| CCC FOUNDER IS NEW GOVERNOR | |
 | | Gov. Jerry Brown talks to corpsmembers at the Bret Harte Academy, 1978 |
Some of you may have been corpsmembers when Jerry Brown was governor the first time around, from 1975-1983. The Governor-elect, who takes office January 3, already knows a lot about the CCC, since he started the program.
Jerry Brown took the legacy -- and initials -- of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and added his own vision: "a combination Jesuit seminary, Israeli kibbutz and Marine Corps boot camp."
On July 7, 1076, he signed the legislation (below, right) making the CCC official. He inscribed a copy of the bill, right, as "But a beginning ..." We have it framed and on the wall at CCC headquarters.
Over the years, Jerry Brown has participated in many CCC anniversary events and gatherings.
"Governor-elect Brown can not only be proud of creating the CCC," notes CCC Director David Muraki, "he can also be immensely proud of what his creation has accomplished: restoring California's lands and waters, conserving energy, responding to disasters and providing opportunities for young Californians to serve. "'It's all about service to others,' he told me in a conversation at the beginning of my tenure. The CCC looks forward to being of service as Governor Brown retakes the helm of state government and the CCC."
In the 34 years since the CCC was created, more than 110,000 corpsmembers have been a part of the CCC, and 65 million hours of natural resource work provided throughout California.
Regardless of when you joined the Corps, the opportunity would not have been there were it not for Jerry Brown, who created the CCC.
 | | Jerry Brown with the pulaski he received at the 1999 C 1 Conference. |
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| CCC PREPARES FOR WINTER FLOODS, STORMS |
Many of you can recount long days (and nights) spent on floods, and you no doubt still remember how to properly fill a sandbag. Things haven't changed much -- corpsmembers still receive flood training each fall, with the help of the Department of Water Resources. Among those overseeing the training is DWR's Rick Burnett, a former corpsmember.
In Sacramento, a large-scale training of nearly 100 corpsmembers was held at Cal Expo, with crews on hand from Chico, Fortuna, Greenwood, Placer, Redding, Sacramento, Stockton and Ukiah. Similar trainings were held at Southern California centers.
 | | How to sandbag around a boil. |
Corpsmembers learned to fill and place sandbags, hand them down a chain, sandbag around boils and reinforce levees with heavy plastic and sandbags. Emergency Services Manager John Martinez says all of our crews should be trained by the end of the year and ready to assist where needed this winter. We have a statewide contract with DWR allowing us to respond to any state or local flood emergency. Over the years, corpsmembers have filled an estimated 3.5 million sandbags throughout California.
 | | Placing visqueen on the side of a levee. |
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| ENERGY WORK -- COMPLETE WITH iPHONE |
 | | A Sacramento corpsmember checks data entered into her iPhone at Save Mart. |
Visualize your CCC project for the coming weeks involving not chainsaws, griphoists or McLeods, but iPhones. That's the case for 61 corpsmembers who are being trained as energy surveyors in the new EnergySmart Jobs program. The corpsmembers will help grocery businesses large and small find energy-saving opportunities, particularly in refrigeration units. They'll enter and transmit data from the grocery stores via their iPhones. The store owner can then work with a contractor as far as implementation of energy-saving measures.
EnergySmart Jobs is an initiative of the California Energy Commission, administered by PECI and financed through federal stimulus funds (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).
Conservation Supervisor Scott Linton is serving as project manager for the program. Scott is a former corpsmember who joined the CCC in 1991 and served at the San Fernando Valley Center and later transferred to Placer, where he developed his energy experience.
Scott says all the stakeholders are pleased with efforts to date and that the CCC corpsmembers and staff have done an outstanding job. "I'm incredibly impressed by the technological savvy of our corpsmembers and staff who are implementing the program in such a short amount of time," Scott says.
 | | CCC Director David Muraki speaks at the kick-off of the EnergySmart Jobs Program. |
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| ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT | |
CCC Director David Muraki recently heard from a 1979 Butte Fire Center corpsmember he helped direct to a position on a 1980 Yosemite Backcountry crew. Mike Wright writes that "That time was, without any doubts, the time of my life. ... It was an experience that I most needed to turn a life of uncertainty and degeneracy into one of hope. ... Because of the experience (and guidance) that I gained from the CCC I decided to move to Montana and earn a degree in Wildlife Biology."
