Coming of Age in the Great Depression: The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Mexico

In the depths of the Great Depression, one of the bright spots in President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). For 3,000,000 young men across the United States it was the difference between starvation and survival; it was an opportunity to help their families financially; it was a means of learning skills, trades, and obtaining an education; it was a coming of age where they became mature, disciplined and productive citizens. The CCC camps in New Mexico provided over 50,000 young men from the state and across the nation with these valuable opportunities.

The men were not the only beneficiaries. The New Mexico State Parks system became a reality because of CCC work on park sites. Flood control in the form of dams and conservation projects aided communities, farmers, and ranchers. Many of the camps worked at National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service locations. CCC conservation and construction projects were so well built that many are still in use today. Their unique style of Southwestern furniture makes those pieces collector items.

There was no intention to make the CCC a para-military unit, and strong measures were taken to ensure this did not happen. Ironically, the advent of World War II was the demise of the CCC camps when former CCC enrollees were avidly sought by Army recruiters because they were well disciplined and had skills useful to America's war-time army.

Told in the words of former enrollees, Coming of Age in the Great Depression is a fresh, positive look at an otherwise dark period in our history.