Friday Feature: Mount Morris, New York

“It kills me that the old guys in town meet to drink their coffee at McDonald’s.”

Greg O’Connell, Mount Morris, New York Redeveloper

  Main Street, Mount Morris, NY

 Greg O’Connell, a retired detective from New York City, arrived quietly in Mount Morris, New York (population 2,859). Just as quietly he went about buying up time-worn buildings along Main Street—20 of them in all. And now, not so quietly, he’s sprucing them up and bringing back a bit of luster to this old town in western New York. But why he’s doing it has had some locals scratching their heads. 

O’Connell says it’s simple: he wants to breathe life back into the town. He remembers it fondly from his college days at Geneseo, a few miles up the road. Back then, Mount Morris was a thriving village, with lots of farms and small factories. That was before manufacturing packed up and moved on, an expressway skirted the town, and Wal-Mart elbowed in. 

Lately, there’s been a buzz of activity as downtown comes back to life. Besides the renovations—O’Connell expects to spend about $1 million before it’s all done—high school students have been building and filling flower boxes along Main Street. Students from SUNY Geneseo are working on public relations and marketing strategies for the businesses. And Geneseo students staged a play in one of the empty storefronts.

Today, O’Connell’s buildings house more than 150 small businesses, among them an antiques store, barber shop, gourmet shop, Italian restaurant, deli, and coffee shop. O’Connell doesn’t charge an arm and leg for rent, but he does have a few requirements: businesses have to leave their lights on at night, stay open at least one evening a week, and change their window displays at least four times a year. O’Connell also fixed up and rents out the apartments above the shops. He says the way to keep downtown alive is to make it all about community.

O’Connell worries sometimes that the town won’t sustain its rebirth—that he hasn’t done enough to show his ideas will work. But the mayor of Mount Morris says what O’Connell is doing has lit a fire under the folks in town. Other businesses are spiffing up and going the extra mile, and the townspeople are putting a shine on their homes. O’Connell may have slipped quietly into Mount Morris, but his message is now echoing loud and clear.

Notable Folks from Mount Morris:

·        Early settler and namesake of the town was Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence and financier of the Revolution. Morris, considered the richest man in America in 1793, died penniless in 1806 in a debtors prison in Philadelphia.

·        Francis Bellamy, born in Mount Morris in 1855, wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance in 1892. The Pledge was written and published in Youth’s Companion as part of a campaign to sell American flags to public schools. Originally, the Pledge was recited while doing the “Bellamy salute.” However, during World War II the salute was replaced—folks started placing their right hand over their heart when they saw that the salute resembled too closely Hitler’s Nazi salute.

·        Roscoe C. Barnes, born in Mount Morris in 1850, hit the first recorded home run in professional baseball. Not a surprise—he was also the first batting champion of the National League.

Sources:

Resurrecting a village by buying up Main Street

The Last Townie

Mount Morris Website

Mount Morris History

Mount Morris Wikipedia page

Naming Rights for Potholes

I wrapped up today’s commentary (Price Is Right) with the pithy little comment: “What’s next? Naming rights for potholes?” As it turns out, I am so behind the times. I did a quick Google search and found towns are doing just that. They have been for years. And not just towns in this country: England, Poland, Germany, South Africa, and Mexico are doing it. And not just naming rights—you can adopt one of the little buggers. In Iowa City, Iowa, the cost is $5 per hole. The city says it fills 300 to 475 potholes each day. In Krakow, Poland, the price is steeper, $95, but the city will erect a little plaque in your honor. So, if you want to live on in infamy­—or in comfort—check out your local government. There’s probably a pothole with your name on it just waiting for you.

Articles:
Adopt a pothole [Iowa City, Iowa]
City offers “adopt-a-pothole” repair plan [Kracow, Poland]

Price Is Right

“Clearly, the people of Altoona have a sense of humor—and an asking price.”

