Upcoming Lecture Explores the CCC in Idaho

In the late 30s, the Civilian Conservation Corps, popularly known as the CCC, built the Ski Round House on “Baldy” and several ski runs during the founding years of the Sun Valley ski resort. Working out of Camp Warm Springs northwest of Ketchum, the CCC “boys” also built the Ketchum Ranger Station, campgrounds, and various roads such as the one along Trail Creek.

They were the local manifestation of a three-million-man program, the most popular and longest lived of the New Deal programs initiated by the Roosevelt administration to mitigate the impact of the Great Depression in the 1930s. In all, 86,775 men worked for the CCC in Idaho during the 10 years from 1933 – 1942. The CCC changed their lives and the vitality of Idaho’s economy and society.

In the upcoming Historical Museum at St. Gertrude lecture on Thursday, October 13, scholars/authors Ivar Nelson and Patricia Hart will show how the legacy of the CCC reflects not only the history of the Great Depression, but sheds light on the very contemporary issues of fighting wild fires, conservation, recreation, and national service. The presentation brings the period alive through a digital portal based on the digitizing of thousands of photographs and documents by the University of Idaho Library.

Ivar Nelson is a former Director of the University of Idaho Press. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya and a Foreign Service Officer in Africa and to the United Nations. He has published books and magazines (including Palouse Journal), directed the University of Idaho Press, and written “Mining Town: The Photographic Collection of T.N. Barnard and Nellie Stockbridge” with Patricia Hart. He co-founded Bookpeople of Moscow and is currently active with the revitalization of the Kenworthy Theater in Moscow.

Patricia Hart teaches history of mass media, publications editing, media writing and American studies. Her most recent book, “A Home for Every Child: The Washington Children’s Home Society in the Progressive Era,” is published by the University of Washington Press and was chosen for the Emil and Kathleen Sick Book-Lecture Series Award for original scholarship in the field of western history. Her earlier work includes the co-edited work “Women Writing Women” (University of Nebraska Press), and co-authored work “Mining Town: The Photographic Record of T.N. Barnard and Nellie Stockbridge from the Coeur d’Alenes” (University of Washington Press).

This is the second lecture in the 17th Annual Fall Lecture Series presented by the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude. These events, held on Thursdays during the month of October, provide insights into the history of our region. The lecture begins at 7:00 p.m. and ends at 8:30 p.m. and the event includes a Q&A session with the presenter. Light refreshments are provided. The lecture is FREE.

These lectures have been made possible by the Idaho Humanities Council. The event will be held in the Johanna Room at Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude located at 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, Idaho. For further information on the Lecture Series, contact the Museum at 208-962-2054.