Christmas in the CCC: Parties

The holidays were celebrated in camp with parties and special meals. Here's an excerpt from the Patagonia, AZ, camp newspaper for Dec. 1939:

LAST CHRISTMAS IN THE CCC

          We got up about six o’clock and then ate breakfast in the Mess Hall, which was decorated with Christmas Holly and colored paper. After breakfast, we played some new games that were given to the company as a Christmas present. We had a tree and had a lot of fun decorating it.

          Then, at one o’clock we ate a dinner that was fit for a King. Boy! Did we have a fine meal, all we wanted to eat. Besides our own company there were a number of guests from Benson and Tucson, who brought some candy and other presents for the boys.

          One boy dressed up as Santa Claus and passed out all kinds of presents. These gifts consisted of anything he could get for nothing around camp. One boy got a Coca Cola bottle, one an old shoe, and another got a box of small frogs.

[enrollee Clarence Richey]

Christmas in the CCC: Food

The holidays in the CCC camps were celebrated with entertainment, dances, and special meals. Here's the Christmas menu from the St. David, AZ, camp for Christmas 1937:

December 25, 1937

                                    CHRISTMAS DINNER MENU

Chicken Soup                                                              Crackers

Virginia Baked Ham                                                   Candied Yams

                                    Cranberry Sauce

Roast Chicken                                                            Sage Dressing

Snowflake Potatoes                                                    Buttered Peas

Giblet Gravy                                       Sliced Tomatoes & Mayonnaise

Celery                          Olives                                      Pickles

                        Dates                                       Grapes

Butter Scotch Pie                    Coconut Cake             Hot Rolls and Butter

Assorted Candy                      Peanuts                        English Walnuts

Apples                                     Oranges                           Bananas

                        Coffee                                     Ice Water

                        Cigars                                      Cigarettes

Bob Audretsch—historian, writer, and former National Park Service ranger at Grand Canyon— has just published a book about the work of the CCC at Grand Canyon: Shaping the Park and Saving the Boys: The Civilian Conservation Corps at Grand Canyon, 1933-1942. Information on the book and the author can be found at http://cccbooks.org/. The book is available at Ingram, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and fine bookstores everywhere.