Bill Schirf, Mayor of [former] Altoona, Pennsylvania

What’s your name worth to you? Kind of a hard question to answer. Maybe not for women—it’s still common for ladies to give up their surname on their wedding day. And not a hard question for the town formerly know as Altoona, Pennsylvania (population 46,287). For the princely sum of $25,000 they traded in their old name for “POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Pennsylvania.” Doesn’t really trip off the tongue, does it? The town agreed to adopt the moniker for the next 60 days as promotion for the tongue-in-cheek product placement movie, POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, by filmmaker Michael Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame). The mayor says the town could use the exposure, and the $25,000 will be put toward enhancing the police department. What’s next? Naming rights for potholes?

Read the Article ® The price was right: Pennsylvania town will rename itself after movie

Facing Tough Times

“People in Prineville have learned not to expect too much.”

John Shelk, Managing Director of Ochoco Lumber

Facebook and Prineville, Ore., become friends

Prineville, Oregon (population 9,000) is facing tough times. Its five saw mills, which once employed 1,200 people, have closed. Les Schwab—the number two tire company in the United States whose headquarters have been in Prineville since 1952—is gone, too. In the last 18 months more than 1,000 residents have left the area, and unemployment is the highest in the state at about 20 percent.

But Prineville isn’t a town to give up—it’s not in its DNA. Founded in 1877, Prineville was a major player in Oregon, until it was snubbed in 1911 when the railroad bypassed the city and laid tracks to the south. Undaunted, the townsfolk raised money to lay their own track. The railroad did a booming business hauling nearby timber to market until the eventual decline of the timber industry. On the entertainment front, the town has boasted a pretty little movie theater, the Pine Theater, since 1938. It was shuttered in the 1980s after an easement dispute, but a couple of newcomers with a can-do attitude slogged through the paperwork, legal requirements, and renovation, and reopened the Pine Theater in 2007. In 2010, the theater opened a second screen.

This month Prineville got a much needed economic boost when Facebook opened its first data center in a brand spanking new building. The town threw a big bash and invited lots of locals, state officials, and a couple of Facebook executives—even Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was on hand. Facebook, which will employ around 35 folks, isn’t going to save the town, but it’s a big help. In fact, building the data center employed more than 1,300 temporary workers, half of whom were from the Prineville area. And the site is large enough for future expansion.

Yep, Prineville is facing tough times, but it’s not like it hasn’t done that before. And with the friends it’s got, you gotta like its chances for success.

Sources:

Facebook and Prineville, Ore., become friends
Prineville, Oregon Wikipedia page
The Pine Theater [This sites gives a nice little history of the theater]
Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook visits Prineville Data Center and community party

Count Me In

“Every person is important.”

Marty Scrogham, Former Mayor of Indianola, Illinois

Small town shows surge in census

The results of the 2010 Census are in. Small towns watch these numbers closely because it takes only a few residents to bump their numbers up or down. And because part of each town’s funding is derived from Census numbers, that bump can be a budget boom or bust. Here’s a quick accounting of a few small towns in the news: 

·        According to the Census, Indianola, Illinois saw a 33.33 percent jump in population: from 207 in 2000 to 276 today. The count is accurate, says Village President Donnie Turner, but statistic is wrong: there aren’t any new residents at all. It’s just that when the Census was done in 2000, a whole lot of people were missed. After suffering the budget effects of the miscount at that time, a dedicated group of community volunteers made sure it didn’t happen again.

Read the Article ® Small town shows surge in census

·        Culloden, Georgia saw its population drop: from 223 in 2000 to 175 today. But town leaders have a plan to get those numbers back up—simply push out the boundaries of the town. It would add 50-75 people and a much needed boost to the budget. The plan is in the preliminary stage—finding out if the neighboring landowners want to become Cullodenians. Cullodeners?

