CCC Camp Lake Itasca

We have some Memorabilia from the Lake Itasca Camp.

February 10 1936.  It was –52 F or –47C

This is a patch from Lake Itasca CCC the 3701 st

There are two companies called 3701.  One is inside the park with Co. 1785 and one is just outside the park with Co. 1764.

We think that Far Guy’s Dad Marvin was at Co. 3701 Co. 1764 just outside the park in 1936.  The other CCC Camp was established in 1938.

So off we went to locate the old camp.  We took a gravel road and spotted some fellows planting trees.   We asked if they knew where the old CCC Camp was?  One said “We only come up once in awhile so where that camp is would just be a guess on my part…BUT go talk to Dorothy my aunt, tell her Lyle sent you.”

We had a lovely visit with Dorothy. She was Minnesota Nice!!  It turns out that she moved to this farm in 1940.  The CCC Camp was gone, only the foundations remained.  The Camp was right on her farm.  She reminisced about how her children loved to play fort and look for relics over in the pasture.  One time they were certain they found some Indian Burial Grounds because of the bones they found…turned out they were beef bones buried near where the Cook Shack was.  Dorothy has lived there for a a gazillion years according to her nephew Lyle..it is really only 74 years.  Her husband died two years ago.  When I asked if I could take her picture she said “Sure but your camera will probably break.”

Out in the pasture where that Oak Tree is was where the old CCC Camp Company 3701 and Company 1764 were.  This old camp is right along Highway 200 on the North Side of the road…at Dorothy’s place.

So this part of our adventure is complete.  We still need to measure the mileage for the other CCC Camp down on the Hanna Ore Road and take some photos before all the leaves come on. 

We have shared the Lake Itasca Old Photo and the Patch with a fellow who is writing a book about Itasca State Park, the book is due out this spring.   I helped him gather info for his research last summer.