Newtown Historical Society To Revisit The Depression:

CCC Program, March 9

“Why did I join the CCC, this old hard labor will be the death of me,” runs the chorus of a 1930s blues folksong.

On Monday, March 9, at 7:30 pm, in the community room of Booth Library, Newtown Historical Society will look at those who did join the Civilian Conservation Corps, and what they did throughout Connecticut. The presentation, called “History, Lore and Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Camps in Connecticut,” will be by Marty Podskoch.

The CCC was a Depression-era attempt to boost employment while simultaneously greening America and improving the infrastructure. In those goals it closely resembled proposals made to combat our present recession.

Established by New Deal legislation on March 31, 1933, the CCC quickly grew into one of the largest government attempts in history to combat unemployment by directly hiring workers into a kind of nonmilitary militia. Their work included parks, trails, roads, campsites, dams, fire observatory towers, and telephone lines.

Camps were set up in every state, and in many areas throughout Connecticut, all organized along military lines. The first year in Connecticut saw the establishment of 13 camps, each with 200–250 enlistees; another eight camps were be established before the program faded away in the war years.  These included camps at Squantz Pond in New Fairfield and Wooster Mountain in Danbury. 

Enlistments were for a maximum of two years, and the pay was $30 per month, with $25 of that sent home directly to the worker’s family. The old hard labor that troubled the songster was there, alright: the programs were physical and out in the open, and were designed for young men ages 18–25, partly for social control as well as employment; fire fighting and reforestation were among the arduous duties. How much affect the program had on the economics of the Depression can be debated; the lasting contribution to the infrastructure is beyond debate.

Marty Podskoch is a retired reading teacher, having spent the last 28 years of his career at the Delaware Academy in Delhi, N.Y. He has long been interested in history, especially on a local level, and has written several books on the Catskills and Adirondacks.

While researching the fire towers of the two mountain ranges he became interested in the work of the CCC in the area. Now a resident of Colchester, Mr Podskoch found it easy to transfer his interest to the CCC in Connecticut.

Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

The library is at 25 Main Street. For further information, call 426-5937.

Newtown Historical Society will host an open house at its headquarters, The Matthew Curtiss House, on Sunday March 15. The house/museum, a fine example of Connecticut saltbox architecture, was constructed in 1750 and purchased by Matthew Curtiss Jr. in 1781.

The public is invited to visit and tour the building at 44 Main Street any time between noon and 4 pm.  Admission is free. Junior and senior docents will be available to answer questions about the house and its history and will provide guided tours by request.

During the event, Newtown resident Brian W. McCoy will be dressed in full uniform as a Continental soldier, a member of the military force requisitioned from each state by the Continental congress during the Revolutionary War. Mr McCoy will be equipped with his gear and musket and will talk about a soldier’s clothing, food and equipment, as well as what his life would have been like during that era.