 Thank you, everyone. Thank you for coming. My name is Devin Coleman. I'm with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. Thank you, I'm not even presenting. A few housekeeping items, please silence your cell phones so we don't interrupt the presentation. Restrooms are right out the back door, and this program is being recorded by local, by Orca Media, local public access. So when we get to the Q&A session or sharing stories, we want to make sure that you use the microphone so that the audio gets picked up for the recording. To start our program, I do have an executive proclamation that the governor issued today, and these always have a long list of where-as-is, so I will read through the where-as-is. Whereas on April 5th, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps, the CCC, an innovative federally funded organization that put close to three million Americans to work during the Great Depression on projects with environmental benefit, and whereas the CCC was a public works program that operated until 1942, as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's new deal, and whereas Vermont was originally allocated four CCC camps, but thanks to State Forester Perry H. Merrill's foresight in earlier developing long-range conservation, flood control, and forest management activities, Merrill's lobbying of CCC National Director Robert Fetchner, Vermont received more assistance than other states, and whereas there were CCC camps located in 39 Vermont towns and unincorporated areas and in 12 counties, and whereas a majority of the corps members that built dams at Eastbury, Wrightsville, and Waterbury to control the flow of the Winooski River to prevent the reoccurrence of the devastating flood of 1927, were World War I veterans, and whereas the CCC contributed to the development of skiing in Vermont when they developed the first ski trails in Stowe, Burke, Shrewsbury, and Bromley Mountains, and whereas the CCC constructed multiple auto roads, including those on Mount Philo, Mount Mansfield, Mount Tuscotny, and Elmore, to provide access to iconic views and vistas in response to the rapid increase in the ownership of automobiles, and whereas CCC camps in the Green Mountain National Forest built roads, trails, and campgrounds, and fought fires and planted trees, and whereas between 1933 and 1942 an estimated 40,868 individuals worked in Vermont CCC camps, of which about one-quarter were Vermonters and three-quarters came from New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and whereas Vermont CCC workers not only fought forest fires, but helped prevent forest fires by building seven new steel fire towers, three new wooden towers, eight new lookout cabins, telephone lines, and fire roads, and whereas the CCC legacy lives on with the campsites, trails, buildings in at least 22 state forest and park locations, at local municipal parks and recreation facilities, in the acres of forests and woodlands of Vermont, and as a historic lesson of response to the darkest economic period of our country. Now, therefore, I, Phillip B. Scott, Governor, proclaim April 5th, 2023 as the 90th anniversary of the CCC Day in Vermont. So I would now like to introduce Representative Michelle Boslin of Westminster, who's been a great partner in putting this program together, and she will read the House Resolution on the 90th anniversary of the CCC. Representative? So I'd like to thank the Office of Historic Preservation. They have been very, very supportive and helped to make this possible, so yay history. I was a history teacher before I was a state representative, so this is right up my alley. I also happen to live on a former CCC campsite in Westminster, so you'll actually see some photos from my land in the slideshow that's coming up a little later. So the House Concurrent Resolution, HCR 60, commemorating the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps, offered by, and it has my name first alphabetically, and then many, many, many other representatives. We had about, I think, about 80 people co-sponsored. I won't read them all for you. Whereas on March 21st, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed that Congress establish a Civilian Conservation Corps, CCC, to provide unemployed men ranging from 18 to 25 years of age, and age later extended to 17 to 28, with manual labor on conservation and forestry related projects, and whereas the enabling legislation, also known as the Emergency Conservation Work Act, also referred to as the CCC Reforestation Relief Act, sped through Congress and on April 5th, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6101, formally organizing the CCC. Whereas from 1933 to 1942, three million men around the United States passed through its residential work camps, and whereas Vermont was slated to host four CCC camps, but the passionate lobbying of legendary state forester Perry H. Merrill raised that number to more than 30, and camps were organized in or near Bellows Falls, Bethel, Brunswick, Cuttingsville, North Shrewsbury, Danby, Mount Tabor, East Berry, East Wallingford, Weston, Elmore, Jericho, Ludlow, Lindenville, East Burke, Marshfield, Groton, Menden, Middlesex, Milton, Montpelier, Wrightsville, Moscow, Stowe, Northfield, North Thetford, Peru, Plymouth, Proctersville Cavendish, Pultney, Richter Mills, Rochester, St. Albans, Sharon, Undercenter, Waterbury, Waterbury Village, West Burke Sutton, Wilmington, and Windsor, leaving a legacy of dams, forests, parks, trails, and shelters, and garnering a reputation for effective forest firefighting. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives that the General Assembly commemorates the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps and honors the memory of those dedicated CCC personnel who strove to enhance the natural resources and associated amenities in Vermont during the Great Depression. So, now that you've heard all those formal resolutions, we would like to bring on our CCC historian. Where is he? Marty? Podcutt? Podskotch? Podskotch. Podskotch. I actually saw part of this show last year when he came to do a presentation in Rockingham, and I'm very glad to have him back to share images and stories about the CCCs, and we'll also give a space for those of you who have connections to the CCC. Maybe you know your stories from your family. We'll give some space for that as well. So I'd like to hand it over to Marty. Thank you for coming. Thank you, Michelle. It's a little strange having a Connecticut guy coming up to do a book, but I have this passion for doing the CCC. I started with firetowers of the Catskills, the Adirondacks, then I didn't know what to do next. So I had some pictures of CCCs in the Adirondacks. So I did a book on that, interviewed a hundred guys in New York State. Then I came to Connecticut where I live now, and I interviewed another hundred guys and after about six years I got a book done on their 21 camps. Then a guy said, hey, could you find my father's camp in Rhode Island? So I was able to track the eight camps down there and his father's camp. And so I, what do I do next? I'll do Vermont. You know, I love Vermont. My son went to Rutland, the College of St. Joe's. Love traveling there, and I love your license plate, you know, green, you know. But I just have this passion. I'm also in a group that's called the CCC Legacy. You may check the website, and I'm on the board, and what we do is try to promote the history of the CCCs. It was all started back in the 80s when CCC boys, I call them boys, but there were guys in their 80s and 90s who worked in the CCCs, decided they wanted to get Congress to do something, you know, maybe get it back again. So they started these chapters all over the United States in Vermont. They had, I think in, help me out. Starts with a D, right at the road here. No, Barry, sorry. D, Barry, okay, and there were a couple. I think a couple. I know in Connecticut, there was one in the West and one in the East. They even formed a museum that is still going on, and so when they got older, they just sort of went to funk, and so it started with CCC Legacy. So I will have