I moved to Alabama in the mid-1980's and a lot of the manufacturing had already left Alabama by that point to overseas locations. Even while living here at that time, there were still manufacturers closing up shop to move out. My husband's step-mom lost her job because of it. I worked alongside some older women who had been laid-off from their manufacturing jobs and had to enter the lower-paying service industry that I was working in as a teenager. They had no other places to work, but still had to help support their families.
I moved here 5 years ago from Pennsylvania And it’s depressing!! So few job!! I was told that no one wants to work anynore cuz of the heat. That’s why I see mostly Mexicans working outside here It’s honestly very depressing. If you don’t have jobs People are depressed. It’s that simple.
@@danielmoore7332 No better than any of the other methods tried from what I've seen in my lifetime. Actually, the best economic boom times appear to have taken place after the US has gone to war, but I'd rather avoid that method. I'm an Independent btw. When I first moved to Alabama, it was flip-flopping from being Democrat to Republican until it finally stabilized as Republican. Originally, Alabama was a Democrat State for most of its existence. Its last Democrat governor, Don Siegelman, was sent to jail on federal corruption charges. I remember being in a hair salon with some other women and they were talking about how disappointed they were with him and the Democrat Party. Some of them had apparently voted for him. I believe that to have been the turning point for Alabama and its relationship with the Democrat Party. Also, you'll find that Alabama became more anti-union/right to work after all the manufacturing abandoned it. Alabamians tend to blame both the federal government for the exodus of manufacturing and the unions pretty much equally. When they lose trust, it is really hard to win it back. Stubborn, is the word that I would use, but understandable. They got burned. Furthermore, the Democrat Party has basically given up on Alabama. It doesn't even try here. Many of the elections don't even have a Democrat running for office. That just further cements Alabamians' opinions that the Democrats don't belong here. This was the first year that I saw so many Libertarians running for office in Alabama. I can't say for certain, but there appeared to me to be more Libertarians running than Democrats. At least, they put themselves out there more. I remember signing a petition to help get them on the ballot. I wanted to see some competition at least.
4:00. That light blue building used to be my Uncle Rudy's Barber Shop. We always had fun hanging around and listening to the stories the customers would tell. There was an unofficial mascot of the Barber Shop - a three-legged cat named Tripod.
I'm 76 years old now and I've lived most of my life in Alabama, and one thing I can tell you about these so-called "Backward" communities is that they are some of the most friendly and loving places in America.
Years ago while talking to a fun loving friend on the way back home from a sporting event he said "always look for balance in a town" meaning you shouldn't have more churches in a town vs. the total number of bars/liquor stores. "Both are needed to keep a town healthy and happy". It made me think, every time I visited a new town to look for both.
You wouldn't find that a few years ago in our county or towns. We are the last dry county. The two larger towns in our county now sell liquor but you won't find a bar. We have more churches that most. Our population is 14, 184 as off 2022
I live way from town- nearest thing is a community-2 actually-significantly more churches than minit marts in both -no bars and no liquor (just beer and wine) but we have fire stations
I enjoy all your coverage of the small towns, the smaller the better!!!.......Love the closed businesses, and run down/abandoned houses. I always wonder who grew up there, and if life was a joy or hardship for them. Those closed businesses may have been someones dream, turned to struggles, and then broken dreams. So many places where life is hard in America, and I don't see it getting any better......Thanks for the videos!
I live in Berry but you didn't film my home. I have been waiting for you to come to Berry. I've only lived here since 2019 but I love it. Everyone is super friendly. I moved here from Northport, which is in Tuscaloosa. Looking forward to that episode.
Alabama can be really pretty when everything is in bloom. Some of those trees will be white-blooming Bradford Pears or pink-blooming Red Buds. Some of the dead looking vines will be purple Wisteria.
Enjoying your videos. I love seeing the historic sections, love all the old houses. I grew up in Georgia and said I would never be caught dead in Alabama. I moved Alabama 30 years ago and I absolutely love it 💕 Thank you for touring our beautiful state.
