Having written for almost forty years on the cultural heritage that Henderson County holds so dear, Louise Bailey has progressed elegantly from being a valued preservationist of mountain history and lore to becoming something of a local treasure herself. This special selection of essays offers the best of Bailey’s work along with some new stories that together offer readers, whether “old-timers” or newcomers to the area, a warm and informative perspective on the history and folklore of the county. We meet a delightful cast of characters whose stories—many of them told in a unique dialect and some dating back as far as the Civil War—tell of a truly independent way of life and of a fierce pride in their traditions. Silas Stepp’s letters home from Confederate battlegrounds, Gran’dad Owenby’s stories of logging and life in his log cabin; anecdotes from blind, old Elzie Floyd and from Clem the moonshiner; tales of granny-women and the old-time “yarb” doctors: these are just some of the stories that bring the history of the county to life. As the county, from Main Street to the backroads and creeks, undergoes tremendous change, this delightful collection is sure to inform and entertain but also to preserve the valuable work of Louise Bailey and the history she seeks to protect and share.