Tales of Iowans’ hard work in the CCC live on in stories and song

DES MOINES — A singer and storyteller who’s done extensive research on the vital work of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s is touring Iowa this month, with a couple of stops in our listening area scheduled for this week.

Bill Jamerson will make 19 appearances in 14 Iowa cities, performing mostly in high schools, libraries and nursing homes. Jamerson says he’ll be re-telling stories he’s gathered over the decades, like this one from an elderly Iowa man.  “His dad had plenty of work, he was a blacksmith, but nobody could pay him,” Jamerson says. “These were young men on relief, very poor farm families and it paid them $1 a day. That’s $30 a month and $25 was sent home to the families. This was during the Great Depression and $25 a month was a lot of money.”

The C-C-C hired young men between the ages of 17 and 25 and put them up in work camps. Some worked on farms while others planted trees, built roads and dams, or carved out state parks from practically-untouched land. Most of those who were in the C-C-C are no longer living and Jamerson says it’s important that their stories continue to be heard.  “Wherever I go, people come and say, ‘Oh, I always wanted to know about my dad’s experience in the CCCs,'” Jamerson says. “They’re so grateful to hear these stories. A lot of them are moving stories, they’re very heartwarming stories of fellas who couldn’t catch a break.”

The young men are largely responsible for the foundation of Iowa’s state park system. “Backbone, Beed’s Lake, Lake Keomah, Clear Lake, all of these beautiful parks came into being because of the supply of CCC boy labor,” Jamerson says. “These fellas built the shelters. They built the hiking trails. They built the lookouts. It was hard work.”

The C-C-C has long fascinated Jamerson and he produced a documentary, recorded a C-D of songs, and wrote a historical novel about it. Jamerson, who’s 64 and lives in Michigan, puts on his “Dollar-A-Day Boys” performances while wearing a corps uniform. More than two-and-a-half million young men enlisted in the corps during the Depression era and they faced significant challenges from the weather — and the work.  “Amazing stories, but they endured the hardships because the money was going home to help their families,” Jamerson says. “That $25 a month was a lifeline. It was feeding their brothers and sisters. These guys, 60 years later, say, ‘Man, when your brothers and sisters are starving, you’ll do anything to help them.”

Jamerson has appearances planned in New Hampton and Hampton on October 16th. He’ll be at each community’s public library, with his New Hampton appearance at 2:00 PM and Hampton at 6:30. 

To see his full Iowa tour schedule and to learn more about Jamerson, click here