My Aunt was a true Appalachian child that was born and raised just north of Chattanooga,TN. After she graduated highschool she married and moved to just outside of Huntsville, Alabama. She said she would never live to far from home. She would always remember her mother ( my grandmother) grabbing 2 chickens (one in each hand) and snapping there necks at the same time in under 3 seconds to be prepared for dinner. Add some vegetables from the garden and it was a Feast.
I am so glad i found you and Nicole. I watched a couple of your videos and decided to watch 'all' of them. I printed a list of state and will follow you... even hopefully out of the USA. I just finished Montgomery and it was wonderful. The capitol and Jefferson Davis home was so beautiful. Next capitol please explain about the passports. Also I wanted to tell you that you mentioned that in Reform that there were no more video stores. I am proud to live in Bend Oregon.... We have the last Blockbuster video store in the world.. Hope you get here one day. Thanks to you and Nicole for all you do. You will provide this old gal with many hours of arm chair travel. Thank you.
You visited cities in West Alabama, specifically Pickens County which is where I grew up. Fyi, we pronounce the city “Ree-form” (long “e”) not “Reform”!! 🤣 Wish you had visited Aliceville and Carrollton. Carrollton has an interesting history , the courthouse with face in the window. Thanks for the video!! Roll Tide!!
I lived in Fayette for 18 years. Its a wonderful place to live. It used to be full of live and had alot of manufacturing jobs. All the plants have shut down and people started moving. I lived there when the shooting happened. It was a very sad time.
Seeing the old abandon chicken houses in the first part of the video, reminds me that back in the mid 70's and all through the 1980's the mobile home industry was big and a lot of people would find old chicken houses pour a cement floor in them and set up furniture and cabinet manufacturing . It was a booming business for a long time. Pretty much gone now.
Have to love this town as my name is often shortened online to Gordo! I grew up in Australia and our holidays were spent driving in the country. The downtowns you show remind me of the main streets of country towns there back then. I really like your positive and non judgmental comments.
When in college, I worked at Sears mail order. Memphis distribution center, Crosstown. Every night we sent off 45 or so loaded semis to various towns in the Mid-South, like Fayette, AL. Only the larger towns and cities had retail stores, most had CRS (catalog retail stores) where people could pick up the stuff they ordered from the famous Sears Catalog. At one time, Sears had absolutely dominated the market, but now all of that is long, long gone. They just did not keep up with the times, relying on customer loyalty. Nothing stands still.
One of the previous Millport mayors (eighties and nineties) was not allowed to write a check in the local and surrounding area grocery stores, Had a picture of her at every registers noting not to take her checks due to them bouncing. Steel dust recycling is the repurposing of by product from the steel meals in Lowndes county MS, the reason it went to Millport was because Alabama's EPA laws were less strict than MS. This plant is less than 10 years old.
Hi, and thank you for your video. I just wanted to point out a quick item as there seems to be a confusion between per capita income (PCI) and Median Household income. PCI measures the amount of economic activity the town produces, while Median HHI measures what the avg. resident is earning. For example in the first town (Gordo) the $26k PCI means that the economic activity Gordo generates divided by the # of people equates to $26k. But, the median resident of Gordo earns $42k (e.g. the Median Household Income). But thank you again for showing a part of America that too many people have forgotten exists.
I live in Tuscaloosa and have never had any reason to go to any of those cities 🙃 the main reason for a lot of old Berry downtown is missing is because of a big tornado 🌪
That's what I was thinking when he showed it. That's getting to be an all-too-common sight these days. No interest in rebuilding anything. Tornados do wonders for the bulldozing and tree removal businesses.
