In honor of Black History Month, we are replaying this article about First Landing State Park and a special connection from the past to current generations. 

During Black History Month, we often reflect on people and places and the impacts they made or the significance they held as it relates to events past. However, the story I want to share is one that crosses many generations and continues today. 

 

This is the story of two people, born nearly 50 years apart, who in the land, now known as First Landing State Park, found kinship, salvation, hope, and purpose. It is the story of kinship and friendship between Mr. Norman Claiborne, a 1940-1942 African American Civilian Conservation Corps member, and Ms. Kim Miller, who was working as First Landing State Park’s Special Events and Volunteer Coordinator.

Kim Miller teaching one of the park programs at First Landing State Park

Kim Miller and Mr. Claiborne, born nearly 50 years apart kindred spirits in their love of the outdoors 

African Americans bring their own history, heritage and unique perspective to the outdoors. On the one hand, Dianne D. Glave, author of “Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming an African American Environmental Heritage,” says, “Forests and Farms existed in the shadows of slavery. Nature, therefore, could be a forbidding place.”  On the other hand, Glave says, “African Americans actively sought healing, kinship, resources, escape, refuge, and salvation in the land.”  

This story of kinship, refuge, salvation and healing began when Mr. Claiborne boarded the bus that would take him to the new African American Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Seashore (now First Landing) State Park in 1940.  While the park was already open for visitors, this group of young men would continue to work on cabins, roads, and hiking trails learning valuable trade skills and getting an education. 

Landing a billet in the Civilian Conservation Corps meant salvation for Mr. Claiborne’s large family in the waning days of the Great Depression. The meager $25 a month salary, of which Mr. Claiborne only got $5, the balance being sent directly to his family, meant salvation for this family in the form of food on the table, shoes on their feet, and most importantly, hope for the future.

Coming from a fast-paced corporate background, Kim was looking to scale back her role in the “rat race” and work part-time to spend more time with her three girls. During our interview, I took Kim on a hike around the Bald Cypress Trail and was so overwhelmed with her qualifications that I knew she was the right person for the job. I didn’t even notice her high heels. But I did notice a bit of trepidation on Kim’s face when I mentioned that avoiding venomous snakes and biting insects were a regular part of the job. 

Working at the park, Kim overcame her fear of snakes and has forged her own connection with the outdoors. 

For Kim, parks and outdoor stewardship have become a family affair. Kim's parents, both registered volunteers, and her daughters regularly participated in volunteer and special events.

Kim and Mr. Claiborne’s stories came together in 2006 when as a guest speaker at First Landing State Park’s 70th Anniversary event, he pleaded with park staff to advocate for a historical marker recognizing the contributions of the African American Civilian Conservation Corps. Finding a close connection with Kim, someone who developed a love for the outdoors on the job, Mr. Claiborne extracted a promise from Kim to have that historical marker in place by the park’s 75th anniversary. 

After months of research, advocacy, and fundraising that involved the Friends of First Landing State Park, the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum at Pocahontas State Park, visits to the Library of Virginia, and applications to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Kim fulfilled her promise to Mr. Claiborne. The historical marker was placed in front of the park office at the Chesapeake Bay Center. 

In 2013, after a five-year planning process with which Kim was involved, First Landing State Park opened new museum-quality exhibits at the new Trail Center, a silver-level LEED-certified building. Part of those exhibits features information about the African American Civilian Conservation Corps camps and the park’s role in desegregation lawsuits. 

Mr. Claiborne participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Trail Center in January 2013.   

Mr. Claiborne's legacy and the legacy of all CCC members at the new Trail Center exhibits

Mr. Claiborne, his children, and grandchildren post at the historical marker   

Mr. Claiborne, with pride shining in his eyes, standing tall at 93 years of age, understood that this exhibit was our way of saying thank you to him and to all the Civilian Conservation Corps members who helped build our nation’s national and state park systems. In some ways, I see the Civilian Conservation Corps exhibits at the Trail Center as a symbol of Mr. Claiborne passing the stewardship torch on to all the visitors that come to the park. 

The fact that Mr. Claiborne had stayed in contact with the park in his retirement years, makes an effort at 93 years old to come to park events, and often takes the time to talk with staff about his love of the outdoors makes me recognize that while Mr. Claiborne’s time in the Civilian Conservation Corps was only 24 months, it made a lifelong impression on him. 

Kim and Mr. Claiborne kept in touch by phone and both advocate for people to reconnect to the outdoors as a tonic for the mind, body and spirit. Their efforts locally, coupled with the efforts of national groups like the Children & Nature Network and Outdoor Afro and the efforts of individuals like Richard Louv and Dianne Glave, are helping people find their own version of hope, salvation, kinship, and purpose in the land. 

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Editor's Note: First Landing State Park has five Civilian Conservation Corps-era cabins built by men like Mr. Norman Claiborne. They are cabins 1-4 and cabin 6. Cabin 5 was destroyed by fire in the last 1980s but has been rebuilt in the same style as the CCC-era cabins. Cabins are open year-round, and the campground opens on the first Monday in March. 

For reservations, please call 800-933-7275, or you can book a cabin online here.

Check the schedule of programs and events by clicking here or see a Google map for directions.