Relief, Recreation, Racism: Civilian Conservation Corps Creates South Carolina State Parks, 1933–1942

By Robert A. Waller

In the literature dealing with the Civilian Conservation Corps, South Carolina does not figure prominently in most histories of the Great Depression story. That neglect should be corrected!

It is important to recognize the ways in which racism has permeated our society, sometimes blatant and sometimes subtle. While the focus is South Carolina, the particulars are representative of what happened in CCC camps across the nation. As one of the most popular facets of President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal, the activities and antics of the CCC boys deserve attention.

My primary purpose in writing this book is to assist teachers and librarians and their upper level elementary and high school students in understanding this crucial but understudied era in South Carolinas history. These readers and a more general South Carolina audience could identify with a nearby place or make a family connection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543462371

Robert A. Waller

Dr. Waller is an Emeritus Professor of History with service at the University of Illinois, Urbana and South Carolina’s Clemson University and Dean Emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts at Clemson. Previous major publications include Rainey of Illinois and Relief, Recreation, and Racism (a history of the Civilian Conservation Corps in South Carolina during the 1930s). The author is a consummate teacher whose sixty-six years of involvement includes my offering instruction during military service, at two high schools, for two universities, at an enrichment school, and now for an independent living community. College administrative positions included positions grappling with such issues as student body integration, Vietnam War protests against ROTC credits, performing arts building construction, campus growth in the Liberal Arts in terms of number of majors, expansion and integration of faculty, emergence of new departments and programs, and solicitation of supporting funds through grants and donations.

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Copyright © 2017 by Robert A. Waller.

Library of Congress Control Number:      2017916773

ISBN:            Hardcover                      978-1-5434-6235-7

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CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 Severity of Depression in South Carolina

Chapter 2 Overview of the CCC Nationally

Chapter 3 CCC Leadership in South Carolina

Chapter 4 Cheraw*

Chapter 5 Givhans Ferry

Chapter 6 Poinsett

Chapter 7 Myrtle Beach

Chapter 8 Table Rock

Chapter 9 Aiken

Chapter 10 Kings Mountain

Chapter 11 Edisto Beach

Chapter 12 Chester

Chapter 13 Oconee

Chapter 14 Paris Mountain

Chapter 15 Lee

Chapter 16 Barnwell

Chapter 17 Hunting Island

Chapter 18 Sesquicentennial

Chapter 19 Lake Greenwood

Chapter 20 Colleton

Chapter 21 Sequel*

Chapter 22 Conclusion

Representative Bibliography of CCC State Parks in Other States

General Bibliographic Aids

Access to Personnel Records

Footnotes

Bibliography Of Principal Secondary Works Cited

Journal Articles

LIST OF EXHIBITS

CCC stamp

Diagram of CCC administrative structure

Picture of Director Robert C. Fechner

Picture of Homer Arthur Smith

Map of South Carolina CCC parks

Painting: CCC Boys by the Sea

Picture of CEA William H. White

New CCC uniform patch

CCC workers statue

Diagram of Barnwell Camp

Picture of lighthouse from Negro camp

Playbill for Return to Death

Table of CCC Original South Carolina state parks

Artist’s rendition of Spirit of the CCC

To

Joan Sodaro Waller,

an author in

her own right

and

helpmate through these sixty-five years.

And also

to

Anne Pickens Collins,

friend and inspiring historian

interested in the CCC.

And

especially

Vernon Burton,

distinguished historian,

colleague, and friend.

41620.png

PREFACE

The old barbecue pit at South Carolina’s Aiken State Park is a simple, unassuming structure. Most visitors probably overlook it when they come to swim in the lake, unless they happen to use it for a picnic. But a closer look reveals that its sturdy wooden timbers still bear the axe marks from when they were laboriously hand-hewn by African American members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). These marks are part of what makes it worthwhile to preserve buildings like Aiken’s shelter. They are physical reminders of the contributions of the men who served in the important New Deal work program that created many of our parks in South Carolina. Robert Waller has worked tirelessly to document the stories behind these axe marks, beginning with his study of the CCC Happy Days newspaper in 2001 and culminating with this work, The 3Rs and the 3Cs.

