Lesson 9 - Building Indiana State Parks

Activity 1: The Civilian Conservation Corps: Building our State Parks

Students will learn about the CCC in general, and why it was formed. For this lesson the students will be divided into groups to do research on the New Deal programs that impacted Indiana State Parks the most: the CCC and the Works Progress Administration. As a result of their research, the students should work together to prepare a live-broadcast news program to report on the work of the CCC and WPA. Students should be prepared to report on a variety of topics, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the CCC camps, and the daily life and work of a member of the CCC or WPA.

After the news programs, students will discuss how the program benefited the state parks we have here in Indiana such as Turkey Run, Pokagon, Shakamak, Ouabache, McCormick’s Creek or O’Bannon Woods. The students should be able to talk about two or three positive things and two or three negative things about the New Deal.

• Background

  In 1933, the United States was in the grip of the Great Depression. Banks no longer had money. Many people were out of work and hungry. The CCC was established in 1933 by President Roosevelt as one of the first programs in the New Deal. The CCC was designed as a work program for young men from ages 18 to 25. The workers would sign up for a renewable six-month term in which they would work on projects mostly related to land management, soil conservation and parks construction. They received a $30 per month stipend, $25 of which was sent home to their families. A number of Indiana’s State Parks were developed by the CCC. The CCC was and remains one of the most popular programs of the New Deal.

  CCC workers lived at camps that were run by the Army. The CCC offered an education and skills training. Camps had sports teams, newsletters and recreational activities.
  The WPA also hired unemployed workers for building projects and other projects, including park shelters. The WPA also offered jobs to artists and musicians. In 1938, the WPA employed 3 million men and women. WPA workers were generally older, married and had children.

  The Story of the 517th Company

  The 517th Company of the CCC was established in 1934. After training at Fort Knox, Kentucky the 517th was stationed in Corydon at Camp Wyandotte from May 1934 to October 1937. From there the company moved to South Bend for two years and then on to Portland in eastern Indiana for its final two years. The company finally disbanded in 1941 as the country turned its attention toward the escalating conflict in Europe. While at Camp Wyandotte, the 517th graded roads, built stone walls, planted trees, and constructed buildings that still stand. The 517th even helped victims of the devastating 1937 flood that impacted many of Indiana’s Ohio River communities.

  But it wasn’t all conservation work for the CCC. The men not only learned valuable trade skills, but also received an education in the classroom. The young men took classes on a variety of topics such as mechanical drawing, typing, foreign languages and art. Extracurricular activities included boxing, debating and singing as part of quartet.
  Indiana had 56 CCC companies, eight of which were made up solely of African-Americans. Despite wording in the legislation that created the CCC that disallowed discrimination, the program was segregated based on race because of the prevailing racial attitudes of the day. The 517th, which had about 250 men, was the largest and most enduring of Indiana’s African-American CCC companies. Other African-American CCC companies in the state were stationed in Bloomington,
  Mitchell, Evansville, Cromwell and several other locations.

  Frank Wilson’s Story

  After dropping out of school in the eighth grade, Frank Wilson saw the CCC as a great opportunity to work, so he joined in 1934. He was attached to the 517th and headed to Fort Knox, Kentucky to receive training. A month later he and the rest of the 517th were in Corydon at Camp Wyandotte.

  Wilson started as a CCC laborer. But after about a year, because of some cooking classes he had taken in school, he was transferred to kitchen duties. Wilson was sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison for special training. He also received a small increase in pay and the chance to remain in the CCC longer than the normal six-month term. Wilson was with the 517th throughout its existence, from Corydon to South Bend to Portland.

  Later in life, Wilson shared that he was unsure of how an African-American company would be received by the towns where they were stationed. In an interview in 1994 for Portland’s Commercial Review, Wilson said “there were 250 of us after all. It was an all-black unit. And it worried a lot of the towns we went into. But it was a good bunch of fellows, and I think we had the best reception of all in Portland.”

  After leaving the CCC in 1941, Wilson worked for 25 years at National Cash Register in Muncie. In his interview with the Commercial Review, reflecting on his time in the CCC, Wilson said “I’ve had a real good life and it all stems from the CCC Camp. That was a good life for young men who were just on the streets when we started.”

  William Meyers’s Story

  William Meyers graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in 1932. After working various jobs for a couple of years, he joined the 517th in 1934.

