Roosevelt's Forest Army · Episode 8 of 14 · 46 min
How the CCC Put a Library, a Newspaper, and an Artist in Every Camp
The CCC built more than trails and bridges. It ran one of the largest adult-education and cultural programs in the country, with camp libraries, an after-hours schoolhouse, the newspaper Happy Days, and roving New Deal artists. The episode is honest about how uneven and segregated it was.
Who's who
- Edward Bruce+1 more episodeTreasury official and painter who directed the Public Works of Art Project
- Leland GustavsonRoving artist sent into CCC camps in winter 1933-34
- Marshall DavisEnrollee discovered for his drawing who illustrated CCC workbooks
- Robert Fechner+5 more episodesCCC national director
- Forbes WatsonTechnical adviser to the Public Works of Art Project
- Edward RowanAssistant director of the Public Works of Art Project
Timeline
- Late 1933Formal CCC education program takes shape under the Office of Education
- December 1933 to May 1934Public Works of Art Project sends artists into CCC camps
- 1935Camps segregated nationwide, with Black enrollees in roughly 150 camps
- 1938Education program at its broad peak
- August 8, 1942Happy Days publishes its last issue
Still debated
The widely cited figure of 603 subjects taught comes from secondary accounts of period reports, and reported participation of around 90 percent was self-reported. It is easy to credit the CCC with artists and librarians who were actually paid by other agencies.
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