some brochures that if anybody might be interested in joining it, I think it's only about $20, and we also get together once a year, although we haven't been getting together with COVID. So if you could pass those down, and if you might be interested in joining, trying to preserve what your fathers or grandfathers or friends or just you work for the state, and we, you have a very good state people. I know Frank has taken me spaulding around. Raise your hand, Frank. And he has that reverence, the idea to keep these buildings going. Not, you know, in some states, you know, they'll just burn them, etc. But you have people that try to preserve at the architects, and we have the guy in the red, the big boss. What's your first name? Nate, also trying to preserve what these boys have done, you know, just in nine years. And I am so privileged to come up here to speak. Can you believe, I just tell you, you know, my family, I'm coming up to speak at Vermont Assembly place, you know, giving a talk, and it's just a thrill to be able to go and find these places. I mean, to search where these camps were. And as I'm going along, I'm going to be just showing pictures. I put these in chronological order. Now, Devin, could you be my man just to advance them? Usually I have a clicker here. And anytime you see a picture and say your dad was there, grandfather was there, we'll let you talk as we're going along, okay? Because with just in those proclamations, they gave you all those details. Now, if anybody wants any of these these flags, too, there's a place, a bill to flag, too. I pay, I bought five of them. They're coming, I think, $38. So if you want any for your parks or whatever. Now, one thing Vermont is missing, you don't have a statue. You don't have a statue honoring. And my CCC legacy organization bought the mold and I think there's only about eight states that do not have a monument to honor the work of the CCC. So this we didn't have any in Connecticut. And in one year, that lady on the right hand side behind that one gentleman, she was a go getter. She helped raise enough money, the $24,000 to get it in one park. And she said, by the end of the year, we're going to have one where my dad was. So in one year, Connecticut got two statues, okay? And you don't get the next one, please. This is one where I just we just have a small stone, okay? Some some states they have them way up high, you know, people are climbing up them. But it's just a great thing. And that that gentleman just passed away this December 99. We have one guy that I know of. He is 100. And he lives in Rome, New York. And that was a time when we had black camps, white camps in, you know, in the United States, like from New York, straight down, there were black and white camps. But so he was in a black camp. He was also a Tuskegee airman. And he's 100 years old. And he still drives to church on Sunday and goes out. And he still has his marbles. Okay, he's just so literate. So many of these guys who quit school, they had to quit school at eighth grade. Or even I had one boy, he was 14 years old, he quit school because his father fell off a plant there by Troy, New York, the Ford plant. And they would just walk along the railroad tracks, picking up the coal, going for bread. He went upstairs to his bedroom, got his birth certificate. And you old timers like me, remember inky eradicator? It was like peroxide, I think that's what it was, Clorox. And these little bottles, and he changed his age from 14 to 18. And he was just this little guy, and he was in the Saratoga camp. Then he went out to, right next to Colorado, Idaho, no. Where the ski, the Olympics were. Utah, thanks Earl. And he helped build the lodge there. So these stories, I mean, I have a Connecticut book, 500 some pages, I just went wild on that one. I even have camp newspapers. So if you get a chance, you could even come up here. I'm going to pass these up to be very careful. Turned out somebody from Massachusetts, and most of the workers in your state were from Massachusetts. I don't know if you knew that, because you just didn't have enough workers. So Rob, would you give one to each row, and then they could just pass it down? This is the escutney camp, okay? And where's our representative Weathersfield? These are the camp newspapers, because we had education advisors that taught. Once they found out that the boys were only eighth grade education, instead of the sitting around the barracks at nighttime, they started classes. And we were very lucky. Scott, would you be able to come up here, please? Now Scott is from Barry, right? I remembered. Okay. Now Scott is came up to me at one of my talks, or wait, he saw it in the newspaper, the Argus, that I was collecting stories. So just tell them a little bit about your grandfather. So my grandfather, I found out most of the stuff after he passed, and I bought his house. And in the cellar, he has these big, bound leather, just scrapbooks full of stuff, this sort of stuff. He was the education director at three or four different camps, Ricker, Waterbury. I can't remember the other ones. Ricker's Pawn is in Groton. And so I had a treasure trove of information. He was a camping guy that took pictures of everything, and articles and stuff in the paper afterwards. Anything that was ever in the Times Argus, he's got copies of all of it. And I got to figure out what to do with that. But he was very proud of his association with the CCC. And I'm glad to have the stuff now. I just got to figure out what I got to do with it. I think it was also in the West Burke one on Crystal Lake. I've got a picture of him. I finally figured out making that bath house. How many know I've been to Crystal Lake? You know that beautiful stone and brick, very, you know, I should say unique architecture but I have a picture of him. Okay, next. Thanks, Scott. Next. Come on. You're going to get fired. Now, I didn't grow up in the Depression. I was born in 43, but my grandparents grew up in there. Some of your parents grew up, or you did. And it was very difficult getting jobs. Next. And people were about 25 percent of the United States was unemployed. Next. Then Roosevelt was elected. He promised the New Deal and he promised to propose the Civilian Conservation Corps. And the law was called Emergency Conservation Work Act. It wasn't called the CCC at first. And he proposed a he wanted to have 250,000 boys ready to go July 1st. Next. He went to Congress and the Senate. He proposed that law on March 27th. Four days later, passed the House and Senate just like our Congress and Senate does today. Michelle, do we get things faster done in Vermont? Okay, good. But he said 250,000 boys. Imagine that. So who was he going to choose to give food, clothing, shelter, and medical care? The Army. Okay, next. So he had the Department of Labor. You had to be on what they called relief in those days. Okay. You were very poor. So those boys, you know, in each town, everything, all the states was depending on population. How many boys could be able to sign up for the Civilian Conservation Corps? Next. The Army was chosen. And sometimes they would have, one good thing too, if like the, if it was in like Windsor, you know, they had to build up the camps or in Bellows Falls. They hired local carpenters. So they got a job building up the barracks. And there in the dark coat in the middle is a fetchner. He was in charge. He was a labor leader. And Roosevelt put him in charge. And this is a time too. They were paid a dollar a day. The Army, which totaled $30, but the Army was getting, I think, $22 a month. So, you know, some people were grumbled labor unions were, but he had a labor union guy. So that helped. Next. Then we had the bonus Army. During 1932, Hoover was president. And there was World War I veterans. They didn't have a job. Okay. They were in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60 years old. And they protested. They came to Washington. Please, Congress, give us our bonus that we're supposed to get in 1945 or 46. You know, of course, Hoover, what did he do? He sent General MacArthur. And he drove them out. Eisenhower was part of that too, crowd. Some of the guys were shot. They were there with their families, you know, in tents and shacks. 