My family and I enjoyed last weekend at Bastrop State Park in the Lost Pines near Austin in Texas, probably the only vacation we will have this year. The park is popular and cabins fill up quickly even in the winter. If you want one for May, you better reserve in November.
In a big frame on the wall in our rustic log cabin with fireplace was a picture of the Civilian Conservation Corps crew that built the park and cabins that we still enjoy today, and that continue to provide revenue after all these years. Lean young men from families on relief gathered for the picture that immortalized the sweat equity they put into our society. They were paid $30 a month, $25 of which was sent home to their families.
The CCC(part of the WPA) from 1933 to 1942 provided employment for 2.5 million young American men who labored on building, reforestation and conservation projects assigned by the departments of Agriculture and Interior, in cooperation with state governments. Check out this slideshowof "Greatest Achievements of American Socialism."
Nearly 50,000 Texans were enrolled. This is what was accomplishedin Texas during the 15 months from March, 1933 to June, 1934 (Source: San Antonio Express, Sept. 8, 1934):
Parkland acreage increased from 22,226 acres to 258,400
1,589 miles of trails and minor roads created
3,078 foot and vehicle bridges
74 miles of telephone lines
715 state park shelters and cabins
26,000 feet of water pipe laid
11,475 feet of waste disposal lines
122,000 trees planted
2,911 acres of forest thinned
3,435 dams built over gulleys
Did you know?
Camp David, the presidential retreat, was built by the WPA.
In Texas, the Alamowas restored with the help of the WPA.
San Antonio's beautiful River Walk, the city's lifeblood with restaurants, shops and gondolas of picture-snapping tourists, was created by WPA workers who landscaped and built the walkways and arched stone bridges.
The WPA built the obelisk of the San Jacinto monumentand Dealey Plazain Dallas.
Here in Austin:
Camp Mabryis the third-oldest active military installation in Texas and houses the office of the Adjutant General, and the headquarters of the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, and the Texas State Guard. Workdone by the CCC includes the stone wall and guard post at the front gate, the stone arch bridges near the picnic area and a number of workshops and warehouses.
The Deep Eddy Bathhousewas the first WPA building constructed in Austin and the pool was opened as a public park in July 1936.
Zilker Parkconstruction was performed by many groups, including workers from Reconstruction Finance Corporation's relief program, the Citizens Works Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps.
In 1933, workers of the Civilian Works Administration, an early New Deal work program, had erected the art deco style entrance gate, built the bath house facility and what is now the Zilker Clubhouse. The CCC laid out roads in Zilker Park, cleared the land of cedar and brush, and built picnic tables and barbeque pits.
Emma Long Metropolitan Parkon Lake Austin was established in 1939 with the help of the CCC, who also built a bathhouse and concession stand. These wooden structures later burned and were replaced by the stone buildings that stand today.
For more info about how Austin and Central Texas benefitted from the New Deal, including The University of Texas, the Lower Colorado River Authority, the City of Austin and A.I.S.D., go here. Some examples:
• LCRA - Hamilton/Buchanan Dam ($7M), Marshall Ford/Mansfield Dam ($30M), Austin/Tom Miller Dam ($2.3M)
• City of Austin - New City Hall, numerous fire stations and a city-wide fire alarm system, Municipal Water Treatment and Sewage Facilities, Road & Bridge Improvements. By 1936, Austin had over $6 million in PWA funds, more than had been received by any other city in the state.
• A.I.S.D. - Several new schools, the "Annex" at Austin High (ACC's Rio Grande Campus), House Park Football Stadium and Gymnasium
• University of Texas - 8 dormitories as well as a new library/UT Tower
We should appreciate the work of the young Americans and what they built, some of which still stands today to benefit us. To not appreciate it and take their work for granted or denigrate it would be shameful.