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Murphy – Wally Avett writes the Hillbilly Ranger column, which has appeared regularly in the Cherokee Scout since 2012. He also self-publishes a collection of his best columns, titled Real Mountain Tales and printed in Atlanta.
The first Tales book was in 2017. Tales No. 2 came out in 2019, and the third is being released this week.
“I write a lot about local history,” said Avett, a former editor of the Scout. “A little humor sometimes, often a piece about an interesting person, dead or alive.”
Tales No. 3 has the comical real story about a Delta Airlines passenger being caught breast-feeding her cat. It also has the story of a brutal Florida reform school and its link to Murphy, as well as tragic stories of young boys lost in the Smokies – one never found, the other’s remains identified in almost a miracle some 60 years later.
Newcomers wanting to learn more about our area and tourists looking for a mountain souvenir often buy the Tales books.
The three Real Mountain Tales books as well as Avett’s four novels are on sale at the front desk of the Scout’s office, 89 Sycamore St., and signed by the author.