  Meyers showed a knack for leadership early. He began as a CCC laborer but soon worked up to foreman. Meyers also became head of “A” barracks. For recreation, he sang in a quartet along with Frank Wilson and two other members of the 517th. Their singing group was heard on local Louisville radio stations. After his time in Corydon with the 517th, Meyers was transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison, where he became a senior foreman for Company 3550. He was discharged in 1937.

  After his time in the CCC, Meyers enjoyed a long and fruitful career. After two-and-a-half decades as an Indianapolis firefighter, he changed careers and began working for Indiana National Bank. Meyers was also active in civic leadership. He served as a precinct committeeman, was appointed to the Marion County Tax Adjustment Board, and was elected to the Indianapolis School Board.

  In the 1937 edition of the Ft. Ben Banner, the CCC camp’s newsletter, Meyers wrote an essay titled “What I Have Got out of the CCC Personally.” He wrote that “the youth of the United States had never received the best kind of training until the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps…” Extolling the education he gained during his time in the CCC, Meyers concluded his essay by writing that the CCC taught him “how to live — what to live for — and where to live best.”

• Vocabulary, materials required, focus questions

  Vocabulary

  • Depression: A long, severe downturn in the economy.
  • Civilian: A person not in the military or police force.
  • Conservation: Protecting natural resources.
  • Corps: A body of people given a certain kind of work.
  • Recreation: An activity done for enjoyment.

  Materials required

  • Handout: CCC at Pokagon State Park & Ouabache State Park
  • Computers with Internet access
  • Pencils and paper

  Focus questions

  • In what ways did the CCC help people?
  • How do we remember the CCC today?
• Step-by-step directions
  1. Divide the students into groups of three or four students each.
  2. Direct them to conduct Internet research following the links to the resources listed on the first page.
  3. Students will use their research to write a news program that reports on the CCC. The news program should include information about President Roosevelt, the CCC camps and the daily life and work of a member of the CCC or WPA.
  4. After the news programs by each group, students should discuss as a class how the program benefited Indiana State Parks. The students should be able to talk about two or three positive things and two or three negative things about the New Deal in general and the CCC specifically.

Activity 2: CCC Camp Life: Figures of Speech

Students will review the CCC newsletter and identify idioms and other figures of speech that may be new to them. A worksheet capturing some of the figures of speech will help them understand the language of the day. Activity length: 40 minutes.

• Background

  The boys of the CCC lived in camps within many of our state parks. They slept in barracks lined with cots. They ate meals at the mess hall.
  Camp life included activities beyond the work projects. Camps had sports leagues and educational classes, and hosted dances with local communities. The camp newsletter spread the word about all of the projects, announcements and other activities.

• Vocabulary, materials required, focus questions

  Vocabulary

  • Barracks: A building used to house soldiers.
  • Mess hall: A room or building used to feed people, especially soldiers.
  • League: A sports club.

  Materials required

  • Handout: Figures of Speech
  • Historic Civilian Conservation Corps Newsletters

  These documents may contain some offensive language or negative stereotypes. You should view these materials in the historical context in which they were created.  The ideas expressed within any given text do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDNR.

  • Hoosier Dunesman - July 18, 1934
  • Pokagon Chieftain - January 21, 1936
  • Pokagon Chieftain - August 14, 1934
  • Pokagon Chieftain - August 31, 1934
  • Pokagon Chieftain - September 17, 1934
  • Pencil and paper

  Focus questions

  After browsing the newsletters:

  • What issues and problems were common during the Great Depression that we see less of today? (hunger, lack of educational opportunities)
  • What types of activities were available at the CCC camps that are available today? (sports, library, social activities)
  • What is slang or jargon?
• Step-by-step directions
  1. Give the definitions and examples of some of the figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor, idiom, proverbs and hyperbole.
  2. Students will review the CCC newsletters and discuss issues, articles and focusing questions that deal with camp life.
  3. Present the worksheets on figures of speech taken from the newsletters, or develop others based on class input.
  4. Answer key
     1) a, 2) a, 3) b, 4) a, 5) b, 6) (fill in), 7) b, 8) b, 9) c, 10) a,
     11) a, 12) b, 13) a

  Extension ideas

  • Visit CCC sites at McCormick’s Creek State Park
  • Visit CCC sites at Turkey Run State Park
  • Pokagon CCC Camp Tour
  • Research fire towers in Indiana’s state parks and their connections with the CCC.
  • Explore CCC work at reservoirs: Hominy Ridge at Salamonie Lake, and Frances Slocum State Recreation Area at Mississinewa Lake.