Remembering How
Conservation Corps Helped Newburyport
By:
John Lagoulis, Life Member
Did
you know that Newburyport had a beneficial association with the Civilian
conservation Corps during the Great Depression?
People
were out of work, some families were suffering greatly, and many had
reached a point of losing hope. Then,
along came the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The CCC was a blessing to many families of Newburyport.
Let
me tell you how Newburyport fared with the CCC during the Great
Depression. At least, 30
percent of the country, Newburyport included, had no work at all.
Cold, hunger, depression were common place; people were losing
their final hope. I am a
witness to that.
President
Franklin S. Roosevelt created a program to help this desperate situation
in America. The program was
called “The Civilian conservation Corps” or “The CCC.”
It
was 1934. I was only 14 years
old and clearly remember standing before the break of dawn with men lined
up looking for work at the lower level of the Newburyport City Hall by the
side door on Green Street. We
were all waiting for that door to open, so we could sign up for acceptance
into the CCC. They took me
because of family need. We
were told to jump up into a big dump truck.
The adventure had begun!
From
there, the truck loaded with men was driven to the Newburyport depot,
where we boarded a Boston and Maine train.
That train then took us to places unknown, made it’s first stop
inside an Army building in Boston. It
amazed me that a building was large enough for a train to go into it.
The building contained a huge Army mess hall.
There we received a plate of beans and bread.
After
a few hours, we boarded a train. Everyone
was silent and confused. We
knew not where we were headed.
The
train stopped. We discovered
we were at Fort Devens in Ayer. We
were herded into a building where we were issued uniforms of World War I
soldiers — khaki, scratchy woolens and the so-called “Mae West”
jacket. Next, we lined up for
a tailor to adjust our “new” uniforms.
All complained that the shoes were too large.
The tailor charged less than a dollar for all “suit”
alterations,. e.g., 15 cents for a hem, 10 cents for each cuff, 5 cents
for a button. Later our
clothes were returned. The
clothing adjustments would be payable at the end of the month when
deducted from our pay.
After
the tailoring session, we were moved in a group over to the World War I
Army barracks. There, they
gave us a cot, blanket, a canteen and a work uniform.
That first night we received orientation by a barracks leader and
an Army sergeant. We went
through orientation.
On
day two, breakfast was a tasty chipped beef on toast.
After that Breakfast, we were told we were there to work, clear
land, build roadways, dig ditches, plant trees and build a small chapel in
the pines on the Mondnock Mountain range.
We did so. We cleared
the land, planted thousands of trees, built gravel roadways for the
benefit of farmers and created scenic views.
We opened up the spectacular views of Mt. Monadnock and complete
construction of a chapel in the pines as it stands today.
After World War II, our chapel in the pines was enlarged and became
known as the Cathedral in the Pines, where people visit, conduct marriages
ceremonies and renew wedding vows. It
is located in the, Annette State Park, in New Hampshire.
Daily
the CCC boy of Camp 1178 worked long and hard in the Monadnock mountains,
outside a small town called East Jaffrey, NH.
I lived and worked there for several months and turned 15 while in
the CCC.
At
the end of the first work month, the bugle sounded, and we heard, “line
up! Paymaster is here?” How
happy I was? At last my first
CCC paycheck? I expected to receive $30.
However,
they told me that $25 had already been sent home to my mother and sisters.
I agreed to that but expected still receive my five dollars.
Started, I was informed I also owed the Canteen $4.85, and he
pushed one nickel and one dime toward me.
I hesitated and wanted an explanation, but quickly changed my mind
when the sergeant came along and told me, “move on.”
From then on, it was 15 cents a month, and I was glad to get it.
Many
Newburyport families were very grateful for the opportunity to serve in
the Civilian Conservation Corps, which ultimately prepared me for service
in World War II and a very new and different life.
Did
you know there were many famous men who served in the CCC?
Walter Matthau, Ed McMahon, Frank Sinatra, and of course, yours
truly, were all CCC boys.
I
endured being a CCC boy and am proud of the CCC and their many
accomplishments. I am what I
am, and that’s all that I am.
God bless American and the CCC?
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