BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY TO BE CLOSED FOR WINTER

Completed sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia and North Carolina, will be closed to through traffic beginning November 15 as a result of the decision of officials that present travel does not warrant the expense of removing snow and sanding icy pavements. The route will not be barred when the weather is favorable, however, and travel will be permitted at the visitor's risk. The date of reopening has been set tentatively for March 15.

Resumption of travel next spring, it is expected, will find a continuous link of 140 miles ready for use. The unbroken strip will begin at Bent Mountain Post Office, about 17 miles south of Roanoke, Virginia, and extend to Deep Gap, near Boone, North Carolina. It is believed that wayside picnic and camping areas at Smart View, Rocky Knob, Cumberland Knob and the Bluffs also will be in readiness for the new season.

WASHINGTONIANA

At the top is a view of the Memorial Mansion erected in 1931 on the site of the original home at George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Virginia. Below it is a recent photograph of one of the bedrooms in the restored Ford Mansion at Morristown National Historical Park, New Jersey. From December 1779 to June 1780, the building was the official headquarters of the Continental Army and the home of General and Mrs. Washington.

NOTED LICHEN SPECIALIST VISITS GREAT SMOKES

Approximately 200 species of lichens were collected in Great Smoky Mountains National Park this fall by Dr. Gunnar Degelius, of the University of Upsala, Sweden, a world authority in the field. After determinations have been made he will supply the park with a list of the collected materials.

FIVE DAYS ON HORSEBACK IN THE SHENANDOAH

Commendation for the work accomplished by the Service in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, with emphasis on the development of horse trails, is contained in a letter received by Secretary Ickes from Mahlon N. Haines, of York, Pennsylvania.

"It is my desire to express my appreciation of what you have done and are doing to make Shenandoah National Park, and the Appalachian Trail in particular, so fine," wrote Mr. Haines.

"Dr. Herbert H. Beck, who is a scientist at Franklin and Marshall College, and I recently rode over the Trail on Colorado burros and a horse. It took us five days. It is a revelation to see the wonderful grading and splendid trails. Ninety per cent of them are as good as the bridle paths in Central Park, New York, and Rock Creek Park, Washington. It is just too bad that there are not thousands of horsemen of America riding over these scenic trails. I have been to Switzerland, Northern Africa, Palestine, and ten times across the continent; just last winter I was to Guatemala and I have not known more thrills or enjoyment than the ride we had through Shenandoah National Park."

BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN COMMEMORATED

Observance of the 159th anniversary of the battle of Kings Mountain, South Carolina, was carried out last month at special exercises held in the national military park there. Dr. Rion McKissick, President of the University of South Carolina, gave the principal address, "The Spirit of the Kings Mountain Men." The program, which was sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, was held in the partly developed amphitheater of the park.

VIRGINIA CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD HISTORIANS HEAR WHITE

Members of the historical staff of the Service's Civil War areas in Virginia held their first monthly meeting of the season at Petersburg National Military Park, with J. Stuart White, Publicity Director of the Virginia State Conservation Commission, as guest speaker. Other meetings will be held throughout the season at the various battlefields.