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CCC Legacy Journal: March / April
2010 Vol. 34, Issue 2
Local Boy Tells of Work in Arizona CCC Camp
By:
John Manocchio, Camp Reporter
The
following is a story of the life of Altoona, Pa, boys in the CCC camp at
Winslow, Arizona.
The
first thing I want to tell the parents in Altoona who have their sons here
is what kind of camp this is and the kind of work done here.
This is a forestry camp under the Department of Agriculture.
We are located in the Sitgreaves National Forest.
The work
done under the forestry service, includes road construction, building
telephone lines, and building miles of fences for the ranchers.
Also, construction of stack tanks to hold water for the cattle when
it rains.
This part
of Arizona has much timber. Common
trees are juniper, cedar, and yellow pine.
Not far from camp is the largest yellow pine in the United States.
All the
Altoona boys are enjoying themselves very much.
Here in camp each Saturday and Sunday most of the boys go for a
hike to the nearest ranches. Some
play ball and pitch horse shoes. Since
it is so warm here in the day, they go swimming in the nearby creek.
At
present every crew in camp is working on the Chevelon Butte.
A historic place where the famous Indian called Geronimo made his
stand to fight the soldiers after the Civil War.
Geronimo’s fort is located on the top of Chevelon Butte which is
about 9000 feet above sea level and located about eleven miles from camp.
From the
top of the butte one can see as far as the eye can.
Looking over many mountains, canyons and hundreds of miles of
Arizona waste land. The
Chevelon Butte is a very large mountain and the top has a level plateau of
more than 200 feet.
The boys
also have built a ranger fire station on the top of the butte since it is
so high. The rangers can see
everything from there. Not far
from Chevelon Butte is the Tonto Rim where the late Zane Grey wrote many
of his western novels.
Most of
the boys from the East never dreamed they would see such wonderful things
here in the West.
C-Man Uses First Aid Training in Winslow, AZ
Enrollee Jack Brazzo’s knowledge of first aid and his
quick thinking saved a local woman from a possible serious infection.
While Brazzo, who drives a GI truck for Co. 3346 (F-78), was on his
way into town for company mail, he was signaled by the woman.
She told him that she had been bitten by what seemed to have been a
cross between a domestic cat and a bobcat.
Brazzo, who holds an advanced first aid card, hurriedly
applied treatment to the wound and then started to rush the woman to the
Winslow Hospital. Remembering
that the truck could not go over 30 miles an hour he flagged a passing
motorist and transferred her to the faster car.
Back
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CCC Legacy Journal: January / February 2010 Vol. 34, Issue 1
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum and the Boys of the CCC
By:
Don M. Mahan, Freelance Writer
Visitors
at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum are truly impressed by the numbers desert
plants, trees, and specialty gardens.
A fantastic setting.
“It is all so natural,” An “Arizona paradise” are comments
frequently made by visitors.
Whether a few hours or a day, the time enjoyed at the Arboretum is
never long enough. Sit
down at any one of the numerous sites along the many pathways, relax and
you will not likely not want to leave.
That is how the founder of the Arboretum, Colonel William Boyce
Thompson, felt when he first visited the area.
William
Boyce Thompson was an extremely wealthy man.
He had made his millions in mining and investments.
Two mines from his worldwide portfolio, the Magma, and the
Inspiration, brought him to this part of Arizona.
Following his first view of Picket Post Mountain and the adjoining
wide expanse, Thompson knew he would build a home nearby.
The house he constructed was located at the cliff near the foot of
Picket Post. It
came to be Picket Post House.
It was more than a modest home, it was an 8,000 square foot
mansion. From
his Arizona residence, he viewed the beauty of his neighbor, Picket Post
Mountain the majesty of Apache Leap, Weaver’s Needle, the Superstition
Mountains and the thousands of desert acres surrounding his Arizona
estate.
Colonel
Thompson established the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in
Yonkers, New York in September, 1924.
This institute has proven of invaluable aid to farmers, florists,
and horticulturists of the country.
Thompson
envisioned a research arboretum in the Southwest, an institution to
preserve the trees and plants of Arizona, and as his dream unfolded, the
desert plants of the arid regions of the world.
Thompson’s dream was about to come to fruition.
Colonel
Boyce Thompson’s arboretum was located at the base of Picket Post
Mountain in full view from his Arizona home.
