Great Smoky Mountains National Park wants oral history from people who lived there

Park Service seeks Smokies memories

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — The National Park Service hopes people who have firsthand accounts of living in the Smokies or attending the national park dedication will share those memories.

Park Service spokesman Bob Miller in Gatlinburg said the memories of hundreds of Civilian Conservation Corps workers who built the park are also being sought.

Park officials hope those with tales to tell will call them by July 24 at (865) 436-7318, extension 349.

Officials would also like to hear from those who witnessed President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicate the national park on Sept. 2, 1940.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established on June 15, 1934, and dedicated six years later at Newfound Gap.

On the Net:

Great Smokies National Park: www.GreatSmokies75th.org