Browse Exhibits (1 total)

       The CCC enrollees did work on the environment and preservation. However, the enrollees from each of the CCC camps didn’t only do work, but they had breaks and free time as well. Apart from doing work, the white, African American, and veteran CCC camps participated in camp recreational activities. In looking for camp recreation in the CCC, the important questions that should be asked are: what kinds of recreational activities did they engaged in? What kinds of sports did enrollees from each camp play and did they participate in dances, holidays, or other special occasions? The overall purpose in showing CCC enrollees doing camp recreational activities in each camp is to show that they didn’t only perform duties in preservation and environmental work. These enrollees were involved in other extracurricular activities besides doing the work that the Civilian Conservation Corps is known for. It is important to know this because it can help give a new perspective on the CCC and give a better understanding of what went on in each of the camps. It is also important to note the different kinds of recreational activities that were available to each camp’s enrollees.
       In the CCC camps, the enrollees were engaged in camp recreation. One example is music themed activities especially done by the enrollees from the white, African American, or veteran camps who played instruments. CCC enrollees also participated in holidays, including Thanksgiving, dances, and other special occasions. CCC enrollees engaged in a variety of activities. Examples of these activities include sports like billiards as well as other activities like performing in plays. There was no work needed from enrollees on holidays such as Independence Day or on any religious holidays that are practiced by enrollees of a specific religious faith. Photographs are useful resources in relation to finding camp recreation in the CCC. One example is a photo that shows three men standing in the entrance of a building. The three men in this photo are most likely CCC enrollees that are taking a break from work. This photograph gives some sense of showing enrollees doing some kind of recreational activity, although not in the sense such as doing sports. However, the photographs of the CCC were mainly created to document the enrollees performing work. CCC newspapers and Fredericksburg area newspapers are also useful resources in relation to looking for camp recreation.
      CCC newspapers and newspapers in general give insight on discussing the daily news of a specific day. CCC newspapers were created within the camps themselves to be distributed and read by the enrollees. An example of CCC newspapers is the Battlefield News that was made in the African American CCC camp. In one newspaper published by Battlefield News, it mentions that the camp is going to set up a ping-pong match. This shows an example of recreational activities related to sports as well as a special occasion that occurred on that day within this specific CCC camp. It also shows insight in the specific kinds of recreational activities that African American CCC enrollees were involved in. Compared to the photograph that was taken in the Spotsylvania CCC camp, it gives some sense of the different kinds of recreational activities that CCC enrollees from different camps had engaged in. To see enrollees in each camp doing other activities rather than work, it can help to provide a better understanding about the lives of the enrollees in each of the camps and in the CCC as a whole.

Sources:

“Battlefield News, Volume 3, Number 2.” Battlefield News. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Parks. Nov. 1, 1938. Accessed April 13, 2018. Virginia Chronicles. https://virginiachronicle.com/cgi-bin/virginia?a=d&d=BNE19381101&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------

Paige, John C. The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933-1942: An Administrative History. D- 189. Washington: National Park Service, US Dept. of the Interior, 1985.

Photo: item #56