CCC tree planting crew, ca. 1930s. Photo courtesy Iron Range Research Center / A.W. Pryor Collection |
Ironworld Discovery Center
The Center, located in Chisholm in northern
Minnesota, is dedicated to the preservation of the history and
heritage of the state's Iron Ranges, where open pit mining
flourished until the mid 1970's. In 1900 the Mesabi Iron Range was
the largest iron mining region in the world, and during World War
II Minnesota produced over 75 per cent of the iron used in the war
effort. As the iron deposits became mined out, taconite mining,
which extracts iron from taconite via a complex mechanized process,
gradually replaced "natural" open pit mining. The end of natural
mining was also the end of an era that shaped the political,
economic, and social structure of the region. That era is captured
in the videotape Natural Iron Ore Mining: a Last Look,
which documents the last two years of operation of the Denora Mine.
A second video, Minnesota Civilian Conservation Corps: "We Can
Take It", was produced in collaboration with Chapter 119 of
the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni. One
of President Roosevelt's programs under the New Deal, the CCC
enrolled young men between ages 18 and 25 for labor on public works
projects. In Minnesota, over 4,000 young men restored and reclaimed
millions of acres of cut-over forests and eroded farmlands. The CCC
legacy is visible today, from the 25 million trees that were
planted to the hundreds of miles of hiking trails, roads, and canoe
portages that were built. Equally profound was the impact of the
program on its participants, who are now proud, conservation-minded
patriots.
The video combines interviews with these alumni,
still photos, and motion picture footage to capture the CCC
experience. Both videos are accompanied by background text placing
them in historical context. They are submitted as examples of the
kind of preservation done at the Center, which also produces
exhibits, living history demonstrations, and archival
collections.
Originally submitted by: James L. Oberstar, Representative (8th District).
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