A Rockfish Valley Photographer and His Poetry

This is my story in photographs and poetry about growing up, living in and revisiting the Rockfish River Valley, Nelson County, Virginia where I met school mates, friends, writers, artists, poets, young and young at heart, who told me stories of the place they called home. Others told me it was the place they left when young, and returned later to raise children and grandchildren. Some, like me, came from work places and large communities and stayed into retirement and second careers.It's a place with rivers, some shallow--others deep--that flow through valleys and ravines with a history of their own. It's a place with green meadows, walking paths and trails by historic mills, factories, and communities that were born of industry and immigration, faded and reborn again, as descendants and former residents return to reclaim past history and splendor.It's a place where some will say "Waltons Mountain" was created and relived along the Rockfish River.It's a frontier place that saw the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and other frontiersmen who made the westward advance of America possible. It's a place that would see the first and second world wars as soldiers loaded buses and trains, leaving mothers, sons, husbands and wives behind to wait for a worried and fearsome return. It's a place that experienced the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's that brought changes, as factories changed and work changed.It's a place that lets those who live here see the planet's news in 'right now' time. It's a place where a new generation ushered in Y-2K.It's a place that witnessed the beginning of the 21st century with its concerns, hopes and new life styles and social interactions; built on faith, goals, education and new technologies. And, it's the place where I live now.