Cobblestone articles from April 2005

Cobblestone archives from April 2005

Three cheers for the CCC!(Civilian Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... If you are a history buff or fan of the outdoors, you probably have reason to thank the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The efforts of the members of the Corps--those men largely responsible for the conservation of America's natural and...

A new deal for Americans.(Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1932 presedential elections)
April 1, 2005... By the time Americans went to the voting booths for the 1932 presidential election, the United States already had experienced three years of a severe economic crisis. The stock market had collapsed in the fall of 1929, beginning what became...

Creating the tree army.(Civilian Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... While campaigning for president in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) pledged a "New Deal" for Americans. He meant to keep that promise. FDR loved the outdoors and had set up conservation programs in New York, where he had served as...

Who ran the CCC?(Civilian Conservation Corps)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDP,) chose his friend and Boston labor leader Robert Fechner to head the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1876, Fechner never finished high school. He became active in...

Tree terminology.
April 1, 2005... Just like people, trees have distinct characteristics. From their bark to their height to their fruit or flowers, no two trees are exactly alike. One of the best ways to identify trees is by their leaves. How many of the leaves on these pages...

A hard day's work: a play.(Civilian Conservation Corps)(Play)
April 1, 2005... Editor's Note: While Jack, Ed, Paul, and Robert are fictional characters, the play is true to the real experiences of many CCC workers. The photos used on these pages also capture actual Corps workers. Cast of Characters JACK and...

Happy days.(Civilian Conservation Corps)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Once a week, Jack and Ed spend three cents for a copy of Happy Days, the national newspaper of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It offers stories about life in CCC camps all over America. Jack especially likes to check the scores of the...

African Americans and the CCC.(Civilian Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... The camps have a marvelous chance to help these young men meet their problems and become more responsible, self-sustaining individuals," wrote Howard W. Oxley in 1937. Oxley, a director of education for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),...

Did you know?(Civilian Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... About 4,500 CCC camps were opened, They were established in every state in the Onion, as well as in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In one case of severe soil erosion, CCC participants planted mustard seeds. This particular plant grows...

Life at camp #701 with William LaTour.(An Interview)(Civilian Conservation Corps )(Interview)
April 1, 2005... Just before Christmas 1934, 19-year-old William LaTour joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) because his parents needed help supporting the family. Within a few days of signing up at a social service agency in Duluth, Minnesota, LaTour...

Closing the camps.(Civilian Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) turned out to be more successful than anyone would have imagined. It provided millions of young men with hope and confidence, food and clothing--while enhancing and preserving the environment. But even...

Celebrate Arbor Day!
April 1, 2005... Arbor Day has long and deep roots, just like the trees it celebrates! It dates back to 1872, when pioneer and naturalist J. Sterling Morton, who was living in the Nebraska Territory, suggested a tree-planting holiday. That year, on April 10,...

CCC spirit lives!(THE PAST IS PRESENT)(Civilian Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... Nicholas (Nico) Brown has never heard of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). But when this 18-year-old is beautifying a vacant lot in Baltimore (Maryland) by cutting down dead trees, planting new trees, or operating earth-moving machinery,...

Get involved.(Youth Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... Introduce enthusiastic young people to America's neglected natural resources, and some remarkable Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-like partnerships can develop! Established in 1985, the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps...

Global blues.(GOING GLOBAL)(Great Depression)
April 1, 2005... The Great Depression affected not only America but most of the entire world. Like our own Wall Street crash on Tuesday, October 29, 1929, Europe had its own "Black Tuesday" when Austria's leading bank failed on May 11, 1931. Millions of...

Wake up and smell the coffee!(GOING GLOBAL)
April 1, 2005... Brazil is a perfect example of the many nonindustrial countries around the world hurt by the Depression. Dependent on one major export coffee--Brazil's economy suffered terribly when foreign markets shrank. Just days after the 1929 crash,...

Taki to the rescue.(GOING GLOBAL)(Korekiyo Takahashi)
April 1, 2005... One industrialized nation that came through with little damage to its economy was Japan. And that was primarily due to the efforts of one man, Korekiyo Takahashi. Twenty years earlier, he had been the highly successful president of the Bank of...

A dreadful price.(GOING GLOBAL)(Germany, Great Depression)
April 1, 2005... No country in Europe was more devastated by the Depression than Germany. Because it had lost World War I (1914-1918), it was forced to pay huge reparations (financial compensation) to the victorious Allies. In addition, the Allies placed severe...

Protecting the environment.(YOUR LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... One muggy afternoon, Kelynn and her dad went to a patch of woods along the highway near her house. This was where the whole community left their trash. Kelynn and her dad dumped the things they had in their truck--gravel bits, paper,...

