Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection

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  (SNP001) Arlene Carr Abel interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Arlene Carr Abel

  Records the reminiscences of Arlene Carr Abel who grew up in Sugar Hollow, Virginia, prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes her home and family life, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, corn shucking and apple butter boiling parties, wild game hunting, home remedies and folk medicine. Includes references to holiday celebrations, mountain music, her father's occupation as a tanner and tales of local moonshiner.

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  (SNP002) Ada Addie Anderson interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

  Ada "Addie" Anderson

  Records the reminiscences of Ada Addie Anderson, (née Smith), with contributions from Vallie Cave, Beulah Sirbaugh and Nell Woodward. Due to the conversational nature of the interview, only Mrs. Anderson's and the interviewer's remarks are identified in the transcript, with comments from the other participants dispersed throughout. Describes home and family life, daily chores, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, soap making, raising livestock and wild game hunting. Includes numerous references to and anecdotes about family members, friends and neighbors known to all four women.

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  (SNP003) Beulah Atkins interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Beulah Atkins

  Records the reminiscences of Beulah Atkins, who grew up in Beech Spring, Virginia prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes her home and family life, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, soap making, collecting ginseng and wild game hunting. Includes references to the local Civilian Conservation Corps camp, wakes and funerals, and her work with her father and husband in the barrel making business.

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  (SNP004) Elmer Atkins interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith and Jim Northrup, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Elmer Atkins

  Records the reminiscences of Elmer Atkins, who was born and raised near Beech Spring, Virginia prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes his home and family life, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are farming, raising of livestock, log homes and the local bark peeling industry. Includes references to revival meetings, wakes and funerals, herbal remedies, moonshining, the Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919 and the chestnut tree blight that decimated the species in the early decades of the 20th century. Mr. Atkins also comments on the forced eviction of his family and neighbors to make way for the construction of the national park.

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  (SNP005) Sallie Atkins interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

  Sallie Atkins

  Records the reminiscences of sisters Sallie Atkins and Lela Dodson, who were raised in in a one room log cabin near Hazel Mountain, Virginia, prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. They are joined by childhood friend, Beulah Atkins, who lived nearby. Describes home and family life, daily chores, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, soap making, raising livestock and wild game hunting. Includes references to the tan bark industry, wakes and funerals, and local shoemakers and merchants

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  (SNP006) Louise Wood Austin interviewed by John D. Dooms

  Louise Wood Austin

  Records the reminiscences of Louise Wood Austin, who grew up in Sugar Hollow, Virginia, prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Mrs. Austin and her interviewer, John Dooms, returned to the section of Shenandoah National Park where her family home stood until 1941. Describes her home life and family history, including members of her extended family who represent a cross section of local family names. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, raising livestock, home remedies and folk medicine. Recalls cattle drives from Ivy, Va., to summer pastures in Jarman Gap, itinerant Syrian peddlers, midwives and square dances. Discusses several small businesses operated by her father and uncles, including a blacksmith shop, distillery and coffin making shop.

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  (SNP007) Victor Baker interviewed by Barbara Maynes, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Victor Baker

  Records the reminiscences of four Virginia residents who grew up near the Black Rock Springs Hotel, in Black Rock Gap, Virginia. The Black Rock Springs Hotel was a popular tourist destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both for its scenic views and for the natural mineral springs for which it was named. The participants discuss the history of the hotel, their own memories of the grounds and buildings and the hotel's destruction by fire in 1909. Includes references to people associated with the hotel and springs, as well as many of the families and local people who lived near the hotel in its heyday. The site where the hotel stood was incorporated into Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s.

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  (SNP008) Joseph J. Baldwin interviewed by Smith, Dorothy Noble, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Joseph J. Baldwin

  Records the reminiscences of Joseph J. Baldwin, who grew up near the Big Meadows area of what would become Shenandoah National Park. Describes home and family life, daily chores, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, dairy cows, traditional herbal medicines and fur trapping. Includes references to weddings, wakes and funerals, moonshiners, the chestnut tree blight and severe local droughts in the1930s.

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  (SNP009) Harold Baugher interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Harold Baugher

  Records the reminiscences of Harold Baugher who grew up in Swift Run, Virginia, in the 1930s, on a farm that became part of Shenandoah National Park. Describes home and family life, daily chores, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, traditional herbal medicines and apple orchards. Includes references to wakes and funerals, sorghum production, bark peeling, Kris Kringling and the evictions of local families to make way for the national park.

