Biography of Maurice Emery
(An unfinished opus.)

   Maurice Emery’s earliest days as a word-smith date back to the world of hand type and the California job case, in the post war 1950’s. In his first business venture, he managed to earn money making name tags from alphabet soup (uncooked), balsa wood, safety pens and Elmer’s glue. Going door-to-door in his small town, next to the largest automobile plant in the world, he combined all the sales skills, word skills, management skills, and production skills an 8 year old could possess. For Maurice it was the start of a continuing life affirming adventure, combining writing with business building.

   His storytelling dates back to his days in the back yard looking over and through the chain link fence that clearly defined the limits of his world. As he watched life play out on the ever-changing streets he dreamed of what changes his life would lead to. Little did he know that each new decade would bring a profound change in his business and personal life!

   Maurice outgrew the limits of the backyard almost as soon as he entered secondary school. He felt he could no longer be tied down by the overcrowded, financially strapped world that surrounded him. Sharing a 640 square foot house with six brothers and sisters plus mom and dad, and the reality his father’s wages as a skilled laborer did not go far, forced Maurice to think of his financial situation earlier than most people. There was no extra money in the household budget for all the adventures he had in mind. Maurice set out to find a way to make the money he needed to experience everything he could in life. He wanted to make his mark on the world and prove himself like the great thinker (albeit in mathematics) his street was named after, Euclid.

   When the opportunity arose for a chance at a real job in a printing company on the corner of his famous street, he made haste to the local library to find out everything he could about printing and how it was done. The owner agreed to hire Maurice if he learned how to set type within one week. Not wanting to lose such a great opportunity to make money and use words, Maurice memorized the layout of the type case, called a California job case, and thus started his career.

   By the time he graduated from high school he had already been involved with two start-up companies. Naturally at that age the involvement was as a worker and learner, not as a manager. But by the end of the second opening, which was a Tastee Freeze ice cream stand, he had the business building bug.

   From those early days in a small town nestled in the cluster of suburbs surrounding Detroit, Maurice has enjoyed a parallel career of business building and writing. Each new business venture brought new writing assignments. From start up plans, to final business sales packages his ability to be both creative and topical paid off. Although he is continually accused of being a workaholic, for him it is a hobby enjoyed daily. In Maurice’s mind it is no different than the athlete who gets paid doing what he loves to do and would be doing anyway.

   Accompanying every opening of the 30 companies he built or helped build, were all the necessary manuals, various types of business letters, advertising flyers, brochures, newspaper ads, proposals, newsletters, radio spots, promotional pieces that required his writing skills. Whenever something needed to be written or researched Maurice was first in line to volunteer for the task. As one of his former employers stated, "If you want to know how many gallons of water are flushed down a toilet in a day in the plant, ask Maurice. He will be able to determine the figure and then write down all the reasons why and how you could save water."

   He has been researching and writing for years but the vast majority of his management and business start-up experience has been connected with the printing and publishing industries. From hand placing each character of type, when it took hours to set one page, to desk top publishing on a state-of-the-art computer, Maurice has experienced both realms. You might say that he has had a front row seat watching the evolution of the printing and desktop publishing revolution.

   Research, writing, layout, and design have always been a central point of what Maurice has done for hundreds of customers. Over the years he has interacted with a wide variety of small businesses including a single owner temp agency, alarm companies, real estate agencies, trade associations, hospitals, beauty shops, clothing stores, restaurants, and several White House administrations.

   Two of Maurice’s greatest accomplishments were the writing, layout and publishing of the Lake Gaston Gazette and the writing and layout of Pop UP Times. The idea for the Lake Gaston Gazette came about from what he and his wife  saw as a need for a weekly newspaper in the lake community they had adopted as their new hometown. Together they built the fastest growing, most dominant paper in the area. Maurice provided his writing, photographic, editing, layout, design, marketing, sales, and management skills to this adventure. In the words of the community they served, Maurice and Kay went from being "a voice in the community to the voice of the community." The Gazette was the first publication in the five county lake area to run full color pictures.

   Four years later, after selling the Gazette, Maurice once again got involved in a start-up publication when he became the writer, editor and publisher for Pop-UP-Times. This mid-Atlantic, bimonthly, magazine serves the tent and folding camper enthusiast of the region.

   His travel features, product comparison, how-to, historical and investigative articles brought national recognition. Their full color cover and 32 page, 2-color magazine format with a newsletter style feeling proved to be a winner. Although he is no longer editor, he laid the groundwork for a publication that is now national.

  Little did he realize that ten years after starting the Gazette he would be asked to take over the editorship of the competing paper.  He continues to handle the job as editor while maintaining their web site, littletonobserver.com. It is unique site with more of newspaper look than a futuristic web site look. 

  The road from a Detroit, Michigan suburb to Littleton, North Carolina where Maurice now resides has been a long, winding and worthwhile one. He has lived in twenty-two geographical areas, including 10 states and 4 countries. He left his hometown courtesy of the U. S. Marine Corps in 1961 and has not stopped traveling since. To date he has visited 12 countries and 32 states including every state east of the Mississippi. He has built and operated small businesses in six different states.

   What Maurice enjoys most in life is continuing to learn each and every day while helping small businesses grow by sharing his words and experiences.

   When you believe words are the notes that create the music of life. Then you can understand why, for Maurice, this biography is "an unfinished opus."