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CCC Legacy Journal: July - August, 2009 Vol.
33, Issue 4
 Bass
River State Forest Celebrates CCC Recognition Day
The
Bass River State Forest Office, Burlington County, New Jersey, was the site of a
commemorative ceremony on March 30, 2009, honoring the Civilian Conservation
Corps. At this time, a bronze
statuette of a C.C.C. enrollee was given to the Cynthia L. Coritz,
Superintendent of Bass River State Forest, the oldest state forest in New
Jersey. The 9” statuette was
presented by Doug Kiovsky, of Princeton, New Jersey, and will be added to the
artifacts, pictures, and memorabilia accompanying the recreation of a C.C.C.
superintendent’s office that is displayed at the forest office. Kivosky is an
employee of the Hunterdon County Park. "If it were not for these young
men," Kiovsky said, "a lot of our parks would not have been created.
The fire tower at Bass River State Forest was built by the CCC, and the cabins
for families were built by the CCC as well."
Special
mention was made for two veterans of the C.C.C. camps at Bass River, who passed
away in 2008: John Nisky and Renert Wiseman.
Nisky was one of the C.C.C. boys, who provided invaluable information on
life at the camp, and whose oral history was recently transcribed and is now
available for researchers.
Wiseman was local resident who enlisted in the C.C.C.
Both men were present and honored at the C.C.C. 75th
commemoration held in June, 2008 at the state forest’s C.C.C. monument.
Part
of the ceremony was a reading of a Joint New Jersey Senate and Assembly
resolution that designated 31 March 2009 as Civilian Conservation Corps
Recognition Day in the state by Dan Campbell, the Resource Interpretive
Specialist of Historic Resources.
The
CCC camp at Bass River State Forest, Camp S-55, lasted from 1933 to 1942,
throughout the entire life of the CCC. Company 225 served at the camp from
1933-1937 and Company 2201-V, a Veteran’s company, followed from 1937-1942.
There were usually 200 men at the camp, which was a full complement. The CCC
members performed wide range of conservation work. The young men of the CCC
built park roads, trails, bridle paths, bridges for vehicles, ponds for fish and
waterfowl, lookout towers, nature observatory shelters, picnic areas, cabins,
fireplaces, campgrounds, recreational lakes, and landscaping. The enrollees
assisted in firefighting, and three young men lost their lives fighting a fire
in 1936. The most noteworthy feat
was the creation of the 67-acre Lake Absegami, by damming two streams flowing
through the forest. The foundations of Camp S-55 and the CCC Memorial are part
of a self-guided trail. Brochures are available at the Forest Office and at the
beginning of the trail near the parking lot on East Greenbush Road. Stop in at
the Forest Office to see artifacts from our Camp as well as a partial list of
members from our Camp.
If
you were a part of Camp S-55 or have a friend or relative who served in our
camp, please contact the Bass River State Forest office at 609-296-1114.
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