CCC axe & tool thread.

Yankee Josh

Yankee Josh

Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
1,875
Hello all. I've looked for a thread pertaining to this and didn't find one. But they are some important tools in my opinion and I'm interested to see what you guys have. I purchased this pulaski as an after thought at a local antique dealer for 5 bucks!
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It has 7 stamps not counting the "Vaughn" stamp. You can see 5 of them here;
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In trying to locate camp SP9 I emailed back and forth with the president of the ccc legacy for about a month. We weren't able to locate the camp unfortunately. Some of her words I thought were interesting and here are a few snippets.
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Here is the other CCC and BR(bureau of reclamation) stamp on the swell.
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I wish i had been able to track down camp SP9 but even so I'm very pleased to have such a tool. Here's some other photos.
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I hope this perhaps renewed some interest for these ol tools! It was an important part of our history and literally changed the landscape of our country.
I look forward very much to seeing the CCC tools you all have!
 
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I had a few. First up is a 1938 Sager PS Falling axe. I traded this one to Steve Tall.

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It's the one on the right.
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Then I have this real nice Kelly Charleston broadaxe.
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Broadaxe2.jpg

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Seems like I have something else around here but it slips my mind at the moment. If I think of it I'll post it.
 
Great thread idea. My friend's (he's cruising w/usfs this summer) late grandfather was big in the CCC here in MI. Or back up in MI, as it were (out of town). I've been into his grandmother's basement and it's a freaking treasure trove of the worst type. Nothing is for sale. At some point I'll have to try and get down there with a camera.
 
Great thread Josh.
I have been on the lookout since I started.
Later this evening I can post the one WPA stamped axe I have.
I feel very strongly as perhaps you do about the CCC being responsible for so much, including shaping and making the wild more or seemingly more accessible to so many more for recreation a d adventure.
Oh and put millions to work in the process of so much :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Great thread
 
Great topic,full of insight and controversy...One of my very favorite characters in US history,Harry L. Hopkins...:)
"...By the time FDR gained the presidency in 1933, 25 percent of the American work force was unemployed, in spite of former President Hoover'seventual recognition of the depth of the continuing economic depression. Hopkins was recruited into FDR's Brain Trust, which included several of Hopkins’s Grinnell College alumni. Hopkins served as Secretary of Commerce from 1938 to 1940.

With the national stage set for massive changes, the Brain Trust explored economic and social policies that would begin to stabilize the American economy. Taking America off the Gold Standard, creating the Emergency Banking Act/Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are but two examples. They also created policies to provide direct aid to Americans through the new Federal Emergency Relief Administration, (FERA). Hopkins was the first chief of FERA.

The FDR administration soon increased funds to FERA, and added additional programs to get people back to work and revitalize the American economy. Hopkins and the Brain Trust were criticized for excessive spending by conservative members of Congress, who claimed that the economy would sort itself out in the long run. To which Hopkins replied, "People don't eat in the long run, they eat every day...."

from:https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1610.html

One of the many things that Hopkins accomplished was the preservation of the very last of American blacksmiths...Thanks to one of the programs over 19000 works of art were commissioned,a number of them forged objects...
Some smiths in the process ended up teaching at trade schools,and the forging skills got preserved a few more decades,till much was at least written down,photographed,recorded in other ways...Without Hopkins none of it would've been preserved.

Americans have such a difficult relationship with this whole concept(and being a refugee from the former USSR i quite Fully understand and relate:)...But,some things can only get done with public support...
And even in the most "socialistic" countries in N. and W. Europe there's still no comprehensive "heritage crafts"-type program...Skills,and trades,are going extinct with increasing frequency...
Sorry,Josh,for this topic dilution:)
 
jake pogg said:
Great topic,full of insight and controversy...One of my very favorite characters in US history,Harry L. Hopkins...:)
"...By the time FDR gained the presidency in 1933, 25 percent of the American work force was unemployed, in spite of former President Hoover'seventual recognition of the depth of the continuing economic depression. Hopkins was recruited into FDR's Brain Trust, which included several of Hopkins’s Grinnell College alumni. Hopkins served as Secretary of Commerce from 1938 to 1940.

