On June 5, 2000, 11 idealistic youths assembled atop Stone Door, overlooking the vast beauty of the Cumberland Plateau in Tracy City, Tennessee to continue the work of Team Gold 4, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.

Thirty-seven years after the first group of civilians moved into the Cumberland Valley to work on conservation efforts and begin perhaps the largest youth and conservation movement ever undertaken by Uncle Sam, the tradition and history is still thriving today. Gold 4 got to follow in the footsteps of thousands of men before them in helping to preserve our nations natural treasures and help ensure that the work we did at South Cumberland will still be there for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.

At the start of one of the hiking trails in South Cumberland State Park, there stands an entrance sign with the letters CCC carved into it. Seeing that makes you realize that despite the time that has passed and the progress this country has made before FDR's New Deal, which spawned the Civilian Conservation Corps, our program oddly remains the same. I was given a brochure on the history of the CCC in Tennessee and the description read as follows:

"One of FDR's New Deal relief programs was the Civilian Conservation Corps, which provided jobs to thousands of unemployed young men and World Was I veterans. For their work, the men received housing, meals and $30 a month."

Does this at least sound a tad bit familiar? Like I said, much has changed since the 1930s in the exact nature of the program, but much has remained the same. We are still pioneers of change, passionate individuals humming with the spirit of youth, enjoying the employment and the opportunities their government has given them, enabling them to give back to their country and themselves.

The years have flown by and time has changed the status of this country from the vulnerable state it was in the 30s. Yes, just a mere month ago, 11 youths, in uniform and in unison, were able to stand on the cliffs of Stone Door, on the foothills of time and briefly stand where so many of our predecessors had stood before. It is a rare honor to be allowed to experience the history of the past but to still carry on the roots of that tradition into the future. This program is truly a lasting legacy.