This cache is a standard green ammo can located near the R. B. Winter State Park office and it is placed in honor of the men of CCC Camp S-67-PA, the builders of much of Raymond B. Winter State Park!
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program during the Great Depression. Young men between the ages of 18 and 25 enlisted in the CCC and were sent to camps across the United States, where they earned $30 a month while contributing to forest management, flood control, conservation projects, and the development of state and national parks. Enrollees served terms of six months, with a maximum of two years allowed in the program. Of their $30 monthly pay, workers kept $5, while the remaining $25 was sent home to their families. Altogether, more than 3 million men and 8,500 women enrolled in the CCC.
CCC Company 340 was organized at Fort George Meade in Maryland and established Camp S-67-PA on June 5, 1933. Supervised by U.S. Army personnel and staff from the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, including Forester Raymond B. Winter, the men began constructing military-style barracks, which were completed in November of that year, along with other projects in the area. The men of Company 340 built Halfway Dam after clearing seven acres of trees and stumps to make room for the lake. This was the first hand-laid sandstone and cement dam built by the CCC in the United States. Additional projects undertaken by the men of the camp included building the original bathhouse, parking areas, picnic areas, and pavilions; planting 75,000 trees; clearing fire trails; building 28 miles of trails; maintaining 60 miles of roads; fighting dozens of forest fires; and much more.
The legacy of the men of Camp S-67-PA, as well as all those who served throughout the United States, is evident in the program’s lasting impact on America’s natural landscapes. Countless parks, forests, pavilions, trails, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure constructed by the CCC are still in use today. The program set a precedent for large-scale, government-led conservation and public works initiatives, contributing to the development of a strong environmental stewardship ethic in the United States. Today, the Pennsylvania Outdoors Corps carries on the legacy of the CCC by offering paid work experience, skills training, professional development, and environmental education opportunities to youth and young adults who complete recreation and conservation projects across Pennsylvania’s public lands.