"30 Years of Commitment Combined with Second Generation Appreciation"
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"30 Years of Commitment Combined with Second Generation Appreciation"
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CCC Member Appreciation Day - Guest Forum Joan Sharpe - March 28, 2007 (Click to enlarge)
Books about CCC donated to local library Jessica C. Hindman - February 23, 2005 Want to explore the legacy of the CCC by looking at photographs, reading about the history of the fest service, or exploring the actual handbook printed for CCC enrollees? The Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation has donated four books to the Shenandoah County Library: "The Tree Army, A pictorial History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942," by Stan Cohen; "We can take It - A Short Story of the CCC, by Ray Hoyt; "One Hundred Years of the Forest Service - History of the Forest Service," by Gerald Williams PhD; and "Your CCC - A Handbook for Enrollees (Revised Edition)." The donation was part of an effort by the foundation to expand educational tools which incorporate CCC history. The foundation also support classroom talks by Ranger Joe Lehnen in sixth to eighth grade classrooms. We...would like to develop a broader, less geographically specific curriculum that could talk about CCC from a Virginia-as-a whole point of view," said Joan Sharpe, the foundation's president. "We would like to incorporate CCC stuff with SOL objectives," she said. Sharpe also want to provide the curriculum to scouting groups, 4-H and FFA chapters, area foresters, conservation organizations and historical groups. More info: www.ccclegacy.org.
Foundation proposes $3 million CCC center Jessica Hindman - February 23, 2005 Edinburg - It's been nearly 72 years since the first trainload of hungry, shoeless, hopeful young men arrived to start their lives anew in the forests outside of Edinburg. In exchange for their journey to work at the Massanutten Mountain campsite, they were promised "three hots and a cot" - hot food and reliable shelter - an attractive offer to young men who were suffering the brunt of the nation's Great Depression. With the opening of Camp Roosevelt in 1933 in the George Washington National Forest's Lee Ranger District, President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented one of the most popular and far-reaching programs of his New Deal -- the Civilian Conservation Corps. The men arriving at the train depot in Edinburg had little idea they were the first of what would grow to be nearly 3,000 camps across the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Within nine years, almost 3 million men participated in what became one of the largest environmental salvage operations in U.S. history. Before the camps closed in 1942, Roosevelt's "Tree Army" built tens of thousands of bridges, restored hundreds of lodges and museums, and planted over 3 billion trees. Now, an Edinburg group wants to recognize the CCC legacy in a multimillion dollar facility which will display camp barrack replicas, a fire tower model, fish pond, and house of 50-seat auditorium. The Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation is a heritage organization which aims to raise awareness of the camp and promote-educational tools about the CCC in school curriculums. The foundation's president, Joan Sharpe, learned of the idea by chance one day when she went to the forestry office for camping information and met Ranger Jim Smalls. Sharpe, a former Edinburg Chamber of Commerce president was interested in Smalls' idea for an interpretive center and has been working with the Forest Service office. Recently Smalls and Sharpe have worked together to obtain a 1942 stake body truck -- the main mode of transportation in the CCC camps. Should the center be built, the truck would be used as an exhibit. "Edinburg was the railroad hub of the CCC camp -- al of the mail and men came through here." said Sharpe. "There are so many people here who have a personal legacy -- thousands have a personal connection to the CCC." One person to have such a legacy is Smalls. Born in Harlem and raised in Queens, NY. Smalls was inspired by is grandfather, a CCC enrollee in NY state, to go into forestry. He has been advocating the CCC center in Edinburg for the past six years. Smalls said he was inspired by Jim Wilkins Jr., whose father was the camp's superintendent to pursue his idea. Smalls originally sought to build an honorary CCC pavilion, but Wilkins encouraged him to think bigger. "He said 'why don't we build something bigger than a pavilion but smaller than a convention center," Smalls recalled with a laugh. C.E. Thompson of C.E. Thompson & Sons Corp, had ties to the CCC. He was a locally employed man, or a L.E.M. L.E.M.'s were people who came from the local community surrounding the camp. There were hired because they had a skill, and they taught the primarily urban enrollees how to build trails, construct bridges, and fight fires. He'd go into the camps and teach raw employees from the city how to work a saw and cut down a tree," Sharpe said. Sharpe said Camp Roosevelt's legacy reaches beyond Edinburg. "I see this as Virginia's other first," she said. "Shenandoah County was the birthplace of the modern conservation movement. The very tenants of modern conservation were developed during the days of the CCC. If it weren't for the