Richard Lee Rogers


                           


                        

The West Virginia State Civilian Conservation Corps Museum Association is proud to announce the posthumous induction of Mr. Richard Lee Rogers into the West Virginia CCC Hall of Fame. The induction took place on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at the Annual CCC Fall Jubilee held at the Quiet Dell United Methodist Church. His son, Reggie, accepted the Hall of Fame certificate.
 
Our Honoree was born in Sutton, West Virginia, September, 1918.  He was the eldest son of the late John Nathan and Myrtle Lawson Rogers. His father passed away when Richard was seventeen. This being a deep part of the Great Depression, his mother and three sisters had practically no way to support themselves.  Because of this, he enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps on October 17, 1935 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, at age seventeen. During his time in the CCC, he served at Camp Beverly, West Virginia, No. 2544 D N.P. 10, Three Rivers, California Camp 2544 BR9-19, Phoenix, Arizona Camp 2584 SC5-8.
 
While serving in those camps, Richard received an education.  His job in the CCC was in forestry. He always talked with pride of his service in the CCC, according to his son, Reggie Rogers. While at Three Rivers, California, he kept an album of photos of projects including work the CCC did on the Hollywood Bowl.  Ther are other CCC infrastructure photos of projects of interest. He was discharged from the CCC September 29, 1939.
 
After his CCC Service, Mr. Rogers travelled from Sutton in a Model A to haul timber at Brattleboro, Vermont. He also trucked timber in Braxton County, West Virginia and Dailey and Mill Creek, West Virginia for a trucking company. Also, he trucked limestone to Beamus, West Virginia. His record as a trucker was flawless.
 
Our Inductee was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 and served in the European Theature with honor and distinction. He served in the motor pool and was a truck driver in Germany in 1945.
 
Richard married Martha Mary Hayhurst in 1942. They had two children, Linda Lou in 1945 and Reggie in 1955.
 
After the war, our honoree worked in the automobile business in Gassaway, West Virginia for the Pontiac dealer there as an auto mechanic. Later, he moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia to work for Wilson Motor Company. By his hard work, he made sure that Linda and Reggie received good educations. Richard retired in 1984 and worked his farm at Chub Run in Harrison County, West Virginia. He loved farming, hunting and fishing and spending time boating on Tygart Lake and Sutton Lake. He particularly enjoyed going to CCC reunions at Camp Horseshoe, near Parsons, West Virginia. Our Inductee passed away October 24, 1987.



U.S. Army photo of Richard Rogers

U.S. Army photo.




CCC Days in California. Playtime. Richard at far right, others no id.

CCC Days in California. Playtime. Richard at far right, others no id.



Entrance sign to Sequoia National Park, one of the many photos Richard took of his experiences in the CCC

One of the many photos Richard took of his experiences in the CCC.