Among the more interesting jobs created by the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) during the Depression years of the 1930s, was the Virginia W.P.A. Writers Project. The idea was to have a group of authors, editors, and reporters fan out among the coves and hollows of the Appalachian Mountains and record the beliefs, superstitions, and tradi- tions of the mountain folk. These stories were then transcribed and sent to Richmond with the intention of publishing a book on Virginia folklore. The ultimate goal was never accomplished, and the hundreds of stories that were collected were eventually placed in the archives of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville.
