Over the years I’ve collected any Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) items I came across. The photo with this article is the masthead from a weekly Okemo Outlook newspaper. These are simple mimeograph pages with amateur hand-drawn ads, for Ludlow and Rutland businesses. A Royal Theater ad occupies the rear page.
“OKEMO MOUNTAIN PARK LUDLOW, VT
“1133 CO. C.C.C. August 27, 1936.”
Sports page
“In their initial appearance of the season, the Okemo amateur boxing team encountered the Plymouth squad in a seven-bout program, staged in the recently constructed camp arena.
“The average crowd that attended witnessed a gallant, though unsuccessful attempt on the part of our team to start off in the winning column, the locals being victorious in only one of the seven bouts. All bouts were scheduled to go three two-minute rounds under the rules of the Amateur Athletic Union.
“Decisions were awarded by two judges, Lt. Hemming of the visiting camp and Mr. Gordon Day of this camp, and the referee, Mr. James Cioffi, Camp W.P.A. Instructor.
“After a short introductory speech by the announcer, Lt. Conway, commanding officer of the 1133rd Co. the contestants were introduced and the bouts were underway.
“The first bout of the evening proved to be Okemo’s one and only victory, Conley pounding out a three-round decision over Polumbo of Plymouth. In the second bout, Donahue gained the referee’s verdict of a technical K.O. at the end of the first round. In the third bout, Martin gained a decision over Dessaint; in the fourth contest, Chase beat Drinkwine by a knockout in the first round.
“In the main bout of the evening, Oliver, rangy Plymouth athlete, pounded out a decision over Mal Steinhour, Oliver’s long reach proved to be a valuable asset. Time after time it enabled him to ward off hammer-like blows that were destined to tell a different story. But Madame Fortune had her own ideas and they proved to be contrary to Stein’s. And so, to the victor belong the spoils – Stein went without.
“The main bout was followed by a lightweight match in which Watker lost to DiPrete. The last bout of the evening was a fast one between two flyweights, Zagroba and Rogers, the latter emerging victorious.
Nice work fellows. It may be nice to win, but it’s the fun derived from the sport that is of prime importance. Yours for more conditioning and fun!
“The following are the men and their weights. Conley of Okemo 139 pounds. Polumbo of Plymouth 135 pounds. Jenkins of Okemo 148 pounds. Donahue of Plymouth 147 pounds. Dessaint of Okemo 133 pounds. Martin of Plymouth 126 pounds. Drinkwine of Okemo 139 pounds. Chase of Plymouth 135 pounds. Steinhour of Okemo 155 pounds. Oliver of Plymouth 165 pounds. Watker of Okemo 127 pounds. DiPrete of Plymouth 128 pounds. Zagroba of Okemo 110 pounds. Rogers of Plymouth 118 pounds.”
My father
My father joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in late 1936 or early 1937. He was in the Shrewsbury camp. Dad helped build the C.C.C. road from North Shrewsbury, “Northam” as dad called it, over the mountain down to Route 100 in Plymouth.
Dad took me there several times. I remember a large log structure. Again, my memory fades. This log structure might have been barracks or the dining hall. I remember the large diameter peeled logs, all of similar size, and darkly stained. This building has since been lost to a fire.
Here’s one of my favorite stories dad told me. Dad was 6 foot 1 inch, and fit. He liked hard work, so the C.C.C. was ideal. Dad was on the boxing team for his company.
He was hard as nails. When he was discharged from the camp, he returned to Springfield to find the circus in town. The circus was at what is Riverside Middle School today.
The circus included a professional boxer. It cost challengers $5 to enter the ring. You won the match and $50 if you could last three rounds. Dad felt sure he could whip the boxer. He paid his $5, and was knocked out in the first round.
This week’s old saying is from Yogi Berra. “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”