Mike notes that he spent about five years as a field biologist with federal agencies, mostly focusing on raptor ecology. He then decided to change careers and went back to school for a few degrees in mathematics.
"I have spent the past 16 years of my professional life as a college professor. I credit (almost) all of this to the direction I garnered from my time in the CCC."
Mike's been teaching math at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland since 2005.
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|
SHADES OF THE PAST | |
Eric Bennett, who was at Siskiyou and Bollinger Canyon Fire Center in 1979, sends in this photo of a visit to Bollinger by Director B.T. Collins (in vest). Bollinger was a fire center run jointly with the California Department of Forestry. Contact Eric at [email protected]
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Another fire center was the Inyo Fire Center, located in Bishop. Michelle Tramel was a corpsmember there in 1978, promoting to Cook Specialist. Michelle has now been with the CCC as a staff member more than 30 years, currently as a Supervising Cook I at the Placer Center in Auburn. She sends in the photos below of the dormitories, and men and women corpsmembers of that day. She recalls some of the Inyo staff at that time: Mark Rathswohl, Chris Adams, Betty Harris and Cisco Hunter. Contact Michelle at [email protected].
 
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And a bit more recently, here is a photo sent in by former Placer corpsmember Scott Shevalier, who was in the CCC in 1991. That was the year of the Oakland Hills Fire, and the photo shows one of the burned areas where Scott's crew worked. Contact Scott at [email protected].
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| FIND A FRIEND | |
Because of state privacy laws, the CCC's alumni registry/database, hosted by the State of California, does not have a searchable feature.
However, we can help link you up with other former corpsmembers through this newsletter, posting inquiries that include e-mail addresses only. Send your inquiries to [email protected] with your message and contact e-mail. By voluntarily e-mailing us, you are authorizing us to include your contact information in an upcoming newsletter.
Laurie Hall was at the Placer Fire Center from June 1979 to November 1980. Contact her at [email protected].
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Patrick "Rick" Alderson was at the San Luis Obispo Center and the Butte Fire Center from July 2000 to November 2002. You can contact him at [email protected].
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John Moran was in the CCC from August 1982 to July 1986, at San Pedro, 1983 Sequoia Backcountry crew, then the Stockton and Placer energy centers.. He's looking for Chris Christianson, Cynthia Akers, Tom Cook, Ben Gutteras, Marlena, Deidra and anyone else, including staff, who might have known him. He was at the Academy for crewleader training. You can reach John at [email protected].
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Tom Nanninga is looking for corpsmembers from the Tahoe Center, 1988-90. E-mail him at [email protected] or Facebook, Tom Nanninga.
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Eileen Lunetta (now Allen) is looking for former friends from Bishop, Mt. Tom, from 1979-80. She would like to connect with Monica Braun, Mike Hampton and Melisa Gilbert. Contact Eileen at [email protected].
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Jian Huang was part of the Backcountry's 1991 Stanislaus crew, with Diane Brown as the supervisor. He's looking to find a few of the crew members for a possible reunion: Karen Batten (Santa Clara Center), Jimmie Jo Whitman (Leggett), Robert Rowland (Camarillo), John Sleeper (Maine CC/Del Norte), Adrian Vasquez (Mendocino) and Dave Waier (Pomona/Santa Clara). If you're in touch with any of these people, e-mail Jian at [email protected].
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Nancy Coke (Curnutt) would like to find people who were at the Butte Fire Center 1979-1980, including Michelle Manning, Vernon (Bootsy) Maguire, Mike Spaan and Fred Hayes. Contact her at [email protected].
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Desiree Weir is looking for friends from Fortuna 2003-04. She can be reached at [email protected].
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Greg Williams was a 1990-91 corpsmember at the Inland Empire Center. You can reach him at [email protected].
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Kimberly Pearl was at the Fortuna Center and then Placer, 1996-97. Her e-mail address is [email protected].