Dr. Waller seamlessly adds this latest account of the CCC in South Carolina to previous ones, weaving a great deal of new information into the story. He extends historian Tara Mielnik’s coverage of the topic in her New Deal, New Landscape, building on her research and adding emphasis to the themes of relief, recreation, and racism. Waller notes that the CCC operated within the context of its time. In South Carolina that meant the program was shaped by the dominant system of racial segregation that existed in the 1930s. By focusing on this aspect of the program, Waller compliments the South Carolina State Park Service’s current efforts to enhance the understanding of racism in the development of the park system in the 1930s at places like Lake Greenwood State Park.

The 3Rs and the 3Cs also facilitates the encouragement of student research by providing teachers and librarians with reference to people and places in the state. Waller highlights the South Carolina experience in the larger national New Deal picture and places the state’s program in relation to CCC efforts in other states in his Bibliography of Other CCC Parks. But most importantly, his book honors the hard work and dedication of the men who built the state parks and reminds us how important it is to preserve that legacy.

Al Hester, Historic Sites Coordinator

South Carolina State Park Service, 2017

INTRODUCTION

No man is fit to be entrusted with the control of the Present who is ignorant of the Past, and no People, who are indifferent to their Past, need hope to make their future great.

—Marcus Wilson Jernegan¹

That quotation has served as a guiding principle in all my presentations during sixty years of teaching in the US Army in Germany, at two high schools (New London, Wisconsin, and Urbana, Illinois), in two universities (University of Illinois, Urbana and Clemson University), and for twelve years with The Villages College locally. So also has it been with a published dissertation, journal articles, book reviews, and teaching instruments. Now I am applying it to this publication concerning the establishment of the state park system in the state of South Carolina during the 1930s.

One measure of this book’s utility will be to stimulate remembrances for descendants of those Civilian Conservation Corps boys who contributed so mightily to the recreation legacy that South Carolinians enjoy today. Heretofore, recreation and relief in South Carolina had been a local community and textile company responsibility. The advent of the Great Depression and the response of the New Deal broadened that civic and company duty to the state and federal governments. There was a marked difference between the New Day promised by candidate Hoover in 1928 and the New Deal proposed by candidate Roosevelt in 1932.

The pursuit of this topic began in 1996 with a tiny newspaper notice that South Carolina state CCC records had been found stored in an old barn and were now being processed and catalogued by the staff in the State Archives. When these became available, I eagerly pursued research in Columbia about the CCC park camps. I also learned that the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Office had library materials on each of the early state parks. Exhausting the paper trail, my wife and I used our tagalong camping trailer to visit each of the founding state parks. I talked with personnel and sought any germane records that might be available locally. Without being a geographic determinist, I physically examined the results of the CCC program still being used and sought evidence of the outlines of CCC campsites. Following retirement from Clemson University and a move to The Villages in Florida in 2000, I processed the research, wrote, and published three articles in historical journals covering aspects of my findings. The publication of this volume expands on the previous works with new themes—relief, recreation, and racism. I am pleased to share the fruits of my labors in this fashion.

My personal acquaintance with the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps began in the late 1930s with family day trips to visit Starved Rock State Park near Utica, Illinois, along the Illinois River. There various CCC camps had constructed a lodge and cabins of unhewn logs. In addition, they had constructed trails which we explored and, most importantly, had built stairs which made it easier to access the top of the rock. The view from there afforded scenery such as the dam in the Illinois Waterway and the countryside including Buffalo Rock State Park across the river.

Stories always have beginnings with pioneers doing the original research and publication. With regard to the Civilian Conservation Corps, the seminal historical study is by John Salmond published in 1967, which I supplemented with an article in The South Carolina State Historical Magazine (2003). There is a promotional tract published by Ray Hoyt, editor of Happy Days, in what proved to be the midpoint of the life of the CCC which provides general information.² The original investigation into racism in the Corps may be found in Charles Johnson’s inquiry appearing in Military Affairs (1972), which I augmented with an article in The Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association (2010).³

The National Park Service first conducted a study on recreation (although the term was rarely used) in 1934 and supplemented it with a 1941 report. This study augments that approach as it concerns a single state. An important study by Neil M. Maher examines the issue from an environmental perspective. The recent monumental examination of conservation by Douglas Brinkley highlights FDR’s contribution to environmentalism including the achievements of the Corps.⁴

An examination of the contribution of Happy Days (the unofficial CCC nationwide newspaper) was published by Alfred Emile Cornebise in 2004. I preceded him with a South Carolina focus in The Historian (2001).⁵ This newspaper was a principal instrument for information exchange about and among the camps.

