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Interviewee
Ross, Charles
Identifier
SNP105
Format
1 audio file (running time: 1:14:01)
Interview Number
SNP-105
Location of Interview
Mr. Ross' home in Criglersville, Virginia
Date of Interview
10-16-1978
Description
Records an interview with Charles Ross, whose father, Dr. Charles J. Ross, was one of several local physicians who served the families living in the mountains prior to the advent of Shenandoah National Park. Charles J. Ross was born in Taylor County, WV, in 1881. He received his medical degree from the Medical School of Virginia in 1905, and later studied surgery in New York City. Mr. Ross describes the primitive conditions under which his father worked, where access to many of his patients was often limited to horse trails and foot paths. Recalls several deadly outbreaks of diphtheria, tuberculosis and typhoid fever, which were common in the area, as well as the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919, which caused the deaths of millions of Americans across the country. Mr. Ross often rode along with his father during school vacations and gives his impression of the many mountain people he encountered, including many local moonshiners.
Rights
The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
Personal Names
Ross, Charles, Interviews; Ross, Charles J., 1881-1965 Anecdotes
Family Names
Ross family
Subjects
Mountain people -- Blue Ridge Mountains -- Social life and customs; Mountain life -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) – History; Mountain people -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- Social life and customs; Rural poor – Virginia; Country life -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 -- Virginia – History; Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 -- United States – History; Physicians -- Virginia -- History -- 20th century; Medicine -- Virginia -- History -- 20th century; Traditional medicine -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.); Distilling, Illicit -- Virginia – History; Food habits -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Land use -- Government policy -- United States.
Place Names
Madison County (Va.) – History; Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Manners and customs; Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History, Local.
Interviewer
Smith, Dorothy Noble, 1915-1999
Transcriber
Brenner, Alan S.
Collection Title
Shenandoah National Park oral history collection
Collection Number
SdArch SNP
Recommended Citation
Charles Ross interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, October 16, 1978, SdArch SNP-105, Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, 1964-1999, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University
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