Collections : [James Madison University]

Records an interview with Paul Harris, who grew up in the Brown's Gap area of what would become Shenandoah National Park. The Harris family owned a small farm and would supplement their income by tending herds of dairy cows brought up to the mountain pastures each summer. As partial payment, the family would keep the milk produced by the cows, selling it, homemade butter, eggs and other produce to the nearby Black Rock Springs Hotel. Discusses social life in the mountains, the raising of livestock and produce, as well as the moonshine business. Includes a photocopy of a leaf of sheet music and lyrics titled, The Blue Ridge Mountaineer, which was written by Mr. Harris' father, E. A. Harris, in the 1930s. Mr. Harris' brother, Roy Harris, is the subject of an additional interview in this series, SdArch no. SNP-60.

Records a group interview with Pearl Smith, (née Nettie Pearl Williams), who lived in an area known as Morning Star, in Page County, Virginia, with her husband J. Benton Smith, until the opening of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, courtship and holidays.

Records the reminiscences of Randal Dean, who was born and raised on Dean Mountain, near Elkton, Virginia, an area that became part of Shenandoah National Park. Describes home and family life, school days, farm chores, livestock and his work in his father's saw mill. Discusses family gatherings, such as holidays, apple butter boilings, hog butchering and funerals. Includes references to bark peeling and local moonshiners.

Records an interview with Ray Nicholson, who lived in Nicholson Hollow and on Old Rag Mountain, within the future boundaries of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, fishing. Discusses the limited economic opportunities available to the mountain people, such as the chestnut harvests, bark peeling, stone masonry and moon-shining. Includes references to local entrepreneur, George Freeman Pollock, owner of nearby Skyland resort. Includes numerous references to Mr. Nicholson's relatives, on both the Nicholson and Fincham sides of his family.

Records an interview with Raymond E. Morris, who lived in Simmons Gap, near the town of Elkton, in Rockingham County, Virginia. Describes daily life in the mountains, the means of growing and preserving food and other aspects of the local economy. Discusses popular herbal remedies, hunting and trapping techniques, bark peeling and the moonshine trade.

Records the reminiscences of Reverend John Dubosq, who came to the Naked Creek Mission in Jollett Hollow in 1932. Describes his early years as a minister among the mountain people and their acceptance of him into their tight-knit community. Recalls his pastoral duties delivering sermons and officiating at weddings and funerals. Describes the lifestyles of the mountain people, their means of growing and preserving food, as well as the fruit, chestnut and ginseng harvests. Also reflects on the importance of moonshine to the local economy.

Records an interview with Roy Harris, who grew up in the Brown's Gap area of what would become Shenandoah National Park. The Harris family owned a small farm and would supplement their income by tending herds of dairy cows brought up to the mountain pastures each summer. As partial payment, the family would keep the milk produced by the cows, selling it, homemade butter, eggs and other produce to the nearby Black Rock Springs Hotel. Discusses social life in the mountains, the raising of livestock and produce, as well as the moonshine business. Mr. Harris' brother, Paul Harris, is the subject of an additional interview in this series, SdArch no. SNP-59. A woman identified only as Mrs. Harris in the transcript adds several comments throughout the interview.

Records the reminiscences of sisters Sallie Atkins and Leila 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

Records the reminiscences of Vallie Cave, (née Thomas), and her brother, Floyd Thomas, who were born and raised near Bootens Gap, 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, soap making, raising livestock and wild game hunting. Includes references to trapping, moonshining, courtship, the chestnut tree blight, Camp Hoover and meetings with President Hoover. This collection includes two copies of the typed transcript, which note that the transcript is unfinished, with approximately another 15 minutes of taped interview remaining. Also included is a handwritten transcript containing minor notes omitted from the typed copies.

Records the reminiscences of Virgil Corbin, who was born and raised in Corbin Cabin, in Nicholson Hollow, Virginia prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. Describes his home and family life, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are farming, raising of livestock, hunting, fishing and food preservation techniques. Includes references to weddings, wakes and funerals, herbal remedies, moonshining, and ginseng. Mr. Corbin also speaks of relatives from both the Corbin and Nicholson sides of his family, including his father, George T. Corbin, his grandfather and two great-uncles who served in the Confederate army. Includes a two page manuscript, written by Mr. Corbin, titled From a Primitive Life to Modern Living. Corbin Cabin was the homestead built by George Corbin in 1910 and is one of the few intact cabins remaining in Shenandoah National Park. It was turned over to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club in the 1950s, restored and currently serves as a popular trail shelter. The building is listed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings as the George T. Corbin Cabin. See SdArch no. SNP-33 for an interview with George Corbin.