Ancestry.com includes many data collections of interest to
genealogists. One that is likely to interest many of our genealogists is Happy
Days, the official newspaper of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps.
The CCC was created by Congress in 1933. It provided jobs
for unemployed, single men (most 17-25 years of age). These men worked on
conservation projects like road and trail building, tree and shrub planting,
erosion control, and also responded to natural disasters like floods and forest
fires. By time the program ended in 1942, the CCC had established work camps in
every state, and provided employment for 3 million young American men (and 8,500 young American women, who toiled in camps known by their slang name, "She-She-She" camps).
 |
| Sign for CCC companies in the Badlands |
Happy Days was a privately owned newspaper that was
available for purchase in CCC camps, or could be mailed to the folks back home.
It cost 3 cents per week if purchased in a camp exchange, 5 cents per week if
mailed back home. This Ancestry.com record set includes weekly issues from 1933
through 1940. It is browsable only (not indexed at this time).
Happy Days was intended to serve as a source of information
and entertainment for CCC enrollees. Each issue included articles on camp work
projects and accomplishments, camp leisure activities like sports, involvement
of CCC enrollees in disaster relief, and hanges in the CCC administration and
higher-level personnel. Each issue also included editorials and a few
advertisements.
Each issue also includes black and white photos,
illustrations, and several cartoons drawn by staff artists. The photos can
picture camp buildings, recruits engaged in camp work projects and leisure
activities, and CCC officials and higher-level personnel. Photos of individuals
are generally labeled; group shots are generally not labeled. Photos are
generally fairly good quality, although contrast can be poor at times.
