Ken Scribner was born May 19, 1922 in West Plattsburgh. His family is well known in the West Plattsburgh, New York area. His father, George, was a skilled wood worker and carpenter who owned and operated the Scribner Saw Mills for many years. In fact, his father operated three mills; a saw mill, shingle mill, and a cidar mill. Ken's mother was an excellent seemstress. They taught him the value of honesty, hard work, and faith in God. As the Great Depression deepened, our Honoree left school in the fifth grade to work in his dad's mills.
In 1938, Mr. Scribner joined the CCC. His father found it more and more difficult to afford to pay his wages at the mill. Young Scribner was assigned to CCC Camp Brushton located in northern New York State. He served in the CCC until 1941.
While at Brushton, our Hall of Fame inductee worked in a stone quarry, planted trees, and drove an ambulance. Scriber noted: “I loved driving the ambulance. My job was to drive the doctor out to the various CCC camps where the old World War I veterans were camped. The old World War I vets were limited as to how much they could do, but there were almost no jobs for them outside the CCC. They were able to send money home to help their families get through. The CCC was a Godsend to them and all of us, in those hard depression days.”
Also, while at Camp Brushton, he remembered “During some of those bad blizzards, we had an awful time. I recall taking a shower, tramping through snow, frigid winds, carrying a lantern, then hitting the 'duck board'.” He explained. “We had to run across the duck board to disinfect our feet from things like athlete's foot, and sometimes that board would be very icy and very, very cold.” Scribner recalled that it was in CCC camp that his mechanical skills were brought to the forefront. Ken is today a skilled auto mechanic and has a small fleet of vintage automobiles in his collection. “The CCC appreciated my mechanical skills and one of the CCC superintendents, Lt. Belrose, got me one of my first real jobs after I left the CCC. It was at Long Island in his family's body shop.”
With the start of World War II, our honoree joined the United States Army. He served in far away places like Bombay, India and drove truck and did mechanic work along the imfamous and dangerous Burma Road. Scribner was also stationed in Tibet.
He married Martha Jean Reed of Clarksburg, West Virginia. They had no children. Today, Ken is retired and enjoys working with his vintage automobiles at Yadkinville, near Winston Salem, North Carolina.
On April 20, 2013, Mr. Scribner transported and presented the West Virginia State CCC museum with one of his prized possessions; an operational 1931 Ford Model A truck. Typical of the type of vehicle that transported the CCC Boys and supplies during those CCC days. He is also a life member of the West Virginia State CCC Museum Association and strong supporter of the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Ken Scribner donates a 1931 Model A Ford to the CCC Museum.