Creative writers honor books' inspiration

Two students from a creative writing class at Murphy Adventist Christian School have presented their original books to people who played a significant part in their stories. Victoria Schutte wrote a mystery story centered around the Old Depot in downtown Murphy. While writing her story she interviewed Mayor Bill Hughes of Murphy, asking him questions about the trains that once serviced Cherokee County. She found Mayor Hughes to be a valuable resource on train history. Schutte dedicated her book, titled Down by the Train Tracks, to Hughes and is shown presenting a copy of her book to him.

Scot Brunner wrote a true story about a train ride taken by his uncles many years ago, unbeknown to their parents, on the L&N Railway. The incident took place in Culberson, NC in the years when the train passed through Culberson and on by the Brunner farm, located on Hardscrabble Road in Mineral Bluff. Scot is shown presenting a copy of his book, titled A Rare Train Ride, to his Uncle Mark Brunner, who presently practices gastroenterology in Danville, KY. Mark Brunner was the first first-grader to attend MACS; he attended from first-grade through ninth-grade. Dr. Brunner also has degrees in internal medicine and pediatrics.