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  (SNP010) Virginia H. Taylor interviewed by Matthew Dalbey

  Virginia H. Taylor

  Records an interview with Virginia Taylor, (née Haney), who grew up the Blue Ridge Mountains, near Greene County, Va. Describes daily life in the mountains, where her family operated a general store. Gives her recollections of the mountain people and describes in detail her family's experience resettling in Wolftown, Virginia, after the opening of Shenandoah National Park. Mrs. Taylor's family soon relocated to Stanardsville, where she attended high school in the late 1930s. Describes the uneasy social interactions between the local population and the sudden influx of rural mountain people into their community.

  There is no audio recording for this interview; interview consists of transcript only.

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  (SNP011) Isaac William Beahm interviewed by Charles Anibal, transcribed by Joy K. Stiles

  Isaac William Beahm

  Records the reminiscences of Isaac W. Beahm, who was born in the Batman Hollow area of Page County, Virginia, on a farm that would eventually become part of Shenandoah National Park. Describes his early home life, the loss of both parents when he was six years old, and the difficulties of running a small farm at the beginning of the 20th century. Recalls his school days at the Rocky Branch School, farm chores, and various odd jobs he held, such as working at local saw mills and tanneries, as well as helping to construct Skyline Drive. Discusses family gatherings, such as apple butter boilings, hog butchering and the folk music and dancing that often ensued. The interview was conducted at the home of Mr. Beahm's daughter, who is not named in the interview, but whose comments are interspersed throughout. Both Mr. Beahm and his daughter mention participating in the dedication ceremonies for the park, conducted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. The Beahms were one of the few families to move from the area voluntarily, prior to the opening of the park.

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  (SNP012) Lyle Beahm interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Lyle Edward Beahm

  Records the reminiscences of Lyle E. Beahm, who was born in the Jewell Hollow area of Page County, Virginia, on a farm that would eventually become part of Shenandoah National Park. Describes his early home and family life, school days at the Shenk Hollow School, farm chores,and folk remedies. Discusses family gatherings, such as apple butter boilings, hog butchering and funerals. Briefly mentions the Civilian Conservation Corps, racial segregation and intra-family marriages. An unnamed woman, identified only as Mrs. in the transcript, and believed to be Eva Sours, contributes to the interview as well.

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  (SNP013) George Berry interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  George Berry

  Records the reminiscences of George Berry, who was born in the Cool Springs area near Fishers Gap, Virginia, in a log house on land that would eventually become part of Shenandoah National Park. Describes his early home and family life, school days at the Forrest Dale School, farm chores,and folk remedies. Discusses family gatherings, folk music, bark peeling and local moonshiners. Recalls his experiences working for the New Deal relief programs, the National Youth Administration as a boy, and later for its parent program, the Works Progress Administration. Mr. Berry recalls playing folk music for tourists at scenic stops along Skyline drive. Also discussed are the evictions of families from their homes, subsequently located within park boundaries, and the long term social and economic effects on those people over the following decades.

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  (SNP014) Edward D. Freeland interviewed by Darwin Lambert, transcribed by Chelsea Gutshall

  Edward D. Freeland

  Records an interview with Edward D. Freeland, Superintendent of Shenandoah National Park from 1942 to 1950. Mr. Freeland describes conditions at the park at the beginning of World War II. With the onset of the war, the federal government ended the Civilian Conservation Corps project, (CCC), the single largest source of labor for the National Park Service, as most CCC personnel went into the armed services. The CCC laborers were eventually replaced by men from the Civilian Public Service, (CPS), the national program through which conscientious objectors could perform their national service. Gas rationing and travel restrictions greatly reduced the number of visitors to the park during the war years. Discusses the controversy surrounding post-war racial integration of the park, the creation and expansion of Skyline Drive and the Appalachian trail, living conditions among the local mountain people prior to the establishment of the park and the activities of local moonshiners. Numerous individuals associated with Shenandoah National Park, the National Park Service and the Virginia Sky-Line Company are mentioned throughout the interview.

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  (SNP015) John Bradley interviewed by Smith, Dorothy Noble, transcribed by D. P. Hammond

  John Bradley

  Records the reminiscences of John Bradley, who grew up near the Jewell Hollow area of what would become Shenandoah National Park. Describes home and family life, daily chores, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, grist mills, traditional herbal medicines and fur trapping. Includes references to the weddings, wakes and funerals, moonshiners and licensed distillers, toll roads and Skyline Drive. Also refers briefly to local military skirmishes during the Civil War. Mr. Bradley describes communal activities such as apple butter boilings and occasions known locally as frolics where farm families would gather to help their neighbors plow fields or clear away stones. Discusses the impact of the forced eviction of local residents to make way for the national park. Also present for the interview was Mr. Bradley's wife, who is identified only as Mrs. Bradley in the transcript, but whose comments appear throughout.

