments across the nation speak volumes for the success of the program: the CCC built 46,854 bridges and developed 800 state parks, restored 3,980 historic structures and planted more than three billion trees. At the same time, thousands of illiterate enrollees learned to read and write through CCC educational programs, and all the participants learned valuable skills to last through their lives.

Garner State Park was one of several CCC projects here in the Texas Hill Country, and this September 16 & 17, it was the site of a reunion for a few of the aging "CCC Boys."

Crowds of well-wishers listened attentively as the old-timers described life in the CCC camp, and interviews were videotaped and catalogued for posterity. Exhibits and old photographs helped visitors understand the bygone era a little more clearly, and the buildings themselves provided dramatic evidence of the CCC’s lasting contributions to America. It was a proud day for all involved!

...

Read the entirety of this article in the print edition.

Subscribe online — it's quick and easy