Grandpa Orville James in the CCC

Okay so honest time: I do not have many personal memories of Grandpa James. :(  I have perhaps one that sticks out the most to me. He and Grandma were visiting in Kentucky and I was sitting on the back patio with him at the picnic table and for some reason we were talking about hearing aids.. and his jumping out and running or bouncing away.  Since I was under 7, who knows if thats how the conversation actually went LOL.

I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about him the last couple of days as my Grandparents have been on my mind due to recent events and also because I finally got to meet some James cousins in Bollinger County this weekend. :) 

Even more so he was in my thoughts because last Thursday my Dad and I took a trip to the NARA in St. Louis to view his CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) and Military records and I learned things about him my Dad hasn't ever told me, and some he didn't even know. 

I didn't know if you all (my family) had this information so I wanted to share it with you and I hope you can share information or stories or whatever you feel appropriate with me.  :)  I have some pictures of him (not many) that I will also post here as well.   I am trying to see if there's any conceivable way  I can get a photo of him with his military unit.  Not sure if that will happen or not, but worth a try.

SO moving on....

Here's a little bit of a timeline of events leading up to his joining the CCC/Military as I've been able to find:

• April 7, 1917: Born in Hornersville, Missouri to Alphus and Pearl Watkins James
• October 24, 1918: His mother, Pearl, passed away due to influenza in Hornersville, Dunklin, Missouri.  (1918 Flu Epidemic was going on at this time.  Her death certificate states they were unable to get a doctor)
• February 7, 1920: Alphus remarried to Dora Fitzgerald
• 1930 Census: Living with his Great Uncle J.K. Gibbs.  He was 12 years old and attending school.
• 1935: Living in Cape Girardeau, MO
• 1936: Joined the Civilian Conservation Corp ( and this is where I will start with the records I reviewed last Thursday!)  

For those who may not know, here is a site with some history on it:
http://ccclegacy.org/CCC_Brief_History.html

Orville James applied for enrollment on September 20, 1936 at the County Relief Office at 119 Water Street, Cape Girardeau, MO.  At that time he was living in Delta, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.  He had never been employed, but had performed farm labor all of his life.   He stated that the type of job he was hoping to find after completion of CCC enrollment was Farming.

When he joined he was 5 foot 7 and 132 pounds.   He had attended Delta Grade School in Delta, Missouri and completed the 6th grade.

His allotment of pay from monthly cash allowance to be made to dependent relatives was to B.F. Killian (See picture of him below), his Great Uncle for an amount of 22.00.

  Quick family run down on this...

1. James P. Gibbs married Amanda Capeheart
2. Emma Gibbs married John Watkins
3. Pearl Watkins married Alphus James

Emma Gibbs (Grandpa's Grandmother) sister was Mary (aka Mollie) who married  Benjamin Franklin (B F) Killian, making him Grandpa's Great Uncle. So for some reason Grandpa never stayed (From what  I can tell) with his father's side of the family, but instead with his mother's. 

I am currently trying to determine what works he may have worked on while in the CCC, but here is the jobs that he held according to the records:

• 10/20/1936-06/8/1937: Janitor at Forth Leavenworth, Kansas
• 6/9/1937-6/21/1937: worked on drainage at New Madrid, MO

He was discharged on 6/21/1937 because he had employment lined up with a Nelson Ester in which he would make 1.50 per day.   On the cumulative record it shows that his occupational preference was a mechanic and farmer second.  So obviously during his time in the CCC, he was gaining new skills and determined farming wasn't the job he absolutely wanted after termination.

Previous occupational experience also says at some point that he worked for the Jack Moudy Cafe in Sarcoxie, MO as a waiter.

Perhaps the job with Nelson Ester fell through for whatever reason because in April of 1938, Grandpa re applied to join the CCC.   There are a few changes on this application than the one he first applied with.

He now had other schooling in Electrical Engineering. The last job he held was as a farm laborer on the farm of Gus Wedekind. (There is a Gustav Wedekind in Cape Girardeau County in a town called Byrd.  This is probably the man he worked for) He said the work he was best  qualified for was farm labor, but the kind of job he hoped to find after completion of CCC enrollment was Electrical Engineering.

•  From 4/15/1938 to 3/13/1939 he served in the 3763rd company at Centaur, Missouri as a carpenter.   
• From 3/14/1939-4/22/1939 he was at Forth Leavenworth once again, but this time his type of work is listed as a Carpenter. 
• Finally, from 4/23/1939 to 9/26/1939 he was back at Centaur, MO working as a tractor operator. Afterwards he was once again honorably discharged. 

The project superintendent's estimate of the enrollee's value was:

Enrolle James worked as Carpenter and Tractor Operator while a member of this camp.  He performed his duties in a satisfactory manner.

During these years his allotment was no longer going to B F Killian, but to his daughter in law (wife of BF Killian, Frank.) Mrs. Vivian Killian in Chaffee, MO. 

I was going to also include information about Grandpa's military files, but don't want the post to get too long. If Grandpa ever talked to you about the CCC, can you please share what he might have told you?  

Thanks :)