August 4, 2014 – CCC Camp – Cross in the Woods Shrine (World’s Largest Crucifix) and Mackinaw City

Leaving Frankenmuth, we were still deep in patriotic
Flag in the Trees, I-75 North of Frankenmuth, MI - 2014-08-04soy, wheat and corn country.

Barn in Cornfield, Frankenmuth, MI - 2014-07-04 DSC_0006However, as we drove north, the farms gave way to a more forested landscape
Trees Along I-75occasionally interrupted by old and humorous artifacts

Abandoned Car, Mackinaw CIty, MI - 2104-08-04 Smiley Face Water Tower, I-75 North Part of LP, MI - 2014-08-04and even the first hints of fall’s colors.

FoliageOur first enroute stop was at the
CCC Museum (Sign), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04To visit a museum paying tribute the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25 as part of the New Deal. It was a major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal that provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments.

The CCC was designed to provide jobs for young men, to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States while at the same time implementing a general natural resource conservation program in every state and territory. Maximum enrollment at any one time was 300,000; in nine years 3 million young men participated in the CCC, which provided them with shelter, clothing, and food, together with a small wage of $30 a month ($25 of which had to be sent home to their families). For those with no families, the $25 was placed in a government savings account and held until the end of the individual’s enrollment.

On arrival at their assigned CCC camp, each enrollee was given a physical examination and vaccinations. After taking the CCC oath, the enrollee received the following clothing and supplies: 2 pair of shoes, 6 pair of socks, 2 par of wool trousers, 2 flannel shirts, 2 suits of overalls, 1 windbreaker, 1 rain coat, 1 overcoat, 1 belt, 1 necktie, 1 pair of work gloves, 1 work cap, 1 dress cap and 4 undershirts and drawers … a toilet kit, towel, mess kit and canteen.

 Typical Bed and Trunk (to store all an enrollee’s possessions, other than their coat which hung over their trunks)


Typical Bed and Trunk (to store all an enrollee’s possessions, other than their coat which hung over their trunks)

Their typical work day was the predictably routine:

  • 6:00 AM – Reveille, roll call, wash-up and breakfast
  • 8:00 AM – Work on assigned projects
  • Noon – Lunch
  • 4:00 PM – Back in camp – clean up and change to dress uniform – muster and lowering the flag, supper, education classes or free time
  • 10:00 PM – Lights out

Soon after the formation of the CCC, the Administration recognized its responsibility for upgrading the skills and education of the enrollees … about 20% had not completed the 8th grade. Educational advisors were assigned to the camps where they coordinated both academic and vocational classes in the evening and on the weekends. Although classes were optional and “on the individuals own time” over 85% of CCC enrollees participated.

Food was one of the most important aspects of camp life. Even though the CCC allotted only $.50 per day per man for food, the average enrollee gained from six to twenty pounds during his first six months in camp.

 Typical Dining Hall


Typical Dining Hall

When new camps were opened, the living, dining and recreational activities of the enrollees was in tents (generally cold in winters when outside temperatures could drop to -30 degrees).
CCC Museum (Tents in Winter), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04until they could construct permanent barracks and other facilities.

CCC Museum (Dormitory), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04
The American public made the CCC the most popular of all the New Deal programs. Principal benefits of an individual’s enrollment in the CCC included improved physical condition, heightened morale, and increased employability. Implicitly, the CCC also led to a greater public awareness and appreciation of the outdoors and the nation’s natural resources; and the continued need for a carefully planned, comprehensive national program for the protection and development of natural resources.

During the time of the CCC, volunteers planted nearly 3 billion trees to help reforest America, constructed more than 800 parks nationwide and upgraded most state parks, updated forest fire fighting methods, and built a network of service buildings and public roadways in remote areas.

 The Hale fire tower was one more than 140 located throughout the forests of northern Michigan. Between 100’ and 150’ high, they were manned by trained CCC lookouts to keep watch for smoke. Using binoculars, a compass and a telephone of radio, the lookouts tried to establish the location of smoke by triangulation and then call a fire officer on the ground to investigate.


