Charles Ross interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Alan S. Brenner

Creator:

Ross, Charles J. (Charles Justus), 1908-1980, Smith, Dorothy Noble, 1915-1999, and Brenner, Alan S.

Scope and content:

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.

Names:

Ross, Charles J. (Charles Justus), 1908-1980
Smith, Dorothy Noble, 1915-1999
Brenner, Alan S.

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