Had a friend that bought a pecan orchard near the town of Hurtsboro AL - small crumbling town --- yet at one time , it was a mill town -and the merchants in town requested that the paydays be staggered due to being overwhelmed
@@ensignmjs7058 --- very large groups of people doing their shopping at the same time -Saturdays - stores at the time generally had only one cash register also and most at that time were not self serve , many stores at that time also cashed paychecks so it required having a very large amount of cash to not only cash checks , but to also make change ,the list of reasons goes on and on
I spoke with a lady at the company and she said that they take the steel dust and extract a form of zinc from it then they ship it to Mexico to further refine the zinc then it it sold and shipped out to be used in many different products. The two products they create is Waelz Oxide know as Crude Zinc Oxide (CZO) and Waelz Iron Product (WIP).
BE SURE to get your wife some #GoldenEagle syrup - for special treats! It is the BEST tasting syrup in the world (in my humble opinion 😉 - and I was a country girl, raised eating biscuits & syrup almost every day for my first 18 years!!) ❤️ Now, 73 and retired in Florida, I gladly pay a high price to have it shipped 2x a year so I can enjoy it as a breakfast or nighttime treat on biscuits or English muffins (now my fav 🥰)! It’s not available here and, for the first 2 years in Florida, I tried every syrup in Publix, Winn Dixie & Walmart and NOTHING was as delightful & delicious. I even tried the best-selling syrup in Great Britain🇬🇧 ‼️ So…..I now order Golden Eagle directly from the factory in #FayetteAlabama! 👍🤩❤️😍
Really enjoying your videos on the States and small towns. I'm really learning a lot about the states I have always wanted to visit. You do a great job of sharing information about the towns and showing stuff a viewer would want to see. Very interesting stuff, especially the videos of the south!
I done travel on highway 82 plenty of times coming through Alabama..but never visit them towns ..thanks for showing me how it really look I those towns..🙌🏾 reminds me of my small town in Mississippi...🙌🏾💯
My sister lives in a 400 sq ft house for a 1,000 a month here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s crazy here , she could probably have a much bigger home there. Thanks for showing us places we probably would never travel to.
@@sidebite2533 and do what with it? That’s the problem. What to do with all that house except sit in it and wait to die? Nothing going on in these empty towns.
Liking the video, it's nice cause I live in Alabama but I can't get out to the places like you and your wife do, but I can see them from here an it's nice. Thank y'all.
Hi Lord Spoda Deserted roads, scattered houses, peacefulness is a typical picture of small rural town. Not always one gets a chance to visit these places. You do not just see but show these interesting and less known places to viewers like us. So as usual this video is nice. Overcast, drizzling and gloomy but it's ok. It's the weather of the region residents are used to. Thanks for the video.
1980 must have been a good year for a lot of people. With peak population in all of these towns. That was also the year I got married and we moved into our first home. Still married and still in the same home. That was also the year for the most consecutive 100 degree days. 42 days. This was in Dallas
I just finished my nursing program and looking to relocate to one of these little towns and hopefully bring some revenue back. Probably have to commute to a nearby city, but as long as they have a gym in the town I can make it work. A lot of people see a lot of misery and depression, but these towns are also new opportunities and potential for a lot of us.
Places like Ireland and Portugal are encouraging remote working. And it's doing a lot of good for remote towns and communities. Places that have suffered due to the draw of larger cities in these countries. At least now with remote working, these towns are being regenerated and new businesses are opening up.
Always planned in retirement to travel this great country of ours and visit the different states especially rural communities but due to health issues am not able to your videos allow me to see the country I don’t miss one of them keep up the great videos
These towns are my kinda towns. I'd rather support a local business that a big box store. I never eat at a fast food. I love that people in these towns
Same. I've lived in a large city and prefer my small town because I can get involved and people can actually buy/start a business. The downside (for me) is the unnecessary fear of the unknown or the different.
I enjoy your videos win it's cloudy or sunny! Your history, info and stats really make the video. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to you visiting the Carolinas where I live.
The Fayette downtown looks so cozy INS inviting. And the architecture is stunning! You know, the county courthouse and the surrounding square reminded me of London and this Victorian style architecture heviky influenced by the classical ancient Greece and Rome.