work that the men in the CCC camps did, conservation as we know it would not exist." Sharpe, whose enthusiasm for the project is palpable, asked, "Can you imagine Virginia with no state parks? No fish hatcheries? The first state parks and the first fish hatcheries were all built by the CCC." As for the proposed interpretive center, Sharpe said it will be a way for the community to work with the forest service. "From my perspective it's about preserving history while promoting economic development," she said. "There's so much good that could come out of it." The approximately 11,000 square foot building would also incorporate the Lee District Forest Office, which would relocate from its current site in the corner of the Coleman Microwave on Molineu Road in Edinburg to the district's worksite, located on the corner of Koontz Street and King Cola Lane, The worksite would be slightly rear-arranged to incorporate the new facility. According to Sharpe, the forest service was looking for 10-15 acres in the Edinburg for it new office and realized that it could incorporate existing acreage around the current worksite for its new office facility and the interpretive center. The work site is comprised of approximately eight acres. Sharpe believes the worksite is the perfect place for an interpretive center because the property has historic implications. According to Smalls, the land was acquired by the Forest Service in 1938 when Camp Roosevelt was still active. Traces of the old path of the railroad line can also be seen on the property. The worksite is used for the storage of tools and equipment used by the Forestry Service. The two largest structure on the property were built in 1930s style -- although the depot building is from the Depression era and "the bathhouse" building is modern but designed to look like it was built in the CCC period. The bathhouse was designed for emergency situations such as forest fires, where firefighters can take showers and get a hot meal. "They went through a lot of trouble to make the building look the same," Sharpe said. The site also contains truck garage which was built by CCC men and moved from Camp Roosevelt after the camp closed. The proposed forest office will be funded with $2.75 million dollars in federal funding from the Virginia Department of Forestry. The federal funding was sponsored by Congressman Bob Goodlatte. The interpretive center will be funded by the department and the Wilkins Charitable Trust, a private contributions made by Jim Wilkins Jr. of Winchester. "Wilkins (Sr.) was a jobless young man who heard about the CCC," said Sharpe. "He got the job as superintendent and went on to become wealthy," Sharpe said. Other sponsors include the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the legacy foundation. For more information: www.ccclegacy.org. CCC picnic Sunday at Camp Roosevelt September 8, 2004 - Written by Wilhelmina Santiful
The 27th annual picnic and reunion sponsored by the Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation will be held Sunday in the Lee Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest.
The potluck lunch will be served at 12 p.m. in the campground. The public is invited. Picnickers are asked to share their favorite food and soft drinks, along with folding chairs.
Camp Roosevelt, located nine miles from Edinburg in the Fort Valley region of the George Washington National Forest was the first Civilian conservation Corps camp established in the nation. It opened April 17, 1933, 17 days after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Emergency Conservation Work Act to help bring the nation back to economic stability during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Less than a month later a second camp was established in Columbia Furnace at Wolf Gap Mountain. Through the program, thousands of young men were recruited to work in forests, fight fires, stock streams with fish, and build roads and bridges in the preservation of natural resources.
The CCC provided paying jobs and a disciplined environment by the young men between the ages of 17 and 25 who were unmarried out of school, and unemployed. Many of the CCC boys, as they were called, were some of the first to join the military in World War II, because of military skills learned at the CCC camps. Sixty-three camps were opened in Virginia. During the nine-year existence of the CCC, 2,600 camps were set up throughout the nation. This year marked the 71st anniversary of the CCC program, which ended in 1942.
During a memorial service Joe Lehnen of the Virginia Department of Forestry, will read the names of the CCC boys who died since the 2003 picnic.
A special memorial will be held for Ralph Bauserman, the District 3 Supervisor who died July 23. He was a supporter of the CCC Legacy Foundation and worked to preserve the heritage Camp Roosevelt and the CCC. Ranger Jim Smalls will report on progress in building a site for the Cam Roosevelt CCC Interpretive Center and Lee District Forest Service Office.
Joan Sharpe, president of the Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation, will review the year's activities. Sharpe has been names to legislation, archives and reunions committees of the National Association of CCC Alumni. As chair of the legislation committee, she will explore the design a new stamp that will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the CCC in 2008.