The latest volume specifically on the South Carolina state parks and the CCC is by Tara Mitchell Mielnik entitled New Deal, New Landscape. This volume is richly illustrated, and I have taken the liberty of inserting appropriate citations in the text for those who wish to visualize the product of CCC workmanship. To be as unobtrusive as possible, the citation appears as NDNL with the page citation. Other authors have explored specific aspects of the state’s CCC efforts.⁶

For instructional purposes for teachers and students, there is a CD-ROM available from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.⁷ Taken together, these photographs in the NDNL volume, the illustrated stories, and the CD offer a visual image of CCC accomplishments in the state. Although set in South Carolina, the illustrations are representative of camps and men from across the country.

One consequence of the CCC’s development and growth during the 1930s was a change in emphasis. Throughout the years the title Civilian Conservation Corps did not change, but the internal definition of conser-vation did. The turn-of-the-century Conservation Movement placed its emphasis on preserving forests and soil; now conservation objectives were expanded to include recreation, preserving human as well as natural resources. A 1937 educational pamphlet entitled The CCC and Its Contribution to a Nationwide State Park Recreational Program observed that the complexity of modern life itself creates the need for recreation. The work of the CCC was not only to help restore forests and fields, but also the health and vigor of the American people. A 1941 public relations piece noted: In recent years an even broader concept of conservation has developed … [which] has made clear the justification and necessity of preserving scenery for its social value. This picture-rich publication also noted: Acres must be developed in which nature and the pleasures of the outdoors may be retained for the enjoyment of all the people, always.⁸ This modification of approach had great consequences for the development of the South Carolina park system.

As will be demonstrated, the story of the CCC is enhanced by the recollections of those who participated as revealed in memoirs, newspaper articles, oral histories, and camp inspection reports. I have drawn upon them to augment this history. Although it does not concern South Carolina directly, the most complete description of the CCC experience and program from an enrollee’s perspective is a 414-page recollection by David D. Draves of New Hampshire. A shorter memoir is recounted by North Carolina native Frank C. Davis. In addition to the reflections of the enrollees, another valuable resource is the 102-page experiential biography of Lt. Colonel Robert Allen Ermentrout who served as company commander in four different CCC camps, one of them for Black participants.⁹ You will find his observations sprinkled throughout this book. His reflections, as he attempted to implement the shifting policies and practices, are invaluable for understanding the local scene.

As a philatelist I would be remiss if I did not draw attention to the commemorative stamp concerning the CCC issued by the U.S. Postal Service. (See next page.) On April 5, 1983, for the fiftieth anniversary of the Corps’ founding, the First Day issue pictured was presented at Luray, Virginia. This was near the site of the very first CCC camp which President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited on August 12, 1933. He was accompanied by a group of dignitaries and surrounded by CCC personnel. Some CCC alumni, like Harry Dallas, archivist of the now-defunct CCC Museum at St. Louis, take issue with the stamp’s portrayal of the boy carrying a pickax over his shoulder. For safety, they were taught to carry such tools in their hands so that you didn’t turn and knock somebody in the head. Dallas claimed the artist’s rendition represents an unsafe condition.¹⁰

The Great Depression was color-blind. It adversely affected White and Black. Nevertheless, the 50 percent Black population in South Carolina suffered much greater in terms of economic disadvantage, nutritional deficiencies, educational limitations, social restrictions, and advancement opportunities. By law, the Civilian Conservation Corps was nondiscriminatory in the selection process. There were, however, constraints imposed by the Jim Crow environment such as camp locations, community acceptance and access to public facilities.¹¹ Racism had reared its ugly head.

