NATIONAL PARK ANNOUNCED CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS PROGRAM COMMEMORATING 75th ANNIVERSARY

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Great Smoky Mountains National Park has announced a special day of commemorative activities on Saturday, September 27. The day’s events will take place in and around the Sugarlands Visitor Center starting at 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. All the activities are free to the public.
The activities will include interpretive programs, a panel discussion, and musical entertainment at the Sugarlands Visitor Center with two hikes scheduled in other areas of the Park. The schedule includes:
10:00 am    “That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace: The CCC in the Great SmokyMountains” by Dr. Harley Jolley
11:00 am    “Dollar-a-Day Boys: A Musical Tribute to the CCC” by Bill Jamerson
12:30 pm     Dedication of memorial plaque to the CCC
1:00 pm       “That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace” by Dr. Jolley
2:00 pm       “CCC Fire Tower Construction in the Smokies” by Charles Maynard
3:00 pm     One hour panel discussion with former CCC enrollees, moderated by park
                   archaeologist Erik Kreusch
In conjunction with the celebration, two moderate hikes are planned to the locations of CCC camps: Friday, September 26 at 10:00 am – starting from the Kephart Prong trailhead off Newfound Gap Road in North Carolina and Saturday, September 27, starting at 1:00 pm from the Sugarlands Visitor Center and hiking along the Old Sugarlands Trail. In addition, several CCC exhibits will also be on view at the Park’s Sugarlands and Oconaluftee Visitor Centers.
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 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.’ There is a quotation that adequately describes the lasting value of the work of the CCC: ‘If you seek their monument, look about you.’ 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 about the event, please phone the Sugarlands Visitor Center at 865-436-1291 or the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at 828-497-1904.