The Boys
Russell Barlow
Russell's family was from Smithfield, Virginia. Like many folks in the Depression, hard times drove them to the city to find work. For a time, Russell's dad was able to find part-time work in Norfolk on the railroad, but it wasn't enough for seven children, so he joined the CCC. In the years just before the CCC camps were established the area's dominant tree, the chestnut, had been killed by blight. The thousands of dead chestnut trees posed a fire hazard. So part of Russell's job was to remove the chestnut trees and prepare the lumber and bark for use on the buildings and other park amenities like picnic tables and shelters.
In the years just before—the conifers were also threatened by a virus. The gooseberry bush, which was abundant in the area, was a carrier for the virus. This was just the kind of conservation project Roosevelt had in mind. Russell, along with many other CCC boys would go out and pull the gooseberry bushes out by their roots. This was a labor intensive job. The CCC boys pulled thousands of bushes saving many of the conifers you see in the park today.
Russell left the CCC and returned home to find work. But he came back to the mountains six months later to marry the sweetheart he had met on a weekend trip to town. He and his bride moved back to Norfolk where Russell worked for ten years. But the draw of the Blue Ridge brought them back again and Russell and his wife raised a family in their home just outside the boundary of the park he helped build. Later, Russell's son Frankie would also work at Shenandoah National Park.