Thomas Kozlina's CCC Record

Thomas Kozlina, my grandfather, at Pine Grove Furnace CCC Camp.

 

Back in 2022, I discovered that my maternal grandfather Thomas J. Kozlina (1910-1997) had served for six months in the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934-35. Shortly after, a cousin sent some previously-unseen photos of Grandpa's time in the CCC from a family album. (Click these links to read my original two posts: Corps and CCC Photo Discovery.)

I promised then to write again when I had Grandpa Kozlina's CCC record from the National Archives. Ten pages outline Grandpa's service from his initial enlistment to his discharge. In addition, there are physical examination papers and two medical cards from a time he was sick in spring 1935.

Here are some new facts I learned about Grandpa:

• When Grandpa was 23, he stood 70-72" tall (depending on one of two physical forms), and weighed 142 pounds.
• At the time he enlisted in October 1934, he had been unemployed for a year. He listed his occupation as a "laborer." Recall this was in the depths of the Great Depression, and President Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corp to address unemployment among young men in the country.
• Grandpa's eyesight was noted as both 20/50 in both eyes, and then 20/100 on his physical forms. Photos of Grandpa in the CCC show him wearing his eyeglasses.
• He also was missing several teeth. Fortunately, dental and medical care was provided in the CCC.
  
• After enlistment, he spent 3 days at Fort Hoyle, Maryland, for conditioning.
• He then reported to Pine Grove Furnace Camp S-51 to begin his work as a forestry laborer in Company 329. Pine Grove Furnace Camp was located in Cumberland County, about two hours from his home in Lemont Furnace, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
  
• Grandpa earned $30 a month as a CCC worker; of that, he was required to send $25 home to his mother, Louise Kozlina. For some perspective, $25 in 1934 dollars would have the buying power of $584.98 today.¹

While many camps published their own camp newspapers, I was unable to locate any for the time that Grandpa was at Pine Grove Furnace. However, I did find a few mentions of the camp in local newspapers. 

This photograph appeared in the newspaper just as Grandpa was enlisting on 9 October 1934. Here, the young men were constructing a road for the project.²

 

Apparently it was not all hard work at the camp, as the Harrisburg Telegraph announced the "first dance of the year," in the camp recreation hall was to be held in January 1935.³

Grandpa must have been a pretty hearty fellow back in those days, as he appeared to only have been sick once, in March 1935, just at the end of his enlistment period. A medical card stated that he had a "common respiratory disease, etiology undetermined." In layman's terms, he had caught a cold, and was confined to quarters for 2 days. Too bad! He likely missed this scintillating talk given at the camp on 22 March 1935...⁴

Grandpa Kozlina was honorably discharged from the Civilian Conservation Corps on 31 March 1935, with a notation that his "Manner of Performance" had been "Satisfactory."⁵

This sign honors the service of the CCC at Camp S-51.⁶

Until next time...

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© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2024. All rights reserved.

 

A Researcher's Aside

To view a Pine Grove Furnace Camp map, click here: https://www.schaeffersite.com/michaux/DCNR1946map2026.jpg

 

IMAGE: Thomas Kozlina, age 23, photograph, Civilian Conservation Corps, 329 Co., unknown photographer, Cumberland County, 1934-35; private collection of N. Casey [address for private use], 2024.

NOTES

¹ Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) Individual Records (Enrollees), 1933-1943, Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission (Record Group 146), record of Thomas J. Kozlina, 1934-35; citing National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. Personnel Record Center, St. Louis. Also, CPI Inflation Calculator (https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1934?amount=25 : accessed 11 June 2024), data for $25 in 1934 calculated for 2024.

² "The PWA Parade...Road Construction," Evening Herald [Shenandoah, Pennsylvania], 9 October 1934, p. 6; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/448194920/ : accessed 11 June 2024).

³ "Cumberland Valley Activities," Harrisburg Telegraph, 9 January 1935, p. 7; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/41508546/ : accessed 11 June 2024).

⁴ "Tree Soldiers Hear About Earthquakes," The Sentinel [Carlisle, Pennsylvania], 23 March 1935, p. 6, col. 8; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/344155033/ : accessed 14 June 2024).

⁵ Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) Individual Records (Enrollees), 1933-1943, Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission (Record Group 146), record of Thomas Kozlina, 1934-35.

⁶ CCC commemorative marker, unnamed photographer, Lee Schaeffer (https://www.schaeffersite.com/michaux/ : accessed 14 June 2024). Used with permission.