The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1936-01-02

was oihy ditSi ddyS Vi Pei oiotSiit ocdA I'll
that the old stone was located and a
fitting memorial erected around it.
Not only monuments are lost sight of
as the old-timers disappear. Research
for The Guide will bring to light valu-
able manuscripts in foreign languages
pertaining to early Spanish, French or
other settlements and these will be
translated and made available to the
public.
9Seing America First"
The unsettled conditions in many
foreign parts of the world and the ex-
attention of Americans to their own
land as never before. The American
Guide will enable the sightseer,
whether bent on a days excursion or
an extended tour, to find fresh scenes
to entertain him and to promote his
knowledge of America as whole.
Uncharted Seas.
Scattered through the United States
are hundreds of communities with
distinctive cultural, historic or economic
traditions, known only to a handful OF
people Tourists miss them because
they have no means of learning that
they exist or where they are.
An interesting illustration is pre-
sented by the village of Cape May,
New Jersey, for years a leading center
in the manufacture of giltedge family
albums. Except for the stamping
factory, which supplies the gold leaf,
all the stamping work is performed by
hand. The natives are said to be as
expert as Chinese in the manipulation
Of chop-sticks, as those are used to
pick up the gold leaf and place it on
the edges of the pages prior to the
pounding operation which completes
the gliding process.
In the West Virginia mountains is a
unique colony inhabited almost ex-
clusively by descendants of party Of
Swiss peasants. The original inn
migrants were skilled in the manu-
facture of Swiss cheese and their
modern descendants carry on the cheese
production in accordance with the
methods which they brought with them
to the new world.
Another social pocket is fishing
village on the coast of New Hampshire.
The fishermen there have been so
completely isolated from external in
fluences for generations that they speak
Seventeenth Century English. A COM
parable locality occurs in Montana. The
original settlers were French Canadians
who fled from Saskatchewan to the
United States after an uprising against
their British conquerors. Here they
intermarried with the Indians, Al
though they have been given opportuni-
ties to learn English, they still speak
Eighteenth Century French. Many peo-
pie from nearby towns visit them
every Christmas to observe their
festivities. Other unusual settlements
may be ferreted out in the mountains
Of Kentucky and ON islands oil the
coast of the Carolinas.
The American Guide will also con-
tain descriptions of sections of the
United States that remain primitive
wildernesses. One of these areas is in
Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
which stretches from eastern Tennessee
into western North Carolina. Most Of
the wilderness section lacks roads and
even trails Six lofty peaks tower above
the surrounding country and form the
highest mountain group east of the
Mississippi River. The tourist would
have to 60 to northern Canada to lind
another region like it.
Innumerable cases could be cited OF
fascinating spots in various states that
are less inaccessible to local people
than Great Smoky Mountains National
Park and yet are not widely known
Few residents of the region around
New York City, for instance, realize
that within easy distance is a remark
able pond which mixers on the Can
nonball Trail cross on foot. Here, an
odd species of water plant has grown
SO thickly that it forms an almost solid
mass of spongy moss above the surface
of the water.
Colorful festivals are held yearly in
several parts of the country. Many
tourists have not seen them. Examples
are. The Portland, Oregon, rose festi-
val; the New Orleans, louisiana, Mardi
Gras, the Santa Fe, New Mexico, fiesta,
the Bach Music Festival at Bethlehem,
and the Indian ceremonial
dances.
Since 1926. Miami, Florida, has been
Easter with an impressive
nterdenominational ceremony. Before
dawn. often as many as $4,000 persons
from the city and nearby towns as
semble on the beach. Bands and choirs
are grouped at one side. A .sgiar,t eressi
in the shallow water, can be seen
dimly. Just as the sun appears behind
the cross, the massed bands begin tol
play, the choirs burst into song and the
crowd joins in the words.
Examples of localities with peculiar
flavors of their own are: Woodstock,
New York; Provincetown, Mas
and Carmel, California.
The influence of these centers through
artists, playwrights and writers upon
temporary American culture has been
marked
The bearing OF racial groups on the
life and customs of different communi-
ties will be traced in the Guide articles
&c ~,,,u ~, x>v-e,,;JoJ ~, hunt