Biography of Frank J. Fontanetta
CCCMan, Company 603, Camp F-110, Ojai, California & Camp F-193, Pierce, Idaho
I was in the Civilian Conservation Corps for six months. I joined on April 23, 1935 and was at Fort Sheridan for conditioning till April 1st. I then traveled to join Company 603 at Ojai, California. However I was there only one day as the Company was moving to Pierce, Idaho the next day.
We arrived in Pierce, Idaho at Camp F-193 on May 11, 1935. Our work was road construction.
In the winter months the snow would get to twenty, twenty-five feet. There were about three hundred men living in barracks. We had three healthy meals a day. There was no running water or electricity. For bathing we went to the creek or lake which was freezing cold.
The young men were from all over the U.S.A.. I enlisted because it was the depression and I couldn't get a job. I was paid a dollar a day plus room, board and work clothes. I kept $5 and sent $25 to my impoverished family.
The bosses were in forestry, not military men. The C.C.C. was a positive thing for me. It taught me responsibility and discipline. It even helped me take pride in what I was doing. It was a positive influence on my life when I finally got a job.
----- Frank Fontanetta
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