Iron Mike - Civilian Conservation Corps
N 38° 31.079 W 078° 26.206
17S E 723469 N 4266402
Iron Mike stands at the Harry Byrd Visitor Center in commemoration of the CCC who were instrumental in creating and developing Shenandoah National Park.
Waymark Code: WM6TPH
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/19/2009
Views: 13
Iron Mike is a bronze statue based on a Depression-era drawing of a shirtless young man who stands wearing field pants and floppy hat with axe and shirt in hand. A nearby plaque reads:
Between 1933 and 1942 more than 10,000 young men served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Shenandoah National Park. These "boys" created the form and fabric of the new park so that future generations could find recreation and re-creation here.
The statue was commissioned by the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni (NACCCA) and dedicated on September 30, 2006 at the annual Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni Reunion in Shenandoah NP.
The goal of the NACCCA is to have a copy of the statue erected in every state to commemorate the work of the CCC from 1933-1942. Virginia became the 32nd state.
Iron Mike greets people outside the Harry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor Center at Big Meadows on Mile 51 of Skyline Drive. The statue was a gift of the Barlow family of Stanley, Virginia. Mr. Russell Barlow served with the CCC at Camp NP-2 (Camp Fechner at Big Meadows) from 1934-1936 and Mrs. Louise Barlow was one of three sisters who married CCC boys.