Aunt Emily Pencil

“Aunt Emily” from an original pencil by Paul Murray “There sat Aunt Emily (103) by the window, in her favorite chair – like a queen on her throne.  Her royal cape over her shoulders, the delicate light of dawn dancing over her face.  Her all-knowing glimmer, the secrets she holds, her forever majesty.”  -Paul Murray- Aunt Emily had never been more than 6 miles from home. The same as her mother and mother’s mother; imagine the pure history we are talking about when we visit her. The roughness of the mountains and briar kept many from going too far; even still today, Paul passes greeting on to siblings or family, for folks as he visits the area.  When you can make almost everything you need, there’s not much need to travel!  Paul Murray has been researching the last of the pioneers’ lifestyles in the isolated hollows of the Appalachian Mountains for more than 40 years, and he has helped raise over $1.6 million for charitable causes in the Appalachians and elsewhere.  Like the movie “Song Catcher,” Paul Murray is the Soul Catcher of this pioneer spirit. “