Chippewa River District Library is hosting a special presentation of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan on September 12 at 6 p.m. with Northern Lower Michigan Historian Hillary Pine.
Pine, the Historian for Hartwick Pines State Park, the Historic Higgins Lake Nursery, and Michigan's CCC Museum, will share her expertise on the history of the CCC program and how it served Michigan.
"We're excited to have Hillary share her expertise about Michigan's CCC," said Andrea Graham, family programming coordinator at CRDL. "The history of the Corps is fascinating. Those young men made a huge contribution in helping restore Michigan's natural resources."
In Michigan, the CCC operated from 1933 to 1942 and significantly impacted the state's environment and economy. Over 100,000 young Michigan men served in the CCC, and their work included building roads, trails, bridges, and fire towers in state parks and forests. They planted nearly 500 million trees, fought natural disasters like forest fires and floods, and constructed park buildings and infrastructure.
"Hillary is a wealth of information on Northern Lower Michigan's history," Graham said. "This will be a great talk for anyone interested in the environmental history of Michigan. The CCC helped create the state forests many of us visit around the state."
Pine is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She serves as the Northern Lower Peninsula Historian for the DNR and Michigan History Center. She is also the curator of the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum, the Higgins Lake Nursery, and the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps Museum. Hillary is passionate about sharing Michigan's rich stories with the public. Join us for this unique opportunity to learn from a historian deeply connected to Michigan's history and conservation efforts.