Who do we have to thank for so many of our beautiful state parks? President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps, that's who. And there is a wonderful museum to honor those people at Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring, Florida where we camped last week.
Forest fire at camp
The heat kept most campers away, so we had the 9000-acre park largely to ourselves. Just as I was setting up, however, I looked over and saw people setting fire to the brush. Yes, I had arrived just in time for a controlled burn. And I had a perfect view of the fire.
Needless to say, my site was too close for comfort, so back to the ranger station I went. They said it had been years since they had a controlled burn in the area, and I just happened by at the right moment.
August 2018 was not providing me with the best camping luck – red tide along the coast on my last outing and now fire and smoke at this central Florida park. The rangers were very accommodating, however, and gave me a spot on the opposite side of the park, as far away from the smoke as I could get. Fortunately for us campers, they kept the fire "controlled" and we had heavy thunderstorms that night to douse the embers. So, all was well.
Park Rangers are accommodating
The next day I walked over to the museum to learn more about the Civilian Conservation Corps that had built the park. I was given a personal tour by the excellent docent, John Schumacher. The displays were extremely well done and John supplied a wealth of additional information about the Depression and Roosevelt's programs that provided work to lift young men (and their families at home) out of poverty and starvation.
At its peak more than 2,900 CCC camps were spread out across America wherever there was a need. Not only did these camps provide work for the corpsmen but requirements for food, clothing, and personal items boosted the American economy and morale by providing jobs in many industries crippled by the Depression. Apparently, most young men came to the camps undernourished and the first order of the day was to improve their nutrition and overall health for their upcoming task