1980 must have been a bad year. I was still a teen then and the whole world to discover. Never knew all this stuff. I find your videos very interesting and informative to say the least. I think I would love to live in a small community for my retirement years, if I live that long. Who knows in today's world. Have a safe trip.
"Far from the Interstate" explains one source of this unemployment. When most roads were two lane, roads mattered less but rail was crucial. With the arrival of the Interstates in the 1960s, businesses found it made sense to locate along them. Look at night-time satellite photos of the U.S. The strings of lights follow the Interstates. You might check out the Southern towns where the economies are doing well. A common factor is having a rail line that parallels an Interstate. Raw materials come in by rail and go out on the Interstate. You will find that along I-85 from Atlanta and Montgomery. It also helps to have a major airport with a reasonable drive. That's the huge Atlanta airport, which is also on I-85. You will find a more cheerful theme for your videos there.
My parents were from Alabama....moved to Texas in the mid 50s. I'm sure I still have family in and around Birmingham, though I haven't been in touch since my childhood.
Love this video- grew up in Lamar county in a small town called Sulligent - can’t wait until you do a video there. I live in Houston Texas now and sometimes miss the small town vibe. I have to admit that it is kind of depressing when I go back home to Alabama and see what was once thriving little towns becoming more like ghost towns. But it does bring back good memories- ❤❤
I find it fascinating really. Thank you for capturing these areas! To see present day 2023. No better time to document then the present otherwise nobody would even know!
Love these videos, so interesting! My mothers side is from the south, so these tired old towns are very familiar. I especially love the small town videos. Also, northern Louisiana has many interesting small towns, and Lakes, and I think would make a great video. I wish you well and please keep these coming.
Recently I came across your videos, I watch the whole video without a skip , the videos are smooth without any shake or jerk and nice on the eyes. 👍👍👍👍👍
I believe I. That one town that was not a flea market but use to be a chicken farm. I helped my neighbors with there chicken farm . They had three of those long buildings. It was in Texas. They grew the chickens for a corporation. Then once fully grown would come pick them up.didn’t we have a recession in the 80,s?? If so then people were moving looking for jobs.
My family moved to Berry Alabama in 1968 from northern Illinois when I was 2 years old. My baby brother was born in Tuscaloosa in 1971 and we moved back to Illinois in 1972. I have a large family in Fayette, Tuscaloosa and Berry still to this day. The Piggly Wiggly you drove by was the only grocery store in town back when I lived there and its still the only grocery store in town and it has always been at that location. We had a small farm and lived right next door to my grandparents on hwy 18 which you also drove past when you were in Fayette.
I again loved your video! Fayette has such beautiful homes and a gorgeous courthouse. I’m with Nicole… I don’t like maple syrup either. Not the taste, smell or headache it gives me. Maybe I can Google the syrup you showed and order some. I felt like I was in your car!! Thank you for taking me with you!!
Golden Eagle is a great tasting syrup. I prefer it over maple any day. We used to call it, table syrup because you could use it on any meal. It's good on a buttery biscuit and it's good on a hunk of cornbread. Table syrup...yummy!
We have beautiful gulf beaches and mountains , NASCAR, lots of beautiful lakes and rivers for fishing, woods for hunting, plenty of respected Universities and Trade Schools and much more .
My family both sides are from Gordo and berry and my aunt at one time lived in Fayette. Thanks brother for showing these towns they're really beautiful places very peaceful
To me, when evaluating a town the weather is irrelevant. If the town is nasty looking all the good weather in the world won't help and if it's good looking it will shine through bad weather. Objectivity is key and I admire yours.
Wow, yea, I was born and raised up in McCalla, near Tannehill State Park!! And now I'm living in Adger, cause we've kinda fallen in hard times since the pandemic, but I STILL go to my parents house 3 times a week, lol!!! Love my hometown, and if I ever leave Alabama, we're moving to Florida, hopefully close to a beach, lol!! But yea, thanks for the video!!!