With the national stage set for massive changes, the Brain Trust explored economic and social policies that would begin to stabilize the American economy. Taking America off the Gold Standard, creating the Emergency Banking Act/Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are but two examples. They also created policies to provide direct aid to Americans through the new Federal Emergency Relief Administration, (FERA). Hopkins was the first chief of FERA.

The FDR administration soon increased funds to FERA, and added additional programs to get people back to work and revitalize the American economy. Hopkins and the Brain Trust were criticized for excessive spending by conservative members of Congress, who claimed that the economy would sort itself out in the long run. To which Hopkins replied, "People don't eat in the long run, they eat every day...."

from:https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1610.html

One of the many things that Hopkins accomplished was the preservation of the very last of American blacksmiths...Thanks to one of the programs over 19000 works of art were commissioned,a number of them forged objects...
Some smiths in the process ended up teaching at trade schools,and the forging skills got preserved a few more decades,till much was at least written down,photographed,recorded in other ways...Without Hopkins none of it would've been preserved.

Americans have such a difficult relationship with this whole concept(and being a refugee from the former USSR i quite Fully understand and relate:)...But,some things can only get done with public support...
And even in the most "socialistic" countries in N. and W. Europe there's still no comprehensive "heritage crafts"-type program...Skills,and trades,are going extinct with increasing frequency...
Sorry,Josh,for this topic dilution:)
Click to expand...
Dilution!? To the contrary sir! That's great info and a perfect place for it I think. It's not JUST the tools we like. It's the history!! Living near Acadia national park we all benefited greatly from the ccc. I don't know the extent to which the core worked on the carriage roads but I know they played a part. There's some gorgeous bridges down there. And the sights are just amazing! One thing people may not know is Cadillac mountain which is in Acadia national park, being a relatively tall mountain and farthest east, is the first spot in America every morning that the sun hits. Kinda cool!
 
jake pogg said:
Great topic,full of insight and controversy...One of my very favorite characters in US history,Harry L. Hopkins...:)
"...By the time FDR gained the presidency in 1933, 25 percent of the American work force was unemployed, in spite of former President Hoover'seventual recognition of the depth of the continuing economic depression. Hopkins was recruited into FDR's Brain Trust, which included several of Hopkins’s Grinnell College alumni. Hopkins served as Secretary of Commerce from 1938 to 1940.

With the national stage set for massive changes, the Brain Trust explored economic and social policies that would begin to stabilize the American economy. Taking America off the Gold Standard, creating the Emergency Banking Act/Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are but two examples. They also created policies to provide direct aid to Americans through the new Federal Emergency Relief Administration, (FERA). Hopkins was the first chief of FERA.

The FDR administration soon increased funds to FERA, and added additional programs to get people back to work and revitalize the American economy. Hopkins and the Brain Trust were criticized for excessive spending by conservative members of Congress, who claimed that the economy would sort itself out in the long run. To which Hopkins replied, "People don't eat in the long run, they eat every day...."

from:https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1610.html

One of the many things that Hopkins accomplished was the preservation of the very last of American blacksmiths...Thanks to one of the programs over 19000 works of art were commissioned,a number of them forged objects...
Some smiths in the process ended up teaching at trade schools,and the forging skills got preserved a few more decades,till much was at least written down,photographed,recorded in other ways...Without Hopkins none of it would've been preserved.

Americans have such a difficult relationship with this whole concept(and being a refugee from the former USSR i quite Fully understand and relate:)...But,some things can only get done with public support...
And even in the most "socialistic" countries in N. and W. Europe there's still no comprehensive "heritage crafts"-type program...Skills,and trades,are going extinct with increasing frequency...
Sorry,Josh,for this topic dilution:)
Click to expand...

Excellent and just my 2 cents to contribute tying in the W.P.A. pre C.C.C.

