"Nearly Everybody had a little land..."
The generation that experienced Blue Ridge in the mid-twentieth century remembered Main Street as the center of commerce where families purchased their daily needs.
In the mid-twentieth century, the local drug store supplied more than just medical supplies. Patrons could also purchase food and ice cream at the counter.
At the local tobacco company, customers could purchase tobacco and candy. It is currently one of the oldest buildings on the street.
Cochran's Jewelers was one of two jewelry stores on Main Street.
Western Auto served many of the community's needs. While there, customers could purchase anything from children's toys to small household appliances.
In the mid-twentieth century, Epworth was mostly an agricultural center of the county. The Pattersons' dairy farm, where William Patterson grew up was located in Epworth.
By the mid-twentieth century, this location had operated as a school for over fifty years. It operated as a high school beginning in 1936, and transitioned to serving as a grammar school in 1955. During its time as a grammar school, children danced around a maypole in the space that is now a parking lot.
William Patterson grew up in Fannin County on his parents' dairy farm. He remembered the abundance and affordability of land in the area, and the role that agriculture played.
Johnny Ray Queen grew up on his parent's land in the Galloway section of Fannin County. Though they did not operate a full farm, they did grow crops and raise livestock to support themselves. He remembered how his family used their land to make ends meet.
Nancy Elliot grew up in Fannin County during the 1930s and 1940s on her parents' farm in Epworth. She remembered the ways that her family supplemented her father's income with what they produced on the farm.
Though Betty Foster grew up in multiple different parts of Blue Ridge, she remembers her family always having enough land to grow a small vegetable garden. This supplemented what her father made at his shop in downtown Blue Ridge.
In the 1950s, Blue Ridge was one of two main commercial hubs in the county. Though many in the region traveled out of town for certain items, Main Street had the resources to meet basic needs.