The environmental ambience was definitely gloomy: overcast, drizzling with leafless trees. It's January, after all, even in Alabama. You gutted it out but seemed tired. Unsurprising, of course. Don't neglect your own health. Enjoyable video, nonetheless, as usual. Did see the cat but only after he/she hit the ground. One thing stood out: the prevalent use of red brick in many of the commercial, retail and public buildings as well as a number of the more stately homes. Isn't always the case depending on where you are in the country. The spectacular courthouse in Fayette has a well maintained exterior. I say so because the metal in the dome is copper or brass and it shines, without any natural tarnishing to green if left alone. No pedestrians spotted; but did see an elderly bicyclist. One other special site: a small commercial establishment at one end of a string of tiny retail buildings constituting the remains of Berry's center, namely, the Berry Discount Apothecary. It sure seemed open (traditionally, drug stores are open on Sundays): not many still call themselves apothecaries any more; and nearly all have succumbed to the large franchised operations. Stay well.
For a long time I used to live in carbon Hill Alabama and there were a few towns around it that literally dried up and the only thing keeping it going was a Dollar general and people driving 30 minutes to the next county for jobs there are a lot of towns that are literally gone off the map and turned into ghost towns in parts of upper Alabama
@@WCM1945 sadly it doesn't because towns like Winfield and we all know nauvoo as all but dried up and I'll never understand how people are holding on to carbon Hill the wood industry is no longer there nor is the coal mining everybody is moving down to Birmingham or other big cities but I still call carbon Hill and known areas My adoptive home because of how beautiful they are and how kind people are around there
I remember traveling thru Reform to get to Tuscaloosa, and they would always get me on a speed trap on highway 82. They have gotten more than enough of my money to Reform my speeding problem 😂
You are definitely in the Bible Belt. My hometown is Tuscaloosa AL, and I have been fishing and camping at Reform many times at a private lake and camp house.
Karen, my maternal grandfather Elmore's mother was a Fair before she married. She was descended from Johan Berhhard Fehr who came from Germany in the mid-1700's and Anglicized his name to Fair. I have never met any Fairs. I currently live in Cottondale. Thanks for replying.
Looking At These Cities Thru Your Eyes Is ReFreshing for me... I don't travel much AND LOVE THIS! Im from Chicago and thats basically all I knew before I came to Dallas! #LavaLab™
I moved to Alabama in the mid-1980's and a lot of the manufacturing had already left Alabama by that point to overseas locations. Even while living here at that time, there were still manufacturers closing up shop to move out. My husband's step-mom lost her job because of it. I worked alongside some older women who had been laid-off from their manufacturing jobs and had to enter the lower-paying service industry that I was working in as a teenager. They had no other places to work, but still had to help support their families.
Exactly, I have family there and that is what they have said.
I moved here 5 years ago from Pennsylvania
And it’s depressing!!
So few job!!
I was told that no one wants to work anynore cuz of the heat.
That’s why I see mostly Mexicans working outside here
It’s honestly very depressing.
If you don’t have jobs
People are depressed. It’s that simple.
@@marvinwenger5035 The heat isn't the issue. The lack of decent pay in the heat is more of the issue.
"Trickle-down" economics. How'd that work out?
@@danielmoore7332 No better than any of the other methods tried from what I've seen in my lifetime. Actually, the best economic boom times appear to have taken place after the US has gone to war, but I'd rather avoid that method. I'm an Independent btw. When I first moved to Alabama, it was flip-flopping from being Democrat to Republican until it finally stabilized as Republican. Originally, Alabama was a Democrat State for most of its existence. Its last Democrat governor, Don Siegelman, was sent to jail on federal corruption charges. I remember being in a hair salon with some other women and they were talking about how disappointed they were with him and the Democrat Party. Some of them had apparently voted for him. I believe that to have been the turning point for Alabama and its relationship with the Democrat Party.
Also, you'll find that Alabama became more anti-union/right to work after all the manufacturing abandoned it. Alabamians tend to blame both the federal government for the exodus of manufacturing and the unions pretty much equally. When they lose trust, it is really hard to win it back. Stubborn, is the word that I would use, but understandable. They got burned.
