By Deniane Gutke (Kartchner)
Printed in Blue Mountain Shadows Vol. 1, 1987
Reprinted with permission
 
Windmills such as this were built throughout San Juan county to  pump water from wells into tanks like the one described in this article. This one was built at a spike camp in 1938. (Donna Wozniak collection)
          Shadows blanket the rocky mesa and hills of San Juan County as the setting sun marks the end of another day. Off to the left of Highway 262, the sun strikes a metal windmill. Standing like a lighthouse over a calm sea, the windmill's newness contrasts sharply with the crumbling rock water tank at its base. The 30-foot diameter tank is overrun by cheat grass and littered with rusty pop cans and broken glass which lie in a lingering pool of stagnant water. Even in its melancholy state, the old water tank is still beautiful; obviously, many years ago it was very serviceable.

    Merely a dot in southern San Juan County, the tank and its history are now forgotten by the thriving communities of the 1980's, though not by the youth of yesterday who were a part of that history. Members of an organization known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), received income for constructing the tank and other projects like it throughout San Juan County. As a result, the CCC boosted economic conditions on the San Juan frontier in the 1930's and 40's, and positively affected the lives of the many people involved.

Great Depression Impacts Nation's Youth

     By March 1933, more than twelve million people were unemployed. Five thousand banks had collapsed, and nine million people had lost their savings. Thousands stood in bread lines or sold apples on the streets while farmers, unable to pay mortgages on their homes, formed mobs to resist eviction orders. (Bronz 680) The Great Depression was in full force. Many people marked this time as a turning point in their lives. Congress had approved President Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to ease unemployment among the nation's youth, which went into action on March 29, 1933. ( Horan 107) The plan was first known as the Civilian Corps Reforestation Youth Movement and was later changed to the Civilian Conservation Corps. Roosevelt said about the CCC: "Our program is twofold: conservation of our natural resources, and conservation of our human resources. Both are sound investments for the future of our country." (Horan)
 

    Appointing a national director was one of the first steps Roosevelt took toward activation of the CCC. For this job he chose Robert Fechner, who formed policy and coordinated activities of the four federal developments which were involved. (Dictionary of American History 51) The Department of Labor worked through state and local agencies to

Toddy Wozniak (left) and two other CCC boys stationed in Blanding. Center boy was nick-named Choppy. (Donna Wozniak collection)
  select men to be enrolled. The Departments of Agriculture and Interior organized and supervised work projects, and the Department of War administered the work companies or camps. (Dictionary of American History)

CCC Organization

    Next, President Roosevelt appointed state inspectors and directors who worked with the individual counties and camp management. Each camp was run by two different managements: the Army and the Forest Service. Army supervision included two lieutenants over food and supplies, and a captain over general proceedings in the camp. While the Army was in charge of enrollees in camp, the Forest Service oversaw them on the job. To make work efficient, the Forest Service employed experienced local foremen; they worked with an advisory board to coordinate projects and took the responsibility to teach enrollees project know-how and safety. (Hurst 12.)

    Establishment of fair wages was another step taken to put the CCC into action. The government agreed to pay enrollees' transportation, room and board, and a monthly salary of $30. Enrollees were required to enlist for six months in the camp. Once the six months were up, they could reenlist or go home, and the government paid their way back. But, if for any reason other than sickness and death an enrollee did not stay the six months, he had to get home on his own. (Thomas (Toddy) Wozniak, oral interview by Deniane Gutke, July 7, 1987, Blanding, Utah, p. 2.)
 
Captain Williams, Captain Nunn, and Lieutenant Jamison at Blanding CCC camp on Armistice Day 1935. (Donna Wozniak photo)
 

    The CCC caught the interest of thousands of unemployed youth. In New York, many of these hopeful young men--most of them in thin summer clothes and with no overcoats--lined up before dawn in front of Army headquarters. Across the nation, thousands waited to file their applications and pass a physical to enter the CCC. Upon acceptance, each enlisted man was sent to an operation camp, usually far from home and quite different from what they were used to.

    The first New York applicant accepted was from the lower East Side. He was dancing a jig to celebrate when reporters told him he would probably be sent to the West. He stopped jigging and a newsman asked if anything was wrong. The boy scratched his head and said very seriously, "What the hell are we going to do about those Indians?" (Horan, p. 105.)

 

A CCC Enrollee a Day Kept Depression Away continued
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Last Updated July 22, 1997 by Janet Wilcox