Community Collaboration: Dollar-A-Day Boys
"Dollar-a-Day Boys" is an hour-long multi-media program about the Civilian Conservation Corps, FDR's work program in The Great Depression. Dressed in uniform, Bill Jamerson tells stories, sings original songs with his guitar, reads from his book Big Shoulders, and shows a video clip from a PBS film he produced. The program is nostalgic, with much laughter, songs and heartfelt stories. Bill customizes the program to each city and state.
Bill will present his “Dollar-a-Day Boys” program at the Zumbrota Public Library and Wabasha Public Library. Local historical societies at both locations will assist in promoting the events to the communities, as well as provide display items and information about local CCC camps. In conjunction with Bill Jamerson’s program, Rob Manzow of the Plainview Area History Center will do a brief presentation at the Wabasha Public Library about the CCC camp that was located in Plainview. This program will appeal particularly to seniors, but will be interesting and entertaining for all ages. This program will be especially effective at connecting community members to a key period of local and national history.
48 participated
Community members at both locations will learn about local, regional, and national history in a memorable way. This presentation will inspire curious minds seek out more information about local history and discuss their knowledge and reflections with each other. Seniors in particular will have the opportunity to relate their family and local history connections to the information presented.
Participants responded that they loved the stories Bill Jamerson told, his enthusiasm for the topic, the variety of his performance, the music he played, and the local tie-in information.
Several people vocalized that they would have liked to keep listening to him all night. Many participants brought their own photos and stories of CCC camps and people they're related to who were in the CCC. Bill did an excellent job of giving them time to share their stories and responding to them.
Learning about the CCC camp and its role in our town's history changed people's awareness what kind of community they live in.
Participants who completed surveys gave the program very high ratings. The attendance was also very high compared to our typical adult programs.
We consider both of these statistics as measurements of success because we generally have a very low attendance and response to our adults events. The fact that everyone stayed for a long time after the program to continue discussing with the presenter and each other is the highest indicator of program success.
SELCO, Zumbrota Public Library, Wabasha Public Library, Wabasha County Historical Society, Plainview Area History Center