14—Cleveland Daily Banner—Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Editorial
www.clevelandbanner.com
Reflecting on the work of CCCs
One of Roosevelt’s first New Deal agencies
‘Chipping of the Green’ is
created
positive
impact
for
Tennessee
folks
a good Christmas closure
S
ix days into the new year,
it’s a reasonable bet most
Christmas trees in
Cleveland and Bradley County
have been taken down, their
shiny decorations carefully
packaged and the dust-covered
boxes returned to the attic,
basement, garage or storage
shed.
For any still standing, most
are on their final legs as the
promise of 2016 knocks on front
doors everywhere.
For any icons of the Yuletide
scheduled to be removed from
living rooms or foyers or isolated corners over the next couple
days — especially the beautiful
live evergreens — here’s a
reminder: the annual “Chipping
of the Green” recycling initiative
remains in operation through
Saturday, Jan. 9.
It’s the back-to-earth project’s
21st year in our community. Its
basic premise is this. Unless
area residents have their own
backyard brush piles or preferred landing grounds for discarded evergreens, this refuse
doesn’t have to be left at the
curb for pickup where it will be
dumped at the Bradley County
Landfill.
Instead, area residents need
only to load up their departing
remnant of Christmas — much
like they did when they bought it
and drove it home a month earlier — and deliver it to one of
four drop-off points where the
trees will then be chipped at the
landfill and given away to the
public as nutritious mulch.
Although it’s a practice made
available by Santek Waste
Services Inc., in partnership
with the Bradley County Road
Department which furnishes the
commercial chipper, for more
than two decades, the past few
years have seen less participation.
According to Cheryl Dunson,
executive vice president of
marketing for Santek who coordinates the annual initiative, the
lessening participation is not so
much about lack of attention to
recycling as it is the gradual
transition to more modern,
higher-tech fiber optics trees
which admittedly are gorgeous
and can be re-used year after
year.
“I’ll be honest and admit I
thought twice about coordinating the program this year,”
Dunson told the Cleveland
Daily Banner. “During the past
five years, we’ve seen a dramatic decline in the number of
live trees we receive. But, after
giving the program some more
thought, it’ll have been worth
the effort if we can keep just one
tree out of the landfill.”
It’s an admirable decision,
one not made lightly and certainly one offered in the best
interest of conservation.
For those who have not
already carted off their live evergreens, there are centrally
located collection points. They
include:
1. The Home Depot, whose
parking lot corral is open from 7
a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through
Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday.
2. The Bradley County
Landfill, which is open 7 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. Monday through
Friday, and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
Saturday.
3. The Urbane Road
Recycling Center, which is open
Tuesdays and Thursdays from
2 to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
4. The Peerless Road
Recycling Center, which is open
Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays from 2 to 5 p.m.
For area households wanting
to make use of the Urbane and
Peerless Road sites, but can’t
get their trees to either center
during the operating hours, no
worries. Regardless of the hour,
just deliver your live Christmas
tree and drop it off outside the
locked gates. It’ll be recycled by
work crews, as promised.
Besides, Bradley County
Mayor D. Gary Davis, who is big
on recycling initiatives, said it’s
OK.
“Ideally, we want everyone to
visit the centers when they’re
open, but we also recognize
trees don’t mak e a great mess
like other recyclable items,” the
popular mayor said. “Residents
can drop off trees outside the
gates and we’ll ensure they get
recycled.”
Dunson praised the cooperation of Home Depot which is
entering its second year as a
“Chipping of the Green” drop-off
point.
“Home Depot is centrally
located to residents, especially
those living in northwest
Bradley County,” the Santek
representative stressed. “So,
with this very visible location
and it being the second year
Home Depot has agreed to
serve as a collection point,
we’re hoping more peole who
bought live Christmas trees will
remember to complete the
trees’ environmental lifecycles
and recycle them.”
