Education

The Civilian Conservation Corps gave enrollees the chance to further their education in spare-time classes that included radio operator and maintenance, surveying, photography, leather works, algebra, typing, short hand, electricity, soil conservation, leader training, and music, while other activities included glee club, swimming, and Friday night trips to town to watch movies. Enrollees received Unit Certificates for completing each training course, and these became part of their service record. An estimated 105,000 illiterate enrollees learned the basics of reading and writing, and three times that number earned high school equivalency diplomas. The camps later proved highly beneficial to the military by taking very large groups of men, training them in military etiquette, and teaching skills that would be desperately needed with the coming of World War II.

Kansas · United States