It wasn't that long ago that I penned a column on Mt. Hermon - a real jewel in our bucolic countryside. And then came a deluge of intriguing e-mail from Calvin Simmons, a Mt. Hermon native. The son of Jewel L. Simmons and Janice Alford Simmons, Calvin - now a resident of Vicksburg, Mississippi - was born and raised in Mt. Hermon. Generous in nature, he has a wealth of information on the history of Mt. Hermon. And the Civilian Conservation Corps camp once situated there is a particular passion of his.
Calvin explained that he wasn't familiar with Camp Sanders until he began intense research on his hometown and the Kentwood & Eastern Railroad. But now, he is a veritable expert on the camp with valuable documentation and a passel of pictures. This series of columns on Camp Sanders, located at Mt. Hermon from 1935 to 1939, is owed to him.
Part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corps camps originated in 1933 (Executive Order dated April 5, 1933). Doing double duty - beautifying our country and renewing its resources while employing young men in desperate need of work during the Great Depression - they lasted until World War II. The popular program was embodied in several thousand camps nationwide, with around three million people serving in environmental conservation. In the July 8, 1933, edition of "Happy Days," the CCC newspaper, FDR stated, "It is my belief that what is being accomplished will conserve our natural resources, create future national wealth and prove of moral and spiritual value not only to those of you who are taking part, but to the rest of the country as well."
And the advantages of the CCC soon extended to Washington Parish. The announcement was first made in "The Era-Leader" on June 6, 1935, with the headline "Mt. Hermon Gets C.C.C. Camp." Construction began that very day. The focus of the camp, slated to house approximately 200 men, was to be soil conservation for the benefit of Washington Parish farmers. And construction of the camp was expeditious. According to Leland Ott in the Mt. Hermon News column in the newspaper on the Fourth of July 1935, "The CCC camp buildings are being constructed very rapidly and the place is beginning to look like a city and everything will be ready for the 200 boys that are to be in camp here." By the end of the month, the boys being assigned to the camp were to arrive.
The Camp Commanding officer was Lieutenant Wilfred E. Lessard who hailed from Baton Rouge with Lieutenant Labat T. Fletcher, also of Baton Rouge, as Adjutant and the next in command. As described by Leland Ott, in his July 28, 1935, column in "The Era-Leader," "Most of the boys are from Lake Charles, Monroe, and Alexandria. Just high-school boys, and from our observation, as we mingle with them, a bunch of decent and well behaved fellows would say above the average. The commanding officers, Lieutenants Lassarge [sic] and Fletcher, while strict in their discipline are very kind to the boys [who]are all well pleased with their camp life. The camps were officially organized July 24, as Mt. Hermon Company 4421 CCC camps, La., S.C.S.18. The R.R.R. of the company is Clifton, La., the post office, Mt. Hermon and the telegraph center at Franklinton. We think this community is very fortunate to have this camp located here as this is a highly developed community of intelligent farmers who will appreciate and profit by the works of the unit."
In his August 4, 1935, writing, Leland Ott noted that the water and lights were installed for the CCC camp and that everything on the premises was spic and span. By early September, a large gathering of area residents was held, complete with dinner made possible by the CCC camp men on Labor Day. The hosts were Lieutenants Lessard and Fletcher of Camp Sanders. Guest speaker was Congressman J. Y. Sanders, Jr., who discussed the national status of cotton, with it being a major crop in our fertile area. Among other luminaries who spoke were Hon. L. H. Mullins, chairman of the WPA Board and president of the Washington Parish Police Jury; Hon. Thos. Womack who hailed from Kentwood; and Hon. J. Y. Sanders, Sr. The information on this event was derived from a Mt. Hermon News column published in "The Era-Leader" on September 5, 1935, by Leland Ott.
Ott described the pall cast over the occasion by a tragic traffic accident near Ruston, Louisiana, where the Iddo Alford school bus - one of four Mt. Hermon buses taking approximately 125 of the CCC camp fellows home for the Labor Day weekend - was hit by a beer truck and its contents. Melvin Smith, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Smith of Plain Dealing, and Oscar James, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William E. James of Shreveport, were killed. The flag at Camp Sanders in Mt. Hermon was flown at half-mast. It is to be noted that a young fellow by the name of Albert Taylor also lost his life that first year.
In the same column, Ott informed the public of the source of the name of the local CCC camp - his own granddaughter Miss Elizabeth Ott, of Franklinton, who was recognized for naming the camp "Camp Sanders."
•Stay tuned for next week's column on the history of Mt. Hermon, with special emphasis on Porter's Curve, before the continuation of the CCC camp in the New Year.
