Great Smoky Mountains National Park is making plans to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) this year.  The Park will host a special day of commemorative activities on Saturday, September 27, 2008. The activities will take place in and around the Sugarlands Visitor Center starting at 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.  The event is free to the public.

The CCC was established in 1933 as a federal work project during the Great Depression, employing young men in conservation work on federal and state lands. The program provided gainful employment and education to the enrollees from all over the country while also providing much needed work on public lands throughout the nation.  In Great Smoky Mountains National Park as many as 4,000 enrollees were assigned to 22 CCC camps at various times from 1933-1942, building roads, trails, fire towers, and structures. The legacy of the CCC is enormous, and the work of these young men remains clearly evident today.

The September 27 event at Sugarlands Visitor Center will include interpretive programs entitled “That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace: The CCC in the Great Smoky Mountains;”“Dollar-a-Day Boys: A Musical Tribute to the CCC;” and “CCC Fire Tower Construction in the Smokies.” Additionally, a panel discussion with former CCC enrollees is planned, and a dedication of a memorial plaque is scheduled. Several CCC exhibits will be on view at the Park’s Sugarlands and Oconaluftee Visitor Centers. Two moderate hikes to CCC camps are also planned, one on the Tennessee side of the Park, and the other in North Carolina. Specific times for the event’s activities will be announced in early September 2008.

“The work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not a thing of the past,” said Supervisory Park Ranger Kent Cave. “The roads, trails, and bridges that visitors use today in the Park are the legacy of the young men of the “Three C’s.”  Great Smoky Mountains National Park is proud to honor the members of the CCC and their service not only to this Park, but to the nation.”

For more information on this upcoming event, please phone the Sugarlands Visitor Center at 865-436-1291.

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