Huntsville State Park offers 21 miles of trails through the natural beauty of the East Texas Pineywoods. Two of my favorite trails at the park are the Triple C and the Chinquapin Trails. These two trails wind their way through one of the most beautiful forested sections of the park. I was especially excited to hike the Triple C Trail — named in honor of the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was formed in March 1933 when our nation was in the grip of the Great Depression. With more than twenty-five percent of the population unemployed, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took decisive action to help the unemployed. The CCC was one of Roosevelt’s first New Deal programs and harnessed the strength of our nation’s youth to help conserve our natural resources.
Operating from 1933 to 1942, the CCC engaged in conservation initiatives in national and state parks around the nation. Today, the CCC is recognized as the single greatest conservation program in our history. The conservation initiatives of the program not only developed young men through disciplined outdoor labor, they also fueled concern for our natural resources and laid the foundation for the tenets of modern conservation.
As I hiked the Triple C Trail, I thought about the young men who labored during the Great Depression in the area near the trail. Their boot prints are no longer visible in the East Texas soil. Their names are not recorded on any plaque. The only thing that remains are remnants of their labor along a trail through the woods — one that has given countless numbers of people across the years access to one of the most beautiful places in the Lone Star State.
When you think about it, we are all the beneficiaries of the labor of those who came before us or those who worked hard to make something that we enjoy today. Whether a hiking trail or a home or even the car that we drive, our lives are made better in many ways because of the labor of others.
The next time you are in East Texas, swing by Hunstville State Park, lace up your hiking boots, and hit the trail. And, as you walk among the tall trees, make it a point to think about the young men who lived during the Great Depression and were a part of a program that inspired the preservation of our natural resources for the enjoyment of generations to come. May their example inspire us to leave a legacy that can be enjoyed by future generations.