NEWSPAPERS OF THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

During the era of the Great Depression, many young men left school to help support their families. Traditional educational paths were disrupted for countless individuals. The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC), launched in 1933 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, not only offered critical employment but also provided a chance to regain lost educational ground. At the time, approximately 57% of CCC enrollees had not completed high school, making the program’s educational opportunities especially meaningful for those who had been forced to leave school behind.

The CCC program offered young men wages, regular meals, work, and conservation training and other useful learning opportunities. One such opportunity came in the form of a camp newspaper.   Most CCC Camps had some form of newspaper or magazine edited by that camp’s enrollees either printed or mimeographed. While most camps published twice a month or monthly, some were published as often as weekly or even daily.

Creating the newspaper in itself was an educational opportunity for vocational training, allowing enrollees to assist in its development through art, writing, editing, typing, mimeographing, or even securing advertisements from nearby businesses.  In camps where printing equipment was made available, enrollees had the opportunity for setting type and operating a printing machine.

Beyond technical skills, the experience fostered broader learning opportunities; providing experiences in reporting, various forms of writing including news stories, feature stories, editorials, humor and poetry.
Enrollees also gained experience in cartooning and lettering, and in operation of the various types of duplicating machines. English, reading, spelling, and language arts skills were also strengthened through these camp newsletters. As most of the enrollees were teens and very young men, this training was extremely beneficial toward their educational development.

The newspapers were an important component of the camp, meant to aid morale and “recount the news of the camp, promote goodwill and understanding among the men, instruct and amuse”. Camps also frequently provided newspapers from enrollees’ hometowns.

The CCC’s newspaper was just one part of a broader educational initiative within the camps. By 1940, over 40,000 CCC enrollees were receiving some form of classroom instruction daily, including literacy training, vocational classes, and even high school equivalency programs.

An Educational Report from October 7, 1938, for the Bark Shanty Camp S-146 (Company 2336) in Potter County, Pennsylvania listed the following:

Subjects of Instruction:
English
Spelling
Writing
Reading
Typewriting
Photography
Auto Mechanics
Truck Driving
Woodwork
Carpentry
Choral Music

Related Educational Work:
Educational Committee Meetings
Safety Forums
Religious Services
Educational Films and Lectures
Visits from Chaplain
Supervised Reading
Personal Interviews of Enrollees
Health Lectures
Athletics
Recreation Trips

The legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corp is one that began over 90 years ago. Though nearly a century has passed since these young men found work relief during one of the United States’ most challenging decades, these publications offer a brief glimpse into the personal experiences of young men who helped shape the American landscape—both physically and culturally.

https://livingnewdeal.org/civilian-conservation-corps-ccc-resources/
https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/035.html
Photo from “Your CCC A Handbook for Enrollees” from the collection of Forest County Historical Society (first reprinting March 2000).  Bark Shanty Educational Report from files through the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum.