Former CCC worker celebrates 90 years

     A former Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worker from Ionia who had a hand in building the Baraga State Park celebrated his 90th birthday this summer–and saw his story in print.
     Forrest Slater celebrated his 90th birthday Aug. 13, 2003 at Thornapple Manor in Hastings. Several days previous his daughter-in-law marked the occasion with an article about the CCC’s 70th anniversary this year, and Forrest’s part in it.
    All the following information about the CCC and Slater are excerpted from the article she wrote, courtesy of The Weekender edition of the Ionia Sentinel Standard. Copies of the article and photo are now on file at the Baraga County Historical Society Museum. 
CCC celebrates 70th
    On March 4, 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on the Depression by announcing his plan for the Civilian Conservation Corps:
“Our greatest task is to put people to work,” Roosevelt said. “This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. 
   “It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself,” he continued, “treating the task as we would the emergency of war but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our national resources.”
   On March 21 Roosevelt submitted his Emergency Conservation Work bill to Congress, laying the groundwork for an army of 250,000 

 unemployed men that would be hired by the U.S. to work on federal and state-owned land. Ten days later, the bill was signed the program launched. 
   The workers’ clothing and supplies would be issued from WWI surplus, and after their training period, enrollees went to work in forests and parks for $1 a day. Every month, $25 was sent home to their families, and they were allowed to keep the $5 balance.
   They worked five days a week for a maximum of 40 hours, repairing damaged waterways, building dams and bridges, fighting fires, building park structures and planting jack, red and white pines. Camps were run by the Army with projects supervised by the Agricul-ture and Interior departments.
   On April 28, 1933, 19-year-old Forrest Slater signed on as one of 70 selectees of Ionia County from a total of 135 applicants. The men left home on May 17 for Camp Custer in Battle Creek. There they did physical conditioning for two weeks, preparing to serve in the “Army of the Reforestation” campaign.
   Their first stop was an unoccupied camp site near Baraga. Slater’s crew lived in tents in Baraga, braving the cold weather wile creating the Baraga State Park. When that was complete they moved to L’Anse to engage in reforestation work, living in relative luxury in an unused hotel.
   From there they went to Camp Wilderness near Mackinaw City. 

   A typical day at camp began with reveille at 6 a.m., followed by calisthenics and then breakfast. The CCC food was plain, nourishing and

 abundant. After breakfast enrollees policed the grounds and barracks before roll call and inspection.
   By 7:45 a.m. they were on their way to work projects. Lunch was served in the field and lasted one hour. By 4 p.m. the men returned to camp for an informal recreation period that lasted until dinner, which was served at 5:30 p.m.
After dinner, enrollees either attended classes or sought entertainment in nearby communities. There were no restrictions about leaving camp in the evening, as long as the men were back for “lights out” at 10 p.m. 
   They lived in tents in the summer and barracks (that they built) in the winter, working outdoors unless the temperature dipped under 30 degrees below zero. Approximately 150-200 men occupied each camp, ranging in age from 18-25 years old.
   The CCC’s focus in Michigan centered on planting new forests, plus creating fire breaks, truck trails and look-out towers. Heavy logging had virtually destroyed most of Michigan’s major forests; its top soil was fragile, land was over-farmed, soil eroded and crop yields were in decline.
   Roosevelt tried to make the CCC a permanent agency in 1937, but was struck down. Congressional action that was begun in 1942 finally succeeded in abolishing the CCC. From beginning to end, over three million men took part in the program.
   Slater and his wife, Esther, have five children: Marion Duits of Nashville, TN, Norma Rose of Ionia, David of Hastings, Darell of Woodland and Fred of Woodland. Fred’s wife, Gretchen, is the author of the article excerpted above.