The White Pines State Park Lodge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The Ogle County Historical Society is partnering with Highland Community College’s Lifelong Learning program on an event led by instructor Mark Peterson about the Civilian Conservation Corps from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, in the Sycamore Room at the White Pines Lodge, 6712 W. Pines Road, Mt. Morris.

Come learn more about the CCC, the most popular New Deal program, which led to greater awareness and appreciation of the outdoors and the nation’s natural resources.

Enrollees of the CCC planted nearly 3 billion trees and constructed trails and lodges, including the lodge at White Pines, in more than 800 parks nationwide. After completion of the lodge, it was decided to build a restaurant and breezeway onto the lodge building.

Logs for most of the project were shipped via railroad from as far away as Oregon and Washington state, unloaded in Stratford, Illinois and dragged to the construction site by teams of horses. The CCC project also completed 16 one-room log cabins and three four-bedroom cabins. The work crews also built picnic shelters, trail shelters and foot bridges. Only the logs for the cabins came from another source. They were purchased from a salvage company that had purchased utility poles from a defunct utility company at the price of 30 cents a piece.

Peterson has been teaching history for Lifelong Learning at Highland Community College since 2017. Peterson is a U.S. Navy veteran, he served six years aboard ships based in South Carolina and Greece. He earned his bachelor and master’s degrees in history from Southern Illinois University Carbondale before beginning a decades-long teaching career in HVAC controls, history and adult education.

His work has taken him to 41 states, four Canadian provinces, and countries including Australia, China, Denmark, Germany and France. From 2004 to 2018, he taught historical methods for adult learning at Concordia University in Beloit, Wisconsin. After retiring in 2009, he continued teaching in northern Illinois schools and spent several summers as a campground host at Mt. Rainier National Park. Having traveled to all 50 states and 19 countries, Peterson brings global insight and enthusiasm for history to every class he teaches.

An optional guided tour of the cabins after the presentation will be available. The presentation is offered at no cost through a partnership with the Ogle County Historical Society. You can register at this link to help make sure that HCC Lifelong Learning can continue to offer these free events: https://highland.corsizio.com.