1933 came up. They came again to Washington, a new president. What did, who did Roosevelt send? It starts with a knee. There it is. We've got that, put your town again. Cambridge. They remembered. Steve? No. Peter. Okay. Peter hit his wife for so nice to take me in. That's, so if you want me to come to your town, be nice. Take me in for the night. It's a long trip home. So that's the way I did my books on the Adirondacks too. I was like two hours to four or five hours away. I'd give these talks and people would take me in. So it's so nice. You get to meet the people overlooking the valley there. God, that was so nice. Okay. So Roosevelt's Eleanor, she drives up in her limousine, talks to the soldiers. What's the problem? You don't have a job. Now if you're the president of the United States, do you want to have protesters? No. You've never seen a president that has had protesters like this before, right? So he wanted to keep it all quiet. Let's give them a job. So we had veterans camps. So in all of the states we had World War One veterans in the camp and your state, do you know how many veterans came up to help you people? Five thousand. Can you imagine pulling into Barrie and in Montpelier and Waterbury on the train? Five thousand World War One veterans to build the dams, the three dams, East Barrie, Wrightsville and Waterbury. Next. Next. So these boys were given World War One uniforms, clothing, okay, because they had to prepare for 250,000. So I was fortunate. I can't remember who gave me this, but at first they were just ill clad, you know, poor fitting. You know, these kids were scrawny, poor, but somebody gave me their CCC uniform. So I passed that out. You could look the way it's people that know sewing and everything. They say, boy, this is gorgeous. They also, I got this, one of the hats. Now this was I think in about 1936 that Roosevelt said, hey, we got to get something better. So when these boys would be going to dances, or a lot of times if they were not too far away, they would hitchhike home, you know, on Friday night and come back Sunday night or Monday before roll call. Next. They were given these nice clothes. So now, instead of holes in their shoes, they had really good shoes, underwear, socks, raincoats, everything. Next. They were in barracks like this one in Northfield. I still haven't visited this, but how many have been in Northfield before? Anybody go to Northfield? They get out of Montpelier? Because sometimes these people don't get out, you know, in town. I don't know how they're going to ever get to the 251 club. Is anybody in the 251 club? Oh, good. Well, you might want to join my 102 club, the Adirondacks, or my Connecticut 169 club. If you've come up here, you can see the books. Mayen is better because they don't just give you a map and charge you $12. Mayen gives you a book, history, interesting places to visit. And also Rhode Island I did. That was easy, 39 towns. Okay, but you see how everything was neat in order. Now, in your barracks, there were four barracks, okay, 200 boys in each camp approximately. Okay, so if there are four barracks, how many boys in each barracks? Who said that? Walter? Oh, thank you. 50. So can you imagine being in the barracks with boys 18 to 25, 50 of them? I was a teacher with seventh graders mostly, and that was enough, you know, with 25. And all he needed was one or two. Okay. And so you had these kids coming, a lot of them, from Massachusetts, okay, the cities. And so they imagined coming up to Vermont and the country like that. So they'd have the stoves, usually about three stoves, everything in neat in order. Okay. And somebody was saying sometimes they would have a can, a coffee can underneath their bunks so they didn't have to go to the outhouse, you know, at night. And I think somebody spilled or fixed it so that somebody got up and they spilled it all over. And sometimes the trick would they would do is if the guy was snoring, they would carry them out and put them outside in the snow. And then he'd wake up. You know, one time I even have a picture of a of a bunk on top of the barracks. You know, these boys did a lot of pranks. Okay. But everything had to be excellent, just like our children and grandchildren's bedrooms, right? What happened to our kids when they make a leave a mess? But Mike, I've got two granddaughters. And when they were young, I'd say, Okay, Kieran, Lydia, if you make your beds, you get your dollar a day, just like the CCC money. So they would make their beds. And that's what they now they got paid $30 a month. But $5 is all they got. 25 went straight home to the parents. Okay. And their parents needed the money. Sometimes you'd have two boys in the CCC. So that was $50 coming home. Next, each camp. Can you believe this had a doctor? You know, like in schools, you have the school nurse. They had an army doctor or navy doctor there. So when they were sick, they would have one boy or two boys taking care of the infirmary. And they had a little room, their own bedroom too, but they had to stay there 24 seven, bring the food over and help take some of the basic things for them. Next. Now you people were very lucky to have this guy as a forester. Did anybody ever meet him? Brian. Now Brian is one of the top historians in the state here, Brian. I don't know if you've read some of his things, Brian, tell me, tell them about your dad. Yeah, my dad worked for a department of forest and parks. He retired after 32 years in 1978. But he he was in 10th Mountain Division World War two when he came back home. He became ski patrol director at Stowe. That's how he met Charlie Lord who you'll be bringing up in the CCC and Charlie Lord introduced him to Perry Merrill and Perry Merrill ended up hiring my dad to work at Forest and Parks. And we lived in a CCC building until I was 10. Yeah, that the lodge right at the bottom. So he went to I think it was Sweden. Help me correct. Okay. 1920s and he saw these people are fanatics about skiing. So he said, hey, I've got all these young boys. Let's start making, you know, business for the Vermonters for the winter. So they cut the three trails at Stowe. Bromley. Where else help me. Burke. Burke Mountain. Yes. Okimo. They did the road going up there. And a Scutney. Okay. So he was very good now for a million bucks. Who could tell me what college did he go to? Who said that? Frank gets a million bucks. Okay. And I used to do this with my students. You know, I'd make these crazy bets. And I said, okay, turn around. And then I'd give him a buck. So Frank, you'll, I owe you, you know, owe you nothing. But this guy went to Syracuse Forestry. He came across, he was a poor farm boy in W, right on the Lake Champlain in New York State. It'll come to me Westport. And his father and he scraped up enough money to go to Syracuse. He came across the lake and he started as a forester, rose up to be the head man. And he was the man who had the foresight as soon as Roosevelt came in and knew that he was going to be doing things. He went to Washington and he was able to get not just four camps, but a total of 30 some camps eventually. And they didn't have enough boys on relief. So they brought the boys up Massachusetts, Rhode Island, all boys. I forget. I think the Ricker camp might have been that. And I showed, if you come up here, these are yearbooks. I'll pass it around carefully. They came out in 1937. All the states had them. And they had all the camps with the names of the boys in the camp, the army, the little history. It's just a fabulous, fabulous book. If you, if you could find them on eBay, I know the historical society just last fall was the first time to get one of these. And I was someplace and the lady gave me her dad's. Okay. So you people honor the CCCs by putting a nice sign right in front of these parks. In Connecticut, they have a little sign like this, which doesn't last didn't last too long. Next. So this, these are all you can't see these. Sorry. But eventually you'll be able to see and