Recycling is always a preferred option, and with
“Chipping of the Green” it’s a
relevant way of saluting the discarded evergreen and paying
homage to its Yuletide symbolism and the joy it gave families
throughout the community ... of
all ages, the young toddlers, the
beaming parents, the retrospective grandparents and a
bevy of exuberant aunts,
uncles, cousins and best
friends.
As unique as “Chipping of the
Green” is to Cleveland and
Bradley County, it’s actually one
of about 4,000 such programs
across the U.S. that provide
similar recycling programs during the holiday season.
Although the sale of live evergreens may truly be on the
decline, it is interesting to note
— according to the National
Christmas Tree Association —
that as many as 25 to 30 million
real Christmas trees are sold in
the U.S. every year.
That’s a lot of Christmas
trees. So a lot of thank-yous for
their service are certainly in
order.
The decision on which type of
Christmas tree to buy for the
holidays is best made by the
families observing the occasion
based on size of home, the use
of safe practices, length of time
the tree will remain standing
and sentimentality for the
aroma and image of live evergreens.
But for those choosing live
trees, we hope their closure to
the holiday season will include
the local recycling program.
“Chipping of the Green” certainly is not a required amenity
in our hometown, but it is a
refreshing commitment to conservation, one that Santek
takes seriously in its operation
of the Bradley County Landfill
under contract with county government.
To participate is a family
choice.
To bring honor to this holiday
tradition is yet another.
We urge Cleveland and
Bradley County families to
remember “Chipping of the
Green” this post-Christmas
season.
No, it’s not a requirement.
It’s just a good thing to do. To
those who believe in conservation practices, it’s the right thing
to do.
We agree.
And we thank Santek for
making this program available
for so many years.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New
Deal agencies, his attempt to turn the
nation’s economy around in the 1930s,
brought thousands of jobs to East
Tennessee.
Many young men from our agricultural
communities answered the call to join the
president’s Civilian Conservation Corps. The
CCC Camps employed young men and gave
them the opportunity to develop new skills,
preparing them for future employment as
America was struggling to recover from the
Great Depression.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was one
of Roosevelt’s first New Deal agencies, which
he signed into law on March 31, 1933.
CCC was originally called the "Emergency
Conservation Work Program," but was
renamed in 1937.
The CCC camps were disbanded when I
was an infant, but during my growing up
years I was witness to much of the work
they did in and around The Great Smoky
Mountains, and I have met many of the veterans of those work camps.
The program continued for nine years, in
East Tennessee and in other sections of the
country.
Although there are no official records,
estimates of the number of young men who
participated in the program reach approximately 3 million.
Congress extended the program to include
African Americans, Native Americans and
World War I veterans. Enrollees performed a
variety of conservation activities including
reforestation, soil conservation, road construction, flood and fire control, and agricultural management.
The CCC completed a number of tasks
from when the Smokies became a national
park in East Tennessee and Western North
Carolina.
The CCC provided food, clothing and shelter, as well as education, vocational training
and health care. The Department of Labor,
the War Department and the Department of
Interior administered the CCC. State and
local labor offices assisted with selection
and enrollment procedures.
Many of the projects, especially in the
Smokies, have endured through the toil of
years.
Roadways, bridges, dams and embankments along the waterways out of the
Smokies still stand proudly in tribute to
that accomplishment more than 80 years
ago.
After the CCC Camps were established,
Tennessee supported 11 district headquarters in Memphis, Union City, Jackson,
Paris, Columbia, Nashville, Tullahoma,
LOOKING BACK
Larry Bowers
Banner
Staff Writer
Cookeville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and
Johnson City.
There were 15 branch offices in
Dyersburg, Murfreesboro, McMinnville,
Shelbyville, Clarksville, Springfield,
Cleveland, LaFollette, Maryville, Loudon,
Rockwood, Morristown, Elizabethton,
Kingsport and Bristol.
The state's first CCC company set up
headquarters at Camp Cordell Hull near
Limestone Cave in Unicoi County in 1933.
By the following year, Tennessee sponsored
30 companies.
Enrollment was first offered to single men
between the ages of 17 and 28; however, the
requirements were changed in 1937, making
enrollment available only to men between
the ages of 17 and 23.
