Entry - October 2, 1936

7.00 PM Turned in all our excess clothes and boots and shoes today to get ready to move day after tomorrow.

(I sure would like to have some good old noodle soup)

Robert

-----------------------------------------------
Comments from Chris

We're getting close to moving day! Before I run out of posts I wanted to mention something I thought was interesting. The Continental Divide runs right through Glacier National Park. If you are not familiar with the Divide, this is place where on one side, water drains in to the Pacific Ocean and on the other, the Atlantic Ocean. This divide runs the length of North and South America. In the US, the divide is basically through the Rocky Mountain range.

Glacier National Park is home to Triple Divide Peak. One of the few places on Earth that can feed three oceans. The Laurentian Divide meets the Continental Divide here making a point that in addition to the Atlantic and Pacific, has runoff for the Arctic Ocean.

If you are feeling ambitious, you can hike the 3,100 mile Continental Divide Trail from New Mexico to Montana. This would be a great adventure!

Triple Divide Peak
Google Maps

Continental Divide Trail
By Charlie DeTar (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)]

Entry - October 1, 1936

6.00 P.M. Today I start a new term in the c.c.c. as the old one ended last night. Looks like winter is about to set in for good. Put on my long underwear today. It sure does feel good too.

(Sometime I wish I could hibernate like a bear)

Robert

-------------------------------------------------
Comments from Chris

This starts Robert's fourth term. I really wish I had more information on what he did during this term, but what I have falls off after the journal ends. This may be something I come back to later on after this project is complete and I can dig up more information. 

I've been thinking about how this time in the CCC affected Robert. If you remember, he left high school to go into the program, was there for six months, came back home for a year to graduate school and then goes back for 18 months. All of this at an influential time in his life. It must of had a lasting affect as I'm sure it did with many of the enrollees. Also remember, this is the generation which went on to be called the "Greatest Generation". 

Below is one of my favorite pictures in the series.

Robert in Back Row with Hand Up
From Robert's CCC Photo Collection

Entry - September 30, 1936

12.00 Pay Day! Hooray! The only day of the month I like to see roll around. I am broke already. In fact I was broke before I got the money.

(Just thinking how I used to lay in bed till ten o’clock at home)

Robert

----------------------------------------------------
Comments from Chris

Speaking of rolling around, this blog wouldn't be complete without talking about the iconic Red Buses ("Jammers") in Glacier National Park. The Red Buses have taken thousands of people on park tours throughout the years. The current fleet was introduced the year Robert was there - 1936. Even today, the fleet is mostly made up of those 1936 buses.

The oak frame buses were made by the White Motor Company specifically for park use. They have a roll down top could be driven up and down the Going-to-the-Sun Road to provide excellent sight-seeing. You can still do this today. I've included a link below which provides some interesting facts about the buses.

On a side note, Robert's sister turned 19 on this day. Happy birthday Pauline!

Link to Red Buses

September 30th entry from the journal
Robert's CCC Journal

Red Bus
By Adam Engelhart from San Francisco, California, USA (Bus, Glacier NP  Uploaded by H-stt) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

Red Buses
www.CGPGrey.com [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Entry - September 29, 1936

10.00 PM Went to Canada today broke. It isn’t but 20 miles away and is sure is a cold 20 miles in these open trucks. You can’t get back over the border (c.c.c.) after six o’clock so I almost got stuck there for the night.

Robert

-------------------------------------
Comments from Chris


Canada was close, but take a look at the truck in the photo below. It would have been a cold trip in that thing.

I was taking a look at Robert's map and comparing it to today's maps. I think it is interesting how things change over time and a map can clearly show change. If you get a close look at it you can see how the roads are different. Some are new and some have just disappeared. Robert most likely crossed in Carway which is still a border crossing, but the town has all but vanished.

Something I noticed on the map was Chief Mountain. It is kind of a special place for many of the Native American tribes through history. Take a look at the photo. This rock rises almost 5,000 feet from surrounding area. I can see why they would think about it differently than the surrounding mountains.

Robert in the back facing camera
From Robert's CCC Photo Collection

Map from Lake Sherburne to Canada
Robert's 1937 Glacier National Park Map

Chief Mountain
www.rodjonesphotography.co.uk [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

Entry - September 28, 1936

6.00 Burr it’s getting colder than a well diggers back of his lap. Mostly stood around the fire today.

Had chicken today. First time in a long while.

(Today I am thinking about some good old noodle soup.)

Robert

---------------------------------------------------
Comments from Chris

Considering I had some chicken noodle soup over the weekend on a cool day, I can really appreciate what he's thinking about. It probably would have been fantastic at the time.

I was taking a look at where we're at today with our journey in to Robert's life. This is the 82nd post! I'm kind of surprised seeing that number. There has been quite a bit of work put in to get these out every day at 9:00, but I didn't think about it being that many. You should have seen some of the days where I was cramming that morning before post time to get one together. I know some of them have been better than others, but I hope that overall you have been entertained.

We have 10 posts to go, so hang in there a bit longer.

September 27, 2015 - Supplemental - Cumberland Mountain State Park

4:10PM. This morning's post was brought to you from Cumberland Mountain State Park. This area was heavily worked in through several of Roosevelt's programs, but in particular, the CCC did work in this park. In fact, the largest masonry structure built by the CCC is the Byrd Creek Dam at the center of the park. It really is something to see. 

This weekend my family hiked and spent the night in one of the cabins there at the park. We had a close look at the dam and visited the CCC Museum located next to the park restaurant. It was a great time and I would recommend seeing it. Below are some of my photos.  

Back side of the Byrd Creek Dam.

Byrd Creek Dam from the front side.

Notice some of the clothing items mentioned a few posts back.

Entry - September 27, 1936

5.00 P.M. The news is getting around today that we are going to be shipped to a camp somewhere in Illinois. I don’t put much faith in this.

The trucks are going to town tonight but I ain’t. You have to ride about fifty miles before you get there.

Robert

----------------------------------------
Comments from Chris

Since Robert is from Illinois, going there would be very appealing. Especially now that he has been away from home for so long. There actually would be many CCC opportunities for him in the Southern Illinois area where he was from.


Southern Illinois is a heavily forested area which was logged extensively before Robert's time. It may be hard to tell now, but this area was logged to the extent which caused real problems with the environment. Several of the CCC projects dealt with situations like this related to overuse of the land. 

When the depression came, falling demand and prices meant entire industries would change. One of the most visible at this time were farmers. Crops prices dropped so much that farming was no longer viable. The logging industry was much in the same situation. The people in Southern Illinois which had depended on the resources provided by the forest found themselves without a reliable source of income. The combination of environmental damage and economic woes made the area ideal for CCC interaction.

There had been some work in Southern Illinois towards making conservation areas. The formation of the CCC provided an avenue to make the Shawnee Forest a reality. Federal money was provided through the CCC program to buy private land in the area and and manpower from CCC enrollees transformed it into parks. The Shawnee Forest continues to grow today through land purchases just like when it started.

I don't have much information on Robert's brothers, but my understanding is the at least one other Fitzgerald brother worked in Giant City State Park. Giant City is a showpiece for CCC work in the area. You can go there today and eat at the Giant City Lodge, a structure built by the CCC.

Here's a short video about that lodge and park. Take a look at the architecture. This seems to be common in other CCC structures I've seen.

Giant City:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlpK7AsARoI

Inside Giant City Lodge
David Wilson, Flickr