1972 postcard from Angeles Crest

Last edited Fri May 6, 2022, 07:56 PM - Edit history (1)

1972 was reflected on the gloss of my record collection. I was an at risk youth dabbling in Cat Stevens, Carly Simon, Deep Purple and The Beatles. The swirl of my freshman year had come to an end and my sister’s friend George King was telling me about his new summer job.
George was kinda goofy, but we all liked him. He looked at me with his goofy eyes and goofy hair and preached to me about this job up in the Angeles Crest National Forest. He made the pitch that I should sign up and earn some money over the summer.
I was all for making money, so I signed up through my school counselor. It turns out this particular job was for at risk youth and I fit the bill, although I really didn’t feel “at risk” at the time. The job title was “crew member” for the YCC (Youth Conservation Corp).
The job originally was a depression era program called the CCC or Civilian Conservation Corp. Government jobs for men out of work and desperate. Revamped for the modern age now employing poor youth of the city.
When my freshman year ended the job began. My parents dropped me off at the Alpha Beta parking lot on the corner of Azusa Blvd and Valley. A van picked us up and drove us to the Azusa Canyon Ranger Station and from there a small school bus whisked us off to the wooden barracks high and deep in the coniferous forest high above Los Angeles. The sky was blue and the land was filled with rattlesnakes and ground squirrels.
We were a motley crew of young teenage boys. Our cohort consisted of a cross section of Chicanos, Brothers, Anglos, Filipinos and Chinese. A veritable United Nation of poor boys. All dutifully outfitted with green helmets dungarees, large leather gloves and combat boots.
We built Gabion Baskets along river banks to prevent erosion and flooding. We constructed Gladial Guzzlers on the sides of mountains to provide water for wildlife. We cleared trails and broke obstructions in streams to allow the free flow of water.
And we laughed and fought and got into trouble. We almost died a couple of times. But, the most important thing we did was make money. It was a great experience. Overall the forest was so beautiful, but what I really wanted was a new bicycle and that was really the bottom line. Thank you YCC!
It was 1972 and Eddie Kendricks was singing on 93 KHJ as we wielded our shovels and picks.