A CCC shoulder patch from 1933, used in Maryland. I don't know if it was used anywhere else, or if all enrollees in Maryland wore it. I do know that my uncle wore a patch (design unknown) with a four digit number on it. Presumably, this was a local camp, although it could have been the number of a company at Ft. Meade, Maryland, where he was first assigned.
What I know - about Camp S-69 / Company 3313
I know one of the CCC camps in Worcester County was on Camp Road, near what is now the Milburn's Landing Area of the Pocomoke River State Park (now a Pocomoke City address). According to the newspaper clipping below left, the camp (identified as S-69) was closed in July 1941, but was reopened with the mission of developing portions of what is now the park, as well as other areas within the state forest. While I was originally of the opinion that the camp may have had an address of Corbin, Maryland, I have subsequently learned that the post office there ceased to exist c 1906. The matchbook at right identifies a camp - I believe this one - as S-69/Company 3313, and gives an address of Snow Hill, Maryland. While the article below doesn't give a company number, CCC Legacy lists 3313 as being formed August 25, 1935 in Vienna, Dorchester County, Maryland. At present, I am operating on the assumption that whatever company was on Camp Road was disbanded when the camp originally closed and 3313 was transferred there when it reopened. The camps were much more mobile than one would think, with them moving from place to place and companies being transferred frequently. The reason for this is with a lot of men doing a lot of work, they quickly put themselves out of a job. They were limited as to how far they were allowed travel from the camp - I think a half hour, but I need to check on that - so soon there were no more trees to plant, roads to build, ditches to dig, or park structures to construct. To add to my confusion, the matchbook calls that camp "Camp Pocomoke.' The photo on the next page, of S-62, also refers to that location as "Camp Pocomoke,” despite it being closer to Snow Hill. Wherever it was at the time, Captain William Stokes, commanded Company 3313 in 1936, according to his son, Bill. `I know that CCC crews built roads in some places, however not Camp Road. It has existed in its current location since at least 1877, most likely under several different names. (1) They may have improved the road, widened it, or even filled in swales, but the road was already there. My late friend Davis Horsey told me he delivered fuel oil to the camp during its existence and that there was a steep grade on the road that was difficult for his truck to climb when it was icy. I don't know where the grade was, unless it was filled in, because Camp Road is flat as a pancake. Perhaps other deliveries took him past the camp; Nassawango Road isn't much hillier until just before it crosses the creek of the same name, where there is a significant hill. (By Eastern Shore standards.) Remains of structures still extant There are remnants of a number of structures still visible on both sides of Camp Road, extending back into the woods. On the south side of Camp Road, less than 1/10 mile from Nassawango road, situated close to the road is a single concrete block approximately 2' square. I can't speculate as to it's purpose, but it is reasonably easy to see as you drive slowly by. That block marks the general area of the camp. A few feet south of that block are five other, 3' concrete blocks, each with an 8" piece of concrete at each end. The appearance is . _ . and they are arranged parallel to each other so the short blocks line up and the long blocks line up. It appears that the concrete was poured in a wooden form, which is now rotted away. The blocks are just sitting on the ground and have no appreciable depth. In a square configuration immediately to the south are four concrete blocks in a square, about 13' from each other. Next to those blocks is an uncapped, app. 8"well head. Farther from the road is a brick grill/incinerator or some such structure having metal grates. It is 36" H x 72" L x 48" W (approximately.) The grill has brick walls that are 8" thick. It is obviously designed to burn something, and as two water pipes cross at grate level through the firebox and run through hollow grate pipes, it was clearly designed to heat water in the flames. The US Forest Service provided standardized plans for buildings, fireplaces, etc. (2a) but the one in question is larger in both length and width, and especially is much taller, making direct access to the grill from either side or the rear difficult and hot. It is not really similar in any way, I'm sorry to say. It would have been nice to have been able to positively identify what it was. Deeper into the woods, past the grill/incinerator are four square concrete building foundations having masonry sill plates; in some cases the anchor bolts remain and in some the sills are gone. In the interior portion of the foundation are more plates, delineating at least one room. Some (I seem to remember all) of the have the lower part of a soil stack still in place, indicating a bathroom. The foundations are configured in a square, and the two foundations on the west side are mirror images of those on the east. Between the four foundations, located in the center of them, is another foundation, similar in size and construction although