Time Traveling Through Shenandoah National Park

by Jeff Alt

  “Mr. Pollock sold plots of land to wealthy and famous people who replaced the tents with cabins. The Byrd’s, a Virginia family that was very involved in politics, owned a cabin here called the Byrds Nest. As a matter of fact, the Byrds Nest cabin is still here—not to be confused with the Byrds Nest shelters in the park. The Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center is named after a member of their family. Mr. Pollock hosted the Southern Appalachian National Park Committee here in 1924. He figured that he would be allowed to stay and run his resort if this became a park, but that’s not what happened. Instead, when this area did become a park, a new concessionaire was brought in to run all the lodging, and the private owners were forced to sell,” Cousin Nick explained.

  “The Shenandoah National Park Association was established in the summer of 1925 to raise funds for the Commonwealth of Virginia to buy land and help advocate to make this a park. In 1926, President Coolidge signed a bill to create Shenandoah National Park. Harry F. Byrd, a wealthy governor of Virginia and an avid Shenandoah enthusiast, used his political connections to promote the creation of the park. Then in 1928, the Commonwealth of Virginia approved the Park Condemnation Act, which gave the state the authority to buy everyone’s land through what is known as eminent domain. At that time, residents were allowed to stay on their land, and for four years after that, while President Hoover was president, people were allowed to stay. But when FDR became president, all of the land owners were forced to sell their homes and farms and move out of the park; only a few were allowed to remain due to special circumstances. This forced over four hundred and fifty families out of their homes,” Papa Lewis added.

  “The government can make you move out of your house? That would be horrible,” I said.

  “Yes, it was very upsetting to many of the mountain people. Some of them had been here for several generations. Some of them tried to fight the forced removal through the courts, but lost. Two men, Ferdinand Zerkel and William Carson, were instrumental in overseeing the park’s creation,” Papa Lewis explained.

  “Nearly all of the homes were destroyed when this became a park. At the time, they were not considered of historic value. In the fall and winter, when the leaves have fallen, you can see some of the old stone chimneys and foundation remains of some of the homesteads,” Cousin Nick added.

  “I’m so glad this is a park. It’s so beautiful here, and Shenandoah does fulfill George Pollock’s idea of providing a refreshing getaway from city life. But it’s sad that it came at the expense of the people that once called this their home,” Dolly said as tears filled her eyes.

  “Shortly after the idea to create the park became a reality, the Great Depression hit, and the donations to make this a park dwindled. Due to the lack of funds, the original vision to buy over 500,000 acres was scaled back. Today, the park is 200,000 acres, less than half of the original plan. That is why the present-day boundary looks so jagged and the park itself is so narrow. Shenandoah is surrounded on all sides by private land,” Cousin Nick told us.

  I looked at the park map, and now it made sense why the park’s perimeter was so irregular.

  “Would you like to see my favorite view up on Mary’s Rock?” Washington asked. “It’s not far— just a short hike.”

  We were all interested in seeing the view, so we went back to our rooms, grabbed our gear, hopped in our vehicles, and drove north to the Meadow Springs parking area. From there, we took the Meadow Springs Trail to the summit. The climb was steep at times, but when we reached the summit, it was all worth it. I felt like I was on top of the world! We had a 360-degree view of the Piedmont on the east, the Shenandoah Valley on the west, and a bird’s-eye view looking down at Skyline Drive. We posed for a group photo, and then I sat down to quietly take it all in for a few minutes. I could see why this was Washington’s favorite spot.

  “This is the peak we hiked up to on our honeymoon,” Mom said as she squeezed Dad’s hand and enjoyed the memory.

  The next day was the start of our big overnight hike. We assembled all the necessary gear.

  Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Dolly dropped us off at the Nicholson Hollow Trail, then continued north on Skyline Drive to set up camp at Mathews Arm Campground, where we would spend our last night together in the park. Our plan was to hike down to one of the few remaining settler cabins, Corbin Cabin, and then camp along the Hughes River. Tomorrow, we would hike over Old Rag and Dad would pick us up in the parking area. Starting down the trail, we descended the mountain for a few miles beneath the shade of thick forest. The trail leveled off into a hollow. Off to the left, rocks were piled neatly in a line next to the trail. It was what was left of a perimeter fence from back when this was a farm. We crossed a stream, and a cabin came into view.

