Here’s more description of the CCC days. It’s by Sterling, Dad’s younger brother by two years. Since Dad’s account was so brief, and their experiences were so similar, this fills it out a little.
Brothers Sterling (left) and Hyatt in 1939, slightly after this account was written by Sterling.
The depression following the stock market crash in 1929 was still on and jobs for young men with no experience were very scarce. My first job was helping build a telephone line up to a ranger station in the mountains west of Encampment, Wyoming. That fall there was still no work, so I joined the CCC and was sent to Cheyenne where they were building a park. Because I was a good typist I immediately got the job of company clerk, which paid more than the $21.00 per month most men got.
The tour of duty in the CCC was six months, so I was discharged in spring, 1937. I worked in the hayfields around Saratoga that summer for $30.00 per month, plus room and board. I really enjoyed that because of the peaceful country and although I was very busy, the horses did all the work. No tractors, just teams of two horses.
After haying was over, there were no jobs to be had, so back to the CCC. This time I landed in a forest service camp 20 miles west of Laramie, Wyoming. I got the job of forest service clerk, again due to my typing skill. I enjoyed the clerical jobs because they paid more, but also because they kept me indoors when it was 30 degrees below zero, four feet of snow and snowing sideways as it often did in the Wyoming winter.
The spring of 1938 I got out of the CCC again and joined Hyatt as a railroad extra gang changing ties. It was back-breaking work the first couple of weeks, but after you got hardened into it, it wasn’t so bad. The pay was good, $78.00 per month plus board and room, and the food was good.
(Below) Saratoga Park Shelter House in winter, a good place to be inside when temperatures read 30 degrees below. Photo by Hyatt Moore ii.
I would walk to the local store each evening and buy food for my supper, milk and cereal for breakfast and sandwich materials for lunch the next day. Milk came in quart glass bottles so I would put one quart in my thermos bottle and the other between my legs in bed at night to keep it from freeing. Many times I would find that quart beside my leg the next morning frozen solid.
Next: More of Dad’s photos from CCC days.
Our Lives Together
Its About Life
9:04 am
The whole concept of the CCC seems so workable. I wonder if a version of this model would work in today’s world? It reinforces the idea of everybody chipping in when times get rough, and the projects were clearly productive. The national parks are a good reminder, for which I’m grateful. Your dad knew the meaning of good, hard work, Hyatt. No wonder he stayed in such good shape for so many years! Great story. Brrrrr!
11:41 am
I recall the crews of CCC in eastern Oregon many moons ago – at least there were jobs that way and many a young man would live that way.
A lot of your dad’s life rings bells in an interesting way to hear about those things again!
2:20 pm
The stories of your father & brother are rich in detail and how they accepted the hardships.
My father who is still alive at 92 has told me of his life as a farm boy in rural New South Wales Australia, during the depression. They mirror your dad’s story. The milk cameo & keeping it from freezing was the opposite in Australia, where it had to be kept from turning into sour milk due to heat. Photos tell 1,000 stories also.
I can see a book forming through these blogs.
9:42 am
Fascinating Hyatt. Thank you for sharing.