Before a bridge strung two islands together, before roads crept out across the rocks and forests of Whidbey Island, 16-year-old John Tursi arrived here with a desperate hope to escape hunger and make the most of an opportunity to work.

Tursi, who is originally from New York, joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934, and shortly after found himself in the State furthest west from where he started out.

Like many other men and boys of the 1930s, Tursi found himself out of work and looking for any kind of employment opportunity. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had implemented the CCC as a social project that would help unemployed men and boys find work by doing public projects throughout the bleak years of the Great Depression. Jumping on the opportunity, Tursi left his family behind and struck out to his assigned work camp, which happened to be on Whidbey Island. During the following three years, Tursi and the boys of his camp carved, what we now know as the Deception Pass State Park and the surrounding areas, out of the thick forest and island rock.

Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Washington State Parks Foundation, the CCC Chapter of Washington and community members are gathering together at Deception Pass State Park to dedicate a memorial statue honoring the men of the CCC and all their work towards preserving and developing our natural parks and lands. This dedication is part of a celebration recognizing the 11th annual National Public Lands Day, which is the United States largest volunteer project day to enhance and preserve America’s public parks and lands.

Virginia Painter, spokesperson for the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, said the statue was donated by the Washington State Parks Foundation and the CCC Alumni and cost $20,000, which both groups raised.

Jack Hartt, Deception Pass State Park manager, said the CCC Alumni were looking for a place to set the statue, out of all of the parks in Washington that the CCC had worked in during the 1930s. He said the process took about six months, and they finally picked Deception Pass.

“Deception Pass is kind of the flagship park for the Conservation Corps in Washington,” Hartt said.

Although, Tursi will receive recognition for his land preservation and development labors this Saturday; Tursi said thoughts of land preservation and development did not drive him to join the CCC. Originally, it was the thought of getting housed, fed and paid that drew him into the corps.

“Most of us were from families in destitute circumstances. Mine, I was in a family that was in a turmoil,” Tursi said.

Arriving to the island, he said he was taken aback by the scenery.

“The camp was quite primitive at that time,” he said. “A group of CCC workers had been out here before my group came, so there were roads and some buildings already.”

The U.S. Army helped run and facilitate the CCC camps, so Tursi, along with about 50 other men lived in barracks, ate in a mess hall and wore World War I army clothing surplus. Tursi said he and the other boys worked hard and competitively. They did everything by hand and it always seemed to be a contest on who could split wood the fastest or which team could load the truck more quickly.

Jack Hartt, said the CCC boys are the ones responsible for the development of many of Washington’s state parks.

“They are the ones who basically created the landscape that you see at Deception Pass,” he said. “As people drive through this park, they see the kind of park the CCC created.”

The CCC built the park’s roadway guardrails, kitchen shelters, restrooms and recreation areas.

“They protected and yet still used the beautiful resources that are here,” Hartt said.

At the end of his three years with the CCC, Tursi had worked as a truck driver, log loader, a plumber and an electrician. He did rock drilling and blasting. He worked with the rock crusher and conveyor, fought forest fires in South Whidbey and alongside Whistle Lake, and assisted an 81-year-old blacksmith at the camp’s smithy.

When he got out of the CCC, 18-years-old Tursi decided to make the islands his home.

“I stayed and never went back home,” he said. “I knew immediately that I was going to stay here.”

Only Tursi and about four others that worked with him in the CCC stayed around this area. Now, 70 years later, Tursi lives in Anacortes is the last of the CCC crew that stayed.

Tursi said he hopes to participate in the events Saturday, Sept. 18, along with the CCC chapters of Washington. The day begins at 8:30 a.m. and goes until dusk. Events such as rowboat racing, Samish canoes, kayak racing, sailboat tours and sports will take place at East Cranberry Lake, Bowman Bay, Rosario and Cornet Bay. The CCC statue dedication will take place at 1 p.m at Bowman Bay. Booth and displays, walks, Native storytelling, food and kids events will also be available, and parking is free throughout the entire park for the entire day.

“I knew we wanted to have a park-wide celebration,” Hartt said, of the festivities on Saturday.

He encourages community members to come out and enjoy the scenery and natural beauty of the park. And to learn a little more about how the park was developed. Veteran CCC workers in attendance will also give community members a chance to hear CCC stories first-hand and show park guests what and how the park was built.

“When people think of Deception Pass, they think … they have this picture usually in their mind, and usually that picture has something built by the CCC in there. The workmanship as well as the design looks like it belongs in a park, and here it is, 70 years later and the buildings are just as usable as they were then,” Hartt said. “What I love is getting my camera out and taking the picture knowing that any of the CCC areas, any of the buildings that they built, are going to look like they fit there.”