o More than 2.5 million Americans took part in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942.
o The Northwest CCC program operated 27 major camps and hundreds of temporary work stations in the Columbia River Gorge.
More than 40,000 men passed through Vancouver Barracks as members of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Some of their recently videotaped stories will be part of an exhibit on programs that put people to work during the Great Depression.
The exhibit opens Saturday, Jan. 19, with a free reception from noon to 3 p.m. at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site’s visitor center, 1501 E. Evergreen Blvd., at the east end of Officers Row.
The CCC exhibit produced by local National Park Service staff will be paired with a traveling exhibit on the Works Progress Administration.
“Over 40,000 young men came to the Northwest’s Ninth Corps Area from every state in the union,” said Meagan Huff, museum technician at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. “They received their initial training at Vancouver Barracks, which served as the CCC headquarters” of the Ninth Corps Area.
The exhibit — “Strong Forests, Stronger Communities” — tells the story of the young men who came to the Northwest to find work.
“Those were the choices young men had to make as their families faced hard times,” Huff said.
There also will be interactive features for visitors of all ages.
The exhibits will be on display until late March. The visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Tom Vogt: 360-735-4558; http://www.twitter.com/col_history; tom.vogt@columbian.com.