Read the Article ® Tiny Culloden seeks to quadruple city’s size

·        Clayton, Alabama locked in a big population jump: from 1,475 in 2000 to 3,008 today. And it’s all thanks to one neighbor. In 2009, the town redrew its boundaries to include the nearby Ventress Correctional Facility and its 1,600 inmates. Not only do the numbers look good on paper, but the move adds up to cold, hard cash. Clayton sits in a part of Alabama where revenue from an oil lease is divvied up among towns based on population. Pretty slick.

Read the Article ® Census: Clayton's population more than doubles

·        Connell, Washington is home to the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, but unlike Clayton, Alabama, it’s doing its darndest not to include the inmates in its Census count. Connell, with its 2,700 residents, and Coyote Ridge, with its 2,371 inmates, tally up to 5,071 people. This is a problem. In the state of Washington, towns over 5,000 are no longer considered small and must compete with big cities, like Seattle, for state grants. The legislature has stepped in to help and with the governor’s approval, Connell will get to keep its small town title.

Read the Article ® Legislature OKs bill that helps Connell avoid big-city status

·        Little Plato, Missouri (population 109) has a big title. After the latest Census figures, it has been proclaimed the official center of the United States population (total: 308,745,538). Census officials say the U.S. population has been steadily moving southwest, but this has been the most extreme shift to the south: 23.4 miles to be exact. Plato will receive a plaque to display proudly, at least until the next Census in 2020.

Read the Article ® Small Missouri town becomes new center of U.S. population

A Tale of Two Cities

“To lose your school is to lose your identity as a town.”

George Canon, Town Supervisor of Newcomb, New York

Rural New York school recruits overseas students

The tiny town of Andrew, Iowa (population 431) is my neighbor. Only a few miles down the road, it’s the typical small town: a smattering of houses, gas station, restaurant, bar, post office, fire department, and school. The school, a K-12 with 267 students, has been the pride of the community for 122 years. But it’s been on shaky ground these last few years. With dwindling student numbers and the resulting loss of state funds, parents and the community have pulled together to keep their school open: planning and strategizing, fundraising and belt tightening, and class sharing with a nearby school. This year, bowing under economic pressures, the school made the tough decision to reorganize. It will graduate its final senior class of 24 students next month, and when classes resume in the fall the school will operate as a K-8.


A thousand miles to the east, Newcomb, New York (population 445), tucked into a remote valley in the Adirondacks, tells a similar story but with a different ending. Even though the town’s population has been steadily shrinking since a local mine closed in the 1970s, enrollment in its school, a preK-12 with only 86 students, has grown. How can that be? About five years ago the school superintendent started thinking outside the box, way out—global, in fact. Clark “Skip” Hults began marketing Newcomb Central School as an American prep school for the international set. He had everything he needed: high educational standards, college-level courses, community support, and a picture-postcard setting. It’s working. This year, 29 of the school’s students are international or out of district: their home countries range from France and Russia to Iraq and Viet Nam. Each student pays $7,000, which includes a top-notch education and housing with a local family. The school’s students, both local and international, like the setup. The local kids say they like getting to know students from around the world, and the international kids like the small community—though it did take some getting used to. When they heard they were going to New York for school, some of the foreign students pictured big city and bright lights. What they ended up with are stunning mountain vistas, clean air, small town hospitality, and no cell phones (the mountains block the signal). After a bit of adjustment, the international kids say they love Newcomb. They wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Read the Articles:
The 1st day of the last year
Rural New York school recruits overseas students
Newcomb Central School offers an international learning experience

Bountiful Harvest

“It’s all about buying local.”