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WPA 27

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Works Progress Administration

W.P.A.
 
Square_peg said:
Nice to see the WPA stuff, too. Closely related and still on topic.
Click to expand...
Before WPA there was short lived CWA program (1933-1934). If you see CWA on a tool, it gives you almost exact date it was acquired.
One can appreciate common sense CCC's built infrastructure hiking down Upper Yosemite Falls trail (build 1877). It is very slippery; it lacks wide step design we can spot in most of National Parks or National Monuments.
kelly-axe-tool-co-brush-axe-cwa_1_01db3a43500e29fa679296ffee8a7174.jpg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/kelly-axe-tool-co-brush-axe-cwa-1837125203
vintage-kelly-axe-double-bit-worlds_1_de5e1611df0d4dd1c034a55a4e4e4ed3.jpg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-kelly-axe-double-bit-worlds-1833645016
 
I worked on restoration of a lot of CCC & WPA structures, including bridges. They all have one thing in common--quality design and construction. During the research stage one thing was clear, at least with the construction part, they hired master tradesman-carpenters, stone masons, etc. to train and supervise the young men who were in the program.
 
A lot of our FS district was built by the CCC, Including the barn I work out of. Pretty simple, good quality work. Great materials like clear old growth redwood and Doug fir for both framing and paneling.

A lot of beautiful stonework .....bridges and retaining walls on the highway down the river canyon etc. Still looks good, although much has been lost to highway widening projects.

There were a couple of camps right near us.
It's a neat part of history, and a pretty big part of it here.

CCC still exists in Ca by name, but it's a different program, modeled after the original with focus on teaching young people skills, teamwork, work ethic and responsibility. We hire them for a lot of trailwork.

The motto is "hard work, low pay, miserable conditions and more!"
 
muleman77 said:
CCC still exists in Ca by name, but it's a different program, modeled after the original with focus on teaching young people skills, teamwork, work ethic and responsibility. We hire them for a lot of trailwork.
Click to expand...

Yessir,i can personally vouch for the excellency of just such program,though in a a far different part of the country(New Hampshire,White Mountains,FS camp near Pinkham Notch,'80-'81 seasons)...My body still bears the imprint of those oak and leather packboards..But i never was intimidated about packing out meat no matter from how far ever since:)...And as to the character building-ditto!:)

I really am thankful for having been a part of what we're all talking about here,and for what people like muleman77 and others did,and continue to do...Thank you.

There was quite a culture among the older,permanent FS folk concerning axes,and the history of regional logging (pre-WWII),and old tools,and the woodsmanship...In such places these traditions live on strongly still...
 
My dad talks about useing a sythe in Maine on an air force base in the early 60s no telling about where government surplus ends up.Benefited all my life off things they did in that time,mostly water locks and dams make my living and corps and TVA lakes are my favorite fishing holes.Dont be talking to much about the quality of them Vaughn’s you will drive the price up.Thats a real score and and this is a great thread.
 
Whenever this topic comes up it reminds me of a road the CCC built to what is affectionately called Twin Bridges to the locals. Very remote near the confluence of two streams. There is a bridge no longer passable across one of them and a road of sorts was graded on the other side for a little ways. The second bridge was never built or started. Where they were going or why I have no idea or why it was never completed. They sure didn't have to worry about blowing their wages out there...
 
I think I found SP9!! It wasn't a camp name it was a project name. West Burke Vt.
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It's the only item of that designation I've come across so I'm sticking with it. Here's a neat photo of the bar harbor crew with what looks like a black raven on the board.
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To me this looks like a pretty modern poster. Kinda neat it's from so long ago but still looks relevant.
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And lastly this is NOT a bridge that the ccc crews built but i wanted to share it anyway. David Rockefeller hired crews to build these and largely the roads while the ccc built trails, foot bridges, boardwalks and the like.
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This has been some great reading this far. It's a huge topic really and fun to read about! I wasn't aware of the WPA or the CWA so thank you for sharing everyone! Keep it coming!
 
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