Looking for Pearls: Museum remembers Civilian Conservation Corps

Jerry Ledford from Raleigh got an answer last month to a lifelong nagging question: What the heck are "lion-ized" potatoes? Or are they "lion eyes" potatoes? They were his grandfather's favorite food memory from his days in the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps. Days he said transformed him from an uncertain, scrawny boy to a strong, confident young man.

The answer came from Bloomingdale History Society's Chica Arndt. She gave a lecture during the Spring Market at the Bloomingdale History Museum about CCC Camp Ogeechee, which existed from 1933 to 1937.

Arndt showed photos of the camp and of the young enrollees, ages 18 to 25, who were part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Tree Army." She showed photos of the mess hall and discussed the heavy emphasis on three square meals a day to fuel the hard work the men did.

One regular menu item for supper was "Lyonnaise potatoes." Named for the French city of Lyon, it was sliced pan-fried potatoes and thinly sliced onions, sautéed in butter with parsley. Mystery solved. Ledford said his grandpa remembered the rich buttery flavor and feeling like a lion after he ate.

The CCC camp at Bloomingdale worked on 100,000 acres of forested land that had been neglected during the Depression. The CCC boys constructed fire breaks, bridges and truck trails, strung telephone lines, removed fire hazard underbrush and erected fire towers.

The goal of the CCC was to give work to unemployed young men and to build good citizens through vigorous outdoor labor. From 1933 to 1942, 3 million men enrolled, and they worked on conservation projects with lasting environmental benefits.

Arndt showed several photos of life at the camp. Savannahian Robbin Coleman hoped to spot her granddad. "He was assigned to Camp Ogeechee, and he had a thankful heart about the CCC. He felt that there was finally hope for him and his family, light at the end of the tunnel."

Society member Sandy McBride said her dad worked at a camp in Soperton, having quit school to help the family. Arndt explained that the CCC placed men a few hours away from home, so they were not tempted to go home on weekends, but could get home monthly. White Bloomingdale residents were sent to Soperton or Fort Pulaski; black Bloomingdale men were sent to Macon's Fort Oglethorpe.

Men enrolled for six months at a time, with up to three re-enrollments. They were paid a dollar a day. They got to keep $5 a month, while $25 was sent home to their families. Daily work was supervised by state foresters, but the camp was run in a quasi-military fashion by reserve army officers.

Arndt reviewed camp monthly reports. What percentage (33) of men attended religious services? What percentage (66) were enrolled in educational programs like typing, woodworking, business English, arithmetic or first aid? What percentage (80) availed themselves of the athletic programs like boxing, horseshoes, basketball and baseball?

The reports noted morale was good. The chaplain visited monthly. A doctor visited four times a week. Women could visit (in the reception tent). The most common sickness was malaria. Was Communist propaganda displayed? No.

Arndt discussed typical menus. For breakfast: pan bread, hot cakes, fried hominy, Vienna sausage omelets. For lunch: chicken and dumplings, liver and onions, Spanish beef, raisin pie. For dinner: veal cutlet, Irish stew, oyster stew, fried bologna, salmon croquettes.

Arndt's lecture took everyone back into just one slice of Bloomingdale history. The museum sits in the historic Pierce-Page House at 205 E. Hwy. 80, an old railroad handcar in its front yard.

Inside are artifacts that are the stuff of conductors' and gandy dancers' dreams. Lengths of old Central of Georgia track, the last wooden sign that hung over the maintenance shed, train schedules and locomotive photos, a caboose, wood and coal stove, spikes, lanterns, blow torches. A Lionel model train runs around the ceiling, with flashing lights and whistles.

The railroad is in Bloomingdale's DNA. The town's name came from engineers who were struck by its blooming fields of wildflowers. A train is in the center of the city seal and in the museum's panoramic mural by artist Mary Mitchell.

The museum is full of artifacts donated by local families. There is a beautiful quilt sewn in 1912 by Pearl Denmark for her hope chest. Near it are old washtubs, ironing sprinklers, irons, aprons, mixing bowls, ice tongs and cookbooks. An old icebox, pie safe and cookstove would be very familiar to CCC boys.

There are tools for farming, woodworking and turpentining. Scythes, seed planters and grindstones. Wood planes, hog catchers and draw knives. Tar cups, chippers and hacks.

Ten years ago, the society printed calendars with reminiscences by sons of Bloomingdale Jim Golden and Ronald Waller. They will re-issue them in 2018.

All that remains physically of Camp Ogeechee are two chimneys. Former mayor Wayne Tipton hopes to rebuild the barracks around one. And Brian Paul is working to restore the other as a tribute to the CCC and Bloomingdale.

Ben Goggins, a retired marine biologist, lives on Tybee Island. He can be reached at 912-786-6181 or bengoggins9@gmail.com.