Hard Work and a Good Deal : The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota

by Sommer, Barbara W.

• ISBN13: 9780873516129
• ISBN10: 0873516125
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-02-01
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Pr

Summary

"Hard Work and A Good Deal" traces the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which supplied jobs to over 77,000 Minnesotans during the Great Depression. Nearly one hundred interviews contribute to oral historian Barbara W Sommer's lively narrative as the "boys" look back on their time in the CCC, during which many of them became men. African American enrollees tell of the segregated policies enforced in the army-run camps: workers for the CCC-Indian Division remember reservation projects that included rebuilding a fur trade-era stockade at Grand Portage. Together, these men give voice to early efforts that advanced the conservation of Minnesota's natural resources by decades in a few short years.

Author Biography

Barbara W. Sommer is a founder of the Oral History Association of Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
The ccc Takes Shape
Introduction: The Quiet Change	p. 5
Why We Needed the ccc	p. 7
What Was the ccc?	p. 15
Who Joined Minnesota's ccc?	p. 29
A Home Away from Home	p. 39
Life in the ccc	p. 55
The Work of the ccc
Introduction: Minnesota's Conservation Foundations	p. 77
Planting Trees and Fighting Fires	p. 83
Building Up Parks	p. 99
Preserving Soil, Water, and Traditions	p. 109
The ccc's Imprint on Minnesota	p. 123
Minnesota ccc and ccc-id Camps	p. 136
Minnesota ccc Camp Newspapers	p. 164
Minnesota's Historic ccc Sites	p. 166
Notes	p. 168
Oral History Source Note	p. 182
Bibliography	p. 186
Index	p. 196
Illustration Credits	p. 205
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