Tracy Durfee, Member of First Presbyterian Church

  Veggies & fresh eggs anyone?
Photographer: Nigel Wedge

Sow and Ye Shall Reap
Buy local. It’s more than a catch phrase bandied about by politicians or a slogan slapped on a billboard. It’s darn good advice . . . especially when it comes to locally grown fruits and veggies. But farmers markets in small towns often struggle getting folks to buy into the message and buy up their produce. In Cottage Grove, Oregon (population 9,187), the First Presbyterian Church is doing something about that. For the last three years they’ve hosted a “Meet My Farmer” event after Sunday worship. It's a chance for farmers to display their bounty, visitors to snack on home-grown goodies, and relationship building to begin. It’s working. Visitors and farmers alike packed this year’s get-together—the biggest one so far. Farmers offered everything from onions and eggs to homemade sweet treats and smoked salmon. A couple of growers provided information about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, which allow customers to “subscribe” to a weekly supply of produce. And one grape grower ended up with a extra-special customer: First Presbyterian has selected his bottled grape juice to be used in its communion services. In choosing a local grower, church leaders are simply practicing what they preach.
Read the Article ® Event features produce from its producers

Prom-ising

“Ours is just a whole different thing.”

Darcy Garretson, Haxtun High School Principal

Jailhouse Rock
Spring is in the air and for young people around the country that means one thing: prom. In towns large and small, prom dresses have been bought and tuxes rented, the hall has been decorated and the music chosen, and the food. What to do about the food? In larger cities, couples go out for an intimate dinner, but in small towns, dinner is part of the prom itself. And what’s a school to do if the town doesn’t have a caterer? Well, the folks in Haxtun, Colorado (population 964) are in luck. They’re neighbors to the Sterling Correctional Facility—a Colorado state prison—which happens to have a culinary training program and catering service. The inmates will be preparing a fine dinner of chicken alfredo, a side of vegetables or salad, and cheesecake. The Haxtun High School principal doesn’t find the arrangement unusual; she says lots of groups in both Haxtun and surrounding communities use the prison’s catering services. Only one catch: the food is takeout only—these guys can’t deliver.
Read the Article ® Prison inmates cater prom in tiny Haxtun

One-Man Show

“He's a go-getter.”

Eugene Mertens, President of the Kennebec, South Dakota City Council

Lifelong resident refuses to let his small town slip away

Not Slip Sliding Away
Kennebec, South Dakota (population 240) has fallen on hard times. It lost its lumberyard and hardware store, floral shop, and movie theater. But if resident Rod Bowar has anything to say about it—and he does—this town isn’t going down without a fight. Bowar points out that Kennebec still has a library and a clinic and a grocery store. What it doesn’t have, he’s doing his darndest to provide. Bowar’s “day job” is owner of the Kennebec Telephone Co., but he doesn’t stop there. When the city didn't have an electrician, he created PowerCom Electric. When he got tired of driving 50 miles to get his own vehicles fixed, he created Charley's Welding and Auto Repair. And when it was clear that the best strategy for growing his town was to attract small businesses, he renovated a building into an office plaza just the right size for small companies. Bowar says his motives aren’t completely altruistic. When new businesses set up shop, the first thing they need are phones and Internet services, and who are they gonna call? Town Booster Rod Bowar.

Read the Article ® Lifelong resident refuses to let his small town slip away

Foreign Investment

“We’re beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Evan King, Mayor of Adairsville, Georgia

Small town, BIG plans: Adairsville looking to fill vacant industrial properties

The World Comes to Small Town America

Here’s a twist. Instead of sending jobs out of the country, small towns are figuring out ways to bring foreign companies into their communities. In Missouri, a Canadian steel company capitalized on the state’s central location, great workforce, and over $800,000 in state incentives and set up shop in the little town of Glasgow (population 1,189). It’ll start with 25-30 employees and max out at 109. That’ll help whittle away at Glasgow’s 7.5 percent unemployment rate.

And Adairsville, Georgia (population 3,076) has gone global to fill its industrial park. It’s hooked a carpet company from Australia and three Japanese firms. The town has even attracted a metal company from California, which the Adairsville mayor quips is like a foreign country, so they’re counting that one, too. The mayor says some of these companies are buying up older, distressed properties, and so no new construction will be needed for a while. With an employment rate of 12.9 percent, the town has an ample supply of ready and willing workers to fill the jobs.