I'm constantly working on the numbers. Okay. Because where all the camps were next. And what this is all chronologically, Colchester, Danny, the security man. I think he lives in Colchester or is it or that's where he's from. But that's where the supply depot where they would take the boys and give them the physicals on clothing, etc. And then ship food to other camps. Next. Peru. Okay. Now this one was established in 1933. Look at holy moly May 19th. Isn't that amazing? Now this is a camp where I searched and searched. And I thought I got it when I had this one guy 90 years old. I forgot his first name monk. And he had he was in charge of the big quarry in Danby. And he said Marty, I know where it is. You go up the North Road, and you'll see the pump station right past on the left. And he said that's where the camp was. So I'm in Weston and I got to meet the Vermont Country Store guy. Vermont Country Stores. It starts at L. Lyman Orton. Lyman Orton Lyman Orton was there. Got to meet him. He loves the CCC. He even put up a sign. He paid for the sign where the Weston camp is on Route 100, I think, off of the other road next to Route 100. And this guy's I'm showing a slide of where this one guy told me that where the pump station was. And this guy in the seat, he said, Whoa, no, Marty. No, no, it's not there. I grew up on there. That road, you go down the North Road past the pump station, about a half a mile. I used to watch them play baseball in that field. And I went there searching for it. We finally found it. And it was there. I found the grease pit. I don't know if you know it. It's like a box cement box. So there's the camp. And the big thing they did was the Danby Clark road from Danby all the way across. So the Peru camp did some of it. And the Danby Club did it. And we're lucky to have Steve came all the way from Granby, Connecticut. Tell about your dad. He was at the Peru camp was in the Peru camp in 1935. Yeah, can you hear me now? My dad was in the Peru camp in 1935. And I didn't know much about the CCC. Never really talked about it. You know, now and then, but I knew he was in the CCC. But about four or five years ago, my sister was holding all the family pictures that my father took. And when my sister became ill, I ended up in getting the pictures about four years ago. So I had about 30 pictures, I think, that I showed. And I met Marty. And when he gave a talk in front of the Historical Society in my town of East Granby. So I showed these pictures that my father took, which included pictures of the barracks and the road, the Danby road that he was building, plus the where the pump station is. And he had some pretty good pictures of him, you know, working a jackhammer, building the road, say it was tough work, you know, you could see it was real hard physical labor, you know, pick and shovel type work. So it set him, you know, straight. When he ended up with the experience he joined in the CCC, carried it on to become, you know, laborer, worked his way up to a master carpenter and that stuff. So the CCC was good to him. And it was a great experience. And, you know, I realize how hard it is to work. Okay, got it. Hello. Okay, we got it. Thanks, Steve. He has a lot of pictures. Okay, next. These, I was talking to Dan, the security guard, and he said, you know, I worked at the Hapgood Park there. And there was an old building there. And everything had to be done correctly, because it was a national forest, green forest. And look at the beautiful job they did, you know, just dammed up this place. And it's called Hapgood because that guy owned thousands of acres of land. And he either sold it or gave it to the state. And they, how many have been to Hapgood State Park? Okay, next. And here I am, all I had was that picture of the camp. And this is the guy, Dave Farnham. He didn't come, did he? He said he might come. He said, no, Marty. And we went down this road and we were able to track it down. And then I told somebody from the national forest. She said, oh, I know where it was. Too bad you didn't tell me. Okay, next. East Burke. What a place. How many have been to East Burke? Oh, what a mountain. All the bikers and everything. Do you ever see that building, the toll house as you're driving up? Anybody see the toll house? It has the bee on it. The shutters are holding it. It's gorgeous house. And somebody from, let's see, Massachusetts bought it. And they got a really good deal. Was it $400,000 or something? Just a beautiful place. But this place, they built this serpentine road going up to the top of Burke Mountain. And I rode books on firetowers and I do not like heights. And this road, if you've been on it, you know, there are no guardrails. And I picture these skiers also in the winter going over these roads, et cetera. I think my sons are skiers and not me. But what a job they had building that. And the caretakers of the toll house. Next. Paved Road. Built it by 1935. Next. East Barrie Dam. How many have been there? The size of these dam. Next. Look at all the camps. We're all veterans. See the V by it? I think there were 10 of them. 10 veterans camp with 200 guys approximately. Makes how many people? 2,000. Imagine 2,000. And you know what their equipment was? Picks and shovels. Wheelbarrows. Next. Look at them. Can you believe this? Picks and shovels. I was reading one article, how many hundreds of wheelbarrows they had. They got better when they got to the Waterbury Dam, I'll tell you. Because they had a lot more modern equipment. But this, that's the workers. Next. Imagine those guys being away from their families. Next. Okay. Middle sex. How many have been down to middle sex? Okay. I guess there's a good bakery. I haven't been in there. Okay. But I think three guys bought this. This old CCC camp used to be a a motel area. The CCC camp. And they did work along the dam. And then they went to the Wrightsville Dam too. Next. So this is a yearbook that I was able to find on eBay. I'll pass this around too. Oh, here it is. I'll start it in the back. Leatherbound book signed by the author. And this is just the veterans' camps. Their camps in the history of each one. Really neat. There's a picture. Next. This is what it is today. I think we have nice family gatherings, et cetera. Next. And then we get to Bellows Falls. Okay. Now, I searched and searched. Went to the library. Okay. The librarian said it's in Westminster. I didn't know if it was up that river. The Sexton River. I'm stopping different stuff. Finally, I just stopped at a guy pulling out of a driveway. Said, do you know where the Bellows or the CCC camp was? He says, yeah, you go down to the road to the flag and then make a right there by the dentist's office. You go over the bridge and then make a right on the CCC road. So I got down to that road and then I stopped one more time to make sure it's right. The guy said, can't go that way. The bridge is up. Said, go all the way down to Route 5. Straight back. Good place to get pizza. Right, Steve? Pizza, et cetera. That gas station. And then you go up. What's the name of the road? Henwood Hill Road. Henwood Hill Road. And you just keep going and going until you finally see on the left CCC. And this is what the camp was. And you could see that chimney. I guess that's it on her property. This is the road coming up. Okay, so your house is someplace around here. Some place in there, but I thought yours was... Wait, parents, and see the boxing ring? Look at, see the bleachers? And right behind there is Route 91. So as you're going up Route 91, when you pass exit 5, is it? So Michelle, would you tell them about your property? So you can't see much of what is here on my property anymore, but there are about three foundations that are still pretty much there in their entirety. Oh, there we go. So that's my yard. That's my parents' house in the background. You can see the green roof. And several places on the property, you can see the steps going up and the stone wall going around the edges. So yeah, they're actually, I think there are three foundations between my property and my parents' property. And then if you look, it's