Local novelist at museum
JULIE CHAUTIN Contributing Writer

Cherokee County Historical Museum director Wanda Stalcup could not put down the book until she finished it late into the night. Thememoir of Eva Nell Mull Wike, The Matheson Cove - In the Shadow of the Devil's Post Office, reminded Stalcup of her own upbringingin the mountains. And the emotional impact of her life, left Stalcup awake for a long time. Do not read it before you go to sleep at night advises Stalcup, if one has to get up early in the morning.

Dr.Wike visited the museum recently with her husband, Jim. They had heard about the museum and its collections but were stillamazed at the many exhibits from earlier times in Cherokee County.

While chatting later by phone, both Wike and Stalcup commiserated about their childhood fears of not being understood when theyspoke out loud at school. They both lived the story that the movie Nell spoke of so eloquently. But Wike agreed with the anthem that Stalcup lives by, that it is better to laugh than cry about hard times.

The memoir by Eva Nell Mull Wike is available for purchase at the Cherokee County Historical Museum, now also open on Saturdays throughout the summer.