The camps were always administrated by the military with the Forest Service leading work projects during the day. By 1939 many generals and admirals suggested the corps be turned into a soldier training program. Politically, this proposal was unpopular and "undemocratic" because so many of the young men were from working class families — a similar criticism of recruitment strategies today. By 1940, however, the camps were being run with more discipline with more drilling and leadership training. According to Olsen, this trend was most obvious at the Pleasant Grove camp. When enlistments were almost up, presentations were given on the flying cadets and merchant marines. About 70 percent of the tasks assigned to the corps were ones similar to those performed by combat engineers.

The corps proved to be a huge asset to the military after the country entered the war. The administration of the camps was excellent training for both active-duty and reserve officers. The 2.5 million men who had participated in the corps nationally from 1933 to 1940 had learned discipline, team work and valuable skills. They had also gained muscle and strong lungs from three square meals a day and hard physical labor in the mountains. Some people began to joke that CCC men were too valuable to be given guns. The corps was also able to turn over the nation's largest fleet of mechanized equipment and camps where soldiers could be stationed and trained. Interviews with CCC alumni suggest that about 98 percent went on to serve in the military and the other 2 percent most likely worked in industries that supported the war effort.

Utah was sad to see the camps closed. Many mayors had lobbied Congress to get camps built near their towns. A camp cost about $20,000 to build, and that money was spent locally to purchase labor and supplies. Much more than that was required to support the camps, and everything from food to teachers was obtained from the local towns. Camps that were active year-round brought in between $50,000 to $60,000 annually to the community. By the end of the program the federal government had spent $52.8 million in Utah for the corps.

Corps alumni usually speak of their time in the CCC with fondness and say that in addition to the money and training it felt good to be busy on such valuable projects. Schoonover said he used to take his children to the campsites he had worked on. Julie Sorenson's father helped build trails in Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks. Her father took her and her siblings there when she was a teenager, and he used to stop along the trail and note work that he had done.

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E-mail: akirk@desnews.com