Page 41 - History of Rockingham Co
P. 41
MASSANUTTEN MOUNTAIN.
By Miss Ruth Conn.
Where the peak of old Massanutten
Doth bare his broad dome to the skies,
And clad with the strength of Creation
Unmindful of ages doth rise,
He guards day and night our green valley;
For Nature who made it so fair,
Grew alarmed for her beautiful treasure,
And placed him as sentinel there.
When the gray morning mists of the Valley,
That are wont to encircle his crest,
Have long faded into the sunlight.
And wandering winds are at rest.
When from off of his summit has faded
The glow of the evening bars,
He brings from the worlds shining o'er him
Sweet dreams to our ' 'Child of the Stars. '
This sacred trust of Creation
He kept since the world began.
Till he smiled on the red man's wigwam
And the hut of the first white man.
And oft in the struggles that followed,
He echoed the martial tramp.
And sheltered the fires where our fathers
Lay waiting with Stonewall in camp.
He has stood with us in every struggle.
Though burdened methinks v/ith our pain;
He has pointed to courage and patience.
And helped us new visions to gain.
Oh, fairer than Italy's mountains.
Or Switzerland's snow-crowned towers.
He is to the sons of the Valley—
This rugged old mountain of ours !
Dear old Peak, thou art guarding thy treasure:
May men to their trust prove as true !
Not one of Virginia's blue mountains
Is so dear to our hearts as are you.
McGaheysville, Rockingham County,
Virginia, May, 1912.
By Miss Ruth Conn.
Where the peak of old Massanutten
Doth bare his broad dome to the skies,
And clad with the strength of Creation
Unmindful of ages doth rise,
He guards day and night our green valley;
For Nature who made it so fair,
Grew alarmed for her beautiful treasure,
And placed him as sentinel there.
When the gray morning mists of the Valley,
That are wont to encircle his crest,
Have long faded into the sunlight.
And wandering winds are at rest.
When from off of his summit has faded
The glow of the evening bars,
He brings from the worlds shining o'er him
Sweet dreams to our ' 'Child of the Stars. '
This sacred trust of Creation
He kept since the world began.
Till he smiled on the red man's wigwam
And the hut of the first white man.
And oft in the struggles that followed,
He echoed the martial tramp.
And sheltered the fires where our fathers
Lay waiting with Stonewall in camp.
He has stood with us in every struggle.
Though burdened methinks v/ith our pain;
He has pointed to courage and patience.
And helped us new visions to gain.
Oh, fairer than Italy's mountains.
Or Switzerland's snow-crowned towers.
He is to the sons of the Valley—
This rugged old mountain of ours !
Dear old Peak, thou art guarding thy treasure:
May men to their trust prove as true !
Not one of Virginia's blue mountains
Is so dear to our hearts as are you.
McGaheysville, Rockingham County,
Virginia, May, 1912.
