Shenandoah National Park's 75th Anniversary

I haven’t found a lot of reporting on the 75th Anniversary observation that took place up in Shenandoah National Park last weekend, which I unfortunately missed due to work deadlines. The official date of the celebration was last Saturday, June 25, while the actual anniversary of the dedication is July 3.


According to the one news piece I found, linked below, the ceremony was held near Big Meadows, and in addition to park personnel, it featured a key note speech by an NPS deputy director, music from the “President’s Own” marching ban, and a speech by a Franklin Roosevelt impersonator. A portion of Roosevelt’s dedication speech includes this quote:

"We seek to pass on to our children a richer land, a strong nation. And so, my friends, I now take great pleasure in dedicating Shenandoah National Park, dedicating it to this and succeeding generations of Americans for the recreation and for the re-creation, which they shall find here."

It seems a shame there is not more coverage of the event than I’ve been able to find so far.

In any case, my own observation of the anniversary will continue with the 75@75 hikes. I’ve completed three so far, with total mileage of 22.3 out of the goal of 75 miles. It looks like June will pass with no miles logged, so I need to make up for that with a couple of hikes in July. Any takers?

Sources:
http://www2.starexponent.com/news/2011/jun/27/shenandoah-marks-75th-anniversary-ar-1135667/
http://www.celebrateshenandoah.org/