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Racial nomenclatures are important and change over time. I have endeavored to use the designation appropriate for the time and place. For example, in referring to CCC companies composed of African Americans the official term always used is Colored. Their segregated camp numbers were always followed by the letter C. In some circumstances I may use Negroes. I have capitalized both Black and White to honor a common racial recognition. Used infrequently is the more contemporary Afro American or African American.

Historians always owe a debt of gratitude to the countless librarians who assist in the research related to their topic. In my case, since retiring to The Villages, I recognize Anita Cummings of the Sumter County Library System, Nora Rackley of the Lake Sumter State College Library, archivist Dennis Taylor and librarians Anne McMahan Grant and Renna Redd at Clemson University, Dr. John W. Van Hook at the University of Florida Library, and Dusty Hill Matthews at Leesburg Public Library.

While this study focuses on the State of South Carolina, the experiences and history are representative of the Civilian Conservation Corps nationwide. A reading of all the individual chapters about the state parks will provide an overview and sense of the CCC parks program statewide as concerns relief, recreation, and racism.

CHAPTER 1

Severity of Depression in South Carolina

What was transpiring on Wall Street on October 24 and 29, 1929, would not have been uppermost on any true South Carolinian’s mind. Why? Because that was the weekend of the bitter Big Thursday football game rivalry between Clemson College (now University) and the University of South Carolina. The Tigers were undefeated coming into the game and the Gamecocks had only a single loss. Both teams were solid contenders for the Southern Conference championship (the ACC and the SEC came later). Fourteen thousand rabid fans jammed the stadium at the state fair grounds in Columbia to watch Clemson break a tie and win 21 to 14.¹

For the residents of the Palmetto State, the Great Depression had begun much earlier than the Stock Market Crash. In six general areas—agriculture, banking, employment, education, recreation, and morale—the deficiencies were apparent in the 1920s and were only exacerbated by the national economic downturn. Every segment of society was affected.²

Agriculture. Like most of the South, South Carolina’s agriculture was suffering in the 1920s from the letdown of overproduction engendered by the internal and external demand for more food production caused by World War I. The collapse of cotton and tobacco prices in 1920 was the result of overproduction and the loss of overseas markets. Then a series of droughts and boll weevil infestations hammered the cotton crop. For years, the boll weevil had been moving northeastward from Mexico. Although first detected in 1917, it was not until several years later that the pest made its presence felt. In 1921, the Sea Island cotton crop was wiped out, a blow from which that crop never recovered. By the 1930s, like rice, Sea Island cotton production was history. In 1922 the short staple crop was hit hard. In Williamsburg County, production dropped from 37,000 bales in 1920 to 2,700 in 1922. A McCormick County farmer who produced 65 bales in 1921 raised only 6 in 1922. It is estimated that in some years the boll weevil destroyed one-half the crop. About the same time the boll weevil struck, so did the drought. In 1922, South Carolina produced less than one-third the number of bales (500,000) produced just two years earlier. Between 1910 and 1920, annual average yield was 1,365,000 bales; during the 1920s, it dropped to 801,000. Prices rose somewhat in the latter part of the decade, but not enough to make a difference.

A common refrain heard everywhere was Ten cent cotton and forty cent meat / How in hell can a poor man eat. Food costs in South Carolina were relatively higher because so much had to be imported. In 1935, the state’s population was three times what it had been in 1850, but the amount of food produced was about the same. Consequently, poorer South Carolinians subsisting on a diet of pork, cornbread, and molasses were more susceptible to disease. During the 1920s, there was a marked increase in pellagra (a chronic skin disease)—a direct result of inadequate diet.

By 1930, after nearly a decade of difficulties, South Carolina agriculture was about ruined. Farmland and buildings had lost more than one-half their value. One-third of the state’s farms were mortgaged, and 70 percent of the state’s farmers survived on borrowed money. South Carolina sharecroppers and tenant farmers were probably the poorest of Americans. The land itself was also in bad shape. The farming of marginal lands and improper farming methods caused major erosion problems. Gullies cleaved the land, especially the red clay hills of the upcountry. In 1934, eight million of the state’s nineteen million acres were so badly worn out that they were declared destroyed.

Banking. Cash became more difficult to acquire during the 1920s as banks failed. In 1919, there were 78 national and 387