The Hale fire tower was one more than 140 located throughout the forests of northern Michigan. Between 100’ and 150’ high, they were manned by trained CCC lookouts to keep watch for smoke. Using binoculars, a compass and a telephone of radio, the lookouts tried to establish the location of smoke by triangulation and then call a fire officer on the ground to investigate.

The Higgins Lake fire tower was a steel windmill design. The lookout would stand at the top open platform (small cabins came later), attain with binoculars.

The Higgins Lake fire tower was a steel windmill design. The lookout would stand at the top open platform (small cabins came later), attain with binoculars.

In Michigan, alone, the CCC some 100,000 your men enrolled to perform a variety of conservation and reforestation projects; planting 484 million trees, spending 140,000 days fighting forest fires, planted 157 million fish in streams and lakes across the state and constructing 7,000 miles of truck roads, 33 airplane landing strips, 504 bridges and 222 buildings.

However, reforestation was one of the major assignments of the CCC camps in Michigan … requiring the collection and sorting of the “seeds” white pine, spruce and other species … planning the seeds so they germinated … transferring the seedlings to seed beds and ultimately planting then growing trees to areas targeted for reforestation.

Inside the Corn Barn are the original ovens for drying pine cones, a large tumbler to shake the seeds free from the cones, rubbing screens, a fanning mill and a loft for cone storage

CCC Museum (Cone Barn - Interior), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04The nurserymen needed ice to keep the roots of the seedlings from drying out. Once the ice on nearby Higgins Lake reached about one foot in thickness, ice cutters sawed out large blocks and stacked them in the Ice House.

CCC Museum (Ice House), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04They covered each layer of blocks with sawdust to keep the ice from freezing together. Sawdust insulation in the one-foot thick hollow walls
CCC Museum (Ice House - Wall), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04Kept the ice frozen throughout the hot summer months. It was not until 1953 workers installed refrigerated coolers in the Packing House, eliminating the need for Ice Houses.

In each 3½’ x 12’ seedbed nurserymen planted 5½ ounces of seeds. Depending on the tree species, this totaled between 9,000 and 77,000 seeds per bed. As the seeds sprouted and grew, workers thinned out the beds to allow more room for the seedlings.

CCC Museum (Seed Beds), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04After growing in the beds for two years, the seedlings were transported to the Packing House
CCC Museum (Packing House), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04where they were packed into bundles of 1,000 and shipped to state forests where they were replanted.

So, how did enrollees feel about the program … the following is typical of letters CCC volunteers wrote in later years is the following.CCC Museum (What One Man Got from the Program), Roscommon,  - 2014-08-04

One is left to wonder how such a program would work today … giving unemployed men and women similar hard work and educational opportunities to address some of the real problems facing our country today.

Our next stop was at the
Cross in the Woods (Sign), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04which has been described as the World’s Largest Crucifix.

Cross in the Woods (a), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04The wooden cross is made from California Redwood trees … but, interestingly, the tree selected actually came from Oregon.

Cross in the Woods (c), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04The cross soars 55’ above the ground and weighs 14 tons. While the statue of Jesus weighs 7 tons, is 28’ from head to toe and has a span of 23.

Turning around, the statue is reflected in the windows of the Cross in the Woods Church
Cross in the Woods (Crucifix Reflection in Church Window), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04and presents a dramatic backdrop to the altar from inside the Church.

Cross in the Woods (Crucifix from Inside Church - a), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04Between the Church and the Gift Shop (we’ve yet to find any tourist attraction without one) there is an interesting display of the habits of various orders of nuns from around the world.

Cross in the Woods (Nun Habits - b), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04 Cross in the Woods (Nun Habits - c), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04 Cross in the Woods (Nun Habits - d), Indian River, MI - 2014-08-04Our day ended in

Welcome to Mackinaw CIty, MI - 2014-08-04at the largest campground we’ve ever stayed at … some 800+ sites!

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