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Tina McClure (aka Eve McClure) was at San Pedro from 1981-82 and later at San Andreas for crewleader training witih Val Bradshaw. She'd like to connect with Ben (Benito) Gutierrez and anyone else who was at San Pedro during that time. E-mail: [email protected].
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Tim Palmer is seeking to reconnect with friends from San Luis Obispo 1987-88 and Escondido 1988-89. Contact him at [email protected].
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Vince Moya would like to find people who were at the Yountville Center in 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
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Marian Buchanan is looking for friends from Bollinger Canyon 1980-81. Not only was she in the CCC but her son grew up to be a corpsmember at Tahoe. Contact her at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Patricia Sly would like to reconnect with anyone from the San Luis Obispo Center/Academy, 1988-90.. She was also at the Siskiyou Center in Montague. Contact her at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ George Pell would like to find Rebecca Graves from Yountville, 1982. He can be reached at [email protected]. ~~~~~~~~
Felecia Taylor was at the Butte Fire Center from 1977-78. She can be contacted at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Joe Kinzler is looking for Eric "Tiny" Burcher, Jeff Lay, Grizzley, Dan Duchey, Randy Westfall, Supervisor Mike Cobb or anyone from the Sequoia Center, 1987-89. He still keeps in contact with Kevin Lee and can be reached at [email protected].
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Peter Halvorson, C 1, is looking for Chris Bartnik from Greenwood days. Peter can be reached at [email protected].
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Molly (Margaret) Atkinson (now Hauk) is looking to find people from Russian Gulch (Mendocino Satellite Center) from February to October 1989, and the Siskiyou Center from October 1989 to July 1990. Contact her at [email protected].
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Brian Woodson is looking to link up with anyone from the Placer Energy Center from 1993-97 and Kings Canyon Backcountry season 1995. He can be reached at [email protected].
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Ronald Payne, Humboldt Fire Center (Weott) and Salmon Restoration Project (Leggett), 1989-1990, would like to hear from fellow corpsmembers and staff. "Does anyone remember the staff member with the red curly hair who was into falconry, and his favorite saying was 'Yeah, Buddy.'" Contact Ronald at [email protected].
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Stacey Stephens (now Lenington) is looking for friends from the Sequoia and Delta centers, 1986-87. She can be reached at [email protected].
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Sal Sanchez was part of Academy Session 267, 1986 or 1987, and based at San Pedro. He remembers being on the Painted Cave fire in Santa Barbara. Contact him at [email protected].
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Steven Williams was at Camarillo and the San Luis Obispo Academy from mid-1991 to 1993. He's looking for old friends, including Mike "Woody" Wood or anyone he served with. He can be reached at [email protected].
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Jen Franklin is looking to reconnect with anyone from Santa Clara, Mare Island, Elkhorn Slough, 1996-98. Contact her at [email protected].
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Michael Cox is looking for anyone who was at the Butte Fire Center 1994-95. You can reach him at [email protected].
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Dean Madison would like to reconnect with crew members from the Placer and Tahoe centers. He was a COMET crewleader in 2002 at Placer then transferred to Tahoe. His e-mail address is [email protected].
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Ggina Lawrence, formerly Ggina Britton, trained at Bret Harte in Murphys, Session 7, then was based at the Humboldt Center in January 1978. She remembers staff member Gerald Kelly. You can reach her at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Chris Restle was in the CCC from October 1989 to spring 1990, then March 1992 to July 1993, based at the San Bernardino Center. Chris can be reached at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Penny Araiza was at the Mt. San Jacinto Center from 1981-82. Contact Penny at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Diane Schleininger was at the Camarillo Center from 1987-89. If you remember her, e-mail her at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Marlene Padilla is looking for people from the 1987 Yosemite 1 Backcountry crew -- Olga, Russ and Russ, Espie, Walter, Pat or anyone on the crew. E-mail Marlene at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Bird Wheeler is looking for anyone who was at Agnews/Santa Clara in 1978-79. She went by Bird then and still does. She's looking for Karen Thomas and anyone else who would like to reconnect. Contact her at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Former Pomona corpsmember Gerald (Jerry) Reynolds is looking for friends. He was a crewleader at Chino State Park. He can be reached at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Julie Savage was at Bret Harte in 1977, then the Humboldt Fire Center from 1977-78, then trained at Bret Harte for Conservation Specialist, then located in Big Bear/Camp Radford, then Humboldt Fire Center until 1979. Her nickname is Jewels. She can be reached at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Gene Beck is looking for people from Bollinger and Butte back in the 1980s. H ecan be reached at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Orlando Mora is looking for Jolie, who was at the Tahoe Center in 2000. He can be reached at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ William Wall, Code "PRAXIS" for the 1985 Academy crewleaders. He was also part of the 1986 Kings Canyon Backcountry crew. He says he misses Ramona A. William can be contacted at [email protected].