somewhat camouflaged, but that's the chimney. And we actually do still use the chimney. We roast hot dogs and corn in there in the summer. Yeah, so that's my property. And it's an old CCC camp. And we still do have also two stone columns at the front entrance to our driveway, which were built by the CCC and are still there. And our road, my address is CCC Road. That's the name of my mailing address. It only has two houses, my house and my parents' next door. Thank you, Michelle. Okay, next. Now, this camp did not just stay in Bellows Falls or Westminster. It went to Townsend State Park. I only have been there. And that beautiful building, look at the caretaker. And a lady from Barrie or Montpelier, her father built these. Did you ever get to meet her? She didn't come to this, and she has a brother, too. But I've got pictures and the stories. And then they also did Dutton Pines Forest by Dumberston. What famous author lived there? Rudyard Kipling. Can you imagine he wrote Jungle Book in Vermont? Did you know that? And then another one. I was at the pizza place today. And the guy we were sitting at, I had to move his newspaper so we could sit down because there are all the tables were filled up. He said he lived in Grafton. And they built, it's all the exact same structure that's in the Townsend, same design. And it's sort of just all grown up and it's just a shame that it's wilderness. Okay, next. Then Waterbury. And this is where Brian is from Waterbury. And it is where the swimming pool in town is, the camp. And they did a lot of work. They did work at Camel's Hum. Next. Smuggler's Notch. Frank, is that correct? Did they do the Smuggler's Notch? It was moved because I was trying to figure that one out. Okay. Mount Philo. I'd love to get up there. Grandville. The Falls down on Route 100. And Hubbard Park. Where's Hubbard Park here in this? Where? Up the hill? Behind this building? Okay. So they came all the way and then they would have a spike camp or side camp and stay for the week and do work. Next. And then, of course, as Frank said, you know, Brian, he lived up there with his dad and they did, look at the work building. 33, 34, those three years cutting down the trail and also the Stone Hut that Frank, you said, had a fire and it's been rebuilt. Next. And there they are cutting the trail. Next. Yes. Go back. And then the second guy in from the left who's standing over the sandwich is Paul Barquin from White River. And these, in this photograph, they're cutting the Bruce Trail on Mount Mansfield, the first purpose built ski trail in Vermont. And when they finished it in February of 1934, the last day of work. Better give you a just in case. Paul Barquin, the fellow with the sandwich said, well, I brought my skis today and put his skis on and skied down the Bruce, becoming the first person in Vermont to ski down an official ski trail. Well, thank you. Okay, next. Okay, there's the lodge. Next. Look at this view. How many have been up there, Mount Philo? I got to go there. Okay, looking over at the Adirondacks. Next. Plymouth. Frank, we didn't go there, right? You know, I went over to Windsor and I'm thinking Plymouth and Windsor were the same. And then I'm putting this together. They are not the same. Okay, but look at the things they've done. Mount Pleasant, Bradley Hill, mostly work in the Calvin Coolidge State Forest. Okay, Gifford Woods. How many have been there up by Killington? That was built by the Plymouth camp. They probably had a spike, you know, going up the road. What else do they do? Penny Hollow. Anybody know where that is? Okay, next. Here's some of the work. Gile Mount Firetire. Norwich erected. Coolidge. The lean twos are gorgeous, just beautiful in Vermont for camping. And there's that Gifford Woods. Look at the stonework. Next. And they built that. Next. West Burke. This one was a tough one. I mean, I don't know who was with me on this one. We searched and searched. We're driving up this road and somebody, Luke, who's Luke up there? Luke O'Brien said, you just go up there and it's on the left. And we're driving. And of course, you're driving on these roads, dirt roads, and the camp is obliterated. It's just, you know, foundations. So we're driving up. We have one search party going up another road. Finally, we said, let's come back. Oh, I met a lady biking on this trail. And she said, no, no, go down. It's on the right. And that's where the camp was. And it's in the town of Sutton. It's called Willoughby State Forest. Anybody see that? How about Willoughby Lake? Isn't that gorgeous up there? And there is that bathhouse that they built there on Crystal Lake. Next. There's a better picture of it. Gorgeous. Next. Then we get to Danby. Okay, now this is a picture. I think your dad, Bob, and we're going to have Bob, he drove all the way from Fall River, Fall River. My name's Bob Rack, and my father was Stanley Rack. And he actually was turned 18 in 1940. And he became part of the CCCs. He started working at the Okimo Camp. And he worked on the road up Okimo Mountain to the top. So as youngsters, we always came up and we always drove up that road because there was still part of the camp on the road that went up. So we saw that. Then after there, he went to the Danby camp in September of 1940. So he was January of 1940, he started. And then in September of 1940, he was selected with a group to start to reestablish the Danby camp because it was abandoned at one time. So he was there from September 1940 to November 1940, setting that up. And then he was selected to start the Pultney camp. So he went to Pultney in November of 1940. And that was, he said that was a very cold winter because they hadn't built any barracks there yet. So they were living in tents. He said covered with ice. Oh my God. They would wash down at the river and all because there was a few rivers there. And one of the things he learned was surveying while he was doing that. And he went to, while he was at the Moultonboro, I mean at the Pultney camp, he was learned surveying and he actually became a leader of a survey crew that was surveying the rivers and stuff in there. And he wrote a biography and in it he said, we used the useless slate from Grandville, New York. And so I said, gee, that wasn't too nice for him to say the useless slate. But then the people at the Grandville Museum contacted me because they had read that, the Slate Valley Museum. And so they did a whole thing about my father at the museum. They had it all summer. So I brought in because I had 200 pictures that my father had from his time in the CCC. The CCC was just a very important thing for him. And so he learned surveying and all. And he was there, he was discharged in January of 1942. And so he said, I came home and someone asked me to survey property in Back and Fall River. And so he said, I did that. It was the quickest 50 bucks I ever made. He said, but he got such a bad case of poison ivy that he spent $100 at the doctor. And of course, I inherited the poison ivy thing. And so then he also told me that when we were talking about the military, when the boys were so appreciative of what the government had done by putting them, because like he said, he would get $5 a week and he would send for, I still have some of the coupons that he had from the CCCs and stuff. And he said, so when it came time to enlist, they turned in their CCC uniforms and took their green uniforms of the military. And he was like, we went to a thing for a CCC program in Fall River at the Fall River State Forest. They have a statue there. And he said that and he wanted to, I asked him, you want to go to this? He was in his late 80s. And he said, yeah, I want to go. And so I brought him and it was like he was a kid again. He was having trouble walking and everything. He couldn't, he was walking through the woods climbing over stone wall. It was like mind over matter. You know, it was, and he actually took over the presentation because he was a leader of one, we have a picture that says Rack's Hotel of the Barracks. And then he was there for, oh, he was, you know, he took over because he knew what the foundation of