The Arizona Historical Society, as part of their Spring 2010 Saturday Speaker Series, “History in the Headlines”, presents a compelling lecture entitled “The New Deal: CCC in Arizona” on April 17. Robin L Pinto, noted cultural landscape historian, will discuss the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of the most significant and successful New Deal work programs – which provided opportunity for thousands of Arizona families.

Immediately after his inauguration in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created back-to-work programs under his New Deal. With this action, he brought together two wasted resources: young men and land. In Arizona, work camps were organized from Flagstaff to Yuma to Nogales – with over three million young men, nationally, engaged in a massive salvage operation against destruction and erosion of our country's natural resources.

This program introduces museum visitors to an upcoming exhibit, opening on Friday, May 14, entitled “It Saved My Life” The Civilian Conservation Corps: Grand Canyon and Southern Arizona, 1933-1942. This free event (5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) is open to the public. Attendees can hear stories from CCC enrollees, view the exhibit, and enjoy refreshments at the Arizona History Museum.

The April 17 presentation on the CCC, which begins at 10:00 a.m. and runs until 11:30 a.m., features a continental breakfast. The location is Arizona History Museum, 949 E. Second Street. Cost is $15.00, or $12.00 for AHS members. Free parking is available at the garage at the northeast corner of E. 2nd and N. Euclid Avenue--use the Second Street entrance.

For more information and to make reservations, contact Emily Spargo-Guerrero at esg@azhs.org or (520) 617-1153 or visit their website here.