  “That’s Corbin Cabin. It was built by George Corbin in 1910. He was a relative of the Nicholsons that lived in this hollow. It’s one of the few homes that wasn’t destroyed. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the PATC cabins that you can rent,” Cousin Nick explained.

  Without a word being said, we were all thinking the same thing: Let’s go back in time.

  We gathered around Washington and he said, “Take us back to 1910.”

  A gust of air smacked us. Everything went dark and then lit back up again. We were all wearing overalls and straw hats, with the exception of Hug-a-Bug, who wore a calico dress. Pear, apple, peach, and cherry trees filled a small orchard near the cabin. A man was busy splitting firewood near the porch, and a woman was hanging clothes on a clothesline to dry. Chickens clucked from a small coop nearby, and pigs squealed in a pen.

  The man noticed us and stopped his work. It was George Corbin. “You all must be lost. Can I help you find your way?” he offered.

  “Thank you kindly. We’re heading towards Old Rag Mountain. Sorry to disturb you. Have a good day,” Cousin Nick answered.

  George Corbin pointed in an eastward direction towards a trail and said, “Old Rag is that way.”

  “Thank you,” Papa Lewis replied as we all walked past the Corbin Cabin in single file.

  When we got out of view, Washington brought us back to the present, and we continued hiking until late in the day, only stopping for lunch and a few snacks. We spent a tranquil night along the Hughes River. The next morning, we got up at sunrise, enjoyed breakfast, and tackled Old Rag. It was the hardest hike I had ever done! We had to hoist each other up in some spots. We squeezed through deep, narrow, granite crevices, and scrambled up and over massive boulders. The Bear Fence Hike was a good practice run for this, and the view at the summit did not disappoint! The view at the top looked over the eastern mountains with a 360-degree view in every direction was the best. We sat and drank in the beauty for a while before hiking back. We reached the parking lot, where we met Dad right on schedule. We had conquered the most difficult hike in the park!

  “You guys should be very proud of yourselves. That was one rugged trail, and you did it!” Papa Lewis said to us as Dad steered the car out of the parking lot.

  For the next few days, we explored the North District of the park together. We toured an old CCC camp across the road from Mathews Campground. Some of the buildings were still standing, giving us a really good feel for what the camp was like back in the day. There were so many more historical artifacts in the park that we still hadn’t seen.

  We took a short hike near Compton Peak to see a spectacular columnar joint formation, created millions of years ago as lava cooled and formed into the six-sided geometric columns. On the way back to the vehicles, we ran into Soul Search, Bagel Man, and Fungus. They were headed to Front Royal, at the northern end of the park. They planned on continuing north on the A.T. to see how far they could get before winter.

  Wild Bill requested that we stop at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center before leaving the park. En route on Skyline Drive, Nick asked us to pull over. We pulled into a parking lot, and Nick jumped out of the lead vehicle.

  “That mountain range over there is Massanutten. See the northern tip of the mountain? Th
at’s called Signal Knob. During the Civil War, the Confederates, and sometimes the Union, used that point to send signals about each other’s movements,” Cousin Nick explained.

  We got back in our cars and drove on. We arrived at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, and Wild Bill insisted that we time travel back to the summer of 1938. Crockett did the honors, taking us back to July of 1938. Everything went dark and lit up again, and as with our last time travel experience, we were all wearing formal clothes. The ladies wore 1940s-style dresses and the men wore jackets and ties. A band was playing music on an outdoor patio, and people were dancing. Old model cars were parked everywhere, and cabins stood nearby.

  “They used to have dances up here,” Wild Bill told us before turning to Mom and asking, “Petunia, may I have this dance?”

  She smiled, and the two of them walked over to the terrace and did the foxtrot. Dad danced with Grandma. Papa Lewis danced with Dolly. Then they all switched dance partners for a few songs before Crockett brought us back to the present.

