Mitchum's Time in the Conservation Corps

Mitchum tends his own yard as a movie star (ToutLeCine.com)

Were you aware that ROBERT MITCHUM served time in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)? Well, add ditch digger to his colorful pre-Hollywood resumé, which included riding the rails, serving on a chain gang (he was arrested as a vagrant) and a brief stint as an astrologer.

In this article about the CCC, Mitchum is mentioned as one of those who spent time in the New Deal program begun by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.

The program operated from 1933 to 1942 and provided unskilled manual labor employment for young men in relief families. It paid $30 per month ($5 for them $25 directly to their families) for work that conserved and developed natural resources in lands owned by the government.

The program was responsible for planting three billion trees, restoring 3,980 historical structures, constructing of over 785 parks, building 46,000 bridges, erecting 400,000 signs, and, aside from employing over three million men when the nation’s economy and morale most needed it, sparking a larger national interests in nature conservation and physical fitness."

After he'd made a success in Hollywood, Mitchum said, “those digging days were tough, acting is easy. I’m grateful for where I’m now, but I never get too cozy with it. I remember what it took to earn that money then and what we kept telling each other we’d do if we ever got another full-time job.”