that spending would help jumpstart the stagnant economy.
Over the long term, hundreds of thousands of young workers would help erase the scars of industrialization, by building trails, constructing shelters, preventing fires and planting trees in every corner of America.
Most importantly, those young folks would benefit from what Roosevelt called the moral and spiritual value of work. After a long day, they’d sit down by a fire; reflect on their struggles; and know that by sheer will, grit and determination, they were building the future.
President Roosevelt understood the truth you and I both know: There are some lessons only nature can teach – about life, about self-reliance, about our place in the world.
That’s one of the reasons the First Lady is chairing our Children in Nature Challenge – a community initiative to get kids across Missouri reconnected with the outdoors.
Together, the young people of the CCC rebuilt America’s natural landscapes, and America’s economy, with their heads, their hearts and their hands.
At the same time, working in the parks rebuilt the members of the CCC … by giving them a sense of purpose; a sense of mission; a sense of pride.
At the height of its nine-year history, more than 600,000 Americans were enlisted in the CCC – with thousands stationed here in Missouri. Their legacy lives on today.
In the trails they cleared and the forests they planted; and in the 247 buildings and 95 structures they erected in our state parks.
We also see that legacy in the more than 1,000 young people who labored and toiled and earned a living as part of the State Parks Youth Corps this summer.
The young workers of the State Parks Youth Corps stand on the shoulders of their forbearers in the CCC.
As the National Association of State Parks Directors noted when they honored Missouri with their president’s award this year, the State Parks Youth Corps was the greatest influx of labor and energy and determination into our parks since the 1930’s.
And, as we heard tonight, their accomplishments were truly impressive:
- From repairing and blazing hundreds of miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails;
- To developing educational programs and leading tours;
- To preserving and enhancing remote wilderness areas;
- To repairing and painting buildings that hadn’t been maintained in years
The State Parks Youth Corps was an unquestionable success – both in terms of the work we accomplished at our parks and, more importantly, in the lives we changed.
The First Lady and I had the privilege of meeting many of these young people during our visits to parks throughout the summer. We saw them work. We saw them learn. And we saw them grow.
For many of these youth, this summer opened a whole new chapter in their lives – a first job, a first paycheck, a first boss. Roosevelt hit the nail on the head when he said the greatest benefit of the CCC would be the change in the workers – not in the parks.
The CCC came to an abrupt end in 1942. After Pearl Harbor, defending freedom and defeating tyranny became the nation’s first – and only – priority.
But the members of the CCC didn’t stop working. Many immediately enlisted in the armed forces. Others went to work in factories, or took their skills into other facets of the war effort.
Today, we call those Americans the greatest generation.
When their country asked them to serve, they did so willingly and without question. In the 1930’s, they rebuilt our parks and jumpstarted our economy. In the 1940’s, they defeated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
That same strength – of values, of spirit, and of character – lives on today in the young men and women who served in the State Parks Youth Corps. When others spent their summer on the couch, on the computer, or on the streets, the “spicy kids” worked hard.
They got up before sunrise, and kept working after sunset.
They got sunburns on their arms, blisters on their feet, and a few cases of poison ivy.
Day in and day out, they learned a timeless lesson: Few things worth doing are ever easy.
Because of the leadership shown by the Division of Stat