Dollar-A-Day Boys

A musical tribute to the Civilian Conservation Corps

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   Heartfelt stories and hilarious tales from the 1930's!

Imagine, you're 17 years old trying to survive during the Great Depression. Life is tough in Chicago. Food is scarce, jobs are non-existent and you've turned to petty crime to eke out a living. One day you hear about a new job works program created by the federal government that pays a "dollar-a-day." You soon find yourself in the Wisconsin northwoods spending long days planting trees and building roads. Over the next year, you put on 20 pounds, develop good work habits, gain confidence and make life-long friends. The job skills you learned help you find a job when you leave camp. Your experience in the CCC turns out to be the most important event in your life. It turned you from a boy into a man.

Since 1992, Bill Jamerson has researched the CCC. He produced a documentary for Michigan PBS, recorded a CD of songs, and wrote a historical novel. He presents "Dollar-A-Day Boys" all across the Midwest. Over 2.5 million men enlisted in the corps and today, their children and grandchildren have a keen interest in it. They often show up with CCC photo albums and memorabilia; they also share wonderful stories about their relatives with the audience. The story of the CCC has universal appeal because it's about underdogs who are given a second chance. Bill also presents CCC motivational assemblies at middle and high schools. Students love stories about teens and the struggles they experienced during The Great Depression.

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"I wish you could have heard the accolades form my class when we returned from the assembly. They loved the presentation, especially the song! The only complaint I heard was that it could have been longer. Thank you for educating our students and enriching their understanding of The Great Depression. You were a big hit!
Cindy Jividen Weir High School, Weirton, West Virginia

"Bill delivered an outstanding CCC program for their 75th anniversary. It was a really good time and I heard many positive comments especially from the CCC Boys who were in attendance. Bill is preserving an important piece of our history and in so doing, is perpetuating the great legacy of the CCC."
Kent Cave, Great Smokey Mountain National Park

"Jamerson harnessed his multiple talents to articulate his passion for the positive difference government allied to a humane community of spirit can bring to the world.(he) accomplishes this without stridency, without partisanship, but by communicating the socioeconomic struggles of the past and subtly touching upon the comparable struggles of the present. His touching and humorous anecdotes, his lovely folksongs, the excerpts from his book, and the film-clips make for a wonderfully multifaceted experience."
Todd Bastin, Athens Public Library

 

 

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Bill was recently featured on Iowa Public Television!

 

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Jack Kangas brings some authentic CCC artifacts to Bill's presentation in Iron River, Michigan.