The dedication of the Arboretum took place on April 6, 1929.
The local newspaper, the Silver Belt proclaimed, “Crowds at
Thompson Arboretum Dedication.” Invitations had been sent “to all
parts of the world where desert growth prevails.”
The event was attended by dignitaries, scientist and many of the
clubs from the Globe and Miami area.
It was Thompson’s last triumph, but perhaps his greatest and most
enduring. Although
in his early sixties, he endured poor health.
He died the following year on Friday evening, June 27, 1930.
In announcing his passing, the Associated Press reported that
Colonel William Boyce Thompson
was interested in anything and everything that came out of the ground.”
Last rites were held at his home in Yonkers, New York.
Although Colonel William Boyce Thompson was laid to rest, his
Arizona dream would live on.
Colonel
Thompson had been a very wealthy man, while many others were poor, very
poor. It was
the Depression era and many others were very poor and jobless.
12 million were unemployed.
One of every four individuals able to work, wasn’t employed.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, shortly after taking the oath
of office as the 32nd President of the United States, initiated the
Civilian Conservation Corps a New Deal program that would have lasting
effects. It was
Senate Bill 598 that the President signed into law on March 31, 1933.
The Corps quickly received the moniker, the CCC.
Other nicknames were the “CCC Boys” the “Three C Boys,” “CCCers,”
“the Triple C” or simply the “Cs”.
Those
considered for enrollment were young, unmarried and unemployed men between
18 and 25 years old. The
age was later lowered to 17.
The average age of the youths was 18-19 years and the height was
5’ 8”. The
average weight was a little less than 150 pounds.
Yes, they were mere boys.
One youth lied about his age and enlisted at 15 years, remarked
Perry H. Merrill in the book,
Roosevelt’s Forest Army, A history of the Civilian Conservation
Corps,”. Under
aged boys were known to have served in Globe, as well at Stafford,
Arizona.
The
wages the boys received was $30 a month.
They were allowed to keep $5, but the rest of the amount was sent
home to their families.
For most of the youths, that was more than agreeable.
They were thankful for what they called “three hots and a cot.”
And that is what they received in most instances, a warm meal, a
tent for a home along with a cot and blanket for sleeping.
Those remaining in the permanent camps would eventually have
barracks for quarters.
Jobs and job training was their goal.
The President was interested in their “employment and worthwhile
leisure activity,” noted the Phoenix Gazette in a 1983 report.
The Arizona Republic commented in a 1990 issue that the boys could
“learn honest skills for an honest wage.”
Enlistment was for 6 months.
They were also given first opportunity when it came time to
re-enroll.
Senate
Bill 598 was launched by President Roosevelt on April 5,
1933; the first young man enrolled in the nationwide program the
following day. The
nation’s first camp appropriately name Camp Roosevelt, opened on April
17, 1933. Luray,
Virginia was home to the nation’s first CCC camp.
The first enrollment call nationwide was the 250,000 recruits.
The
objective of President Roosevelt’s new program was a peacetime force of
energetic youth, civilian youth dedicated to conservation.
They were youths willing to work on the land and water, in the
forests and on the mountain top.
His goal was 250,000 enlistees by the first of July, 1933.
When that date was reached, there were 275,000 enrolled in 1,302
camps in the United States.
By 1935 there were 2,650 camps and over 600,000 enrolled.
The
State of Arizona, like its counterpart States, was quick to meet the
challenge. The
first Arizona youth enrolled on May 9, 1933.
Not only did the State enroll many of its own recruits, it also
receive a large contingent from out of State.
Arizona and New Mexico made up Region 3, the Southwestern Region,
in the national program. Between the two states, 14 national forests were
supervised.
The
Arizona Daily Star released an announcement on April 26, 1933, in Tucson,
Arizona, stating that the Civilian Conservation Corps would have 28 camps
in Arizona. Nine
were to be established immediately.
One would be located along Russell Gulch, six miles south of Globe
in the foothills of the Pinal Mountains.
The camp and another one in Arizona near Safford, were the first
two CCC sites in Region 3.
Arizona’s initial call was for 4,800 recruits.
Between 1933 and 1942, the state would have 50 camps and enroll
41,362 young men. With
recruits from out of state included in the Arizona work force, the number
would swell to 52,905 youths.
