Abstract
Volunteer tour guide before it became a park. Mid '70s bus tour training by Ron Tolland and Sue Garland. Land for park acquired by eminent domain tatics. Valley threatened by hamburger stands and factories. Transition from dump site to Beaver Pond; return of wildlife. League of Women Voters lobby federal gov't.; Ford signs bill authorizing park. Personal history and education. Met husband on bus trip to D.C. She worked for geophysical lab during WW2. Bought lot in Walton Hills for sake of outdoors. Currently working on park's resource files and guiding train tours. Historical overview of area and natural resourses. Canal progress from 1825 to 1832; brings prosperity to Ohio. Rails bring canal's decline to all but tourism. Listing of tourist attraction along Canal. Park gives access to natural and social history.
Creator
Smith, Birdie (interviewee)
Creator
Loman, Nate (interviewer)
Project
Rivers Roads and Rails 2008
Date
6-23-2008
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
70 minutes
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
"Birdie Smith Interview, 24 June, 2008" (2008). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 517052.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/362