  We took a short hike across the road to the Snead Farm, an old apple orchard and farm. The homestead was long gone, but the barn was still standing and in good condition. No need to time travel here. As we explored the grounds, we found the old spring, walked along the foundation of the home, and peeked into the barn. We could feel what it must have been like to live here when the Snead family worked the farm. After a bit of exploring, we walked back to the visitor center.

  On the last night before we would go our separate ways, we cooked one of my favorite camp meals - camp-fire pizzas and s’mores for dessert. We reminisced about our adventures. We felt like we had really explored Shenandoah National Park. But Washington pointed out that we had hiked only a sampling of the five hundred miles of trails, and there were many more artifacts and sights to see. We simply couldn’t do it all in one trip. So it was decided that we would plan another adventure. Wild Bill, Cousin Nick, and Papa Lewis capped off the night with the song “Oh Shenandoah.” Campers all around us joined in to sing along.

  The next morning, everyone was up early. Dad and Mom brewed the coffee, and we had a simple breakfast of granola bars and fruit. Then we all worked together to break camp. In a short time, we had crammed all of our gear either into the back of our Jeep or on the roof. The goodbye ritual of hugging, kissing, and promises to write or call began. Wild Bill was headed back to Tennessee; Cousin Crockett, Uncle Boone, and Aunt Walks-a-Lot back to Georgia; Washington, Cousin Nick, and Dolly to Charlottesville, and my family back to Ohio. We were about to hop in the Jeep, when a campground host rode up in a golf cart.

  “Are you the Lewis and Clark gang? Does someone in your group go by the name of Bubba Jones?” the campground host asked.

  “That’s me,” I replied, wondering what this was about.

  “This is for you,” the campground host said as he handed me an envelope.

  “Thank you,” I called out to him as he drove away.

  “That’s not from me,” Washington commented as I opened the letter.

  Dear Bubba Jones and Time-Travel Family,

  You will find a key to decode the message below in your mail when you get home. The message will lead you to your next park adventure.

  Sincerely,

  A Long-Lost Relative

  We all stared at each other, wide-eyed and grinning, knowing that another adventure awaited.

  The End.

  Curriculum Guide

  The Adventures of Bubba Jones is recommended for grades 3-7 and may be a helpful resources for several curriculum topics.

  Math

  Cipher Code/ Problem Solving

  Social Studies

  National Parks Paleo Indians

  Southern Appalachian Culture

  Mountain Cultures

  Civil War

  Lewis & Clark

  American Presidents: Hoover, Jefferson, FDR

  Appalachian Trail

  Civilian Conservation Corps.

  Science

  Endangered Species/ Shenandoah Salamander

  Climate Change

  Geology/ Ancient rocks, oceans, and mountains

  non-native species

  Chestnut blight

  Peregrine Falcon

  DDT

  Wooly Mammoth

  bear

  deer

  Barred Owl

  The Adventures of Bubba Jones

  Discussion Questions

  Chapter 1: Is this Shenandoah National Park?

  1. Can you list 2 of Shenandoah National Park’s most famous features?

  2. What are woolly mammoths? And why do they no longer exist?

  3. Why did the Paleo Indians move from place to place?

  4. What prank does Bubba Jones pull on Hug-a-Bug?

  Chapter 2: Action at Rockfish Gap

  1. What are the rules of time travel that Bubba Jones (Tommy) must follow?

  2. Who was Thomas Jefferson? And what is he famous for? Why is he meeting with James Madison and James Monroe?

  Chapter 3: Secret in the Mail

  1. Where did Bubba Jones receive the 2nd half of the coded message? Who gave it to him?

  2. Who else used this cipher system? What was their passcode?

  Chapter 4: The People Behind the Trail

  1. How far had the thru-hikers that Hug-a-Bug met already hiked? What states had they traveled through?

  2. What does PATC stand for? What does this group do?

  3. Who was Myron Avery? How is he different from Earl Schaffer and Grandma Gatewood?

  Chapter 5: A Night on the Mountain

  1. How many campgrounds does Shenandoah National Park have? And which one is Bubba Jones’ family using?

  2. How does Nick use his time traveling abilities?

  3. Where is Bubba Jones headed next?

  4. Who did Bubba Jones and Hug-a-Bug suspect was behind the code that led them to Shenandoah?

  Chapter 6: A Civil War Rendezvous

  1. Who was Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson? How did he use the Blue Ridge Mountains during the Civil War?