The
first CCC camp at Globe was part of the National Forest project and
designated F-16-A. The
“F” was for National Forest as opposed to State Forest.
At the time, it was called the Crook National Forest.
Today it is known as the Tonto National Forest.
The first companies organized were number 804 and 806.
On Tuesday, May 23, 1933, the first of the CCC boys arrived in
camp. Between
Globe camp and the one in the Cononado National Forest near Safford, there
were 525 enrollees. The
newspaper for Miami and Globe, The Silver Belt, on May 26th carried an
announcement of the local recruiting office.
It was headquartered at the Maurel Hotel in Globe.
The two headquartered at the Maurel Hotel in Globe.
The two Arizona communities would supply many recruits as the years
rolled by.
The
following year, the Mesa Tribune announced that a chaplain, headquartered
in Phoenix, would look after the young men in the Phoenix and Globe camps.
The Tonto Wrangler, a camp newspaper, reported in its second issue
that one chaplain brought along musicians from time to time.
It stated that there were Mexican as well as Filipino musicians.
The boys at most camps played harmonicas.
The
Pinal Mountain camp would have a long life.
From May, 1933, down to it abandonment in March, 1942, it was home
to many a boy and completed a number of projects.
The work assignments included road construction, fire towers, soil
erosion, revegetation and recreational sites.
The first recruits at Arizona’s Pinal Mountain camp arrived from
Houston, Texas. The
boys traveled from Texas on a special train provided by the Southern
Pacific Railroad. It
transported them to Stafford, Arizona.
The train and its unique cargo arrived at Stafford on May 23, 1933.
Of the 525 youths on board, 173 were immediately sent by truck to
Treasure Park on Mount Graham near Safford.
The rest were delivered by truck to Globe.
From Globe the Texans were disbursed to various Gila County
locations. A
number of the boys were transported to the Grand Canyon and a special work
detail.
Recruits
poured in to the various recruiting offices from all over the state.
As mentioned earlier, Globe and Miami supplied their share of
recruits. By
mid July, 1933, most of the camps were in full operation.
At first, the boys lived in canvas tents until
barracks
were constructed. At
the temporary camps away from the main camp, they
always lived in tents.
The boys of Pinal Mountain camp south of Globe along Russell Gulch
eventually built four suitable barracks with material purchased in-state,
reported, the Silver Belt on October 13, 1933.
They also constructed a flagpole with a rock wall leading to it
stated their camp newspaper, the Pinal Mt. Echo, on October 24, 1935.
Each of the barracks was usually home for about 50 young men.
The Strukan Store in Globe was one of the camp suppliers.
The only indication today that a CCC camp had been in the foothills
of the Pinal Mountains is the remaining erosion controls the boys placed
near their camp site. A
series of drainage ditches with dry laid cobble check dams is all that is
visible. Nearby
would have been their barracks.
Now all is long gone.
Some
issues of the camp newspaper remain.
They are to be found in various libraries and collections.
The small newspaper was printed on a mimeograph machine, thanks to
the Globe Junior Chamber of Commerce.
The camp newspaper, first named the Pinal Mt. Echo, later changed
its’ name to The Globe.
Most all of the C.C.C. Camps, and some of the fly camps, had their
own newspapers.
Two
other camps were located in the Miami area.
One at the J.K. Ranch and the other at the Schultz Ranch.
The camp at the J.K. Ranch was simply called the J-K camp, whereas
the Schultz Range camp was called Airport Camp.
The J-K was northwest of Miami and Airport was several miles
southwest of Miami along U.S. Highway 60.
It was adjacent to Bloody Tanks Wash.
Both locations worked primarily in erosion control and revegetation.
They also built check dams and worked on recreation projects.
The camps were in operation between 1933 and 1935.
The Silver Belt reported on November 17, 1933, and 200 boys had
arrived in the country and were assigned to Airport Camp.
The following year on October 5th, it again mentioned the camps at
the J.K. Ranch and the Schultz Ranch.
The
Boyce Thompson Arboretum was another site privileged to be on the roster
for a number of recruits.
On July 12, 1933, twenty young men were reported as being at the
Arboretum. They
traveled there by truck.
The site was some 37 miles from their main camp in the foothills
south of Globe. As
the location wasn’t one of the regular camp, it was considered a side
camp, some called it a spur or spike camp.