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  (SNP016) Everett Breeden interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Everett Breeden

  Records the reminiscences of Everett Breeden, who grew up on Tanners Ridge, in Page County, Virginia prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Also contributing to the interview is Mr. Breeden's wife, whose first name is not mentioned. Mrs. Breeden gives her maiden name as Thomas, and identifies her father as William Henry Thomas, also of Page County. Based on this information, she is believed to be Junie Catherine Breeden. Together, they describe their early home and family lives, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, soap making, folk medicine and wild game hunting. Includes references to the local Civilian Conservation Corps camp, burial rites, and midwives. Mr. Breeden worked on the construction of Camp Hoover, also known as Rapidan Camp, which was the first presidential retreat. President Herbert Hoover commissioned the construction of the facility in 1929, which he later donated to Shenandoah National Park. Mr. Breeden recounts meeting and speaking with the president on several occasions at the retreat, which Mr. Hoover referred to as his Summer White House.

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  (SNP017) Preston Breeden interviewed by Edward B. Garvey, Charles Anibal and Samuel Moore, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

  Preston Breeden

  Records the reminiscences of Preston Breeden, who was born in 1917 and raised on a small farm where Pocosin Cabin now stands near the Appalachian Trail route through Shenandoah National Park. Mr. Breeden was interviewed by Edward B. Garvey and Samuel Moore of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, (PATC), which maintains the cabin, and Charles Anibal, Assistant Park Naturalist for Shenandoah National Park (SNP). The tone of the interview is largely conversational, with all four men contributing information about the region at the time of the founding and construction of Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s. Mr. Breeden describes his youth and early home life on the farm, including the crops grown by his family and the livestock they raised. Discusses his early working years in the local saw mills and barrel stave mills, hauling wood for the tan bark industry and his two-year stint with the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he worked as a foreman during the construction of Skyline Drive. The group visits the remains of the Upper Pocosin Mission, an Episcopal church where Mr. Breeden's mother and aunt lived briefly after their home was taken by the state by eminent domain. Mr. Breeden recalls the general mood of the local community regarding their forced evictions by the state of Virginia. He speaks at length of many of the local families, prominent landowners and small businessmen. Includes comments on the area's fish and wild game in his youth, the annual apple and chestnut harvests, general stores, cemeteries, grist mills and the activities of some local moonshiners.

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  (SNP018) Weldon Burke interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith and Debbie McCormick, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

  Weldon Burke

  Records the reminiscences of Weldon Burke, who grew up near the summit of Hazel Mountain, Virginia, prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes home and family life, daily chores, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, raising livestock and gathering wild chestnuts and ginseng. Includes references to the tan bark industry, wakes and funerals, local merchants, and moonshiners.

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  (SNP019) James G. Burner Sr. interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

  James G. Burner Sr.

  Records the reminiscences of James G. Burner Sr., who was born in Page County, Virginia, not far from the future site of Shenandoah National Park. Mr. Burner served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, (CCC), during the construction of the park and later became a park ranger in the National Park Service. Describes his experiences working with local mountaineer men in the CCC camps, their history and social conditions in the 1930s. Mr. Burner refers to numerous local mountain families and prominent individuals involved in the creation of the park. Topics include mountain agriculture and wildlife, folk music and dancing, traditional medicines, clothing, schooling, feuds and moonshiners. Mr. Burner was present at the founding of the first CCC camps in Virginia and discusses them in great detail. As a naturalist and conservationist, he discusses the local flora and fauna of the region in great depth as well. Identifies numerous local plant and animal species and their habitats. Comments on early efforts to rebuild the local deer population while reducing the number of wild bears. Comments on the social and economic effects of the Chestnut Blight of the 1930s on local families.

