EMPHIS, the convention city of the
M
Travel
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY from
April 20 to 24, 1942, is one of the few substantial cities in the United States which has grown because it must. It is situated in the midst of the most fertile lands in America, and as these lands were developed Memphis necessarily grew to meet the demands of the people in the surrounding area. Of course Memphis was established as a city because of the natural environment. It is located on the highest point of land in the Mississippi Valley between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. Beyond any historical records Memphis was a meeting place for the Indians, who established trails like spokes of a great wheel, with the Chickasaw Bluffs as the center. These trails are today great highways of hard-surfaced roads so that access to the city from all parts of the country is easy and pleasant. In the early days of steamboating the people of Memphis built their own boats. When railroads began to be constructed they, too, followed the spokes of the Indian wheel. Thus Memphis became one of the great commercial centers of the South. In the old steamboating days it was not unusual to find 75 to 100 packet steamers tied up at the Memphis wharves, but today the barge lines handle twice as much freight as in the best days of the steamboat. With the development of commercial aviation, American Airlines used, and still uses, Memphis a-s one of its east
to Memphis Memphis and west transportation centers. It was followed almost immediately by Chicago and Southern Airlines, and later by Eastern Airlines. Additional lines were projected but will have to await war developments. However, Memphis is one of the great air transportation centers of the United States and has one of the finest airports in the country. The eight national highways, ten trunkline railroads, and three air lines which enter Memphis from every direction afford easy access to this city for the chemists of North America. But of the several modes of travel the automobile offers by far the most pleasure to the visitor who will take time for the interesting stop-overs and side trips to enjoy the beauties of the Southland in the springtime. In the middle of April spring is in full glory in the Midsouth, wisteria and azaleas are in full bloom, the rainy season is over, and the weather is perfect for travel because the long hot days of early summer have not arrived.
The route from the northeastern seaboard leads through historic Virginia and over the Skyline Drive, the scenic motorway through Shenandoah National Park. The park itself lies in the Virginia section of the Blue Ridge Mountains and includes an area of magnificent beauty extending for a distance of approximately 100 miles along the crest of the mountains. From Front Royal on the north to Waynesboro on the south, this is a region of sharp ridges, narrow valleys, and unbroken forests. One of the sights on this direct route is Natural Bridge, the miracle in stone that was once purchased from George III by Thomas Jefferson. Alternate routes from Washington, D. C , might include visits to the historic spots of eastern Virginia, such as Richmond, YorktowD, Jamestown, and the colonial restoration at Williamsburg. Continuing from the Skyline Drive, however, is the partially completed Blue Ridge Parkway leading through Asheville to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These are the most massive mountain uplifts in the East and are the oldest mountains in America. The name comes from the blue haze, sometimes as dense as smoke, which almost always hangs over the mountain peaks. Or the more direct route to Knoxville may be taken by branching off at Roanoke. Knoxville is the seat of the University of Tennessee and headquarters of the TVA. Near by is Norris Dam, highest unit in the Tennessee River development. From Knoxville there are two routes to r
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