There is in this valley a beating heart. It is always and ever there. And when I am gone, it will beat for you, and when you are gone, it will beat for your children, and theirs, forever. Forever. Until there is no water, no air, no green in the spring or gold in the autumn, no stars in the sky or wind from the north. A dear as the place, it's the inhabitants and their place in it, that are central to "Dried apples and other vanishing memories of Rockbridge County, Virginia." More than ten generations have left their footprint, in one way or another, on the small portion of our planet we know as Rockbridge County, Virginia." Their accomplishments, some enormous, some small, have given breath and solid foundation for each new generation born to the county. Each person has a story to tell about their own lives and their parents' lives, too. Each can look back on their lives and remember how things used to be and can recall memories both wholesome and good, bitter and sad.--Introduction.