Read the Articles ® New Factory to Bring 100+ Jobs to Glasgow and Small town, BIG plans: Adairsville looking to fill vacant industrial properties

Friday Feature: Townsend, Massachusetts

Something Old, Something New
Most of the towns I cover in the Friday Feature have seen large leaps in population in recent years (statistically large, at least). But that’s not the case today. The Census says Townsend, Massachusetts (population 8,926) is shrinking. The Boston Globe says it’s “average.” But don’t tell that to the folks who live in Townsend. They’ll tell you the town is 279 years young and growing strong.

The Common

Here’s a little history: Townsend was first settled in 1676, 100 years before the birth of our nation. The town is centered around the Common, a town square complete with bandstand and statue of a fallen Civil War hero. When the British marched on Concord, Massachusetts in 1775, the cannon was fired on the Common calling the townsmen to arms. Decades later, Townsend was a safe haven to slaves taking the underground railroad north to freedom in Canada.
 

McNabb’s Pharmacy

Fast forward to today: The town is still filled with history. On Main Street there’s Cliff’s Cafe, built as a home in the 1880s and operating as restaurant since the 1920s. Next door is Pete’s Barber Shop, originally the town’s post office. And not far away is McNabb’s Pharmacy, a real showplace in the summer.  

Library, Senior Center, and Meeting Hall

But to see current development, all you have to do is stroll a little north of Main Street and there’s the new library, senior center, and meeting hall. Like most libraries, especially in small towns, this one is about a whole lot more than books. The staff say they know there isn’t a lot going on for teenagers in Townsend in the evenings, so the library offers yoga classes and workshops in Manga (Japanese cartoons, or “anime”). And the teens themselves teach some classes—from art to American Sign Language.

The Falls at The Cooperage in Townsend Harbor

Tying the whole package together is the Squannacook River. It winds its way through town and offers recreation, fishing, and a canoe race this weekend.

To top it all off—besides the history, and the recent development, and the beauty of the river—Townsend has plenty of friendly folks. If you eat at Cliff’s Cafe and come up a little short, someone will be glad to help you out. Walking along Main Street, you’ll be sure to get a wave and a hello, and don’t be surprised is someone stops to ask if you need a ride. In fact, there’s a well-known blind gentleman who has no problem getting around town. When he needs a ride, he simply stands on Main Street and before long someone takes him on his way. The Boston Globe calls Townsend “average.” Wouldn’t it be nice if this is what “average” means?
Sources:
Town of Townsend
Townsend is alive, well and anything but “average”
Library activities attracting teen visitors
Photos courtesy of Town of Townsend website

Filling in the Gaps

“Sometimes when you have a problem, you need to try to be creative and come up with a solution on your own.”

Esterlee Molyneux, Mom of two Sunrise Elementary students

Without district bus, parents buy their own

What Happens on the Bus
Shiny yellow buses signal the beginning of the school day for kids all around the country, but if it weren’t for the quick thinking of some parents in Smithfield, Utah (population 9,535), their elementary school kids would’ve been left afoot. After the school district redrew boundary lines this year, the families found themselves just inside their school’s 1.5-mile “no busing zone.” Walking a mile and a half wasn’t an option for the young students, so instead of filling the streets with carpooling mini-vans and Suburbans, two of the dads bought a school bus of their own. Now, 82 kids ride the bus. Parents pony up $206 each year (comes out to 57 cents per trip), which covers the cost of the bus, insurance, maintenance, and a part-time driver. These kids are on the move, thanks to their forward-thinking folks.
Read the Article ® Without district bus, parents buy their own

And the Beat Goes on
Music is struggling to stay alive in schools operating under razor thin budgets—the news is filled with stories of music programs falling under the ax. But when the music and fine arts program was cut in Lakeville, Minnesota (population about 50,000), one mom saw it as her chance to live a dream, and help students do the same. Joy Afdahl opened a fine arts academy, staffed with many of the teachers who lost their jobs, and offers after-school classes in music, drama, and art. She knows the academy can’t replace the experience of in-school programs, but she’s doing what she can to keep the joy of music alive.
Read the Article ® New fine arts academy opens in Lakeville, looking to fill void left by school cuts

Hot Stuff

“It’s a lovely way for the dead to provide comfort for the living at a difficult time.”

