The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933-1942 during the presidency of Frank D. Roosevelt. Initially, the program provided manual labor jobs related to unemployed, unmarried men between the ages of 18-25. Later it was modified to include older men up to the age of 45 and they were no longer required to be single.
Most of these records are reportedly kept at the National Archives in St. Louis. For some unexplained reason, however, the Certificate of Selection for 83 of those young men from Monroe County and nearby communities is available at the Indiana University Lilly Library in Bloomington, Indiana. [1] The documents pertaining to each man are contained within a single folder and the folders as a whole contain the 480 items (pages) that make up the collection.
Documents within the file typically include at minimum the Certificate of Selection and an intake interview. Both of these documents are rich with information. Consider, for example, the 2-page intake interview for Ward E. Stevens completed by Mary Eloise Humphrey, identified as “visitor” on December 7, 1939.[2] Excerpts are noted below.
” ‘Visitor called at the home of Lola Stevens, Ward Stevens’ mother. The visitor was directed to the house by Mr. Tidd, Ward Stevens’ grandfather, Jacob Tidd. From the very first, Mr. Tidd took complete charge of the interview. Mr. Tidd said, “I’m the one who manages things around here, and I’m the one to say if there is any change made in [Lola’s] pension.” This attitude of Mr. Tidd’s seemed rather odd, but it had been brought about because of the fact that his daughter was feeble-minded and he had since the death of her husband realized her inability to manage for herself and therefore had tried to manage for her as best he could.’
‘Mr. Tidd said that he was the one who had made the living there and when asked what the living was he said it consisted of the $30.00 a month ADC which he got for Mrs. Stevens, for her two youngest children, and the $3.20 a week which he got from the relief for himself [and other members of his household]. Mr. Tidd pointed with pride to the fact that he had worked 18 years for the City of Bloomington. Among various other things, he had been on the fire department.’
‘Ward seemed to be tolerated in the household and recognized as quite a problem. He would go away and stay for days. Mr. Tidd hoped that Ward would not get to go to camp because he was afraid that Mrs. Stevens’ assistance would be taken from her if Ward got to camp.’
‘The visitor does not recommend that Ward Edward Stevens be selected for CCC enrollment. The fact that he was only in the fourth grade at the age of 16 years and his general inability to comprehend makes the visitor feel that he would not be able to adjust very well into a CCC program.’ “
Section 1 of the Certificate of Selection includes information pertaining to the applicant’s person, members of his household and place of residence. Section 2 reveals information about his education; Section 3 is about employment; and Section 4 notes the applicant’s reason(s) for desiring placement with the CCC.
To access CCC enrollee records other than those at the Lilly Library, contact the National Archives at St. Louis and submit either a written request or NA Form 14136.
[1] When the folders were reviewed in March 2018, the last three items in the inventory were missing. Their names, however, were included in the index.
[2] According to a digital image of the death record at Ancestry, Ward E. Stevens, the son of Albert and Lola (Tidd) Stevens died in Noblesville, Hamilton Co., Indiana, on June 19, 1947. His death was occurred when a boxcar backed up and accidentally pinned him to a shed.
Blog post by Randi Richardson