By BRUCE SLOANE

By BRUCE SLOANE Rappahannock New* Cantributin* Writer Shirt Tail Hollow is one of many narrow Btream valleys, or holloas, that twist and wind their way deep into the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Although Shirt Tail Hollow can be hard to find, those who seek it usually are successful. It’s in Rappahannock County, a little bit east of Brigadoon, and upstream from Camelot. Each year millions of tourists visiting Shenandoah National Park unknowingly gaze down on the beauty and wonders of Shirt Tail Hollow as they motor their way along the park’s Skyline Drive. Anything can happen in Shirt Tail Hollow. Most everything has. Shirt Tail Hollow didn’t receive its name until Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Fred bought some land from their friend, Clovis. Clovis agreed to sell them an acre of her land so they could build a house. After they agreed on the price, the bank required a survey before the deed could be drawn up. The surveyor showed up early one Saturday morning. He was apologetic because his assistant, the rod man, had the flu and couldn’t make it. Would anyone like to hold the rod? (Later that day when he knew everybody better he admitted that the rod man wasn’t sick - he had a hangover. Did anyone know anybody who wanted to be trained' as a rod man?) Ten-year old Joy, who belonged to Clovis, and 11-year old Earl, who belonged to Suzanne and Fred, jumped at the chance to be rod people for the day. The surveyor seemed happy to have such young and eager assistants. He showed them his surveying ,

►Drive From Page A-l [that they] consider any other options,” Ms. Suzich said. “Any other way that you can save money — if you have to cut back on mowing the lawns, or close a campsite down for a while, all of those other options need to be considered. Everyone made the point that to close the park would just be disasterous,” she said. The proposed closing is in response to a $48 million cut in the Park Service’s 1993 operating budget request, and all 367 offices in the system have been asked to tighten belts to make up for the shortfall. In addition to the cuts, the federal government has mandated nearly $100 million in improvements and renovations system-wide, according to Del. Jerry Wood, D31st. “I hope that this is their way of getting their point across to the U.S. Congress that they shouldn’t have cut that money out of the budget,” he said. Wood was instrumental in getting the Park Service to agree to a two-week delay in implementing the closing when it was first announced last week. Wolf has questioned that a budget shortfall really exists, noting TktStikmUuptrh powtr-to-vtigktrrit, electronic ignition wtik lifetime warrant/. *23435. TkeStiUm.M$n powerful Aon the 023, plus convenientsitie chain tensioner. *29995, ThtStiUOM. Designed for professional use, or tiu detuning weekendwoodcutter. '34925

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