Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1925-11-06

basic obstacles to American progress
than by providing great meeting
place where north and south, east
and west, rich and poor, old pioneer
stock and new immigrant arrival.
may come together on the common
ground of unspoiled, virgin America?
Great as they are. beautiful as they
are. the national parks of the West
have not the accessibility which
makes it possible to use them for
this purpose Here in Virginia, along
the Blue Ridge from Front Royal to
Wayneshoro, we have a virgin area
nearly as large as state 800
square miles of forest country pecu-
liarly fitted by its climate, it's wood
land beauties, such as l have describ
ed OF all similar areas, no other
area anywhere is so readily and cas-
lily accessible to such large num-
Der of people. Not only is it closer
as the crow flies to centers of popu
lation than any other area, but it is
better served by railroads and mo-
tor highways than any other area.
Not only is it virgin America, but
more, it is virgin Virginia. Its soil
is the soil that Washington surveyed
| just as he surveyed it, It's little back
woods cabins are the sort of cabins
that Lincoln's people built in Vir-
ginia, Kentucky and Illinois Their
fences are built of rails that Lincoln
might have split yesterday. Across, at
Fishers Gap, runs the road that was
Stonewall Jackson's line of communi-
cation; just east of it, at Charlottes-
vile, is Monticello, historic home of
Thomas Jefferson BY easy and beau
! tiful journeys from its gateways, Wis
itors will see the spots where Amer
jamestown, where the Declaration of
Independence was written, where
Patrick Henry made the speech heard
farther round the world than any
shot that ever was fired; where
CORVALLIS surrendered to George
( Washington, where the blood of our
fathers mingled on a thousand fields
of the great war whose fires welded
us into a nation
They tell US that even in the West,
tourist visits national park and
then goes home without seing all
other points of interest in the state
containing that national park. But
what points of interest have any
western parks to cause this state
wide tour, that will compare to Vir-
ginia's? Try to imagine an Ameri-
can, whether he comes from Maine
or California, visiting the Shenan-
doah National Park and going back
home without the three-hour journey
that will take him to the National
Capital and thence to Arlington,
where the Unknown Soldier lies, and
thence to Alexandria to see the
church in which George Washington
and Robert E. Lee were worshippers,
and thence to Mount Vermont to bare
his head at his eountry's most sacred
shrine? And when these places are
visited, how many, think you. will
resist the urge to visit other historic
spots-to be led by the spirit of their
country past Richmond, jamestown,
Yorktown, Monticello, Winchester,
Fredericksburg, Lexington, Peters
burg and Stanton?
Is there any other state that can
offer so much as Virginia can, when
she presents her Shenandoah area as
a national park? Is there any other
state that can serve so highly for
the profit she expects to gain? Could
there be any other national park es-
tablished anywhere which would
have, and which would deserve to
have. SO much steady all-year-round,
year in and year out, attention from
the American people, or to inspire
so much devotion in their hearts and
memories?
4 Surely, in considering a movement
like this, one must keep such great
and stirring aims before ones eyes
at all times, but just as surely one
must remember that great events
are brought about from small begin
nings and that they seldom come
about without earnest labor, careful
attention to small details and rigid
scrutiny of ways and means They
do not come about without these
things, and these things are always
attended by obstacles and difficult
ties. We must not let our enthusi-
asm blind us to the fact that there
are obstacles and difficulties which
must be overcome before our great
national park for Virginia will be
thrown open to waiting people.
Chief of these obstacles would
to be lack of information here in
the State of Virginia as to what the
Shenandoah National Park is, what
standing it has. in the councils of
the nation, what sections it will BEN
eft and what persons and interests
are joining to make it an accomplish
ed fact.
Let me outline briefly the answers
to all those questions.
First of all, a natfonai park is a
virgin area, representative of un-
spoiled America. held virgin and ba,a