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DeeDee Kotler, 1979-80, first at Siskiyou, then Placer. Promoted to specialist and transferred to Bret Harte. Drop her a line at [email protected]. ~~~~~~~~ David Comfort would like to get in touch with corpsmembers from Inyo/Owens Valley Fire Center in 1981. Tim O'Quin, Dan Heitman, Mike Adame, Nancy Furman, Sue Furrer, Christine McConnell, Mike Dudley. Crew 3, remember the Mitchell Caverns spike? I was just back there and found out about 15 years ago they tore out all our work building the cave platform. Contact Dave at [email protected].
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Kathy Sanchez is looking for "the girls" from Placer -- Barbara Ivy, Cracker Jack, Ruth Perez, Angel Herrera, and Barry "our leader." Contact Kathy at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Ron Santos is looking to reconnect with corpsmembers who were at the Inyo/Bishop Fire Center up until it closed in 1981-82. He's also hoping to reconnect with members from the Bollinger Canyon Fire Center from 1982. Contact Ron at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Zach Knapp is trying to locate friends who were part of the Elkhorn Slough crew from 1998-99. E-mail him at [email protected].
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Jarrod Lopez is looking for one of his good friends, Shadeed Hammond. He also remembers crewleader Jamie Galvan. Contact Jarrod at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Rob Burpee was a member of the "Delta Dawgs" fire crew in 1996. They fought the "Rogue" Fire in Yosemite and a Big Sur fire as well. Rob lost his photos in a house fire and would like to connect with any of the old Delta Dawgs, who might have some photos they could share. Contact Rob at [email protected].
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Christy Mulvey is interested in reconnecting with fellow corpsmembers from the Humboldt Fire Center, 1979-81, and the 1980 Yosemite Backcountry crew. Contact her at [email protected].
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Stuart Carlson is looking for friends who worked at Camp San Luis Obispo from 1977-78. Contact him at [email protected].
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Frank Townsend would like to find people from the Woodlake/Sequoia Center, 1984-86. His e-mail address [email protected].
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Sandra (Vanderlinden) DuBois was at Oat Mountain from 1982-84 and would like to connect with staff and corpsmembers. Her e-mail is [email protected].
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Mandy Hildebrand is looking for anyone from the Fortuna Center, 1996-97 and the Australian Exchange 1997. Contact her at [email protected].
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L Hunt is looking for corpsmembers from Bret Harte ( 1978-79) or Yountville (1978-79). She can be reached at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~ Lynn Williams (now Jennifer Alsanady) was at San Luis Obispo from August 1979 to November 1980. She was also an RPT from 1981-82 stationed at the Santa Clara Ranger Unit and on Helitack at Howard Forest. Contact her at [email protected].
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| SUGGESTIONS, PHOTOS | |
If you might make a good alumni profile, or you have a suggestion (and contact information) for someone who might, let us know. We're also looking for good photos that might be of interest to others. E-mail CCC Public Information Officer Susanne Levitsky at [email protected] or call her at (916) 341-3145.
Don't forget to keep your e-mail address and other information up-to-date in our CCC Alumni Registry. This allows us to learn more about the wide variety of occupations and experiences of our alumni, and to be able to let you know if there are special events in your area.
Thanks very much!
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