First a history lesson. During the Great Depression newly elected President Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps to provide employment to young men and to undo the destruction our nation had done to its natural resources. They are credited with saving our nation’s forests by planting an estimated 3 billion (yes BILLION) trees from 1933 to 1942. They also built fire towers & roads, drainage systems for farmland, and recreational sites like campgrounds, shelters, and pools.

Yesterday we visited F.D.Roosevelt State Park and got to hike in woods that were planted by CCC workers and on trails that they first forged. It was neat to enjoy something created decades ago during hard times and see how Roosevelt’s philosophy worked and people’s hard work payed off. At the time people thought he was crazy – using government money to help the poor and build the economy from the bottom up? That would never work!