the buildings were and everything. So he could tell where things were in the camp and everything. And so it was such a, you know, such an impact for him. We, we actually bought, he bought some land down in a Sonnet passage and never developed it. So we had a wooded area that we could go to, leave the city and come to the wooded area for the time. And we were comp, you know, doing comp posting in the 60s. And I did get to talk to, I don't know if people know Van Jones. Van Jones was President Obama's advisor for green jobs. And I got to speak to him and talk to him to try and get another CCC program going again at the time. And so I told him the story that, you know, my father said, you know, they were willing to turn like right into the military from the CCCs. And he actually used that in the presentation that he gave. So it CCCs were a very important thing to my father. And it lived the whole, whole life because we, his best friend was from Poltny. And so we would come up quite a bit. And I just found out that his wife had just passed away in December, because I was going to come and see her today when I came up. And I found out she had passed away. And his kids remember me because I came up and they gave me, they let me ride his mini, their minibike in their yard. And I ended up going, I was going on a field and I rode through a bob wire fence on the minibike. And so I was all cut up and everything and everything. So they still remember it. Oh, yeah, he was a guy. So it was quite a, his adventures with the CCC. Thank you, Bob. Okay. And so look at, they even had a tennis court. Some of these camps had a tennis court. They did volleyball. Their sports was a big thing, you know, baseball and basketball, of course, was big. Next. And these are the pictures that Steve's father had. That's your father? With the jackhammer. Okay, his father. And then look at the quarry too. And look at them, you know, building the road just across the, across the Green Mountain. Next. And there's the arrow pointing to your dad again. And it's a, it's a long road. But boy, what a road. And so they had the Peru camp coming one way and the Danby camp coming the other. But the thing is, when I was giving a talk in Danby and I stayed with a family that lived in Mount Tabor, they were pissed off. Why was it called the Danby camp when it was in Mount Tabor? So it turns out the army called the camp because of the nearest post office. Okay. And the railroad. So the same thing I was telling the supervisor back there, Brunswick, what was the name of the camp? North? North Stratford, New Hampshire. And I'm, I'm thinking, well, where is this camp supposed to be up there? And look, it can't be North Stratford. Yes, it was. It was North Stratford. The army called it North Stratford because that across the Connecticut River was the railroad and the post office. And Little Brunswick, population 80. That's, that's what they have now. 80 people. You know, they didn't have a post office. Next. Menden. What a place. How many are Rutland familiar with this one? There was a Girl Scout camp. Did you, anybody go? No, a religious camp up there, but way up on top of this mountain. Okay. And the final, everything is abandoned. They, they, the state put nice trail through there. Frank, do you, do you know about that, Kevin? Nate. Right. And they brought in and say, but it's gorgeous spot up there. Next. Marshfield. Okay. And this is way up there. This is where Frank took me. Frank, do you want to say anything about this? All these camps up here. It's Groton. How many been to the Groton State Forest? Well, you know how gorgeous it is. Okay. But look at the buildings. Next. The Water Fountain. Next. Sharon. How many been to the Sharon camp? Really? Wow. And that's, it's a camp now for kids, boys and girls. Okay. And a Downer. Downer State Forest. Plant the trees, construct 10 acre pond. Forest work. Next. And in the dining room of the, of the mess hall, where the kids eat, there is this picture. So I took this one of the, they use some of the buildings now. Next. And this was the place. I think, Jen, do you want to tell him about this one? What's your name? Eric. Come on up here. Almost. He looks like William James, the philosopher. Are you a philosopher? Amateur. Wow. Tell him about, short, about what this was. Yeah. So I lived in Sharon for four or five years. And I, there's a plaque at Camp Downer. And I went down a rabbit hole and dug up a bunch of newspaper articles. So essentially Camp William James is based upon an essay that William James, the philosopher, wrote called On the Moral Equivalent of War. And that was in 1910. And so there's, there's a lot of interesting connections. It is actually the inspiration for the Peace Corps. Camp William James in Sharon, Vermont. The CCC camp closed, I believe in 1940. And there was a German professor at Dartmouth who created work camps in Germany. He left Germany to come to the States when certain political happenings happen in Germany at that period of time. And he, he had this idea of utilizing William James philosophy of utilizing the, the organization of the military, but to use it towards good and using the discipline not to create war, but to restore infrastructure and actually build society. And so John O'Brien, the state rep, his father, Robert, was actually the founding member of this Camp William James. And so in 1940, the CCC camp in Sharon closed and he, Robert O'Brien graduated from Dartmouth and got a job as a farmhand in Tumbridge and realized that there was a lot of tasks to do that there was a lot of farms that weren't in need of labor and he convinced five other Dartmouth grads. And they combined with some Harvard, Harvard grads had this idea to create a camp based upon the principles of the moral equivalent of war and based upon Professor Rosenstock O'See of Dartmouth teachings on, on this subject. And they got support of Dorothy Thompson and Dorothy Canfield. And also FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt were specifically supportive of this experimental CCC camp that was democrat, is democratically run and integrated directly with the needs of the local towns. A lot of the CCC camps were, they were more run by an army officer, it was more based upon directives that were coming from Washington DC, not necessarily the, the actual needs of the, the towns themselves. And one thing that Camp William James did that was different was that it was not only open as a form of relief that was limited based upon economic need. One of the ideas of Camp William James was that to dissolve the societal boundaries or class divisions. So there is this idea that, that there's a lot that the, the city folk, the college educated could bring to the rural populations. There's a lot that the rural population, the economically disadvantaged. There's a lot of lessons and a lot of social healing that could come from bringing these groups of people together to work for constructive means in conservation projects. And yeah, there's a lot more to say. Very good. And I have a shared folder of articles if anybody's interested in learning more. Thank you. What's your first name? Eric. Eric. Yeah, if you, you know all the energy it takes to run a war, right? So if you could take all that energy and do good, and not only have the poor kids working together, but the kids that were at Dartmouth and, but never, they couldn't get it going. I think it lasted maybe one month or so and Washington said no. Next. But it all started here. Okay, Northfield and see where the, the, let's see, the fairgrounds are. That's where the camp was. Next. And they did work Brookfield, landscaping area. Next. Also the fish hatchery. Okay. Next. Then we go to Weston. Okay. And this, you can't get in there. They said it's so hard to walk. Anybody ever walk into this where the camp is now? They said it's, it's overgrown, etc. But they did a little short section of the Danby car grow that the Mount Tabor, Danby, and Peru camp were working. Glendale Forest Camp, Glendale Road, West River Valley, and they helped out in the 36th hurricane. Next. Look at the way that, you