1: Minnesotans and the Civilian Conservation Corps

2: Guide Creation Information

Guide Author	Mary Alice Anderson
District	Winona Area Public Schools, District 861, retired
Date Created	04/20/2011
Guide Description	This guide is designed to align with the Minnesota U.S. History Standard that addresses the Great Depression and New Deal. The focus is on the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps.   Students will observe, analyze and collaboratively discuss photographs of CCC camps and company projects to increase understanding of the contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Northeast Minnesota.  Photo analysis will also help students understand  how Corps members lived.  A map is included to locate places depicted in the photos. The activity also helps meet Media Literacy standards 7.9.1.1. (Students will  engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly) and 7.9.2.2 (Analyzing detail in diverse media and formats).

3: Guide Characteristics

Title of Main Academic Standard used in Guide	Minnesota DRAFT K-12 Social Studies Standards April 29, 2011
Grade Level	9
Learning Level	Introductory
National Holiday/Special Occasion (optional)
Source Format Emphasized	Photographs
Geographic Region Emphasized (optional)	Northeast
Other Minnesota Reflections Guide(s) Related to this Guide (optional)	Researching the Great Depression and WWII through the Experiences of Minnesotans, Marcia Applen

4: Standard Emphasized in Guide

Standard Title	Minnesota DRAFT K-12 Social Studies Standards April 29, 2011
Category	Social Studies
Strand	1. U.S. History
Sub-strand	9. The Great Depression and World War II, 1920-1945
Standard	1. The United States changed politically, culturally and economically from the end of WWI through World War II.
Benchmark 1: standard number	9.1.9.1.1
Benchmark 1: text	Examine the contributions of individuals and communities in relation to the art, literature, and music of the period.
Benchmark 2: standard number	9.1.9.1.2
Benchmark 2: text	Analyze the economic causes of the Great Depression.
Benchmark 3: standard number	9.1.9.1.3
Benchmark 3: text	Explain the Great Depression and interpret how it impacted individuals, communities, and institutions.
Benchmark 4: standard number	9.1.9.1.4
Benchmark 4: text	Analyze how the New Deal addressed the struggles of the Great Depression and how it transformed the role of government.

5: Another Standard Emphasized in Guide (optional)

Standard Title

Category

Strand

Sub-strand

Standard

Benchmark 1: standard number

Benchmark 1: text

Benchmark 2: standard number

Benchmark 2: text

Benchmark 3: standard number

Benchmark 3: text

Benchmark 4: standard number

Benchmark 4: text

6: Additional Standards and/or Skills (reading, math, media literacy, interdisciplinary)

Reading: standard number
Reading: standard text
Math: standard number
Math: standard text
Media Literacy: standard number	7.9.2.2
Media Literacy: standard text	Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
Interdisciplinary Connection

Minnesota Reflections Resources

7: Search Strategy

Things to Think About	What collections are likely to have materials? What work did the CCC do?  How can photos help students understand the life of a Corps member?
Keywords	New Deal, CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, Public employment, Labor, Civil Service
Other ideas (to assist with discovery)	Browsing collections is very helpful.  Search for photos of CCC projects using words such as bridges or roads.
Challenges to finding resources on this standard	There are several hundred photographs available in Minnesota Reflections.  There are a limited number of work done by the CCC outside of  northern Minnesota.