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  (SNP020) Edna Burrill interviewed by Darwin Lambert, transcribed by Chelsea Gutshall

  Edna Burrill

  Records an interview with Edna Elizabeth Burrill, (née Browning), regarding her uncle, James Burrill, who sold a large parcel of land to the state of Virginia in the 1930s to be used for Shenandoah National Park. Mrs. Burrill is joined by her two daughters, Mary Ellen Jennings and Gladys Peaches Burrill, both of Luray, Va. James Burrill was born in Leeds, England, around 1850 and emigrated to the United States as a young man. Burrill soon established himself in America and sent for his wife Ellen, also of Leeds, to join him. Over the next thirty years, James Burrill would achieve great success in a number of business opportunities which enabled him to act as benefactor for numerous civic and commercial ventures in Page County. Mrs. Burrill recalls her uncle's sale of land, estimated at 4,200 acres, to the state at prices ranging from $2.50 to $10.00 dollars per acre. Also mentioned is James Burrill's contribution to the establishment of the Deford Tannery, (later known as Virginia Oak Tannery), and the founding of Christ Episcopal Church of Luray.

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  (SNP021) Walter Carter interviewed by Ken Steeber, with Walter Smith, Gloria Updike and Howard Struthers, transcribed by Victoria M. Edwards

  Walter H. Carter

  Records the reminiscences of Walter Carter, whose family owned apple orchards on Dickey Ridge, just south of Front Royal, Virginia, in the decades preceding the establishment of Shenandoah National Park. Describes the physical layout of the the orchards and surrounding towns. Discusses the demise of the apple industry in that part of the Shenandoah Valley due to a shrinking work force, as local families were evicted by the state to make room for the park. In the years prior to the Second World War, the primary customer for the Carter's apples, the United Kingdom, placed restrictive tariffs on U.S. grown apples which made it impossible to compete with fruit from Canada and New Zealand. The second part of the interview consists of a driving tour of the orchard area, with Mr. Carter describing the former locations of buildings, roads, home sites and cemeteries. The group is joined by Mr. Carter's wife, Caroline Carter, whose own recollections and comments are included in the discussion. The Carters make numerous references to local families and landowners. Includes comments on the construction of Skyline Drive, which, while providing north-south access along the crests of the Blue Ridge Mountains, resulted in the closing of numerous east-west routes across the mountains.

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  (SNP022) Elzie Cave and Lula Breeden Cave interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith

  Elza A. Cave and Lula Breeden Cave

  Records the reminiscences of Mr. and Mrs. Elzie Cave, who were born and raised in Dark Hollow, Virginia prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Mrs. Cave's full name is not given in the course of the interview, but an accompanying typed manuscript gives her name as Lula Breeden Cave. Describes their early home and family lives, schooling, marriage, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are farming, raising of livestock, local wildlife and the bark peeling industry. Includes references to Civil War ancestors, wakes and funerals, herbal remedies and the weather extremes of drought and record snows in the 1920s and 30s.

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  (SNP023) Elzie Cave interviewed by Amanda Moody and Leigh Jones, transcribed by Victoria M. Edwards

  Elza A. Cave

  Mr. Cave leads a walking and driving tour of the area around the Cave family homestead in Dark Hollow, Virginia, where he was raised prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. The tour includes a stop at the Cave family cemetery, where Mr. Cave identifies the grave sites of his extended family, going back to the Civil War, and explains the genealogy of the various family members interred there. Includes references to Civil War era ancestors, moonshiners, bark peeling, copper mining, ginseng and chestnut harvesting, and other natural features of Dark Hollow.

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  (SNP024) Evidell Cave interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

  Evidell Cave

  Records the reminiscences of Evidell Cave, who was born and raised in Dark Hollow, Virginia, prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes her early home and family life, schooling, marriage, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are farming and food preservation, livestock, local wildlife, and the bark peeling industry. Includes references to local families, moonshine, herbal remedies, Camp Hoover and the effects of the chestnut tree blight on the local economy.

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  (SNP025) Ralph Cave interviewed by Nancy Smith, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

  Ralph Cave

  Records the reminiscences of Ralph Cave, who was born and raised in Dark Hollow, Virginia, prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes his early home and family life, schooling, marriage and community events. Mr. Cave recounts the history of the Cave family in Dark Hollow as well as marriages and other interactions between the Caves and other local families. Numerous references are made to individual members of the Breeden, Thomas, and Weakley families. Describes his own experiences working on Skyline Drive and Camp Hoover in the early 1930s, as well as his personal memories of Skyland developer, George Pollock. Among the topics discussed are farming, raising of livestock, local wildlife and the bark peeling industry. Includes references to community activities such as corn shucking and apple butter boiling, herbal remedies and the record snows in the 1920s and 30s.