1940 CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS. 5 Mimeographed Periodicals from Isle Royal Youth Work Camp.

An exceptionally scarce group of five mimeographed periodicals, titled "Spirit of '86" and published between 1939 and 1940 for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1686 in West Allis, Wisconsin [first issue] and Isle Royal, Michigan [remainder of the isssues]. These charming, bespoke productions provide a firsthand chronicle of New Deal social engineering from the ground up. Established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the depths of the Great Depression, the CCC aimed to relieve rampant youth unemployment while simultaneously executing massive environmental conservation projects across the United States. Camp newspapers like the "Spirit of '86" are highly prized by historians because they represent a grassroots, uncensored window into the daily lives, labor conditions, and emerging subcultures of the young men who lived in these military-style camps, providing an invaluable counter-narrative to the polished, top-down propaganda issued by the federal government.

Because these newsletters were generated using cheap paper and volatile inks meant for immediate distribution within a single remote camp, their survival rate is incredibly low, making extant multi-issue runs exceptionally rare. The content within these issues captures a unique sociological snapshot of late-Depression industrial America, documenting how the CCC actively socialized young, often urban men into structured labor through vocational training, organized sports, and community service. These localized publications reveal the inner mechanics of camp morale, capturing the unique slang, humor, and personal anxieties of enrollees on the eve of World War II, a global conflict that would soon absorb the very manpower and organizational framework perfected by the CCC.

Content ranges from camp business, to humor, original compositions, and original illustrations. 

One of the issues has its autograph section entirely filled in. The Original owner appears to have been from Houghton, Michigan.

[Civilian Conservation Corps. Isle Royal] Spirit of 86. Co. 3686 Camp Blue Mound - West - Allis - Wisconsin. Volume 1. No. 7. April 1940. 10pp.

[With]

[Civilian Conservation Corps. Isle Royal] Spirit of 86. Co. 3686 Camp Windigo - Isle Royal Mich. Volume 1. No. 8. May-June 1940. 18pp.

[With]

[Civilian Conservation Corps. Isle Royal] Spirit of 86. Co. 3686 Camp Windigo - Isle Royal Mich. Volume 1. No. 9. July 1940. 16pp.

[With]

[Civilian Conservation Corps. Isle Royal] Spirit of 86. Co. 3686 Camp Windigo - Isle Royal Mich. Volume 1. No. 9. [sic] August 1940. 18pp. 

[With]

[Civilian Conservation Corps. Isle Royal] Spirit of 86. Co. 3686 Camp Windigo - Isle Royal Mich. Volume 1. No. 11. September 1940. 18pp. 

Five mimeographed original issues. The September issue with c.98 autographs. Somewhat handled, all with an early three hole punch and bound in the shown folder with custom illustration somewhat near the time of production. Labeled Houghton, Michigan, so likely brought home with one of the Corps workers originaging from there.