Hard Times

Hard Times. . , Proof of how hard times were during the Great Depression, this CCC recruiting poster depicts a young man wearing a clean, pressed uniform with a plate of food. Another incentive to enroll into the CCC was a $30.00 a month salary with $25.00 withheld to be sent home to their families. The men got to keep the leftover $5.00 for spending money. All their clothes and all they could eat were free., The 788th and the Local Econoomy , Feeding and supplying 200 men meant purchasing large quantities of materials. Local towns such as Girard and Farlington were kept alive by selling products to the camp. Fruit and vegetables for the mess hall, oats and hay for the mule teams, and fuel, tires, and spare parts for the equipment all helped to keep the local economy alive. Many local families made extra money by selling services to the men, such as shoe repair and washing and mending clothes., By the end of 1934, the total revenue generated from the CCC put $72,000,000 back into the nation's devastated economy., [Display caption reads] , As much as 1200 square yards of earth was hauled in daily to form the dam. This sled that you see before you was pulled by a tractor to level out the fill as it was being compacted., [Photo caption reads] , An early view of the north side of the [Girard town] square. The Girard National Bank is now located where the E. Beadle store is pictured.