Parkway Awaits
the “Go” Sign
president of The Citizen-Times
Company and one of the "god¬
fathers" of the park, and visited
the Chamber of Commerce for
a conference with D. Hiden Ram¬
sey, president, and Gene Ochsen-
reiter, manger.
Ready to Go Forward
Plans are well developed for
the Blue Ridge parkway and its
facilities, including tourist havens
on an average of every 60 miles
or so with facilities for resting,
trout fishing, swimming, and other
features that make for a motorist’s
paradise. Mr. Weems said Park¬
way officials are ready to go for¬
ward with this work as soon as
Majestic road building created the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here the
boulevard dramatically climbs the highest ridges of the route, with
magnificent views on either side. The National Park Service delib¬
erately built the route along difficult peaks so that the most enchanting
and varied scenes are made available. As a consequence, the parkway
has opened up to easy travelling spectacular mountain country rarely
seen before by visitors. A motorist going from Front Royal, Va.. to
Clingmun's Dome. N. C. (termini of the highway) will sec more moun¬
tains than any motorist ever saw during a 500-mile trip.
Anil when (ho war Is over, a Ire»-
iiioiiiloiis flood of lourisls is ex-
peeled to view the inan.v scenic
wonders which the new route
makes it possible to see.
NO community in western
North Carolina will fail to
be touched and changed by
the drawing power of the Blue
Ridge parkway and the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park
after the war. Thomas J. Allen, of
Richmond. Virginia, regional di¬
rector of the National park service,
said here this week.
"I know of no recreational facil¬
ity anywhere to compare in magni¬
tude with the Shenandoah Na¬
tional Park and the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, linked
by the Blue Ridge Parkway.”
Allen said.
“When we think of the number
of people this will draw from all
over the country it sort of scares
us," he added, with a laugh, and
to prove his point, cited the figures
on that portion of the parkway
that was thrown open before the
war and the figures from the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park,
which outstripped even the old
established parks in the west dur¬
ing the same period.
Allen, together with Sam P.
Weems, superintendent of the
Blue Ridge parkway. Blair Ross,
new superintendent, and John T.
Needham, chief ranger of the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park,
paid a visit to Asheville to discuss
postwar plans.
They called on Charles A. Webb,
Numerous tunnels, such as this
one, permit the Blue Ridge Park¬
way to reach scenic spots hereto¬
fore denied to the motorist. The
road actually is a motorist's na¬
tional park — an elongated 500-
mile park, built especially for
vacationists. Grades are relatively
easy, curves are soft, so that a speed
of 35 miles is possible on most of
its stretch.
e