Furthermore, the Democrat Party has basically given up on Alabama. It doesn't even try here. Many of the elections don't even have a Democrat running for office. That just further cements Alabamians' opinions that the Democrats don't belong here. This was the first year that I saw so many Libertarians running for office in Alabama. I can't say for certain, but there appeared to me to be more Libertarians running than Democrats. At least, they put themselves out there more. I remember signing a petition to help get them on the ballot. I wanted to see some competition at least.
4:00. That light blue building used to be my Uncle Rudy's Barber Shop. We always had fun hanging around and listening to the stories the customers would tell. There was an unofficial mascot of the Barber Shop - a three-legged cat named Tripod.
Like at Floyd's n Mount Airy, SC?
@@knerduno5942 , NC
@@MegaBait1616 Yeah, it's pretty close to SC
@@knerduno5942 , The town is right off I-77 and it's next to the Virginia border.... been there many times.....
@@MegaBait1616 Thanks. I was just going to type the same thing. I live about 40 miles from there. in VA. It's not near SC.
I'm 76 years old now and I've lived most of my life in Alabama, and one thing I can tell you about these so-called "Backward" communities is that they are some of the most friendly and loving places in America.
in some ways yes, in others absolutely not.
I'd love move to a small Southern town. The Northern states are just so gross with litter.
@@katiefyock9607 ~ The southern states have their litter problem too.
Fake news..
as long as you arent black
I was in Alabama 40 years ago, judging by your video it hasn't changed at all
I appreciate when you mention the town’s industry or how people make a living.
i moved to alabama about 9 months ago, from new jersey, and i absolutly love it down here. the people are most loving.
Years ago while talking to a fun loving friend on the way back home from a sporting event he said "always look for balance in a town" meaning you shouldn't have more churches in a town vs. the total number of bars/liquor stores. "Both are needed to keep a town healthy and happy". It made me think, every time I visited a new town to look for both.
I guess nowadays Internet bandwidth could be added to the list...👍
I think having too many churches to accompany economic destitution is better than too many liquor stores.
I like that. :)
You wouldn't find that a few years ago in our county or towns. We are the last dry county. The two larger towns in our county now sell liquor but you won't find a bar. We have more churches that most. Our population is 14, 184 as off 2022
I live way from town- nearest thing is a community-2 actually-significantly more churches than minit marts in both -no bars and no liquor (just beer and wine) but we have fire stations
That "duplex " in Gordo...is what we call a mill house. Two families shared a kitchen and bathroom.
Wow! I had no idea.
I enjoy all your coverage of the small towns, the smaller the better!!!.......Love the closed businesses, and run down/abandoned houses. I always wonder who grew up there, and if life was a joy or hardship for them. Those closed businesses may have been someones dream, turned to struggles, and then broken dreams. So many places where life is hard in America, and I don't see it getting any better......Thanks for the videos!
Thank you for the kind words, TF!
I live in Berry but you didn't film my home. I have been waiting for you to come to Berry. I've only lived here since 2019 but I love it. Everyone is super friendly. I moved here from Northport, which is in Tuscaloosa. Looking forward to that episode.
I was a Berry resident from 1968 - 1972, I was verry young but remember it well. If you know any Bozemans then you have met my relatives.
I enjoy your videos keep doing what you're doing! My home's in Alabama!
ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!
Pretty country. Lots of trees. Who doesn't love trees? Love your work.
It is a lot prettier in the summertime when the grass is green.
Alabama can be really pretty when everything is in bloom. Some of those trees will be white-blooming Bradford Pears or pink-blooming Red Buds. Some of the dead looking vines will be purple Wisteria.
Enjoying your videos. I love seeing the historic sections, love all the old houses. I grew up in Georgia and said I would never be caught dead in Alabama. I moved Alabama 30 years ago and I absolutely love it 💕 Thank you for touring our beautiful state.