I Am.(YOUR LETTERS)(Poem)
April 1, 2005... i Am I am a young boy yearning for success. I wonder why we were placed on this earth. I hear brilliant minds pondering new thoughts. I want all the suffering of humans to end as fast as a moment is...

Opening My Eyes.(YOUR LETTERS)(Poem)
April 1, 2005... OPENING MY EYES Angry and fierce all the time, until I hear the sacred chime. Screaming and yelling with all my might, then comes silence followed by night. I sleep in my bed, all comfy and warm. ...

Martians!(YOUR LETTERS)(Poem)
April 1, 2005... On no, Martians are invading. Run away, they're dominating. Ah, look out, here they come. They're taking over, they've almost won. They destroyed the moon and the sun. They're ruling the planets, one by one. ...

Dear Cobblestonians.
April 1, 2005... The U.S. government has three distinct branches. One of these is Congress, which is divided into two houses--the Senate and the House of Representatives. What are the powers and limits of Congress? We will give you the inside scoop in an...

The Great Depression.(BOOKS TO READ)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... The Great Depression by R. Conrad Stein (Connecticut: Children's Press, 1994, www.scholastic library.com/grolier docs/home.html) describes how the economic crash of 1929 set off a nationwide depression and how New Deal programs helped get the...

The Senator and the Runaway Teenager in the Great Depression.(BOOKS TO READ)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... The Senator and the Runaway Teenager in the Great Depression by Duval A. Edwards (Tucson, Arizona: Goldsphinx Publishing, 1999, fax: 520-327-3608) is essentially autobiographical, detailing the author's difficult life during the Depression, his...

America's National Parks: The Spectacular Forces That Shaped Our Treasured Lands.(BOOKS TO READ)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... America's National Parks: The Spectacular Forces That Shaped Our Treasured Lands by Paul Schullery (New York: DK Publishing, 2001, us.dk.com/) includes photographs and information about each of the national parks, with explanations of why parks...

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.(FOR OLDER READERS)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal by William E. Leuchtenburg (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1963, www.harpercollins.com/) offers a wealth of information on FDR and the creation of his New Deal programs, as well as how his ideas...

On the Web.(Digging DEEPER)(Civilian Conservation Corps)
April 1, 2005... Type in cccalmuni.org/ to get to the Web site of the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni. You can read a brief history of the CCC, browse a listing of the camps by state, and pursue other sources, such as individual...

CCC Museum and Research Center.(PLACES TO VISIT)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CCC Museum and Research Center, St. Louis, Missouri. Filled with artifacts, mementos, and photographs, this museum offers a history of the CCC and provides a glimpse into the daily lives of enrollees.

Franklin D. Roosevelt library.(PLACES TO VISIT)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York. Since FDR was president during the years that the CCC was in existence, this presidential library has a wealth of primary-source materials on the subject. The library is one of more than 30...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt.(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT by Russell Freedman (New York: Clarion Books, 1990, www.houghton mifflinbooks.com/clarion) is an informative introduction to America's 32nd president and the many roles he played: politician, entertainer, champion of...

From the archives.
April 1, 2005... If you are interested in reading more about the first half of the 20th century, as well as events connected to the CCC, here are some COBBLESTONE issues that can get you started: The Dust Bowl (COB0304), The Great Depression (COB8403), Franklin...

Franklin D. Roosevelt, tree farmer: to Cobblestone's Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1882-1945 issues.(FLASHBACK ...)
April 1, 2005... Starting when he was a toddler, Franklin Delano Roosevelt joined his father, James, on his daily rounds of the family estate in Hyde Park, New York. The farm and surrounding land were a source of endless fascination for him. The greater...

Brain ticklers.
April 1, 2005... GIVE YOUR BRAIN A LITTLE TICKLE TO SEE HOW WELL YOU READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS ISSUE ON THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS. (CCC). IF YOU BELIEVE THE ANSWER TO BE FALSE, GIVE YOURSELF THE ULTIMATE TEST AND SEE WHETHER YOU CAN EXPLAIN WHY IT IS...

A final word.
April 1, 2005... IMAGINE YOU ARE ONE OF THE MEN WHO ENROLLED IN THE FIRST CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS CAMP IN 1933. WHAT WOULD YOU WRITE IN A LETTER HOME?

Cartoon connection with Ebenezer & The Colonel.(Brief Article)(Cartoon)
April 1, 2005... The fresh air is GOOD for you! Besides... It's an HONOR to spend a day helping the CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS. protect a forest! We've been hiking for HOURS!! Tell me again WHY we're doing this? Yeah, WHATEVER. But do I HAVE to wear...