know, remember when it first started, they lived intense until, until the buildings could have been built. Next. Ah, I'm on Piliura. As I was crossing your river today, I'm looking, you know, I, I didn't go as far enough to see the close bin factory. You know what that is? Okay. There was a dam. Look at that wooden dam. And they went to rebuild it. The, the tainter gates. Okay. And it was the veterans that did this. Next. The Windsor camp. Okay. Mount Escutney. Look at, they did a lot of work there. Gorgeous. I was there with a forester from Springfield. Walking paths, the trail going all the way to the top, 19 lean twos, picnic shelters, and the forester's house is gorgeous. Down in the basement the guy was showing me. Got the initials of the CCC boys on the wooden beam going across. Next. Also, the shelters they did up there. Next. This is gorgeous too. How many have been to Wilgus? Okay. And this building is gorgeous for the Ranger. You have 12 stone fireplaces, these stone water fountains. What else? Hiking trails. Next. Then another, the, when the 27 flood came, they knew they had to do some work, you know, to try to stop this flooding. Next. The Wrightsville Dam. Okay. Right above here. How many have been there? Okay. And look at that. An earthen dam. Now, what is in the center of the dam? Clay. Who said that? Thanks, Frank. Clay. But does that hold it? Not necessarily. They have to have monitors in there to make sure, because as it starts leaking, okay, then they have to try to stop it. Okay. So these are earthen dams, but they were a big help to controlling the waters that flow into the Winooski River. Next. The Barry City had a supply depot now. Next. Elmore. Frank, you took me to this one. And look at the camp. Look at the entranceway. Now, Michelle has these stone pillars. Okay. They had wooden Adirondack style. Next. And look at the beautiful inside of this. Now, Frank, you said they had to jack this up. We changed out the entire foundation of that building probably 10 years ago now. But isn't it gorgeous? Look at the lights and everything. See, each camp had a black smith. And that black smith, whenever anything was made needed to be made of metal, the black smith would make it, sharpening the shovels, the picks, the axes. Okay. And that light probably was made by the black smith. Next. Look at the legacy, the nice park there, the trail going up to the firehouse tower. Lean twos. Next. Proctersville, who has been to Proctersville to four people. Wow. This one, I drove first with the forester. He was in his 80s or 90s. We got there, it was the wintertime. And he says, I know it's in there someplace. So then I got another forester, a little younger, and he took me. Next. Look at this. Look at the size of that chimney in there, in the woods. And it's right, right along the side of the mountain, this camp was built. So if you ever want to go exploring, it's unbelievable. In the fireplaces, just next. Then you go to North Shrewsbury. Okay. Also called Northam, Cuttingsville. Okay. And building this road across. Okay. Towards Plymouth. Next. See the cooks there. Okay. Next. Ricker Mills. This one I think was all Rhode Island guys, a lot from Providence, Rhode Island. You have this stone, like the Observation Tower. Look at the nice shelter. Next. Yeah, Ricker. Some of the buildings still there and Frank's keeping them going. Next. Underhill Center. This was a tough one. Where was the camp? We went to Underhill Center to State Park. No place to put the camp. Guess where it was? The firing range. The firing range. Next. Camp. Ethan Allen Training, the firing range. So this guy who is the head guy at Smuggler's Notch, I stayed in his wife's house for the night before I got to your house. And we're searching, searching. Some guys said, oh, I cut grass there. You just mentioned my name. And you get to the gate there. And I said, well, we know so and so. We don't know that guy. So then I always ask, where are you originally from? And the guy said Rhode Island. Bingo. I just wrote a book on Rhode Island. So it turned out that his little town, I knew all about it. Making twine, et cetera, even tennis string. So all of a sudden, he says, let me, I'm going to go and call up my supervisor. So he calls up the main building there. And the main supervisor says, okay, let him come in. So we went in there and turns out that he said, yeah, yeah, we had two camps in here. The Jericho Camp and the Underhill Camp in this, this thousands of acre, you know, firing range. Okay. So the guy says to the police officer, he says, hey, take these two guys in your police car and take them down there. Show them. So here we hop in the car there. And the guy that I'm with there, what's his name? Peter. He's just playing like they're searching him. So we got to find it. There's one of the chimneys. There were two camps there. And on the wall in the office was the picture of the whole camp ground, buildings next. There it is. Isn't that amazing? Of course, I got that little distorted because I stretched it out and made it a little bigger. The camp. So there were two camps just like that in the firing range. And they, the Underhill Camp went out and did the work on, on the Underhill State Park there. And the trails going up. Next, Sandbar. Look at this one. How many been there? Look at the stonework. Another project they did 33 to 34. And the Underhill Camp, when that camp company left, they went in later on and finished the job. Next. So the big thing there, they had to do is clear out all the swampy land there and make a nice sandy beach. That bath house. Okay. And I'm going to, okay. So the Underhill Camp left, it wasn't too far for them to go. They could have a side camp there. Next. Then the Waterbury Dam. Now this one, hundreds of pictures. I'm just going to show you a couple. Brian, who is, works also a member of the Historical Society. They just have so much information about this camp. And Brian, whenever you want to chirp in next. Look at this. Building this dam, this earthen dam. But now they had a lot of trucks, dump trucks, steam shovels. Okay. And started, you know, trying to contain, slow down the little river. Did anybody ever go camping up there too? Ah, look at the campground. Next. And look at this. You had 2,600 veterans and one junior, 18 to 25 year old. That was the camp that left Jericho and came over. But look at that. Do you see those they look like use? Those are 100 guys in each of those barracks. 100. Next. And if standing on the dam and looking, there you could see, they had their own fire department. Their sewer. Their own, like a grocery store by movie theater. Next. Look at this. Now they really could crank away. And look at them working on the stonework on the walls. Putting all those stones neatly in place. Next. Look at the lights they probably work towards in the evening too. Next. And do you see the top left? They were meticulous, these veterans. Nice gardens. And they were rated too. They'd have an army coming in different states too. Giving awards for the camp that does the nicest job. And look at their library on the left. They had their own chapel which was then taken to where, Brian? Norton. To Norton. Still up in Norton. Still up in Norton. Okay. Next. Their own movie theater. I forget how many 100. Do you remember, Brian? 