Vernon Marshall, Local Vicar

Crematorium to heat council swimming pool

Downtown Holland, Michigan: Some of the coolest sidewalks around

 Photo: James Colby Hook III

Hot in Holland
As you might guess from its name, Holland, Michigan (population 34,053) is mostly known for its annual tulip festival, but it also sits along the scenic shores of Lake Michigan, across from the Big Red Lighthouse, and sports some of the coolest sidewalks around. Actually, the hottest. You see, throughout the winter, which lasts about 9 months according to some, the city pumps warm water from the nearby power plant through pipes laid under the central district’s sidewalks and streets by the town’s forefathers. The warm water keeps the area clear of snow and ice and welcoming to visitors. City leaders credit the Snowmelt Project with keeping shoppers downtown pounding the pavement until it’s time to tiptoe through the tulips.
Read the Article ® Places that work: Holland’s sidewalks
Bonus Link ® Holland, Michigan

The next story breaks most of the rules for getting included in Small Town News in a Nutshell: it’s not about a small town, and the town isn’t even in the United States. But it is a surprising solution to a burning problem, and it was too good to pass up . . .

Hot Tub
Gotta give it to the British. They know how to stretch a buck—excuse me—quid. The Redditch Borough Council recently approved plans to use crematorium furnaces to heat a municipal swimming pool. The move will save £14,500 annually (that’s about $23,500 to you and me) and cut emissions at the same time. A few folks find the idea eerie, but for the most part the response has been positive. In fact, the proposal cut across party lines and got almost unanimous support from the borough council (25 of 27 ayes). But, hard to believe, the British don’t get credit for being the first to come up with the idea of putting their dearly departed to work. In 2009 a suburban mortuary in Taipei converted the heat from its crematorium to power the air conditioning to its rest area, and in 2008 Halmstad, Sweden cut emissions by using the energy from its crematorium to heat homes. This is one smokin’ hot idea for going green.
Read the Articles ® Council dives into crematorium-heated pool and Crematorium to heat council swimming pool

Keeping It Small to Keep It Local

“It’s got to be the fishing.”

Michael Acevida, Resident of Kake, Alaska

Forest Service’s new logging approach helps Alaska town

Chopping Away at Unemployment
Logging is big business in Alaska. So big, in fact, that it usually leaves the little guys in the dust. That’s the way it’s always been in Kake, Alaska (population 631), where unemployment tops 80 percent and the small town’s survival is on shaky ground. Although the town has three sawmills, they’re too small to handle the massive logging contracts handed out by the U.S. Forest Service. But things are changing. When the Forest Service was getting ready recently to open up more of the forests surrounding Kake to logging, it did something it’d never done before. It asked the townsfolk what they thought should be done. And when the folks said it’s fine to open up logging but keep it small enough so that locals can bid on the jobs, and keep out of roadless areas so that the blacktail deer can flourish, the Forest Service said OK. The result has been a mixture of sustainable logging, hunting and fishing, and jobs. And a second chance for a small town.
Read the Article ® Forest Service’s new logging approach helps Alaska town

Book Smart

“We’re a hot spot.”

George Keller, Volunteer at Harper, Texas Library

New Harper Library welcome addition

Hot Stuff
The folks in Harper, Texas (population 1,129) got tired of driving 25 miles to check out a book, so they ponied up books, furniture, money, free time, and a whole lot of hard work to create a library of their own. The library had humble beginnings—“a little old shack” in 2005—and this month moved into its new digs, a 7,000-square-foot former ranch store. The library includes a retail shop to help raise funds, and it loans out more than 12,000 materials: books, audio books, videos and DVDs, periodicals, and newspapers. It also offers continuing education classes, space for meetings, copying and faxing services, and laptops and wi-fi. This is one hot spot in a small town.
Read the Article ® New Harper Library welcome addition 
Bonus link ® Harper Library 

