CCC Festival set for Saturday

There will be fun for the whole family from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, at the 24th annual Civilian Conservation Corps Festival at Highlands Hammock State Park.

It's an annual celebration in recognition of all the CCC did since it began on April 5, 1933 until it ended on June 30, 1942; and it's a great reason to have a party.

There will be antique cars and tractors, 50 arts and crafts vendors, crocodilian exhibits, an expansive model railroad display from the Sebring Model Train Club, plus a touch of magic and entertainment.

The CCC Festival will include two performances of Darrel Smith's living history program, The Best of Times- the Worst of Times and also a noontime performance by Hank Mattson, the Cracker Cowboy Poet.

Magician Paul Weatherbee will perform two magic and comedy shows at 11 a.m. and at 1 p.m., he will attempt his famous three-second Houdini Escape.

"Paul will be handcuffed, tied into a cloth sack and locked into a packing crate with four padlocks," said Dorothy Harris, park services specialist.

For folks who like critters that slither and crawl, Greg Graziani of Graziani Reptiles will be featured at this year's festival.

"Graziani Reptiles focuses on crocodilian conservation and seeks to help change fear of reptiles into respect for these amazing creatures," Harris said.

"Greg is also one of 13 licensed python hunters in the state and will offer education about this unique program."

Come see an albino alligator. Archbold Biological Station will also bring its native snake exhibition.

Venus Veggies, a fruit, veggies, herbs, and plant market will be open.

Children can enjoy pony rides by Heartland Horses and Handicapped, and most anyone can enjoy the $1 hayrides. And, it's entirely possible there may be a visit from Smokey Bear.

For the more comfort-oriented set there will be $1 tram rides and festival foods for sale for everyone to enjoy, including barbecue chicken dinners, pulled pork dinners, and funnel cakes from Highlands Community Church's Relay for Life fund-raising team.

Nancy Davis, owner of the Hammock Inn Restaurant, said she will serve a full menu on Saturday.

"I've never done that before," she said, adding in the past she limited it to just hamburgers and hot dogs, Eddy's Ice Cream and wild orange pies and wild orange ice cream.

This year Davis is going all out making cakes and pies for her guests to enjoy. The restaurant will also serve its sandwiches, Frito pie, soups, salads, baskets and sides.

The Hammock Inn was the original CCC commissary and was built by the CCC in 1934, she said.

"They brought in engineers from out west to teach them," she said. "That's why everything has that western lodge look. That's what they knew how to build."

The CCC camp was located in the area where Harder Hall is and the guys were trucked into the park where they built the roads, drainage ditches, water towers, houses, bridges, trails, ponds, pavilions, workshops, restrooms and the buildings.

Over at the CCC Museum, visitors will have a chance to learn about how the creation of the CCC in 1933 helped the country recover from the Great Depression which began on Black Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929 and continued into the 1930s.

John Schumacher, 82, is a volunteer at the museum. He said he was too young to be a CCC member, but he remembers their contribution to his hometown in Fullerton, Neb. Most of the surviving "CCC'ers" are in their 90s now, he said.

"They disbanded in 1942 when Congress shut off the money," he said. "Most of the boys who came here were from New York or New Jersey. Talk about culture shock."

Wages were $30 per month, of which they kept about $5 and sent $25 home to their families. A movie in those days was 10 cents.

He recalled a time when he was a boy in Fullerton. People were cash poor and used a bartering system to get along. He was 7 years old when he started working in the family hardware store. It was during the Great Depression.

"I ate a lot of roosters and liver in those days," he said. "You got what the farmers didn't want."

In the mean time his family was using up its businesses stock to get along. The business was dying.

"When the CCC'ers came into town they had money," he said. "Cash! They brought cash into the store. That helped us a lot. It helped the community tremendously."

All in all, nationwide from 4,500 camps, they sent home about $662 million to dependents and it is estimated that 12-to-15 million people benefitted from their checks.

Admission to the park is $6 per family vehicle. Call (863) 386-6094 for more information. Take Hammock Road from U.S. 27 and drive straight in.