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Records an interview with Gladys Judd, (née Beahm), who lived near Thornton's Gap, in Page County, Virginia, prior to the advent of Shenandoah National Park. Describes home and family life in the mountains. Discusses the life of her grandfather, B.F. Beahm, a Confederate veteran, who ran a general store and post office in the area for more than thirty years. Mr. Beahm was also responsible for collecting the tolls on the private road that ran through the mountains. A second, unnamed interviewer contributes throughout the interview.

Records an interview with Gordon and Lillie Wood, who lived in Beldor, Virginia, deep within the Blue Ridge Mountains. Describes daily life and farm chores, folk medicine, holidays and funerals.

Records an interview with Hazel Meadows, (née Colvin), and her friend Alice Long Brien, who lived near Big Meadows, in Page County, Virginia, prior to the advent of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, including local agriculture, livestock and food preservation, as well as important cash crops, such as apples and chestnuts, as well as nearby moonshiners. Recalls the traditional remedies used for common ailments and injuries, and community events, including hog butchering and apple butter boilings. Includes an anecdote describing a visit by First Lady Lou Henry Hoover to Mrs. Meadows' mother, when Mrs. Hoover purchased several hand made rugs for the nearby presidential retreat, Camp Hoover.

Records an interview with Herman Mace, who lived along Madison Run, near the town of Grottoes, in Rockingham County, Virginia. Describes daily life in the mountains, the means of growing and preserving food and other aspects of the local economy, such as chestnut and ginseng harvesting, bark peeling and moonshine. The Mace family also derived additional income from a mineral spring located on their property. Bottled water from this spring was shipped as far away as Philadelphia and Washington, DC, until the family was removed from the land to make way for the park. A brief chemical analysis of the water follows the end of the interview.

Records an interview with Howard Maiden, who grew up near Swift Run, in Rockingham County, Virginia. Mr. Maiden went to work for Shenandoah National Park in 1935, maintaining trails and roads, and was still employed by the park 42 years later, at the time of the interview. Describes home and family life before the advent of the park and his work throughout the entire park system, including his part in the building of Skyline Drive.

Records a group interview with Jake Sisk, who lived near Nicholson Hollow, in Rappahannock County, Virginia, at the turn of the 20th century. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, fishing. Discusses the limited economic opportunities available to the mountain people, such as the chestnut harvests, bark peeling, fur trapping and moon-shining.

Records the reminiscences of James Burner, who was born in Page County, Virginia, not far from the future site of Shenandoah National Park. Mr. Burner served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, (CCC), during the construction of the park and later became a park ranger in the National Park Service. Describes his experiences working with local mountaineer men in the CCC camps, their history and social conditions in the 1930s. Mr. Burner refers to numerous local mountain families and prominent individuals involved in the creation of the park. Topics include mountain agriculture and wildlife, folk music and dancing, traditional medicines, clothing, schooling, feuds and moonshiners. Mr. Burner was present at the founding of the first CCC camps in Virginia and discusses them in great detail. As a naturalist and conservationist, he discusses the local flora and fauna of the region in great depth as well. Identifies numerous local plant and animal species and their habitats. Comments on early efforts to rebuild the local deer population while reducing the number of wild bears. Comments on the social and economic effects of the Chestnut Blight of the 1930s on local families.

Records an interview with Frances Grove and her brother, J. Maurice Grove, whose father owned large tracts of land in the Rocky Branch area of what later became Shenandoah National Park. The Grove family raised beef cattle at the time and Mr. Grove would drive hundreds of head of cattle to mountain pastures each summer, and then on to the rail yards in New Market in the fall. Describes cattle raising, food production, and preservation. Includes references to local entrepreneur, George Freeman Pollock, owner of nearby Skyland resort.

Records the reminiscences of Joseph Fray, who was a member of the Chamber of Commerce in Madison County, Virginia, in the 1920s, and witness to the events that led to the founding of Camp Hoover, Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. Describes the work of local, state and federal officials in the planning and construction of Camp Hoover, also known as Rapidan Camp, which was a rustic retreat where President and Mrs. Hoover could escape the heat and congestion of Washington, DC. Fray reflects on the impact Camp Hoover had on Madison County, both as a works project and through the numerous benefits, such as roads, schools, and even air mail delivery, that came in the wake of its construction. Discusses the impetus Camp Hoover had on the founding of Skyline Drive and ultimately, Shenandoah National Park. Includes references to the lives of the mountain people and their sources of income, such as tan bark peeling and basket weaving, and local entrepreneur, George Pollock, owner of Skyland resort. A woman identified in the transcript as Mrs. Fray also contributes to the interview.

Records the reminiscences of Josie Knight, who lived near Pine Grove in Page County, Virginia. Describes daily life in the mountains, the means of growing and preserving food and other aspects of the local economy. Also mentioned is Deaconess Mary Hutton, an Episcopal missionary who served the mountain people during the 1930s.