Sacramento Bee

June 25, 2008

Civilian Conservation Corps statue to be dedicated

By Niesha Lofing

A statue of a 1930s-era Civilian Conservation Corps young man will be dedicated Wednesday at the state agency's headquarters in Sacramento.

Three original California Conservation Corps alumni members are scheduled to speak during the ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Robert Griffiths, of Wilton, was a member from 1935 to 1938; Arnold Blumhardt, of North Highlands, served from 1937 to 1939; and Herbert Perry, of Sacramento, was a member in 1940, states a news release.

Current corps members and officials also are slated to attend.

The California Conservation Corps is a state agency that hired men and woman 18 to 25 years old for a year of natural resource work and emergency response, the release states. It was modeled after the federal Civilian Conservation Corps, which was established in the 1933.

More than 100,000 men and women have participated in the California Conservation Corps program since its inception in 1976, the release states.

The statue, which was primarily funded by alumni member Griffiths, will be placed in the lobby of the agency's headquarters on 24th and R streets.

The "CCC boy" statue is the 47th statue to be cast.

Click Here to view a PDF of this article