8: Minnesota Reflections Top Picks

Title	Date created	Description	Format (photo, map, letter )	Cite the Item link
Civilian Conservation Corps, Company 714, near Houston	1924-07-30	I chose this panorama group portrait of Company 714  near Houston because my uncle is in the group. The photo is typical of all company photos. How are the men dressed? What was the role of the men dressed in white?	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/irrc,2523
CCC crew planting trees	1933-1942	The image shows CCC workers planting tree seedlings from their crates. Stamped on back of photo is Joseph R. Florian.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,91
CCC Garage, Hovland	1983	This CCC building in Hovland, MN was built as a ranger station. It was still standing until the 1990s.  Ask students to read the sign on the door.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,95
Main road into Gunflint CCC camp, north of Grand Marais	1935-1937	The winter scene of a camp on the Gunflint trail shows company barracks. The photo is from the Vernon E. Miller collection.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,97
CCC crew including Seely, Fitzgerald, and Skoog hauling logs with horse	1934-1936	Spruce Creek camp workers Seely, Fitzgerald, and Skoog are shown hauling logs with a horse in winter.  The photo is from the scrapbook of Harold Moe, a camp enrollee.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,77
Construction of the Cascade River State Park bridge done by the Spruce Creek CCC crew, near Lutsen	1935	The photo depicts construction of the Cascade River State Park bridge done by the Spruce Creek CCC crew. The metal bridge structure remains intact today with only logs, decking and rails having been replaced. Harold J. Moe is shown working on the bridge.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,68
Inside barracks at the Spruce Creek CCC camp at Lutsen and the Cascade River area	1934-1936	Inside barracks at the Spruce Creek CCC camp at Lutsen, and the Cascade River area. This photo shows one enrollee on his bunk of cabin 14.  It is from the scrapbook of Harold Moe, enrollee.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,65
Recreation hall at the Hovland, MN, CCC camp	1933 - 1937	Recreation hall at the Hovland, MN, CCC camp was a large building and used by basket ball team among others. The photo is from the scrapbook of Joseph Spitznagle, education advisor.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,59
Interior of the CCC camp hospital in Hovland, MN	1933-1937	Interior of the Hovland CCC camp hospital. It is also from the scrapbook of Joseph Spitznagle, education advisor. What would it be like to live here?	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,58
Christmas dinner in the mess hall at the Hovland, MN, CCC camp	1935	Enrollees are shown at their Christmas dinner in the mess hall of the Hovland CCC camp. Men are packed tightly together at tables, barrel stove is at the center of the room and officers' table is at the head of the room with American flag hanging behind them. Also from Spitznagle, scrapbook.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,41
Inside the library at the CCC camp, Hovland	1933-1937	The CCC camp at Hovland, MN, had a library facility and the enrollees are shown here enjoying their free time. The photo is also from the Spitznagle, scrapbook.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,39
CCC crew fighting forest fires on Isle Royale, MI	1936?	Image shows enrollee using fire fighting equipment shooting a stream of water in the middle of a scorched forest. CCC helped in fighting fires on Isle Royale and in Cook County, MN. How would Corps members get to Isle Royale?	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,174
Civil Works Administration project, building an airport, Grand Marais	1934-03-03	The photo shows automobiles in a cleared area that later became an airport built by the Civil Works Administrtion Project. Grand Marais High School is on the site today.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,2
Sawbill CCC camp scene, north of Tofte	1940	Sawbill CCC camp scene north of Tofte, MN, 1940 - Company 716. Ask students to notice the details including a water tower, vehicles, flag, barracks, and buildings.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,157
Cascade State Park walking bridge, steps, and path as made by the Spruce Creek CCC crews, near Lutsen	1940?	Cascade State Park walking bridge, steps, and path as made by the Spruce Creek CCC crews looks similar to much of the trail and portage work done by the CCC that still exists to this day. Are there walking paths in our community  built by the Corps?	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,10
Road work with CCC bulldozer	1933-1942	An unidentified man is in driver's seat of road building equipment, a bull dozer on the muddy road. Many roads were built and better developed in Cook County during the CCC era. Stamped on the back is Joseph R. Florian.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,85
CCC built dock on West Bearskin Lake north of Gunflint Trail	1933-1942	The photo shows a log dock built by CCC crews on West Bearskin Lake. It is from the scrapbook of Albert Malner, enrollee.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,135
Newly completed Lima Mountain lookout cabin, north of Grand Marais	1936-05	This log cabin in the woods was a CCC project was completed in May 1936. It was used on the top of Lima Mountain as a forest service lookout station. It is from the scrapbook of Albert Malner, CCC member who later became the Cook County Sheriff.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/p15160coll14,127
A roadside retreat near Lanesboro, Minnesota	1936	I included this photo as an example of CCC work in Southeast Minnesota.  The roadside still exsits.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/fch,125
1933 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota	1933	The maps shows roads existing in 1933. It is included so students can identify locations in the photos.	Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/mdt,225

9: Specific Minnesota Reflections Collection(s) to Consider (optional)

Cook County Historical Society

Iron Range Research Center

10: Helpful Tips (optional)

The guide primarily utillizes resources found in the Cook County Historical Society Collections. The Iron Range Range Research Center Collection also has over 100 panorama photos of CCC Camps and company members. Your county Historical Society or Public Library may have artifacts that are not online or part of the innesota Digital Library but will support this lesson.

11: Ideas for Lesson Plans Using this Guide (optional)

The photos may be used as a group activity. Teachers should download photos and  prepare a photo presentation prior to beginning the discussion. Use the Observe, Question Reflect photo analysis technique guide to examine photos in depth. The Situational/Normal photo analyis activity can also be used. What activities are the Corps members doing that  they might not normally be doing? What activities are like those they would be doing at home?    

Core questions: What was the life of a CCC worker like? What work did they do? What did they do for recreation? What were working and living conditions like? What is the source of many of these photos? (Who owned them?) What structures that the CCC built still exist? (Students in northern Minnesota may be familiar with many of these; other students may have seen them on family trips to northern Minnesota.) Are there structures in your community that were built by the CCC? What activities are the Corps members doing that  they might not normally be doing? What activities are typical of daily life at home? What can we learn from the bibliographic information provided by each individual photo.

Students will enjoy individual opportunites to search for additional photos Minnesota Reflections. They may want to search for for a photo of a camp or company near their home. The Cook County  and Iron Range Interpretive collections have photos of CCC camps located outside of Cook County.  Students could also examine and select subject links to locate additional information about the subjects (including people) cited in the bibliographic record.

As an extendeded activity, students could interview family members to inquire  about family members who served in the CCC. Are there photos and stories in family scrapbooks and family albums?

There are many additional resources to support this standard and activity:

Online (linked below):
The Civilian Conservation Corps Experience (Minnesota Historical Society) includes excerpts from oral interviews and manuscripts,  photographs, teacher lesson plans 

Library of Congress Teachers Page Primary Source Teachers Guides and Analysis Tools

Book  

Sommer, Barbara W.,  Hard Work and a Good Deal : The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota, Minnesota Historical Socity Press, 2009

DVD

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) PBS,  The American Experience series.

12: Other Online Collections that Help Teach this Standard (optional)

Civilian Conservation Corps Museums and Exhibits http://www.ccclegacy.org/ccc_museums.htm

Chippewa National Forest, Rabideau CCC Camp National Landmark  http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/chippewa/recreation/camprabideau.php

Rabideau Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, Education Building, County Road 39, Blackduck vicinity, Beltrami, MN (catalog record with links to photographs and data page) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.mn0524

American Memory Collections Built in America http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/index.html

Minnesota Historical Society:  In Their Words: Stories of Minnesota's Greatest Generation. The Civilian Conservation Corps Experience http://stories.mnhs.org/stories/mgg/depression.do

Library of Congress Teachers Page Primary Source Teachers Guides and Analysis Tools

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/guides.html

National Archives Document Analysis Worksheets

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/