Heritage Zen:: New Hampshire

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The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 7)

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(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) After three months and almost sixty photos later this is my last post with photos from my dad's CCC album from the dam project he worked on in Campton, New Hampshire. I knew it was going to take a while to post all of the photos, but I will admit it took a little longer than expected. There are a few vintage postcards in my dad's album from Fort Devens, but my guess is they are easy to find elsewhere on either eBay or the Internet so I won't be taking the the time to post them here, at least for now.

My dad is in the photo below on the scaffolding on the dam. I was happy to find him in one of the construction photos. I also found the photo which included the young African American man below interesting. My impression before seeing this photo was that the CCCs were mostly if not all segregated. I did a bit of quick research and discovered that the CCCs were integrated at the beginning, but that changed in the later years of the program. Obviously, I don't know what relationship the young man below had with the other enrollees in his camp but he looks as if he is included in the photo as part of a group of buddies. I'd like to think that was the case.

It's time to say goodbye to Campton and my time with the CCCs. Again, if you recognized anyone in any of the photos that I've posted over the last three months I'd love to hear from you. I love to add a name to a face!

Henry Albert Shenette

An Integrated CCC Unit

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Photo Story: Dad and A Mystery Solved
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Wordless Wednesday: Dad, Somewhere Cold

The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 6) - Wordless Wednesday

(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) Here is the latest installment in my series of posts featuring photos from my dad's album from the Civilian Conservation Corps. My previous posts showed photos which focused more on camp life in the CCCs with only a few photos of the construction of the dam in Campton, New Hampshire. This post is all about the actual construction of the dam. It's easy to drive by a dam or bridge or public works project of any kind and take the construction of the project for granted. I think these photos really show some of the labor it took to build the dam, and they are especially poignant when you take into account the young age of the recruits and building methods at the time the dam was built in the 1930s.

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Flash Back! The Life and Times of Francois Chenet (Greatly Abridged)
Wordless Wednesday: A Good Catch
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The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 5) - Wordless Wednesday

(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Photographs and Text, Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) Here is the latest round of photographs from my dad's photo album from the Civilian Conservation Corps at Campton, New Hampshire. My dad, Henry Albert Shenette, was a man of few words when it came to documenting the photographs in his album. So far I've only found one picture in the bunch that has any information on it. The photo of my dad directly below says, "1934 Age 18." Well, that's better than nothing. I'm just guessing mind you, but given that all of the photos are the same size and seem to be taken in colder weather, they were probably all taken around the same time. Maybe between October and December of 1934? Why do I think this? My dad joined the CCCs on 17 April 1934 and his birthday was in February. If the pictures were taken in 1934 and he was 18 years old they were probably taken at the end of the year, not the beginning.

Left: Henry Albert Shenette, 1934 Age 18
Right: Unknown Friend

Construction of the Dam in Campton, New Hampshire

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The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 4)

(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) Here is the latest installment in my series of posts on my dad's photos from the CCC camp in Campton, NH. I love the piano in the top photo. While it isn't as obvious as the pool table front and center it still says something about the type of entertainment available to the young men at the camp. I also wonder if that little stove in the back of that big room was sufficient heating on those long, cold New Hampshire winters. And what about the three stoves in the photo of the barracks below. I bet it was tough waking up on a cold morning in January. Brr...

Other Posts You Might Like:

The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 1)
The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 2)
The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 3)
The Worcester Tornado, June 9, 1953 - Those Places Thursday

The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 3)

(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) After a brief blogging hiatus I'm back posting photos from my dad's photo album from the CCCs. To recap, my dad, Henry Shenette, served in the CCCs from April 1934 until September 1935 in Campton and Thornton, NH. He belonged to Camp 1181 and was part of the crew that worked on the dam in Campton. You can see a contemporary photo of the dam here.

If your ancestor served in the CCCs or worked on the Campton dam I'd love to hear from you!

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A Window in Time, April 11, 1940
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The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 2)

2nd Lt. Nolan George Hikel, Far Left; Others Unidentified

(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) This is the second entry in my series of posts on my dad's Civilian Conservation Corps photo album. I am disappointed to say that none of the men in my dad's photographs are identified on either the photos or the album. The only clue I have as to any one's identity, other than my dad of course, is the officer who signed my dad's Certificate of Discharge which I have in my collection. I noticed the discharge was signed "N.G. Hikel, 2nd Lt. Inf-Res." so I decided to do a quick look up to see if I could find a little information on N.G. Hikel.

When I searched N.G. Hikel on Ancestry.com I discovered that according to U.S. Veteran's Gravesites, ca 1775-2006, Nolan G. Hikel was a colonel in the United States Army, that he served in World War II and in Korea, and that he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. You can see a photo of his grave, thanks to a Find A Grave photographer, here. I also found his photo in University of New Hampshire yearbook photos which are also available on Ancestry. The image of the man in the yearbook photos confirms that the young officer on the far left in the photo above is Nolan George Hikel. He is also the officer on the far right in the photograph below.

I'm glad to have discovered the identity of at least one man in my father's CCC photos! If you are related to Nolan George Hikel and can tell me about his experience with Company 1181 of the CCCs in Campton and Thornton, NH I'd love to hear from you!

2nd Lt. Nolan George Hikel, Far Right; Others Unidentified

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The Civilian Conservation Corps in New Hampshire (Part 1)

(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) Cynthia Shenette) My dad, Henry Albert Shenette (1916-1985), served in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 17 April 1934 until 30 September 1935. According to his Certificate of Discharge he serve as a "laborer" from 17 April 1934 until 25 June 1935 at Campton, NH. He continued to serve as a "Cook--Assistant Leader" from 25 June 1935 until 30 September 1935 at Thornton, NH.

Apparently the military style structure of CCC camp life must have agreed with him. When his time in the CCCs was up he spent the next few years in the Army and then enlisted in the Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He remained in the Navy until he retired from the military in 1957.

Since this month marks the 80th anniversary of the CCCs I thought it would be a good time to post photos from my dad's CCC photo album. I have about 60 photos in my dad's collection so posting all of them will take a bit time.

If an ancestor or relative of yours served in the CCCs in Campton or Thornton, NH or the CCCs in general or if you recognize any of the young men in my photos I'd love to hear from you!