Nostalgia can be a tricky pastime. Longing for life in the 21st century to be like an idealized 1960s television show is an exercise of wishful thinking, but I still wish we could return to Mayberry.
The Andy Griffith Show always comes to mind when I visit once vibrant downtowns in North Carolina such as Plymouth, Windsor and Lewiston-Woodville. I can imagine the time when these small towns were a lot like Mayberry. But now they have many abandoned storefronts as so many small towns lose population.
It is a tale of two states in North Carolina. The urban centers of Raleigh and Charlotte see exponential population growth, while the rural counties in northeastern North Carolina farm country face population decline.
According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, North Carolina saw the third largest population growth just after Texas and Florida last year. North Carolina ranked No. 1 for state-to-state migration. At the same time, lack of career opportunities in rural counties such as Northampton, Halifax, and Bertie Counties means young people are leaving to find work, most likely in Raleigh and Charlotte.
Rapid population growth across much of North Carolina concerns Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler who has made farmland preservation a top legislative priority. Troxler highlighted the issue in his State of North Carolina Agriculture discussion at the Ag Development Forum during the Southern Farm Show in Raleigh on Feb. 8
Troxler wants the General Assembly to increase funding for the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, which provides grants to support the preservation of working farms and forests. The program helps protect farmland through conservation easements, agricultural agreements and other initiatives. But increased funding is a challenge when most legislators are more focused on development.
The legislature needs to make farmland preservation a funding priority. A strong agricultural economy is a requirement — not a luxury — in North Carolina. It would be a tragedy beyond measure if North Carolina lost its ties to farming as it becomes increasingly urbanized.
The wonder of the Andy Griffith Show is that it captured the ethos of rural North Carolina. Indeed, the experience of growing up in Mount Airy on Andy Griffith influenced the classic television series. Farmers and farm stories were part of many episodes of the show.
We can never return to Mayberry, although I wish that we could. But policy makers can commit to preserving vital farmland and revitalizing small towns that so desperately need to be saved. Moreover, the kindness that exemplified the Andy Griffith Show is so really needed today.