This is a crazy looking single image HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photograph of the Swannanoa Mansion, in Nelson County, Virginia.  The mansion, built in 1912, is rumored to be haunted; and despite the beauty of the Italianate architecture, it does give you an eerie feeling.

PS- Ryan and I just completed an HDR class and I plan to post about it very soon!! You can see some more of our HDR images on Swartzshots.com

On the last page there is a picture of Nellie McDorman, Ryan’s Great-Grandmother, Roy’s Grandmother, weaving rugs.

To See Part I Click Here

To See Part II Click Here

To See Part III Click Here

To See Part IV Click Here

Page 25-31 of the July 1949 National Geographic Magazine:

So I am going to go ahead and post Part IV today and V tomorrow so you can see the rest!

To See Part I Click Here

To See Part II Click Here

To See Part III Click Here.

The article, about 30 pages long, features the Shenandoah Valley, and actually has a photograph of Roy’s Grandmother in it.

Now, 60 years later, so much about the Shenandoah Valley has changed, and a lot has stayed the same.

I think now, on the 60th anniversary of the article, is a perfect time to revisit Shenandoah Valley life.

This is continued from 2 previous posts.

The beginning of the article:

Cover through Page 2

Pages 3 through 7

To Be Continued. . .

This 60 year old article features some things that are very important to us: the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia Craftsmen, and Roy’s Grandmother.

To read the beginning of the article click here.

Page 3:

This photograph was taken in the old Virginia Craftsmen Shop:

Merck is still in Elkton, 60 years later.

To Be Continued. . .

The article, about 30 pages long, features the Shenandoah Valley, and actually has a photograph of Roy’s Grandmother in it.

Now, 60 years later, so much about the Shenandoah Valley has changed, and a lot has stayed the same.

I think now, on the 60th anniversary of the article, is a perfect time to revisit Shenandoah Valley life.

I plan to post 3-4 pages at a time so that the post is not overwhelming.

Notice the price of the magazine 50 cent, as compared to the current newsstand price of $3.00.

In this first page I love the quote, “But Valley people think counties rather than towns, with the local pride found in English Counties.”  That quote still holds true!

To Be Continued. . .

Here is a newspaper article written about it a few of years ago:

During a visit to the area in search of some genealogical information, they stopped at the shop to take a picture of one of our old buildings. They had family members who attended the school in the late 19th century, and they just happened to be Roy’s family members too!

The building is now in a state of major disrepair, but was once a one room school house, known as the Hinton School.  A school owned and operated by Rockingham County, Va, in the late 1800s.

After discovering their interests, and relationship, Roy and Ryan began digging up what little family history they have to share with their new found distant cousins.

They even took a quick trip over to the graveyard to see the headstones of deceased family members.

It was a wonderful surprise to see the interest in the family history that we are surrounded by and subconsciously ignore.  I hope that we can build a relationship with these long lost cousins, and put all of the missing genealogical pieces together!

This is Roy, with his “new” cousins:

We hope to see them again soon!