Through years of financial struggles, the United States government found ways to provide people ways to make a living during the Great Depression. Pierce County was no stranger to these attempts, as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) set up a camp in Ellsworth.

The CCC, which operated from 1933-1942, was established by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat the extremely high unemployment rate during the Great Depression.

The Great Depression actually began in 1929 when, in 10 weeks, stocks on the New York Stock Exchange lost 50% of their value. Stocks continued to fall throughout the early 1930s, businesses failed and the number of people without work rose dramatically. According to the Library of Congress, 1 in 4 men in 1932 was unemployed.

There were many CCC camps across the United States, one of which was located in Ellsworth, near where the Ellsworth Country Club is today. The Ellsworth camp started in 1935 and lasted until the United States entered World War II in 1942, completing many local environmental projects.

According to the National Park Service, the CCC employed about 3 million men during its nine-year tenure. Men completed projects in forest management, flood control, conservation and developed state and national parks, forests and historic sites. Workers received a small paycheck, education and training.

With approximately 150 men around the ages 18-25 living in the Ellsworth camp at a time, the group worked on many conservation projects including planting trees, building dams, roadside work, stabilizing the banks of rivers and creeks and more.

Julie Huebel of the Pierce County Historical Association put together a video after receiving photographic and audio documentation of the camp. A portion of the video can be found @piercecountyhistory on YouTube, but the rest will be aired at the History Center in Bay City later in the summer.

The primary narrator of the video is Edwin Jakes, who worked in the camp. He talks about his experiences and the different buildings at the camp and their uses, which accompany photos from fellow camp member Roland Hilden.

“There was not many opportunities to go anywhere, to make any money or to advance yourself,” Jakes said in the video. “So, I took the opportunity to stay in there for a couple years, which to me was a great advantage.”

Workers were paid $30 per month with $5 going to the worker and the rest being sent to the family. This process was to ensure the money spent to keep the system running was benefiting the families to combat the Depression as intended.

The CCC camp in Ellsworth not only came at a time when the economy was poor, conservation struggles were taking place.

“This is on the heels of, you know, people came through and cut all the trees down,” Huebel said. “We weren’t as impacted like the Dust Bowl era, but this is rebounding from that.”

There were also opportunities to finish high school, work on degrees and get a variety of training. In the video, Jakes recalls taking typing and woodworking classes.

These camps were not only jobs for the people staying at them, but more of a community. They had a newsletter distributed at the camp, took classes and even formed a baseball team.

PCHA volunteers recently recorded Jakes’ audio documentation to accompany a plethora of Ellsworth CCC photographs from Roland Hilden. With this information, Huebel said it was the group’s responsibility to share it.

Overall, the project provided people a job and a place to stay and eat in an era when many were struggling.

“It was a creative solution to a huge problem, and it’s kind of fascinating that it worked so well,” Huebel said.

She added it was the group’s responsibility to put this information out there to inform people about local history.

“A lot of stuff comes through us, and some stuff is just super special and needs to be shared,” Huebel said.

Organizations looking to view the video can reach out to the PCHA to set up a presentation of the full video.

A scheduled showing is slated for 11 a.m. Aug. 15 at the Ellsworth Senior Center. Paired with the showing will be a participant show and tell, where attendees can tell stories or show off historical items and photos. A luncheon will be provided by the Ellsworth Senior Center and the Friends of the Library afterward.

The history center in Bay City is open every first Sunday of the month from 12-4 p.m.