The Arboretum camp was considered a fly camp.
This was true for a number of other side camps in the national
system. By late
1935, the number of the boys at the Arboretum had been reduced to twelve.
The Pinal Mt. Echo reported, in its issue of November 7, 1935, that
Leonard A. Prichard was in charge of the fly camp.
Following
arrival at Superior, Arizona, the boys had looked for the largest level
site near the vicinity of the Arboretum and Picket Post Mountain.
The decision was to set up camp along Arnett Creek, noted James E.
Ayers in his manuscript “An Archeological Reconnaissance of the Boyce
Thompson Southwestern Arboretum.”
Once the camp site was established, the boys began setting up their
quarters. No,
not barracks, but canvas tents.
A half dozen or so tents were set up, the majority of them for
sleeping and personal quarters.
The tents would sleep four to six recruits to each tent.
The other tents were for the commissary and other camp needs.
The first cots the boys used were ones they had stuffed themselves
with straw. A
55 gallon steel drum in a sand box served as their wood
stove. Each
man washed his own clothing and bedding.
The
recruits were there to work and work they did.
Their day typical of most camps, had a wake up call at 6 am.
Breakfast was at 6:30am.
After a busy morning, they are lunch at 1 pm and were soon back on
the job. The
work day concluded at 4 pm and supper was at 5 or 5:30 pm.
The evening was theirs for study, leisurely reading or some type of
recreation. At
10 or no later than 10:30 pm, it was lights out.
None objected. They
were tired and exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep.
Stan Cohen, in his publication “The Tree Army” revealed what
was the unofficial motto of the CCC boys.
It was simply “we can take it.”
Some
of the boys were busy with pick and shovel making pathways which needed
leveled and smoothed. The
excess dirt was related to other demanding areas.
Seeds and grasses, along with many plants and flowers, were to be
set in place. The
same was true of trees and shrubs.
All the existing plants were to be saved, relocated if necessary,
but more often then not, it was the path that was moved.
A number of native plants were for revegetation projects.
The boys put both their hands and heart into the work assigned.
The CCC designed that particular character of their work as
“nursery.”
The
Pinal Mt. Echo on November 7, 1935, reported that the boys at the
“Superior Spur Camp,” the one of the Arboretum planted over 40,000
plants, 26 different types of trees and about 50 different shrubs.
The young men had been very busy.
The
boys at the nursery also worked closely with those at the Miami J-K camp.
Due to activities by the mines, the area there was devoid of any
growth. With
the help of man and thousands of plants and grasses, the goal was to
revegetate the area. By
December, 1935, the nursery at the Arboretum had stocked 91,000 potted and
142,000 bare rooted plants.
Many of these were assigned for planting by the J-K boys in the
Bloody Tanks area, reported the December 5, 1935 issue of the Pinal Mt.
Echo.
The
camp newspaper pointed back to the previous summer of 1935 when some
15,000 plants had been put in place by the CCC boys.
Happily six months later, the report was a survival rate of 95%.
It was estimated that over 300,000 native range plants were raised
each year at the nursery and used extensively in revegetation of range
land and erosion projects.
Today,
thanks to those boys and the many volunteers that followed, the
Arboretum’s 323 acres has nearly 2 miles of trails and walkways and over
3,200 different types of living plants and trees.
The boys themselves considered the Arboretum as “one of the best
in the world.” Following
the death of Colonel Thompson, the Arboretum has been carefully looked
after, allowing his dream to reveal to all onlookers the beauty of Arizona
and the arid deserts of the world.
Grateful
thanks are extended, from the first worker to the current staff and the
many entities involved.
To the boys of the CCC, there will always be a warm feeling and an
extended hand for their time and loving interest in the plants, trees, and
pathways of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
References:
Tonto
National Forest, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona
State Library and Archives, Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix
Public Library, Arizona Collection, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona
State University, Arizona Collection, Tempe, AZ,
Arizona
Historical Society, Tuscon, AZ
Gila County
Historical Society, Globe, AZ
Note:
Reprinted with permission
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On this Page
CCC Legacy Articles:
Mar / Apr 2010
Vol.
34, Issue 2
Local Boy Tells of Work
C Boy Used First Aid
Jan / Feb 2010
Vol.
34, Issue 1
Boyce Thompson Arboretum &
the CCC |
