CPS Unit Number 149-01
Camp: 149
Unit ID: 1
Operating agency: AFSC
Opened: 6 1945
Closed: 6 1946
Workers
Total number of workers who worked in this camp: 29
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CPS Camp No. 149Goose Creek fire. McCall Camp S-223 CCC's on fire.Photo by B.W. Schubert, U.S. Forest Service PhotoAugust, 1940 -
CPS Camp No. 149Nezperce National Forest, Idaho. Blister rust crew building fire line on Pack River Fire.Photo by K.D. Swan, U.S. Forest Service PhotoAug. 20, 1934 -
CPS Camp No. 149South Carolina. Fire fighting crew [handwritten note: "of conscientious objectors"] attacks head fire with half ton pumper truck in hand tools. Water from truck applied by hosemen to base of flame, cools down fire only enough so that men following with flaps can handle it.Photo by Geo. K. Stephenson, U.S. Foreign Service PhotoMarch, 1944
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August, 1940 -
Aug. 20, 1934 -
March, 1944
CPS Unit No. 149, a Forest Service project conducted from several locations opened in June 1945. Operated by the American Friends Service Committee, the Brethren Service Committee, and the Selective Service System, the project closed in June 1946. Men worked on Forest Research Projects located in several states.
Men in this unit worked at Forest Research Projects located in Bent Creek Experimental Forest in Asheville, North Carolina; Hopkins Memorial Forest Project in Williamstown, Massachusetts; Olustee Forest Experiment Station in Lake City, Florida among other locations.
“Headquarters of this unit [is at the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station in Philadelphia (PA)], where about half of the members of the unit work. . . .The USFS supervises most of the Federal forestry program in the New England and Middle Atlantic States. The other half of the unit’s members are assigned to field stations in different parts of this territory or make field trips of varying lengths in these regions. For example, field stations have been located at the Howard Forest, Petersham, ____[illegible word], Asheville, No. Carolina, Wilkesbarre, PA, and Cooperstown. N.Y. Frank A. Ineson, Chief, Division of Forest Economics, NE Forest Experiment Station, supervises the project, which was formerly an extension of the recently discontinued CPS camp #12, Cooperstown N. Y.” (Mss. Report Aug . 7, 1945)
Director: None from CPS
The unit, approved for nineteen men, consisted of men who transferred from Big Flats, New York CPS Camp No. 46.
Men gathered, compiled, and analyzed “research information in the fields of forest management, watershed management, forest resources, forest products, and range management”. (Camp Order No. 149 of Lewis B. Hershey, June 4, 1945)
While most of the men performed statistical tabulation, computation and analysis for various research projects, some did drafting, photo-analysis, and map-making.
A few professional artists construct exhibits, draw cartoons, and design posters for USFS visual education programs. One or two help in preparing and editing research monographs for publication. One or two also act part-time as personal secretaries and office boys for regular Forest Service officials. Most of the work for CPS men is of the clerical level, requiring [use of] adding and calculating machines, but a few of the men have through several years in this unit acquired experience enabling them to perform tasks of considerable responsibility and are allowed latitude for personal judgment. For instance, two of the men are now held to be among the best timber cruisers in this part of the country. Three [two?] of the men have recently participated in a forestry survey of 13 Northeastern states based on interpretation of aerial photographs. (Mss. Report Aug. 7, 1945)
“The Forest Service pays living expenses not exceeding $3 a day for each of the men, who live in and around their places of work. Hours of work conform to that of regular Forest Service personnel; weekend, furlough and free-time restrictions correspond to those in the base camps. The Forest Service is responsible for the men’s clothing, dental and medical needs. At present there is no unit organization, administrative staff, or common unit life. . . .” (Mss. Report Aug. 7, 1945)
The report concludes with “The assignees are in intimate daily contact with the government staff members, so that their attitudes, actions and personalities are watched and evaluated by their fellow workers as in any other community. With the Forest Service, relationships are unusually natural and cordial.”
Camp Order No. 149 of Lewis B. Hershey, June 4, 1945 in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, American Friends Service Committee: Civilian Public Service Records (DG002), Section 1, Box 36e.
Mss. Report on U.S. Forest Service Research Project [Various Locations] Camp/Unit No. 149, Aug. 7. 1945 in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection American Friends Service Committee: Civilian Public Service Records (DG002) Section 1, Box 36e.