  2. What was the Civil War fought over? Which side, Union or Confederacy, won the war?

  Chapter 7: The Cipher Master Revealed

  1. Why does Nick believe it’s dangerous to tell anyone else about their time traveling abilities?

  2. How did Washington become the youngest employee of Nick’s top secret agency?

  Chapter 8: If These Rocks Could Talk

  1. What are skolithos linearis. And how are they made?

  2. What caused large rocks to break apart and form a talus slope?

  3. Why didn’t Washington give Bubba Jones a new cipher?

  Chapter 9: A Blackberry Mood

  1. What are the three thru-hikers’ nicknames?

  2. What happened to the original old-growth forest? And what is protecting the current second-growth forest?

  3. Are apple trees native to Shenandoah?

  Chapter 10: From One Mission to Another

  1. What was Papa Lewis’ advice about bear safety?

  2. What was school like in 1904? How is that different from what school is like today?

  3. How were the American chestnut trees affected by a fungus in 1904? What are scientists doing to help these trees?

  Chapter 11: Things are Getting a Little Wild

  1. What illnesses can you contract from drinking water with protozoa? How does Bubba Jones collect clean water?

  2. What is Washington’s secret group working to avoid?

  Chapter 12: The Land of the Free

  1. What made Shenandoah one of the most visited national parks in the 1930s?

  2. What were the Jim Crow laws? And how did they affect Shenandoah?

  Chapter 13: What’s the Big Deal?

  1. List some things park visitors can do in the Central district.

  2. What was Rapidan Camp used from from 1929-1933?

  3. What is trail magic?

  Chapter 14: Presidential Double Header />
  1. What were the 3 necessary features of the presidential retreat?

  2. List 3 facts about Mrs. Hoover.

  3. What is Iron Mike?

  Chapter 15: Not So Secret Anymore

  1. What is Crockett’s theory?

  2. Why is it a big deal if a single species disappears?

  3. List 5 facts about the Shenandoah salamander.

  Chapter 16: What an Amazing Adventure

  1. Who was George Pollock?

  2. What parts did President Coolidge, Harry F. Byrd, and the Commonwealth of Virginia play in the creation of Shenandoah National Park?

  3. Why is the park’s perimeter so irregular?

  Bibliography

  Unitied States. Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Accessed September 27, 2015. http://www.appalachiantrail.org/

  Allen, Thomas B. George Washington Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War, Washington, D.C: National Geographic Society, 2004.

  Anderson, Larry. Benton MacKaye: Conservationist, Planner, and Creator of the Appalachian Trail, Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 2002.

  Alt, Jeff. The Adventures of Bubba Jones: Time Traveling Through the Great Smoky Mountains, New York City, NY, Beaufort Books Publishers, 2015.

  Alt, Jeff. A Walk for Sunshine: a 2,160-mile Expedition for Charity on the Appalachian Trail, New York City, NY: Beaufort Books Publishers, 2015.

  Alt, Jeff. Get Your Kids Hiking: How to Start Them Young and Keep it Fun!, New York City, NY: Beaufort Books Publishers, 2013.

  Avery, Myron, Maine: An Encyclopedia. Accessed October 4, 2015. http://maineanencyclopedia.com/myron-avery/

  Badger, Robert L. Geology Along Skyline Drive Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, Shenandoah National Park Association, 2012.

  Bove, Jennifer. Why does it Matter if Species go Extinct? About.com, December 10, 2014. Accessed December 28, 2015. http://endangeredspecies.about.com/od/extinctionpastandpresent/a/Why-Does-It-Matter-If-Species-Go-Extinct.htm

  Davenport, Coral. Climate Change Deemed Growing Security Threat by Military Researchers, The New York Times, May 13, 2014. Accessed September 19, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/us/politics/cli-mate-change-deemed-growing-security-threat-by-military-researchers.html