Applicants had to prove their marital status, provide evidence they had been unable
to find employment for at least two months
and demonstrate that their families could not
provide education or training comparable to
that made available to members of the corps.
Enrollees signed up for a minimum of six
months, and few members participated for
more than one to two years. The program’s
motto, "Select, rather than collect," reflected
the high honor associated with participation
in the CCC.
Tennessee's CCC participa nts earned $30
per month, $25 of which went to families or
was deposited with the War Department
until the corps member received his "honorable discharge."
You might think the pay was low, until
you realized that my father (during this period) would plow all day for 50 cents.
Tennessee's total number of CCC companies reached its peak in July 1937, when
the state supported 46 camps. By the time
the CCC disbanded, more than 70,000
Tennesseans had served.
In 1942, changing American ideas about
the CCC and congressional pressure to end
the program resulted in the agency's dissolution, but in Tennessee the CCC had completed work in 17 state parks as well as in
the Great Smoky Mountains.
The national success of the CCC is directly attributed to Roosevelt who seldom compromised his values concerning the need for
the agency and a national conservation
movement.
At the start, reserve officers of the U.S.
Army were in charge of the camps, but there
was no military training.
The program was assigned to a career soldier who was to become well known to the
general public a few years later.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur was placed in
charge of the program, although he was not
a big fan. He said the camps were affecting
the readiness of the regular U.S. Army, as
he was looking ahead to threats in Europe
and the Pacific prior to the outbreak of
World War II.
Still, the Army benefited from the CCC
employees. When the draft began in 1940,
CCC alumni were usually made corporals
and sergeants. Most had received command
experience in the CCC.
The CCC provided lessons the Army used
in developing its wartime and mobilization
plans for training camps.
Although the CCC was probably the most
popular of the New Deal agencies, it never
became a permanent establishment. As the
Depression waned and employment opportunities improved, the CCC camps were
reduced.
Fewer eligible young men were available
after conscription commenced in 1940, and
following the attack on Pearl Harbor in
December 1941, all federal programs were
revised to emphasize the war effort.
Most CCC work, except for wildland firefighting, was shifted onto U.S. military bases
to help with construction. The CCC disbanded one year earlier than planned, as the
77th United States Congress ceased funding, causing it to conclude operations formally at the end of the federal fiscal year on
June 30, 1942.
The end of the CCC program and closing
of the camps involved arrangements to leave
the incomplete work projects in the best
shape possible. There was also the separation of about 1,800 appointed employees,
and the transfer of CCC property to the War
and Navy departments
Liquidation of the CCC was ordered by
Congress (by the Labor-Federal Security
Appropriation Act on July 2, 1942). This
action was completed on June 30, 1943.
Some former CCC sites were reactivated
from 1941 to 1947 as Civilian Public Service
camps where conscientious objectors performed "work of national importance" as an
alternative to military service.
Other camps were used to hold Japanese,
German and Italian Americans interned
under the Western Defense Command's
Enemy Alien Control Program, as well as
Axis prisoners of war.
ANNIE’S MAILBOX
Dear Annie: Am I out of the loop or just a
prude? It bothers me to see a mother
cradling her infant child, one latching off
and on to mom’s exposed breast? This was
the recent scene in the crowded men’s
department of a popular store.
I am certainly in favor of nursing an
infant, due to the enormous benefits to both
the child and the mother. I nursed all three
of my children. But this total exposure
seems extreme. When in public, a scarf or a
small lightweight blanket would be perfectly
fine to cover the infant. I find the mother
disrespectful of others and going too far in
making her statement.
I’d love to hear other comments on this
subject. — Wondering Mom
Dear Mom: And you’ll get them, we assure
you. We covered this topic a few years ago,
and we heard plenty. Let us stipulate — we
are in favor of nursing. We have no objection
to women who nurse in public places. Our
concern is the need some women have to
expose their entire upper bodies while doing
so. Why? There is no added benefit to the
child if Mom is naked from the waist up, so
we can only assume the mother is making a
statement about public nudity, likes to
flaunt her body or thinks modesty is oldfashioned. That is her choice, but there are
lovely nursing tops and cover-ups that
allow Mom to nurse comfortably anywhere
and we recommend they be used.
