FBH Leads Effort to Restore Eliot Tower Seventy years ago this year the Civilian Conservation Corps completed work on the Eliot Tower on the Great Blue Hill. The members of the Corps had a vision of a rustic but inviting facility that would make the beauty of the Blue Hills accessible to every citizen. In addition to the newly completed observation tower, the “boys” of the Blue Hills CCC camp began work on an adjoining shelter that was to feature “a massive fireplace, a wide terrace fronting the shelter, outdoor tables and settees, two sanitaries and a layout of paths with other necessary landscaping.” In 2007 much of the CCC’s vision remains. The rough stone tower still stands above the surrounding land, offering unrivaled vistas in all directions. Hikers still climb its stone stairs to enjoy the view. Yet the remainder of the structure falls short of what the CCC had in mind. Graffiti mars the rough-hewn stone walls of the tower. The stout wooden doors with decorative iron hinges that once guarded the tower are nowhere to be seen. Old wires hang unattended from a long disused power service, and the bathroom, the “two sanitaries,” the CCC spoke of, is boarded up behind a locked, rusted door while bent, rusted screens cover the windows. This year, seven decades after the CCC finished their work on the tower, Friends of the Blue Hills will begin working in partnership with the DCR to adopt this landmark. On September 29th, 2007 Friends of the Blue Hills will sponsor Eliot Tower Day. A group of FBH volunteers will take first steps toward restoring the structure. The work will include clean up activities, refinishing of picnic tables, removal of old wires, replacement of broken screens, and painting of the rusted door and trash containers. After a morning of work the group will gather for a bag lunch and a discussion of the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In the troubled days of March 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps as one of the first acts of the famous First 100 Days of his administration. Known affectionately as “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” the Corps set out to address dangerously high levels of unemployment among young men ages 18 to 25. It gave them gainful employment working to restore the neglected parks and natural spaces of the nation. Organized into military style camps, the CCC took in three million young men over the nine years of its existence and built roads, trails, pavilions and fire towers and planted millions of trees to fight soil erosion. As part of the crew on Eliot Tower Day Friends of the Blue Hills is pleased to have an original member of the Civilian Conservation Corp, Mr. Eddie De Santis . As a young man De Santis was part of the team that helped carve the Kancamagus Highway from Lincoln to Conway New Hampshire out of the mountain wilderness. Anyone who has driven the Kancamagus road or hiked along its path can appreciate the kind of effort that the CCC recruits put into their work. Come and join the crew on Eliot Tower Day, September 29th. Live the sprit of the CCC by working to restore our natural spaces. And stay for lunch to hear what life was like with the CCC. For more information call 781-828-1805. |
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