This is a continuation of the CCC series from "Of Hearth And Hoe". "The Army's valuable performance with the CCC in the summer of 1933, undertaken reluctantly at first, was one of the highlights of its peacetime years. It ran with clock-work precision; the CCC itself was judged first-rate. W.A. Shearer, chief of projects at TVA, reported during the middle of October, 1933, that twenty-five CCC camps were assigned to TVA's soil erosion program and the U.S. Forest Service, one initially in Union County.
In October,1933, a small crew of men armed with briar scythes, bush hooks, axes, and rakes arrived on Miller's Ridge, and began clearing ground in preparation for the first CCC camp in the county. The location, selected by representatives from the Army and National Park Service, was designated as Camp No. 224, later called Camp TVA-22. One of four eventually constructed in Union County and one of more than twenty camps assigned to the TVA, it spearheaded the effort in the county. The first arrivals were faced with basic orientation, light work, and the usual shots for typhoid and smallpox. Supply clerks issued clothing and equipment before their departure to work sites in the woods.
Camp life left much to be desired. Water was always scarce, unless the camp was fortunate enough to be set up near a spring. Candles and oil lamps provided light. Early work consisted of clearing the camp of bushes, weeds, and rocks in preparation for the construction of buildings. Men spent time in tents under the most typical camp conditions. Some camps operated saw mills to provide lumber for the building of barracks, cabins, bath houses, and recreation areas."
To be continued.