To Honor The Civilian Conservation Corps
By Josh Davidsburg
Former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes, the Department of Natural
Resources Secretary John Griffin and Maryland Park Service
(MPS) dedicated the State's first Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC) Worker statue at
Gambrill State Park on November 5. The bronze statue
recognizes CCC’s monumental contributions to the
conservation and improvement of Maryland's public lands and
natural resources.
“The Civilian Conservation Corps signifies that our State
is growing in smarter, greener ways and showcases the hard
work these Marylanders put into restoring and building many
of our State Parks and Forests,” said Governor Martin
O’Malley. “I am proud to honor them through this memorial
and stewardship programs that continue their legacy.”
The dedication also fulfills a dream of Chapter 113
(Maryland Free State) of the former National Association of
CC Alumni, now called the National Association of CCC
Legacy. The Maryland Free State chapter was established in
1984 by former Maryland CCC members and their families. One
of the chapter’s chief purposes has been to raise private
donations and advocacy for the creation of the statue
memorial in Maryland.
The purchase of the statue became possible as a result of
a generous donation made this year by Potomac Edison, a
First Energy Corporation and supporter of Maryland State
Parks.
“Here in Maryland, two such programs proudly carry on the
CCC legacy: the Maryland Conservation Corps, and the
Conservation Jobs Corps,” said Hughes. “Today, young people
from both of these programs are performing valuable work in
our Parks – work that might not otherwise get done – and
gaining valuable skills and experience to prepare and
inspire them for higher education and fulfilling careers.”
CCC was among the first and most successful public works
programs initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in
1933 to rescue the nation from the Great Depression. For
nine years, from 1933 to 1942, the program put over two
million young men to work — 35,800 in Maryland — conserving
natural resources and building many recreation facilities
that Park visitors still enjoy. In Maryland, CCC companies
built 274 bridges, nearly 3,500 erosion controls dams,
planted 4.5 million trees and improved 60,000 acres of
forest land. The CCC is considered the greatest public
forest and park development effort in the nation’s history.
Visitors continue to enjoy many State Park facilities
built by the CCC, from log cabins, campgrounds and picnic
pavilions to recreation lakes, forests and trails. They also
restored two massive stone historic State Park structures,
Fort Frederick and Washington Monument. Popular State Parks
improved by the CCC include: Swallow Falls, Herrington
Manor, New Germany, Big Run, Cunningham Falls, Cedarville,
Fort Frederick, Washington Monument, Gambrill, Patapsco
Valley, Elk Neck, and Pocomoke River.
Since 1984, MPS has continued the CCC tradition by
managing two youth conservation corps programs – the
Maryland Conservation Corps (MCC) and the Conservation Jobs
Corps (CJC). The MCC, which Hughes helped to establish,
gives young men and women life and job skills training and
opportunities to restore natural and cultural resources and
conduct interpretation and environmental education for
children and families in State Parks. The CJC, created by
Governor O’Malley, provides at-risk youth in some our most
disadvantaged areas a chance to do valuable work in State
Parks while connecting with a natural world that is foreign
to many.
Dedication Ceremony
Click here for more information and directions to
Gambrill State Park.
For additional information about the Civilian Conservation Corps in Maryland,
click on the links below:
Acknowledgements: Story by Josh Davidsburg; Photos by Roberta Dorsch
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