barely above grade level where the others are app. 16" above grade. The five concrete foundations take the appearance of the symbol for the number "5" in a set of dominoes. North of the southwest and south of the south east foundations of the quadrangle are truncated concrete pyramids, still in place. Off the northwest side is another pyramid, pulled out of the ground and moved a distance, and having a piece of @ 1" rebar still extending from the base. Any other pyramids (if they existed) have not been found. It is reasonable to believe that the pyramids marked off an area of grass surrounding five independent buildings of some sort; I have seen such contrivances at various Army posts. Extensive online research of CCC camp designs and contemporary photos shows none with any buildings having a poured concrete foundation. The buildings are too small (@ 15x18' ) to be other than offices, administrative buildings, or officers quarters. South of Camp Road, between the 'incinerator' and building foundations, but somewhat to the east, is a 4x4' concrete pit some 5' deep. While the concrete lid has been broken into pieces, the remains of a wire-reinforced vertical baffle still exists. As this pit lacks the characteristic high/low input and output pipes, it is clearly not a septic tank or cesspool, and at approximately 600 gallons capacity, it would not have been large enough for such intense use. Research has indicated that it is similar in size and design to a grease trap commonly found in conjunction with a kitchen. If so, it is logical to assume that the camp's mess hall was located within a few feet of the trap. On the northern side of Camp Road is the remnant of another building, again constructed of poured concrete and having concrete sills. This building has a still on three sides, but the side toward the road has none, which is typical of a garage. An engineering drawing for a 200 man reforestation camp (4) was compared to the existing camp remnants; it is not at all similar. Although the living quarters in the drawing are tents, many of the other structures are permanent or semi-permanent, and none of them are in a quadrangle. In 1933, according to the US Forest Service, (10) personal hygiene was conducted in two separate buildings: a bathhouse with sinks and showers, and a latrine with trough urinals along two walls and twin rows of 'toilets' running down the middle of the floor. Reportedly, the latrine was always in a building instead of tent. The building was constructed over a pit or holding tank, and the toilets were merely parallel rows of holes with seats over the pit. A scoop of lime was deposited in the hole after use. Spaced along the top of the pit (boxed in across the top and two sides) were several ceramic vent pipes that did not extend to the roof. No sign of the latrine (or bathhouse either) has been found, although a similar ceramic pipe lies on the ground two or three feet to the south of the 'incinerator.' The trees at the site now are mostly Loblolly Pine and a few hardwoods, most of which are probably two generations younger than anything cut during the life of the camp. However, I did recently find a hardwood tree in the area of the camp that most likely existed at the time the CCC was in operation. If it did, it may have been deliberately left there when other trees were cut. It is interesting to think of the activities going on in the shade of the same tree now standing. My assumptions will be in the What I think I know, or am guessing about... section until I learn more. What I know - about Camp S-62/Company 1318 According to CCC man Steve Brenner (2), Camp S-62 was 'off the state highway about 1/2 mile, between Pocomoke City and Snow Hill, Md.' That sounds like the US 113 location for sure. (There are three other companies designated 1318 listed on the CCC Legacy website (or perhaps the same one in four locations, which seems to be the case as they were created one after the other), one with a Deer Park post office address, one with Cambridge, and one with Willards. I don't plan to address them at this time.) This is believed to be the camp that was located on the dirt road south of Corker's Creek, next to the highway that is now US Route 113, just below the Shad Landing Area of Pocomoke River State Park (currently a Snow Hill address). According to CCC Legacy (www.ccclegacy.org), S-62 was closest to the railroad at "Poeomoke City," while placing it 7 miles NE of Snow Hill. Closest to Pocomoke railroad station, yes, but the directions indicated that it was near Newark, which is incorrect. It most likely means Snow Hill is northeast of the camp, which is true. The camp was the home of Company 1318, the designation having been assigned by the Federal Government. The camp number, however, was assigned by the state, so there were more camps designated S-62, such as Stone Creek Kettle Company 361, in Center County, Pennsylvania and Company 722 in Hovland, Minnesota. 