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depression. Because of that depression nearly every student worked either part time or full time. For the first two years I had a "half time" job. That means I worked for half my board and room. The other half had to be paid in cash. The second two years I distributed the campus mail and that was a "full time" job.

The Registrar of the college, Robert Powers, was responsible for mail service on campus so he picked the person he wanted to perform that service. When Mr. Powers picked me a controversy ensued with the Director of Athletics, Dr. Vaughn Wallace, who wanted an athlete to have the job. College President Tormey settled the argument by ruling that the Registrar was responsible for the mail service so was authorized to choose the carrier. Dr. Wallace was very cool toward me but we never had a confrontation. He ran the Teacher Placement Bureau and he waited until I graduated and found a job in the Verde Valley. When I asked that my confidential papers be sent to the school district, Wallace sent those of another graduate and then sent that person out to be interviewed. That person got the job and I was out. It was a bitter disappointment and I transferred my files to the University of Arizona in Tucson where I had a good friend, Dr. Victor Kelley, who was in charge of Teacher Placement there.

By the end of the winter quarter in 1934 it became evident that I would not be able to finish the school year. The price of cattle was at an all time low so there was little help from my parents. My clothing all needed to be replaced and there was no money to do it with. The only answer was to leave school so I packed up and went back to Young.

I immediately had a talk with the local Forest Ranger, Mr. Pinson. He told me that an experimental crew was being formed and that he would attempt to get a place for me on that crew. This was a group of twenty four men who were to build erosion control dams in Tonto National Forest. The structures were experimental and were to be made from material found in the proximity of the sites. Some were of stone. Others were of wire and stone while others were made from tree limbs weighted down by stones. At any rate I was selected as a crew member and reported to camp at Roosevelt Lake where we constructed some two hundred dams on the south side of the lake before moving to Round Valley near Payson. Later we moved to the East Verde River off Highway 87 and finally to Haigler Creek west of Young.

Most of my job was driving a truck although I trimmed trees, placed rock, fought forest fires and even dynamited stumps that were in a road right of way. On the road job I used a double jack, a four pound hammer, to drive steel drills to make holes for dynamite to blast a road base around a mountain side. Our last job was to complete the Chamberlain Trail which had been started by the CCC gangs but never finished. That road is used today as a short cut between Payson and Young. It is crooked and rough but is passable in dry weather with any kind of vehicle.

The Forest Service crew was disbanded in the winter of 1935 in time for me to return to college in Flagstaff. So exactly one year after leaving school I was back refreshed and refueled ready to