My parents glance back at me, amused: A dying little coal town, deeply isolated even by Appalachian standards, is my favorite place on earth. *As the crow flies, there were thirty miles between my parents’ house in Tazewell County and my grandparents’ house in Buchanan County. King Coal, as it was often called, was the reason Grundy existed, and the reason it continued to exist. King Coal, as it was often called, was the reason Grundy existed, and the reason it continued to exist. *There’s a bronze statue of a coal miner in front of the Buchanan County Courthouse.