Kenneth Hayes and Rachel Hayes Interview, July 14, 1987

Kenneth Hayes describes living in Wibaux, Montana, and how the Great Depression affected his family, with his mother serving as both a housewife and farm hand on their family’s farm. He recalls joining the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] in 1935, the people he met, and how workers within the program were paid. Hayes talks about working as a cook for the CCC and what his brothers’ jobs were in the Corps. He mentions the leadership of the CCC and what he and his brothers did after leaving the Corps in the late 1930s. Hayes talks about moving to Missoula, Montana, where he worked various jobs and marrying his wife, Rachel Hayes. He briefly discusses his wife’s childhood in Missoula, before Rachel Hayes shares her memories of the Great Depression. She describes the welfare program and her father’s job with the Works Progress Administrations (WPA).https://scholarworks.umt.edu/depressioninmissoula_oralhistory/1007/thumbnail.jp