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The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway

Oral History Interview with Thomas Noland, July 24, 1996

Transcript (50 p.) PDF
Complete Audio File (MP3 format / ca. 198 MB, 01:48:20) MP3
Abstract Thomas Noland, a North Carolina native, worked as a surveyor on the Blue Ridge Parkway from 1934 to 1936. He describes the tasks of different members of the surveying crew and the weather conditions in which they worked. He also touches on details of room and board and salaries for surveyors. Noland also talks about the informal engineering education he received through surveying the parkway and how the experience was beneficial in his subsequent career. By reading portions of his diary throughout the interview, Noland also provides a detailed description of day-to-day life on the job.
Date July 24, 1996
Interviewee Noland, Thomas
Interviewee occupation Surveyor
Interviewee DOB May 12, 1915
Interviewer Gallant, Alicia
Subject Surveying
Weather