100. But their own movie theater. Next. Then they had a fire. Brian, what happened? Christmas night 1930. Christmas night 1935 was a brutally cold night. And most of the officers had been given the night off. And there were 28 rooms in the officer's building. Actually, if you want to back the slides up a few, we can see the building. Right there. You see the arrow pointing to the officer's quarters. And there were 28 rooms in there. At the corner of the L was the recreational room. And at two o'clock in the morning, the building erupted in flames. And four CCC officers, they were all, they were army, were killed in the fire. That building is 165 feet by 185 feet. And at 14 minutes, it was level to the ground. Absolutely incredibly fast burning fire. Uh, hugely controversial. I have the whole court of inquiry about the fire. And each witness stated that the fire started at a different location. Which is what you expect in something like that. And about 15 years ago, a gentleman walked into the Waterbury Historical Society one day from Connecticut. And he said, I have my uncle's photo album. And there are pictures in here of building the Waterbury Dam. I thought you might like to have these photos. And the Historical Society called me, Linda Kaiser called me and told me that guy had been in that day. So on my way home from work, I stopped and I'm flipping through the photo album. And in there is a photograph of the fire in the officer's quarters starting. Oh my God. In a billion. And the fire is starting at both ends of the building at the same time. It's the left court, the left side and the right hand side. It was it was a coal gas fire methane. There were two photographs taken. We don't know by who it was clear. The court of inquiry never had those photographs because it clearly showed where the fire started. It started both ends of that building at the same time. And there is a significant monument up there today in honor of the four men lost their lives in that fire. Now, as you could see, I've got a lot of people helping me with this book. Michelle, you know, Steve, this is my adventure. This is my retirement. You know, I'm going to hit 80 in November. And I just love it. And I just feel like I can't stop. My wife said, we've got enough books now. I just got a shipment in, you know, $10,000, $11,000, you know, by travel. And because I want to go to Massachusetts 51 camps, you know, next. So even Roosevelt came for the groundbreaking, not the groundbreaking, the finishing touches next. I look at the soldiers going home or arriving in Waterbury. Next. Look at the dam today. Look at all those stones put in place. And you have to get on a dirt road to get, you know, to get there. Next. Now, did I get the Ripton people come? Oh, okay, they didn't come. The historian said he was bringing a group. Did the Stowe people come? Hey, good. Thank you for coming. Thank you for coming. So this one, the army or the government was supposed to a lot the money. They built the camp, but then in 35, it wasn't approved. So guess what happened? Nobody ever went to the Ripton camp. And I forget what happened to the buildings. Everything was built, just ready to go. Never happened. Next. Rochester. Okay, I've got working with that one. I've only been to Rochester Falls. I don't like heights. Next. And I wasn't, I'm still waiting for them. The Rutland Forestry Department, they have everything in storage. So I'm just waiting to see if I could get some photos. This is the Rochester camp. Next. Wilmington. This one was a tough one. How many have been down to Wilmington? Very nice little town. And I tell you, I had people telling me all places where the camp was. Finally, I went back. The historian knew where it was. Next. It was on the hill right on route nine. Now, if you've ever been last year driving on route nine across the Wilmington, you probably went crazy. It took them maybe a year just to build that road and so much dirt and everything. But that's, that's where the camp was right on the road. And you see the ladders on the roof. Do you know why the ladders are on the roof? For chimney fires. Okay. If it was creosote, if you've burned wood, you know, I have to have a cleaner chimney. Next. And the inside, you know, they had imagine 200 guys having all the food that they wanted to eat. Next. Boxing lane. One lady emailed me. She said, she's from Massachusetts. I'm trying to find my father. I know he was a boxer, you know, and she found something he, he fought in Wilmington or a water barrier or something. But I'm trying to find, find him. And I got into that yearbook I passed around bingo. Her dad was listed. He was in 37. Another person called me up, something like that too. I found the father in that yearbook. But if anybody's searching for their dad or relative, all these records are in St. Louis and Steve got his eight pages for about his dad. Okay. It might take a little while, but that's where they are. Next. The Ludlow camp. This is the one Bob told us about. Next. The projects. Next. And we've got a close in one minute. Okay. That's my father there. With the surveyor. Bottom left. Bottom left, holding the flag. So in the middle one of that, the thing there. Sexton. Okay. Next. How much time do we have? Not much. Okay. Okay. Ready? Go. Next. Oh, Brunswick. Next. This is a gorgeous place. Man, you've got to drive five miles to get to this lake. What's the name of it? Maidstone. Man. Next. Look at the, look at the inside. The recreation. Next. This is the, that's the only thing I have of the camp. Next. Here I am with my Prius 102. She said it's in there. Couldn't find anything. Next. Okay. Jericho camp. Next. That was there just six months. And then shipped right back over to Waterbury. Next. North Tethford. Beautiful place. The Tethford Academy took over the parks, taking care of the parks, right? And they have outdoor education right next door to their campus. What a beautiful setup. So I'm speaking there. Next. Next. Next. St. Albans. Look at the beautiful, wow, look at the size of that. Batthouse. Next. And then did this family come? Oh, they didn't come. The knives. Okay. Next. Because they had all these pictures of their dad at this camp. Next. Bethel camp. Okay. This one. Six months. Bingo. It was gone. Okay. Was it 35? Ha ha ha. Maybe they didn't run enough. But it was a bug camp. And I'm next. The guy says you go down this dirt road, you know, and see where the gate is. You walk down there. And then you turn right at the fork. And as I'm going, I see something big and black, sticking above the grass. And I said, I'm getting the hell out of here. Through slowly. And then I started running like crazy looking like this. He didn't chase after me. People say you don't have to worry. Next. Moscow camp. This is unbelievable. Guess who took it over? Next. The trap family. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Hi, I'm Peggy Guerra, and I work with the Stowe Historical Society. And I also work at the trap family lodge. So this camp, which Craig Burt, who is a Stowe, came to Maria Von Trapp asking her to do a concert for the loggers. And so they agreed to do this concert and they became best friends. And as a result, the traps were able to buy the farm that they live on right now. But later on, as they were settled there, the barracks laid empty at the end of the road in Moscow. So Maria used to invite everybody to come to Stowe. And when people arrived and there was nowhere to go, she went to Craig Burt and asked about these barracks. And he led her down to Montpelier, where she leased them for the next 10 years. So it was a Von Trapp music camp for 10 years. They did that from up until 1955. Because then the sound of music started to take over. So anyway, I just wanted to speak a little bit on that and let you know where the camps are no longer there. But they did host all these music camps back in the 40s and 50s. So thank you. It was $50 a week, room and board. Next, Poltnykamp. This is the last one. Okay, next. It was the only conservation, trying to stop erosion, help the farmers. Yes. Was that when I mentioned about the useless slate from Granville? And I said, I found out when I came up, when they did the thing that I had a tour of the Granville Museum with the slate thing. And I found out that when they create the slate tiles for like roofs and stuff, 90% of it is waste. So when my father was saying the useless slate, they were recycling all the useless slate to line the rivers in the Poltnyk area to prevent erosion. Thanks. And I'm still trying to find the location. But I think some, really, I'm searching, searching next, some place along the river. Next. And that's it. I'd like to thank you all and thank you for sharing your stories. And hopefully next year, the 100th anniversary of the parks for the state of Vermont. Pod Scotch will have the book done. Thank you for all your help. And thanks for coming tonight. Class dismissed.