Published in 1977, this collection of essays was published to honor Cratis D. Williams upon his retirement from Appalachian State University. Williams was an influential scholar, folklorist, teacher, and administrator who spent much of his career focused on the Appalachian region. Edited by J. W. Williamson, contributors to the volume are Louie Brown, Ronald J. Eller, Alan J. Crain, Stephen Fisher, Wilma Dykeman, Henry Shapiro, David S. Walls, Gene Wilhelm Jr., Robert Paul Sessions, David Looff, John Opie, Loyal Jones, Gordon McKinney, Chester Young, Robert J. Higgs, Amos Abrams, Jean Ritchie, Betty N. Smith, Joan Moser, Raymond O'Cain, and John R. Hopkins.