My Aunt was a true Appalachian child that was born and raised just north of Chattanooga,TN. After she graduated highschool she married and moved to just outside of Huntsville, Alabama. She said she would never live to far from home. She would always remember her mother ( my grandmother) grabbing 2 chickens (one in each hand) and snapping there necks at the same time in under 3 seconds to be prepared for dinner. Add some vegetables from the garden and it was a Feast.
@@sidebite2533 your grandmother sounds like a wonderful woman. Sounds like she can bring the sunshine on a cloudy day ❤️
That Bulldog blood runs deep . My wife is from Athens.
I am so glad i found you and Nicole. I watched a couple of your videos and decided to watch 'all' of them. I printed a list of state and will follow you... even hopefully out of the USA. I just finished Montgomery and it was wonderful. The capitol and Jefferson Davis home was so beautiful. Next capitol please explain about the passports. Also I wanted to tell you that you mentioned that in Reform that there were no more video stores. I am proud to live in Bend Oregon.... We have the last Blockbuster video store in the world.. Hope you get here one day. Thanks to you and Nicole for all you do. You will provide this old gal with many hours of arm chair travel. Thank you.
Thank you, Andrea!!
We can't have enough of these videos
Very knowledgeable and easy to understand so it keeps you watching
You visited cities in West Alabama, specifically Pickens County which is where I grew up. Fyi, we pronounce the city “Ree-form” (long “e”) not “Reform”!! 🤣 Wish you had visited Aliceville and Carrollton. Carrollton has an interesting history , the courthouse with face in the window. Thanks for the video!! Roll Tide!!
found your channel not to long ago and I love the content as you travel like I like to small towns and out of the way places. thank you
Thank you for watching, Cara!
Theses places definitely don't look like much, but I promise they are filled with some of the best people you'll ever meet
I lived in Fayette for 18 years. Its a wonderful place to live. It used to be full of live and had alot of manufacturing jobs. All the plants have shut down and people started moving. I lived there when the shooting happened. It was a very sad time.
Just wanted to say that we really enjoy your videos…seeing places we’ll probably never get to…keep up the good work….thanks!!!!
Thank you, Randy.
Seeing the old abandon chicken houses in the first part of the video, reminds me that back in the mid 70's and all through the 1980's the mobile home industry was big and a lot of people would find old chicken houses pour a cement floor in them and set up furniture and cabinet manufacturing . It was a booming business for a long time. Pretty much gone now.
Just came upon this channel three weeks ago. I appreciate all the info you give on these towns. Binge watching now.
You two stay safe.
Have to love this town as my name is often shortened online to Gordo!
I grew up in Australia and our holidays were spent driving in the country. The downtowns you show remind me of the main streets of country towns there back then.
I really like your positive and non judgmental comments.
When in college, I worked at Sears mail order. Memphis distribution center, Crosstown. Every night we sent off 45 or so loaded semis to various towns in the Mid-South, like Fayette, AL. Only the larger towns and cities had retail stores, most had CRS (catalog retail stores) where people could pick up the stuff they ordered from the famous Sears Catalog. At one time, Sears had absolutely dominated the market, but now all of that is long, long gone. They just did not keep up with the times, relying on customer loyalty. Nothing stands still.
How much I like your videos, that's why I subscribed. Everything that concerns America is interesting to me.
I'm Glad Your Showing More Of Each Town 10 min of video in one town just isn't enough. Thanks Love Your Videos
You can't control the weather☂️ We're just glad you are out there making videos for us to enjoy! Thank you very much! 🙂
Thank you, Rae!
Yes. I don’t mind the gloomy weather. I’m not out in it. Lol I enjoy riding with you. I don’t get out much anymore.
What I love is the comments on this channel! Thanks to all and especially Lord! 💐
One of the previous Millport mayors (eighties and nineties) was not allowed to write a check in the local and surrounding area grocery stores, Had a picture of her at every registers noting not to take her checks due to them bouncing. Steel dust recycling is the repurposing of by product from the steel meals in Lowndes county MS, the reason it went to Millport was because Alabama's EPA laws were less strict than MS. This plant is less than 10 years old.
