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In reply to the discussion: If The Dems Made A Concerted Effort To Appeal To Rural Voters What Would You Recommend They Do?.... [View all]xmas74
(30,007 posts)She lives in mid-Missouri. I graduated from high school in that area and she's right-there are still plenty of very small towns who idolize the "Mayberry" ideal. It's not a bad thing-it's just different. Our small towns hold treasures such as the world's largest pecan (Brunswick), "Main Street USA" (Marceline), the scene of a tragic riverboat accident (Malta Bend), Heidelberg Fest (Concordia), Apple Fest (Waverly), the oldest lyceum west of the Mississippi (Arrow Rock), the final resting place of a psychic dog (Marshall), the home of "Man's Best Friend" (Warrensburg), Carrie Nation's hometown (Holden), burial mounds (Miami), and plenty of Civil War battlegrounds for those with an interest, including one that has a cannon ball buried in the pillar of a county court house still in use to this day (Lexington). We even have a small town that helped coin a phrase used throughout the Cold War. (Churchill gave a speech in Fulton at Westminster College in 1946, where he used the term "Iron Curtain" for the very first time.)
Mayberry was quirky yet warm and loving and showed that small towns really hold their charms, along with lots of talent. Besides, Andy Taylor was pretty darn smart, Barney Fife was someone everyone knows, I have female friends who are basically Floyd and Otis, Aunt Bea made incredible food that everyone loved and Opie was just a small town boy who did his best while growing up. If comparisons need to be made it's a loving comparison compared to other places.