Evening star., 1936-07-26
(Continued From First Page.)

and Port Republic, on the Norfolk
and Western Railroad. These camps
formerly had 1,500 workers each on
their rolls, but that number has been
practically cut in half.
An inviting part of the cabin colony
vacation program is that on one side
you look down upon pastoral valley
scenery, with agriculture improve
ments in a checkerboard fashion, deep
In the verdant valley, and on the
other side you have the rugged noun
tain scenery, deep cuts to stony
bedded mountain streams and rocky
eorges, and mountain peaks lost
among the clouds, or dimming on
ridge after ridge in the deep oiue
haze. You stand upon pinnacle rocks
with sheer precipices below, s1lhou-
cited against the sky. You get the
thrill of feeling you are at the top OF
the world. in a clear, invigorating at
mosphere, and the sweetest music
is the rush and fall of the noun
tain streams-an within three hours
drive from the Nations Capital.
The Skyland Drive is completed all
the way from Front Royal to SWl1t
Run Gap-66 miles; and work is now
IN progress on the 25-mile stretch
from Swift Run Gap to Rock FISH
Gap, near Waynesboro. CONTRACTS
have been let for stretches mot con-
nected) from the limits of the Shen-
andoah Park through to the Nortn
Carolina line and Tennessee. SO that
before long you can enjoy this 500-mile
drive along the mountain skyline con-
Meeting the Southern Appalachian
trail with the Great Smokes Natlonai
Park-through three States, which
have given a 1,000-foot right OF way,
properly controlled on both Sldes, 1or
a scenic driveway. This 5oo-mlle
drive is resulting from an automoolle
ride of the President and Senator
Byrd of Virginia several months ago
to inspect c. c. c. camps. Tney
visioned the possibilities, and have
since been working toward the reallza-
tion of those mountain-top dreams.
AS A MATTER of fact, Senator
"A Byrd is credited with having
turned the trick for making the Shen-
andoah National Park a certainty,
after u years of concentrated enort
by a group of enthusiasts from Vir-
ginia and the National Capital. They
had raised s1.2OO,0oO by popular sub
scription-the city of Richmond gave
5000 900. the city of Norfolk Ocean
side, 300 miles from the mountalns)
gave 100000, Washingtonians gave
$50 600. John D. Rockefeller, jr., gave
s153 900. and Henry Ford gave $50
600; boards of supervisors for varl-
ous counties made contributions and
campaign swept over Virginia to BUY
an acre" for a national park near the
Nations Capital-at s6 an acre.
Then Byrd went in as Governor,
and by reorganization and economies
turned a wo-million-dollar deficit
into a miIlion-and-a-h half surplus. He
asked the State Legislature to appro-
pirate a million dollars of that sur
plus to help buy the mountain land
for the park.
The first suggestion that the par
ticular location at Skyland should
be the center of a national park de-
velopment came from George Free
man Pollock He was of old New Eng
land ancestry and had lived in those
mountains more than 40 years, knew
the entire region, climbed its peaks
had come out with the copper miners,
and, with his father. had built up a
colony at Skyland, where he has ac-
cumulated several very interesting
collections-old beer mugs and stems
from all over the world, probably the