'S' indicated a forestry camp. This often leads to confusion. Brenner described in the letter he wrote to his hometown newspaper, the Titusville (PA) Herald, the location of the camp, which he said was 'in amongst large pines of varying heights, 100 to 150 feet.' As CCC man Brenner wrote there were 250 enrollees at the camp, there had to be substantial barrack space but no remains exist. At the time of Brenner's letter, Company 1318 was housed in barracks. (5) The photo on the next page shows one building - probably a barracks building - which is of board and batten construction, and seems to be covered with tar paper under the vertical battens. Thanks to Howard Dickerson of Delmar, I can offer access to a Christmas 1937 menu for Company 1318, and therefore know names of officers and members of the camp in December of that year. As I get around to it, I hope to transcribe the names to this site, so they will show up if and when someone browses for them. Until then, you can see the menu here. I have also researched the camp officers at that time, and not surprisingly, find they rose to field grade in the Army, and became very successful in life, as well. 1937 1LT Arlen B. French - CO COL, US Army, WWII, Knight of the York Cross of Honor (Masonic) 1LT Lawrence Maryanov - Surgeon MAJ, US Army, WWII, physician Salisbury/Cambridge, MD area 2LT James C. Robertson, Jr - Adjutant LTC, US Army, WWII, LT Baltimore Police Department Mr. E. Franklyn Griffin - Educational Advisor Unfortunately, I was unable to locate an obituary for Mr. Griffin, however I did learn that he was in the class of 1928 at Washington College, and in 1941 was serving as Educational Adviser at a CCC Camp at Aberdeen, MD (9) In addition to the above officers, the roster of Company 1318 also included 9 Technical personnel, 1 Rated person, 14 Assistant leaders. and 141 Members. This total represents perhaps less than 10% of the total personnel assigned to the camp during its life. I am still attempting to find others. The officers listed above were not the only ones at Co. 1318. The undated photo on the following page lists the following, and there undoubtedly were more: Capt. H. G. Brady - CO 1st Lt. J. A. McCrary E. F. Grifferr - Educational Adviser Obviously the same E. Franklyn Griffin shown above. I have been unsuccessful at finding any further information on the first two men so far. Others assigned to Company 1318 Crisfield Times Members as of listed dates. This information comes from mention in local newspapers. April 12, 1935 Merill Nutter Paul Nutter Melvin Keyser CPT Kyle LT Sheets Sept. 27, 1935 Earl Beck, Jr. Oct. 4, 1935 Clyde Ward Oct. 13, 1935 Willard Howeth Jan. 31, 1936 Sgt. A.E. Branner Cpl. Lester White Mr. Maurice Strine March 27, 1936 William Evans What I know - about Camp MC-73 MC-73 was a Mosquito Control Camp, and was located somewhere near Public Landing, east of Snow Hill. That takes it up, so far. In the Marylander and Herald (Princess Anne, MD) of 5-22-36, it is reported that 38 men from Co. 1322 In Westover were transferred to the Public Landing camp. I don’t know why that company was disbanded, or why they went to this camp. Things I know about the camps in general Uniforms In the beginning of the CCC, enrollees, having been accepted, made their own ways to an army collecting station such as Fort Meade, where they were given a physical, inoculated against various diseases, and then shipped to a conditioning center, where they were issued uniforms. (8) In later years, when enrollees could sign up at a local camp, they were issued there. At any rate, once a man was in a company, his uniforms were issued and exchanges due to wear, etc, also taken care of there. (1) This link, while it refers to CCC camps in Minnesota not Maryland (there's not much online about camps in the Free State), gives a good description of the earliest days of the program, when enrollees arrived to find no camp - just a vacant field, or worse, a tract of woodlands to be cleared before they had a place to stay, and how the camps were built by both local carpenters and the CCC boys. Situations we similar throughout the CCC, but by early November 1933 the army began standardizing camp construction. I believe things in Worcester County were much the same as nationwide. People I know were at one of the Worcester Camps (I'll sort them out later): William Ellsworth Somers, my uncle, who had previously been at FT Meade. See 'Tale of a CCC Worker' link at top of the page. George Swift, who told me he was there with my uncle Jim Cottman, possible a foreman or crew leader at the camp. He told my Dad that the company went on strike over food, a frequent problem in many CCC camps. In this case, the food ran out before the month ended, leaving the enrollees going without breakfast for several days. He said he told them, "I'd go on strike, too, if it was me." Seymour "Sicky" Kitching, who was also in the CCC with my uncle Howard Lynch Dickerson, (6) Ellis Dickerson, (6) Footnotes: (1) Lake, Griffing 1877 Census of Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset counties (2) Brenner (2a) US Forest Service, Camp Stoves and Fireplaces, Plate IIIA (3) Ibid (4) Camp for 200 Men - Typical' 'Labor Camp for Reforestation Projects' prepared by the USDA - Forest Service April 7, 1933 (5) Brenner (6) email from Howard Dickerson (7) 1937 menu (8) At Work in Penn's Woods: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Pennsylvania (9) Salisbury (MD) Daily Times, Thursday, August 21, 1941 (10) The Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942 http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/ccc/ccc/ If you read this website, please contact me. I’m getting lonesome. Contact me at jr_somers then one of the at things, then a msn and a dot and a com This area (below) is a repository for cut and paste editing. Read it at your peril. |