Dear Annie: Our daughters, now in their
50s, have always given us a wish list for
Christmas. In years past, I have made it
known that this doesn’t constitute the true
meaning of Christmas. A year ago, we gave
each daughter cash, hoping it would send a
message. I also sent cash to my granddaughter, with no acknowledgement.
Well, at the end of November, we received
an e-list containing a description of each
article and a link for purchase. Some of the
items are e-books. I also received a similar
list from my 27-year-old granddaughter for
herself and her significant other. In addition, she sent a note apologizing that she
would be unable to join us this year.
How do I address her lack of acknowledgement or thanks? Also, how does one
prepare the Internet gift to be given on
Christmas Day, when, for example, the ebook goes directly to the receiver’s email?
I feel as if I have missed something.
Thanks for your advice. — Out of the Loop
Dear Out: First of all, wish lists of any
kind should not be considered demands.
They are suggestions. You don’t have to get
anything on those lists unless you want to.
In some instances, the links will provide
you with a product that you can purchase
in a brick-and-mortar store. As for e-books,
and any other gifts that are sent via the
TODAY IN HISTORY
Internet, most allow you to request that
they be sent as gifts so that the recipient
will get the item along with a note from you.
If you find it necessary to hand them something tangible, it is perfectly OK to give
them a card saying you have sent them a
gift that they will receive in the mail or their
inbox.
———
(About the writers: Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column.
Please email your questions to [email protected], or write to: Annie’s
Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd
Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.)
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Banner welcomes letters to the editor. The guidelines
call for letters to be in good taste and no
more than 300 words. Some minor editing, not affecting the meaning, may be
required. All letters must include the
author’s signature, address and a telephone number for confirmation. Since letters must have a signature, they cannot
be emailed. Letters reflect the opinion of
the writer. Letters may be sent to Letters
to the Editor, Cleveland Daily Banner, P.O.
Box 3600, Cleveland, TN 37320-3600.)
Cleveland Daily Banner
– Established in 1854 –
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 6,
the sixth day of 2016. There are
360 days left in the year.
Today’s
Highlight
in
History:
On Jan. 6, 1941, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his
State of the Union address, outlined a goal of “Four Freedoms”:
Freedom of speech and expression; the freedom of people to
worship God in their own way;
freedom from want; freedom
from fear.
On this date:
In 1540, England’s King Henry
VIII married his fourth wife,
Anne of Cleves. (The marriage
lasted about six months.)
In 1759, George Washington
and Martha Dandridge Custis
were married in New Kent
County, Virginia.
In 1838, Samuel Morse and
Alfred Vail gave the first successful public demonstration of their
telegraph in Morristown, New
Jersey.
In 1912, New Mexico became
the 47th state.
In 1919, the 26th president of
the United States, Theodore
Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay,
New York, at age 60.
In 1945, George Herbert
Walker Bush married Barbara
Pierce at the First Presbyterian
Church in Rye, New York.
In 1950, Britain recognized
the Communist government of
China.
In 1963, “Oliver!” Lionel Bart’s
musical adaptation of the
Charles Dickens novel “Oliver
Twist,” opened on Broadway.
“Mutual of Omaha’s Wild
Kingdom” premiered on NBC-TV.
In 1974, year-round daylight
saving time began in the United
States on a trial basis as a fuelsaving measure in response to
the OPEC oil embargo.
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Stephen L. Crass
GENERAL MANAGER
Jim Bryant
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
Herb Lacy
OFFICE MANAGER
Joyce Taylor
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Rick Norton
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Gwen Swiger
LIFESTYLES EDITOR
William Wright
SPORTS EDITOR
Richard Roberts
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Jack Bennett
RETAIL SALES MANAGER
Sheena Meyer
PRESS SUPERVISOR
Richard Yarber
423-472-5041
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