Birthing, Healing, and Dying in Traditional Appalachia

A talk about the role of the "living room bed" in the life cycle of traditional Appalachian families. The bed was used for birthing, healing, and dying.

About the Presenter: Pat Turner Ritchie grew up in the Brocks Gap area of Rockingham County, VA.  Collecting oral history stories for a school history project sparked an interest in local and family history that has grown over 55 years.  She has written fifteen genealogies, including Brocks Gap, published by Arcadia Publishing as part of their Images of the Past series. She has typed and edited over 40 other books for other Rockingham County researchers, including six for Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society.   

Pat was on the board of Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society for fifteen years and served as president. For thirty years, she has held an annual Brocks Gap Heritage Day to celebrate the families and traditions of Brocks Gap in northwestern Rockingham County. 

Pat is retired from Handley Regional Library where she was an executive administrator.

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