Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The Amazing Story of the Franklin State Forest

The presentation copy that Alan Earls shared at the Franklin Historical Museum on Sunday, Sep 9, 2018 is shared here. 

About 40 people participated in the presentation and discussion on Sunday. The daughter of Leonard Cook shared some highlights of his memoir reflecting on the time he had served in a CCC camp in western MA. 

"Most people, of a certain age, know the term CCC. A public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed and unmarried men. There were CCC camps and environmental projects in every state. The project was responsible for planting more than three billion trees and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks nationwide during its nine years of existence. These programs and projects helped to shape the modern national and state park systems we enjoy today. Join us to learn about Franklin's own CCC Camp and it's place in this program's history. 
Contrary to what a casual observer might assume, the Franklin State Forest is not the forest primeval - undisturbed by humans -- but a "modern" invention – spawned by a 1914 act of the Massachusetts legislature that authorized gradual creation of state forests around the commonwealth. It was finally made a reality during the Great Depression through "bargain" land purchases and with plantings and improvements by President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps, which had a large encampment in town for a time. Further modest enlargements were made in the late 20th century.  
Join us Sunday afternoon, September 9 at 1:15 as local historian Alan Earls, tells the forest's story through Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) records, maps, and film clips made in 1935 by Franklin's pioneer documentarian, Stanley Chilson."

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/08/second-sunday-speaker-series-continues.html



The Amazing Story of the Franklin State Forest
The Amazing Story of the Franklin State Forest

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