My Work in the CCC For the Government and a CCC Incident

My Work in [the] CCC for the Government

It was in the fore part of 1935.  I had been doing blacksmith work for Don Pace, and had set him up a good shop and was doing a good business for him.  He would pay me only $2.50 a day for 8 hours of work.

It was at this time the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp.) camps were starting.  I made application for work helping to build barracks for the men.  I was hired for $1.00 per hour.  This was a lot of money to me.  Then while this was going on I took an examination from the government for the job of Blacksmith Helper, and I got that job.  It paid $113.00 per month  I was assigned to Camp No. 5A, which was across the Gila River north of Safford.  I worked there for about 6 months more or less, then we moved to Portal, AZ, which is in South Arizona near the town of Rodeo, on the border between Arizona and New Mexico near the head of the San Simon Valley.  Portal, AZ is about 10 miles north and west of Rodeo.  I had a very nice blacksmith shop there and got a high efficiency rating by the U.S. Government inspector.

It was while I was in the camp that the 2nd quorum of elders in Thatcher decided to make it a project to hold cottage meetings each Sunday evening in this camp.  I was appointed to be the leader of this project.  I would call on different members of the quorum to help in this.  My family of which I had two teenage daughters at that time, would come out and stay part of the summer, and my daughters would furnish and sing songs for these meetings.  The CCC boys seemed to enjoy these meetings very much.  After about a year we were transferred around the mountain to a place called Rucker Canyon, a little closer to Douglas.  My family also came up to came in the summer at Rucker and we held lots of good meetings there.  The girls enjoyed singing in these cottage meetings and the Elders Quorum always had someone to give a good talk.  In about the year 1940, we were transferred to Prescott, AZ on a ranch about 25 miles north of that town.  It was too far for me to go home on weekends so I contacted the Elders Quorum of Prescott and they were willing to help with the Sunday evening meetings.  Sometimes we would hold them in conjunction with the Army Chaplain, who were most of the time very cooperative and we got along fine.

Sprint of 1941 that camp at Prescott was folding up so I as transferred to another camp--No. 25A, which was east of Safford and I was in this camp with the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 which started WWII, and also closed all the CCC Camps as most all of the boys were called into Army service.  This was not hard for them as they all had been trained [on] how to live in army camps.

A CCC Incident

When I was working with the Soil Conservation service, and while we were stationed at Portal, AZ, the Quorum of Elders at Thatcher Ward, St. Joseph Stake, decided to hold cottage meetings at the CCC Camp each Sunday evening.  It went well for a month or so and all enjoyed the meetings, until one Sunday I could not go that evening so we sent two of the other Elders to hold the meeting in camp.

When I went to work the Monday morning after, the company commander handed me a note saying I would nave to discontinue holding the meetings in camp as the camp chaplain had made a report that the Mormons were interfering with his work.  I asked the two Elders who went there that evening and they said that the minister told them to hold their meeting, and then he, the minister left the camp and went to Rodeo, about 10 miles away and held a meeting there.  

Well I felt like I had failed and our project was over, and was quite worried about what would happen, but the company commander said he would report the matter and an investigation would be made.  I still wondered what would happen to our project.

In about ten days I was in the bathroom taking a shave (the army and CSC used the same bathroom) and I saw a man in there of the US Army.  He turned to me and said, "Hello, don't I know you?"  I said, "You look familiar, my name is Hancock."

He said, "Yes, I remember you from WWI, I am Colonel Day.  I was only a Lieutenant when I met you.  I know you are a Mormona nd I am here to investigate a report that the Mormons are interfering with the district minister's work here."

"Well," I said, "I guess I am the culprit."

He said "What are you teaching these boys?"

I said, "Well, we teach some from the scriptures, have singing and short talks."

He said, "That sounds good to me, and you keep right on doing it.  You won't have to stop."  This made me feel happy again as we did want to continue our project.

But the thing that happened after was the amazing part, as the colonel went to his officer and discharged the minister who had made the report against us.  After that the new minister who came was very cooperative with us.  We continued to hold our meetings with or without the minister and not minister would dare to make a report against us for fear of losing his job.  we held meeting in our camps and hope we helped someone.  My two eldest daughters would sing in our meetings and all in our project was continued for the duration which ended with the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.