VINCENT AND THE C.C.C. by Roger C. Haynes Five days before his 17th Birthday, Vincent bid his "Ma" good-bye and headed for Attica New York to enroll in the C.C.C. - some of his friends were doing it as well as his brothers Walter and Wilbur. He figured to be stationed at the camp in Letchworth State Park, so on April 8th, 1936 Vincent took the oath to serve in Roosevelts Civilian Conservation Corps. He went to Letchworth alright, it was a stepping stone. Once enrolled he was but a number to fill a roster of young men needed at the camp on the St. Joe River in Idaho. He left his eight brothers and three sisters and headed across the country to work in the Northern Rockies and learn to be a man. The work was not uncommon to the hearty NY youth. But he longed to be near his home and soon through his folks applied for work in the Geneseo NY area. Once found, the job was his ticket out of the C.C.C. and a trip home. But the stories of the C.C.C. would always be part of his memories after he was not accepted for service in WW II. Instead he met Eleanor Clark and on the first of January 1942 they were married. I never called him Vincent myself, I called him Dad. He raised two sons to Manhood, without stories of fighting in the second world war, but of his youth and old cars as well as a stint in the C.C.C. In 1981 when I found the first CCC plate I was set on fire to learn more of what these were and where to find more. Keith Marvin gave his opinion of them the first time I asked; "I've never cared for them since the days when they were stenciled!" So with my best tag bloodhound on the side-lines, I set out on a quest to have the best collection of these available. At the 1995 ALPCA Convention, the photo below of your well rounded editor was made with ALPCA's most coveted prize, the Shea Memorial Award for Best of Show. The display bested 88 others. Dedicated to the Memory of Vincent Lewis Haynes, who had passed on in January of 1986. At the award ceremony all I wanted to do was hold that trophy aloft and say "This one's for you Dad", but my lips trembled and my voice cracked when Steve Raiche handed me the trophy and I could barely utter "Thanks..." Now, the last leaf on the last branch of the family tree, it is time to find a new home for this ONE OF A KIND COLLECTION. There is but one "Set" and I own it. It is as you have seen advertised, FOR SALE. Yes the asking price is $15,000 with some of the rarest plates known,,, I'm open to a serious offer... Let me know. Thanks. Click here for a close-up picture and description of each plate