The Legacy Foundation is developing an education handout that will teach students, 4-H members, and Scouts about the CCC legacy of developing state land and wildlife conservation programs. Last year. Forester Lehnen shared the CCC story with 180 sixth graders. Workshop today to promote CCC - Will tourists come to Shenandoah County to see nation's first camp? March 3, 2004 - Written by Wilhelmina Santiful The partnership of the Camp Roosevelt Civilian Conservation Corps legacy Foundation and the Virginia Tourism Corporation is hosting a workshop to promote the legacy of the CCC in a tourism environment. Ralph Earnhardt, VTC community services administrator, will moderate the workshop to be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. March 4 in the Inn at Narrow Passage. Attendees at the invitation-only workshop will be a cross-section of professional agency conservationists, historians, and tourism promotion personnel. "Many agencies and organizations are holders of the CCC legacy, but an effort to coordinate and promote this information has never been attempted. This workshop is designed to develop the feasibility and methodology for beginning this effort. The mixture of state and regional personnel will provide interesting input into a little-known piece of American history," said Joan Sharpe, Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation President. Earnhardt has 39 years of experience in the hospitability industry. This included serving as assistant comptroller of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, operations manager at the Williamsburg Inn, executive assistant manager of the John Marshall Hotel, and director of retail operations for the Valentine Museum. He has also served as president of hospitality Marketing and Management Services, Inc., as well as president of Virginia's Destination, Inc. "As a grass roots heritage organization, it is the purpose of the Camp Roosevelt Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation to promote the legacy of the men and projects of the CCC. As the numbers of CCC enrollees dwindle in number, it becomes important to support the remaining men in their quest to keep this heritage alive. It is only through reaching the general population that we will be able to help them do this," said Sharpe. The workshop will be a fact finding endeavor to ascertain:
Former police chief visits Edinburg Ole Time Fest September 24, 2003 - Written by Wilhelmina Santiful Steve smith, a former Edinburg police chief, cam back after 22 years to participate in the 2003 Ole Time Festival. This time he was an Army officer in the CCC Camp reenactment, something he does as a hobby. Smith was police chief from 1975-1981. "Actually, there was only me and two German shepherd dogs on the the force, " he mused. At the time of his appointment, Smith was the youngest police chief of a township in the Virginia Commonwealth. After leaving Shenandoah County, he took a job on the Alexandria police force, where he remained several years. Smith always wanted to go into the armed services, and only months before the cutoff age for joining (35), he found the courage to follow his dream. He joined the Air National Guard and did basic training in West Virginia, where he now lives. He loves his work as an aircraft mechanic. "My career has been the opposite of most military men. Usually men join the armed service when they are young, and serve their tours for however long hey choose. They then retire and later go into other professions. I did it all backwards, but it was worth it." Smith spends his hobby time in military reenactments, with his favorite being Civil War and CCC encampments. While the CCC boys were young male nonmilitary recruits, the camps were actually set up and run by the army. He also participates in living history reenactments, which included the Spanish-American War, the American Revolutionary War, World War I and II and the British-Zulu War. Daugherty to speak in Fort Valley - Author of "The CCC and Me" will be the speaker at the 26th Camp Roosevelt picnic August 27, 2003 - Written by Wilhelmina Santiful
Fort Valley - Raymond Daugherty, author of "The CCC and Me" will be guest speaker here at the 26th Camp Roosevelt CCC picnic, to be held Sunday, Sept 14 at the Camp Roosevelt campgrounds.
The potluck lunch begins at 11 a.m. Picnic-goers are asked to b ring their favorite dish to share and folding chairs. Iced tea, paper plates, cups, ice, and plastic cutlery will be provided by picnic organizers.
Ranger Jim Smalls will update the funding for the Camp Roosevelt CCC Interpretive Center and Lee District Forest Service Office, to be location in Edinburg on Route 11.
During a memorial service, the names of the CCC members who have dies since last year's picnic will be read. Joan Sharpe, president of the Camp Roosevelt CCC Legacy Foundation, will introduce the speaker.
Daugherty, 85, published "The CCC and Me" weeks before the 70th Anniversary celebration of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which provided paying jobs and a disciplined environment for young men during the Great Depression. Daugherty was one of those young men.
The CCC was a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program, which recruited thousand of young men to work in forests, parks, lands and water in the preservation of and use of basic natural resources. Men between the ages of 17 and 25 who were unmarried, out of school, and unemployed were eligible.
Camp Roosevelt was the first CCC Camp in the nation, located nine miles from Edinburg in the George Washington National Forest. The camp opened on April 17, 1933, 17 days after Roosevelt signed the Emergency conservation Work Act. On May 14, a second Shenandoah County camp was establish in Columbia Furnace in Wolf Gap's mountain region.
Sixty-three camps were opened in Virginia during the 11-year existence of the CCC, 2,650 camps were set up throughout the nation.
Daugherty is a West Virginia native with ties to both Rockingham and Shenandoah counties. For 35 years he was comptroller of the Rockingham Poultry Marketing Cooperative which necessitated his traveling extensively throughout the Shenandoah Valley region. At that time his company was the fifth or sixth largest poultry business in the nation. Although he never went to college, Daugherty was in charge of finances for big business for more than three decades.
In his book about his experiences in the CCC, Daugherty related he was assigned to Camp Hardy, Company 1524, which built Lost River State Park, near his hometown of Landgraff, WV. For the first six months after his enlistment, Daugherty landscaped and logged for a fire break and built boundary fencing.
Daugherty has published two other books. "Tall Tales But True" came out in 2001, and "Blunders and Blessings, 84 Years of Memories" was published the following year. All three books are about different phases of his life.
Daugherty is supporting the Camp Roosevelt CCC Interpretive Center and his books are on display at the Lee District Ranger Station in Edinburg.
The first two books sell for $12, and the "CCC and Me" costs $10. They are for sale at:
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