Photo submitted to Times Observer Accepting the Legacy Stewardship Award are, from left, volunteers Walt Atwood of Warren and Club president Ed Atwood. Presenting the award on behalf of CCC Legacy is Martha Smith of North Street, Mich.

The Atwood family — volunteers for the local Tionesta Valley Snowmobile Club of Warren — was recently recognized by the CCC Legacy organization for its service honoring the historic legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Allegheny National Forest region.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a Roosevelt-era federal program that put millions of young American men to work on conservation projects throughout the country. From 1933 to 1942, 16 different CCC camps operated in the ANF region. When the United States entered World War II, the CCC disbanded and the camps were used to house prisoners of war. Ed Atwood, president of the Club and born in 1943, remembers the Waffen SS officers housed at Camp 13 on Bull Hill a few miles from his childhood home in Cherry Grove Township. Ed also grew up visiting the Farnsworth Fish Hatchery, constructed by the CCC in 1940 and currently operated by the Farnsworth Trout Club. In 2007, the Club worked with the Warren County Visitors Bureau to erect a CCC “Worker” statue in front of the visitors’ center west of Warren. Each August, the Club, and the Bureau hold a reunion to celebrate the anniversary of the statue’s dedication.

During the recent annual gathering at Letchworth State Park in the Finger Lakes region of New York state, Edinburg, Va.-based CCC Legacy recognized the Atwoods and the Club with a Legacy Stewardship Award for their work.

“Together, you have made a difference in elevating the knowledge about the CCC how it can be enjoyed” through public lands and recreation, according to Joan Sharpe of the organization’s board.

Martha Smith of CCC Legacy presented an award plaque and certificate on Tuesday in Warren. The Atwoods, including Ed, his wife Karen, and son Walt, are volunteers in the region, working on projects for recreational trails, history, and public safety since 1972.