Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: CCC Pillow Sham

Created in 1933, this commemorative pillow sham was just one of a number of textiles created by second-generation Hungarian immigrant Rose Mary Drab to honor her brother Edward’s service in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Rose Mary appliquéd the black cotton sateen sham with a small cotton tent, a blue eagle and two small stars, and hills, pine…

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September 9, 2020

Civilian Conservation Corps recruits in line for the mess hall at Camp 657’s temporary location near Summit Lake, Wisconsin, c. 1933. Photograph courtesy of the Langlade County Historical Society.

The Civilian Conservation Corps

In 1933, with nearly a quarter of the civilian labor force unemployed, newly inaugurated President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a cornerstone effort in his New Deal program.Under the direction of several governmental departments, including the Department of…

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October 1, 2015

Read more about the article An Immigrant Family in Rural Wisconsin

European immigrants boarding a steamer to the United States. Harper’s Weekly, November 7, 1874.

Home Furnishings / Antigo / Related Stories / Langlade County / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Politics & Government / Region 2 - North East / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / CCC Pillow Sham

An Immigrant Family in Rural Wisconsin

Rose Mary Drab was born in southeastern Langlade County on April 23 of 1913. Her family had settled there the year before on a small farm south of Antigo. Originally named Drabowski, Rose Mary’s parents left Hungary for Chicago a few years…

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October 1, 2015

Read more about the article Daily Life in the Civilian Conservation Corps

Civilian Conservation Corps Camp 657 temporary barracks at Summit Lake, WI, c. 1933. Photograph courtesy of the Langlade County Historical Society.

Elcho / Langlade County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Politics & Government / Region 2 - North East / Society & Religion / CCC Pillow Sham / 1918-1945

Daily Life in the Civilian Conservation Corps

The young men who lived and worked at Camp 657 were typical of Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees throughout the country during the 1930s. The first enrollees were between 18 and 25 years of age, were unmarried and physically fit, and were willing to allot most of their earnings to their families. In 1937, with the CCC’s popularity growing, Congress expanded the age range to 17 to 28 and later extended enrollment to World War I veterans.

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October 1, 2015

Read more about the article The Great Depression in Langlade County

Farm Security Administration (FSA) county supervisor reviewing a farm plan with a Wisconsin farmer and his family. Photograph by John Vachon, September 1939, courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Image ID 25048.

Agriculture / Langlade County / Related Stories / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / Politics & Government / 1918-1945 / CCC Pillow Sham / Society & Religion

The Great Depression in Langlade County

While local governments across the United States struggled to deal with the sharp economic downturn in the first years of the 1930s, Langlade County initially found itself in an enviable position at the onset of the Great Depression.The county, with a total…

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October 1, 2015