Hard Work and a Good Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota

by Barbara W. Sommer

Overview

CCC veterans tell compelling stories of their experiences planting trees, fighting fires, building state parks, and reclaiming pastureland in this collective history of the CCC in Minnesota.

The Civilian Conservation Corps—born out of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal at the height of the Great Depression—supplied jobs to more than 77,000 Minnesotans in need. Their work left a lasting legacy, visible today in Minnesota's thriving forests, state park amenities, and soil conservation practices.

Hundreds of interviews complement oral historian Barbara Sommer's lively text with personal accounts that animate the history of the CCC in Minnesota as camps were created and projects tackled throughout the state. The "boys" look back—often fondly—at this program, which, for many, was their introduction to the workforce and to life away from home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681342344
Publisher:	Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.46(d)

About the Author

Barbara W. Sommer has served as director or codirector for numerous oral history projects and coauthored related publications. She is a founder of the Oral History Association of Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     vii
The ccc Takes Shape
Introduction: The Quiet Change     5
Why We Needed the ccc     7
What Was the ccc?     15
Who Joined Minnesota's ccc?     29
A Home Away from Home     39
Life in the ccc     55
The Work of the ccc
Introduction: Minnesota's Conservation Foundations     77
Planting Trees and Fighting Fires     83
Building Up Parks     99
Preserving Soil, Water, and Traditions     109
The ccc's Imprint on Minnesota     123
Minnesota ccc and ccc-id Camps     136
Minnesota ccc Camp Newspapers     164
Minnesota's Historic ccc Sites     166
Notes     168
Oral History Source Note     182
Bibliography     186
Index     196
Illustration Credits     205

Editorial Reviews

"This well-researched book captures the Minnesota experience through the very personal voices of CCC veterans. I was fascinated by the unique circumstances surrounding the Native Americans and Blacks who served in Minnesota. A very enjoyable read."
Robert J. Moore, author of The Civilian Conservation Corps in Arizona’s Rim Country: Working in the Woods

"The oral histories throughout Hard Work and a Good Deal add immeasurably to this readable, thorough contribution to Minnesota history. A generation of young men whose talents could so easily have been lost in the Great Depression describe their hard work as well as the day-to-day life in CCC camps. Well done!"
Victoria Ford, coauthor, The Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada: From Boys to Men

"Sommer's narrative clearly contextualizes the CCC for those unfamiliar with it and skillfully interweaves excerpts from interviews with former CCC enrollees. These voices keep Hard Work lively and add a human dimension to her story."
Annals of Iowa

"Thanks to Sommer, the words and photographs of a generation of CCC workers bring this history of the land of ten thousand lakes to life."
Natural History Magazine

From the Publisher