Small towns around us: in search of Mayberry

[DressageGirl]

I am thinking that for a town to be a true "mayberry" type town, none of us would have even heard of it.

[anifani821]

Well, I lived for a few years (age 5-ish) in what I have always felt was the "real" Mayberry - a charming little town near Greensboro - Liberty. Of course, things have changed. Those small towns often had downtowns that couldn't survive and larger cities have impinged on most of them, changing them into yuppie burbs and bedroom communities.

But back in the late 50s - early 60s . . . . Liberty really was Mayberry. When I watched Andy . . . I knew he was living in Liberty, lol. We even had Siler City nearby. Yep, I was certain Mayberry was just a fictional name to hide Liberty's true identity.

So there are some of us who know first-hand what it is like to ride your bike downtown, lean it up against the brick facade of the Allstate Insurance Company and run in to greet the folks who work there, just so you get the hard candy they always give out to the kids who stop by. And we really did have a Daddy who stopped to solve the daily quandaries that all the neighborhood kids (and often, adults!) would find themselves embroiled in with one another. We really had a fishing hole and a swimming hole (Staley's Pond!) and we could march into the hardware store and start up a conversation with the owner, even if we were only six years old. In fact, we spent hours in the hardware store staring at the bikes, so we could figure out which one we would try to talk our momma into "laying away" for our next birthday.

And when someone in the house was sick, the neighbors really did bring chicken soup.

And when someone had a baby, the whole town acted like it was the major event of the year.

And when it was election time, campaigning politicians would meet and greet at Fish Fries and big outdoor picnics . . . and at the Fair Grounds, where "anyone who was anyone" showed up, often to man church hot dog and hamburger or BBQ stands.

So yes, Mayberry existed . . . but the world has changed. We all lock our houses these days. Bikes left outside a storefront may well get stolen. And most Daddies are way too busy to stop and solve everyone's problems in the neighborhood, lol.

There are still small towns with vital downtowns and where folks know most of their neighbors. But the 50s and early 60s were a point in time b/f America "grew up." After Kennedy's assassination, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights Movement, and our involvement in the undeclared Viet Nam "conflict" - Americans came to see that there were a lot of things that were not so charming about our society. Things changed as we recognized the disparities many were living with. The way folks interacted and lived changed - crime became an increasing problem - and all these factors forever changed the fabric of small town America.

At least, that is my opinion. You can find small towns where folks work together for betterment of the whole community - where small businesses can still survive - and where churches and schools and community sports still bind people together. But the idyllic Mayberry . . . it is legend, not reality.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by DressageGirl

I am thinking that for a town to be a true "mayberry" type town, none of us would have even heard of it.

There are Mayberrys all over this country. They usually are not known out of their region, except Mt. Airey, because it is Andy Griffith's home town. However, Mayberrys are normally known in their region.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

There are Mayberrys all over this country. They usually are not known out of their region, except Mt. Airey, because it is Andy Griffith's home town. However, Mayberrys are normally known in their region.

Yes, there are neat small towns all over. I enjoy seeking them out. Some of the best meals I have found were in small towns.

But that idyllic attitude . . . that is pretty much a myth. All towns are gonna have their "characters" but life is still complex in a small town just like it is in the burbs or a large city. I think in many ways, our neighborhoods have taken on the social aspects that whole towns used to have (looking out for each other). If folks are lucky enuff to live in a closely-knit neighborhood, then that "small town" feeling of people caring about one another can be replicated to some degree.

I do agree with you, tho, that small towns are all over the country and many are wonderful places to settle down.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Yes, there are neat small towns all over. I enjoy seeking them out. Some of the best meals I have found were in small towns.

But that idyllic attitude . . . that is pretty much a myth. All towns are gonna have their "characters" but life is still complex in a small town just like it is in the burbs or a large city. I think in many ways, our neighborhoods have taken on the social aspects that whole towns used to have (looking out for each other). If folks are lucky enuff to live in a closely-knit neighborhood, then that "small town" feeling of people caring about one another can be replicated to some degree.

I do agree with you, tho, that small towns are all over the country and many are wonderful places to settle down.

LOL, I know of lots of Mayberrys. You're right about the difference between "then" & now.

Ani, you are totally dead-on about neighborhoods. I came here from Cherry Hill, which you know very well. My specific neighborhood was Mayberry, in many ways. People didn't lock windows or doors. Kids toys would be out in the yards & were always there the next day. It was a residential neighborhood, so it was only Mayberry up to a point.

[wsobchak]

Are there any towns where they didn't build McMansions?

Are there any hidden modernist enclaves?

What about A-Frames? Are there any towns that might have A-Frames on wooded lots?

I have been looking weekly for four years for something like this. The RE search engines don't let you search by architectural style, wooded lots, no HOA, etc.

I have to work in Charlotte. I can't commute from east TN or whatever. Are there "hidden" towns accessible to Charlotte, but not infected with the housing inventory the corporate builders have graced us with in the last 9 years?

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by wsobchak

Are there any towns where they didn't build McMansions?

Are there any hidden modernist enclaves?

What about A-Frames? Are there any towns that might have A-Frames on wooded lots?

I have been looking weekly for four years for something like this. The RE search engines don't let you search by architectural style, wooded lots, no HOA, etc.

I have to work in Charlotte. I can't commute from east TN or whatever. Are there "hidden" towns accessible to Charlotte, but not infected with the housing inventory the corporate builders have graced us with in the last 9 years?

What's your budget?

The McMansions are everywhere. However, try looking 30 - 35 miles out to the west. The quantity of McMansions is considerably less & even if you don't find exactly what you are looking for, you might find something that you like just as well.

[Ragdoll Kitty Lover]

There are still small towns with vital downtowns and where folks know most of their neighbors. But the 50s and early 60s were a point in time b/f America "grew up." After Kennedy's assassination, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights Movement, and our involvement in the undeclared Viet Nam "conflict" - Americans came to see that there were a lot of things that were not so charming about our society. Things changed as we recognized the disparities many were living with. The way folks interacted and lived changed - crime became an increasing problem - and all these factors forever changed the fabric of small town America.

I think we grew up in a wonderful era -50's to late 60's - between the hard times of the depression & the more violent, less gracious times that followed in the mid-70's.

Even though I grew up in a city, we still had parents who watched out for all the neighbor kids, never locked our doors, and could go to the candy store or drug store for an ice cream soda. We could walk 2 miles downtown with an older sibling (he was very old - 13 or so) with absolutely no fear. I walked those same 2 miles to high school everyday. We had city buses if we wanted to ride & pay for the special ticket, which I did when there was too much snow.

Blowing Rock in NC was the base small town for the Mitford series of books. Mt Airy is still rather close-knit, & Pilot Mountain is also still a great little town with monthly cruise ins during the summer. Also in that area is Pinnacle.

In downeast Maine, people in Pembroke (population 300) still call my grandfather's house by his family name. My brother bought it, bringing it back into the family after 70 years, so it will continue on with the family name for a longer time.

I remember going into the post office in Perry, ME (about as many people as Pembroke) in the late 70's looking for ancestral homes, and the local men gave me 5 sites to see where the family hadn't resided for well on 80 years!

We have family reunions in Dennysville, ME - the actual town of Edmunds still isn't incorporated - and meet with all our cousins who are descended from Benjamin & Elizabeth Hobart from 1820- 1840. That town was a little too close, huh?