It is Thanksgiving and throughout the year I am so grateful for many things, some big and some small, but it all matters just the same. For the past several months, we have examined the activities of the Secret Valley Civilian Conservation Corp Camp through the photographs of Charles H. Bennett, the Company Clerk. First and foremost I am thankful that he took the time to photograph the activities, but equally important that he carefully labeled and placed them in albums.

Bennett was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but at a young age the family moved to southeastern Missouri. There he graduated from Benton High School in 1934. Shortly thereafter, he joined the CCC and became Company Clerk for the 740th Company at Piedmont, Missouri. One of their major projects was the construction of buildings at Sam A. Baker State Park. In 1936 Company 740 was relocated to Secret Valley, Lassen County, California.  He remained at Secret Valley until 1938 eventually returning to Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia in 1942, then served in the U.S. Army until discharged in 1952. His next journey was with the Christian Board of Publications in St. Louis and after 32 years retired in 1979. Bennett passed away in 1984. His wife, Lucille, kept her husband’s possessions, and when she passed away in 2001, her daughter, Kathy Seitrich did the same. Fast forward to the spring of 2023, and I received an email from Kathy about her father’s CCC photographs. Within a short time of my communication with Kathy, the photograph albums arrived. I was so elated and told her so. She was happy, too, that they found a good home. For a short while I was amiss in my emails to Kathy, as I was busy scanning the photographs and writing the stories.  When I finally sent her an update, there was no response for the longest time. This was unusual as she was always prompt in responding. In early July, I received an email from her daughter, who relayed that her mother was diagnosed with cancer in late May/early June and that Kathy passed away on July 1. It was heart breaking news for me, as she never saw the posts about Secret Valley. Even though it was a sad ending, I am so thankful to the Bennett family in preserving history of our little corner of the world..

Tim