Recipe for Success

Variety is the spice of life. And nobody knows that better than library patrons in little Edgemont, South Dakota (population 792). The library, ranked no. 2 in small town libraries in South Dakota, offers a ton of books and movies, games and puzzles, a teen room with computer games and a Wii station, a summer reading program and day camp, and cake pans—75 of them, in all different shapes. Years ago a woman donated her cake pans and the collection has grown from there. So, when folks in Edgemont are craving a good book, some entertainment, or a tasty bite of cake, they head on down to the local library and get their fill.

Read the Article ® Check out fun at Edgemont library

Friday Feature: Mount Washington & Alford, Massachusetts

“It’s a place of refuge for fresh air, solitude and renewal.”

Judy Isacoff, Resident of Mount Washington, Massachusetts

Small Berkshire towns booming

Two for the Price of One
Two towns are featured today—they’re both in Berkshire County, on the western edge of Massachusetts, and they both rank among the state’s six fastest growing towns. But for some, that’s hard to believe.

Tucked into the farthest southwest corner of Massachusetts, between Mt. Everett State Reservation to the east and Mt. Washington State Forest to the west, the tiny town of Mount Washington is a hidden treasure. With only 167 residents, it’s the second smallest town in Massachusetts, but its 28 percent bump in population over the last 10 years also ranks it among the state’s fastest growing towns. And nobody quite knows why. Some trace the growth back to the awful events of September 11, 2001, when folks who had vacation homes in Mount Washington decided to make the safe haven their permanent home. Others think it’s the expansion of the year-round Camp Hi-Rock run by the YMCA. But all agree that the fresh air, abundance of nature, and peaceful lifestyle make Mount Washington the perfect place to call home.

To the north, Alford, Massachusetts, saw a 24 percent spike in growth. But the town clerk doesn’t believe it. She did her own count, and came up with 388 residents, a far cry from the 494 Uncle Sam reported. She says the town’s low tax rate and picturesque setting have attracted a lot of construction in the last few years, but most of the houses going in are vacation homes. Still, she says it’s a quaint New England town that hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years, and that’s just the way she likes it.
Read the Article ® Small Berkshire towns booming

Tourism Tactics

“There’s more to Mount Airy than Mayberry.”

Ed Shelton, Resident of Surry County, North Carolina

A Mayberry image update?

Smart Money’s on Mayberry

Trouble’s brewing in Mount Airy, North Carolina (population 8,583), and it all comes down to tourism dollars. Why’s that a big deal? Mount Airy is better known as Mayberry. Yep, Mayberry—America’s favorite hometown. But the tourism slogan for the county where Mount Airy is located, Surry County, is “Very Surry.” The folks from Mount Airy want to change it to “From Mayberry to Merlot” to capitalize on the county’s most famous small town and the local wine industry. But other towns in the area say the county is known for a whole lot more than Mayberry—such as the largest open face granite pit and the Museum of Regional History. Hmm. As for Pilot Mountain (aka Mount Pilot), they like the Mayberry theme—they’re even talking about putting up a statue of Barney Fife. Sounds like something the folks’ll have to hash out down at the courthouse over lemonade and Aunt Bee’s preserves.

Read the Article ® A Mayberry image update?

A River Runs by It
The borough of Shickshinny, Pennsylvania (population 896) is tucked along the banks of the Susquehanna River but it took six years to receive designation as a “River Town.” Building on the designation, the town plans to put in a boat launch and campsite to go along with the biking and hiking Warrior Trail that currently runs along the river. They’ve already raised $350,000 in state and federal grants and plan to start construction next year. Town leaders say the boat launch and campsite are in the perfect spot, and who can argue? Considering the nearest boat launch four miles up river flanks the SCI Retreat, a Pennsylvania state prison.
Read the article ® Shickshinny hails new designation