CCC employed people during Great Depression

Workers were paid to do outdoor construction projects

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, August 18, 2007

The late Edward J. Adamson of Fergus Falls is part of Minnesota history as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930s.

The CCC was a work relief program for young men from unemployed families, established on March 19, 1933, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As part of Roosevelt's New Deal legislation, it was designed to combat poverty and unemployment caused by the Great Depression.

The CCC became one of the most popular New Deal programs among the general public. Fergus Falls native Adamson and other Minnesotans went to camps of about 200 men each for six-month periods where they were paid to do outdoor construction work.

One of those camps was located at Wall Lake between Fergus Falls and Underwood. Camp enrollment was 102, and all of the men were between the ages of 17 and 23. The workers planted trees and helped area farmers with soil erosion prevention.

“The CCC was a wonderful program, and much appreciated by our family,” Adamson’s nephew, the Rev. Bill Gamber, said last week.

Adamson was the brother to Fr. Gamber’s late mother, Margaret H. Gamber, former Otter Tail County deputy register of deeds. Adamson also was a first cousin to Robert LeRoy Adamson for whom the Fergus Falls American Legion post is named.

Today the work of the CCC can be seen in Otter Tail County, throughout Minnesota and the rest of the nation. There are tangible projects left over from the 1930s such as parks, roads, dams and trees that Adamson and other CCC enrollees created.

“Those experiences as part of the CCC were a source of pride for my Uncle Edward and other volunteers,” Fr. Gamber said. “It was a powerful example of the good that can come from a public works program.”

Adamson was born in Fergus Falls on Feb. 15, 1915. In addition to his work with the Civilian Conservation Corps, he also served his country with the Army in Europe during World War II.

The Fergus Falls native began work with Otter Tail Power Company in 1939, two years before the United States entered into World War II. After the war, in 1946, he returned to work for Otter Tail and was stationed as a service representative at Fessenden, N.D.

A year after rejoining Otter Tail Power he was called to a fire near Fessenden where a barn had been struck by lightning. Tragically, Adamson died while working to divert the power line at the farm site. His death in the electrical accident at age 32 shocked family and friends.

His funeral was held at Our Lady of Victory Church in Fergus Falls. Survivors included his wife, infant daughter, his parents, four sisters and three brothers.

A CCC statue honoring the 86,000 men in Minnesota and three million men across the country who served in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s was dedicated Aug. 9 at Gooseberry Falls State Park northeast of Duluth.

Today the Minnesota Conservation Corps, created in 1981 by the Minnesota Legislature, engages youth and young adults in enhancing natural resources and provides opportunities for training and life skills development.

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