 Member
Sam Solloway said, "I have an idea. Let's have a CCC day in
Virginia." ...and, so it started.
Thanks to the idea of CCC alumni, Sam
Solloway of Petersburg, VA, Virginia now has the CCC Member
Appreciation Day. Passed by the Virginia General Assembly in
2006, March 31 will annually mark the contribution of CCC alumni to
the natural resources and outdoor recreational
system.
Sam and other alumni centered their CCC
meetings and activities around the CCC
Museum at Pocahontas State Park near Chester, VA. Although
they no longer meet formally their heart and souls are still with the
preservation of the CCC. Sam passed away in June of 2006, but
his legacy to CCC heritage will live on forever in his idea to have a
Virginia CCC day of recognition.
Also see article in the Virginia
DCR - Grassroots Newsletter July 2006
2006
Resolutions to honor the work of the CCC: Resolution SJR
109 Commemorating 2006 as the Official 70th
Anniversary of Virginia State Parks.
"Partnerships make it
happen"
Virginia CCC Member Appreciation Day - March
31
The CCC Legacy Foundation is proud to
work in partnership with Virginia residents who are
members of the National Association of CCC Alumni (NACCCA) and the
Virginia legislature to foster State wide recognition of CCC
projects. Virginia State Senator Mark Obenshain, (R-District 26)
of Harrisonburg, made the commitment to introduce the resolution and
through unanimous support it is now a reality.
Sam
Solloway, NACCCA Chapter #124 -- Pocahontas State Park, VA originally
envisioned the idea. Through working together on promotional
projects, a stronger CCC image can be created.
Why March 31?
1933
was a year marked by economic depression, 25% unemployment, soup
lines, drought, dust bowls and general moral decay.
As
America
slipped into some of its darkest
times, newly elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was
determined to put men to work.
Inaugurated
on March 4, Roosevelt Acted quickly and on March 21, President
Roosevelt sent a message to the 73rd Congress:
“I propose to create a civilian conservation corps to be
used in simple work, not interfering with normal employment, and
confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood
control and similar projects. More
important, however, than material gains, will be the moral and
spiritual value of such work.”
Through a vigilant and creative effort, the Secretaries of
Agriculture, Interior, War, Labor and the Judge Advocate General
crafted legislation that would change the face of natural resource
conservation methods to this day.
Ten
days later on
March 31, 1933
, FDR signed the Emergency Conservation
Work legislation that created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
Long thought to be the most successful of the New Deal
programs, it leaves us a legacy that created the infrastructure of our
nation’s outdoor recreational system and the very tenants of modern
conservation that are still used today.
A
"New Deal" had begun.
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