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Records an interview with Austin C. Judd, whose father, W. Lee Judd, owned a general store near Luray, Virginia, from the turn of the 20th century until the advent of Shenandoah National Park in the mid 1930s. Discusses the retail business at that time and his impressions of the mountain people who would patronize the family store. Most of the store's interaction with the mountain people was based on a barter system, where chestnuts, ginseng and farm produce were exchanged for store credit. Also describes his time with the Civilian Conservation Corps, (CCC), during the 1930s. Includes references to local entrepreneur, George Freeman Pollock, owner of nearby Skyland resort, and George Corbin, who built Corbin Cabin, near what is now the Appalachian Trail. Mr. Judd's wife, who is identified only as Mrs. Judd in the transcript, but who is believed to be Gladys Judd, contributes throughout the interview.

Records an interview with Butler Franklin, (née Butler-Brayne Thornton Robinson), a direct descendant of Francis Thornton, III, who built a plantation near Sperryville, Virginia, in the 1740s. Mrs. Franklin contends that several prominent geographic features now located in Shenandoah National Park, including Thornton Gap, the Thornton River and Mary's Rock, were named for Francis Thornton and his descendants. Includes a genealogical history of the Thornton family in Virginia, from William Thornton, III, who emigrated from England in the 1640s, through Col. John Thornton, who married Jane Washington, aunt of the future first president. Discusses several Thornton estates, including Montpelier, the plantation built on the Rappahannock River near Sperryville, and the Thornton ancestral home, Fall Hill, in Fredericksburg ,where Mrs. Franklin resided at the time of the interview.

Records an interview with Carl Shifflett and his wife, Gertrude, (née Shifflett), who discuss their memories of the people who lived within the future boundaries of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, courtship, and funeral rituals, as well as holiday celebrations.

Records a group interview with David M. Taylor, who lived in an area known as Joliet Hollow, in Page County, Virginia, until his family was moved to a resettlement area in nearby Ida, Virginia with the opening of the park in the early 1930s. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, etc., as well as how his family and neighboring mountain families adjusted to their new lives in the Ida Valley. Mr. Taylor recalls his conversations with local entrepreneur George Freeman Pollock, owner of Skyland resort and an early promoter of the plans to create Shenandoah National Park.

Records an interview with Davis Twyman, who lived for more than eighty years in Syria, Va., in Madison County, at the eastern edge of Shenandoah National Park. The Twyman family owned a general store and grist mill in Syria, and Mr. Twyman recalls his interactions with the mountain people before and after the founding of the park. Discusses the limited economic opportunities available to the mountain people, such as the chestnut harvests, bark peeling, truck farming and moon-shining. Recalls the establishment of the presidential retreat known as Camp Hoover, in 1928, and the impact that President Hoover and his wife had on the local community.

Records an interview with Deaconess Mary Hutton, who ran the Pine Grove Episcopal mission in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the 1930s. Describes her work with the local mountain families, whom she describes as a noble people, before and after the establishment of Shenandoah National Park.

Records an interview with Dr. Delmar Weaver, who served the mountain families near Madison and Stanardsville, Virginia, in the early 1930s. Describes the more common ailments and injuries associated with the mountain people, such as pneumonia, rickets and diphtheria, as well as less common diseases such as polio and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Recalls the great lengths to which he and other local doctors went to reach and treat their patients, often for very little pay. Doctor Weaver describes some of the eight murder victims he encountered during the two and a half years he practiced in the region.

Records an interview with Edward Nicholson, who lived in the mountains of Madison County, Virginia until the establishment of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, the means of growing and preserving food and other aspects of the local economy. Discusses popular pastimes, herbal remedies, holidays, courtship, and the moonshine trade. Also discusses his memories of local entrepreneur, George Freeman Pollock, owner of Skyland resort. Mr. Nicholson's wife, Nellie, (née Dodson), is also present for the interview and contributes throughout.

Records an interview with Effie Williams, (née Sours), who explains that the Shenandoah National Park headquarters building in Luray, Virginia, is located on the site of her childhood home. Mrs. Williams' father and grandfather ran a small farm and tannery on the site, not far from Pass Run.

Records the reminiscences of Estelle Dodson, (née Nicholson), who grew up in a log house in Corbin Hollow, Virginia, prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park. Describes her early home and family life, household chores, and school days. Discusses the difficulties of making a living in the mountains during the Great Depression and her father's work as a basket maker. Other sources of income included harvesting chestnuts and ginseng, and selling flowers and berries at nearby Skyland Resort. Recalls numerous members of the Dodson, Nicholson and Corbin families, including her grandfather, David Nicholson and her first cousin, George Corbin, who built Corbin Cabin in 1910. Also includes anecdotes regarding George Pollock, local entrepreneur and owner of Skyland, and the importance of the resort to the local economy. Estelle Dodson's mother-in-law, who is only identified in the interview as Mrs. Dodson, contributes to the interview throughout. A note written on one of the transcripts identifies her as Mrs. Odie Dodson.