Interesting. Thank you for the info.
I spent several weeks in the summers staying with my best friend at her grandmother’s home. Such fond memories
Hi, and thank you for your video. I just wanted to point out a quick item as there seems to be a confusion between per capita income (PCI) and Median Household income. PCI measures the amount of economic activity the town produces, while Median HHI measures what the avg. resident is earning. For example in the first town (Gordo) the $26k PCI means that the economic activity Gordo generates divided by the # of people equates to $26k. But, the median resident of Gordo earns $42k (e.g. the Median Household Income). But thank you again for showing a part of America that too many people have forgotten exists.
Thanks for explaining that, I was a little confused. The med. income at 42k isn’t all that bad for a small town in Alabama.
Thanks for explaining this because I wondered about that! Have a wonderful day! ❤
I live in Tuscaloosa and have never had any reason to go to any of those cities 🙃 the main reason for a lot of old Berry downtown is missing is because of a big tornado 🌪
That's what I was thinking when he showed it. That's getting to be an all-too-common sight these days. No interest in rebuilding anything.
Tornados do wonders for the bulldozing and tree removal businesses.
Im from Tuscaloosa. Grew up showing horses, so I've visited all of these for one reason or another. They're pretty nice little towns
Had a friend that bought a pecan orchard near the town of Hurtsboro AL - small crumbling town --- yet at one time , it was a mill town -and the merchants in town requested that the paydays be staggered due to being overwhelmed
How were they overwhelmed?
@@ensignmjs7058 --- very large groups of people doing their shopping at the same time -Saturdays - stores at the time generally had only one cash register also and most at that time were not self serve , many stores at that time also cashed paychecks so it required having a very large amount of cash to not only cash checks , but to also make change ,the list of reasons goes on and on
Russell County Alabama here same County as hurtsboro. The town is starting to grow agian . Lots of military buy land here for retirement
I spoke with a lady at the company and she said that they take the steel dust and extract a form of zinc from it then they ship it to Mexico to further refine the zinc then it it sold and shipped out to be used in many different products. The two products they create is Waelz Oxide know as Crude Zinc Oxide (CZO) and Waelz Iron Product (WIP).
I have a hunch that zinc oxide is used as a catalyst and dessicant in various chemical processes.
Interesting. Thank you for filling in. :)
BE SURE to get your wife some #GoldenEagle syrup - for special treats! It is the BEST tasting syrup in the world (in my humble opinion 😉 - and I was a country girl, raised eating biscuits & syrup almost every day for my first 18 years!!) ❤️ Now, 73 and retired in Florida, I gladly pay a high price to have it shipped 2x a year so I can enjoy it as a breakfast or nighttime treat on biscuits or English muffins (now my fav 🥰)! It’s not available here and, for the first 2 years in Florida, I tried every syrup in Publix, Winn Dixie & Walmart and NOTHING was as delightful & delicious. I even tried the best-selling syrup in Great Britain🇬🇧 ‼️
So…..I now order Golden Eagle directly from the factory in #FayetteAlabama! 👍🤩❤️😍
They have it in Walmart here in Houston, I’ll have to try it
Really enjoying your videos on the States and small towns. I'm really learning a lot about the states I have always wanted to visit. You do a great job of sharing information about the towns and showing stuff a viewer would want to see. Very interesting stuff, especially the videos of the south!
I done travel on highway 82 plenty of times coming through Alabama..but never visit them towns ..thanks for showing me how it really look I those towns..🙌🏾 reminds me of my small town in Mississippi...🙌🏾💯
My sister lives in a 400 sq ft house for a 1,000 a month here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s crazy here , she could probably have a much bigger home there. Thanks for showing us places we probably would never travel to.
And not so much snow.
But unfortunately, entertainment is hard to come by. Even broadband is unavaliable in some of these areas.
She could put a hefty down payment on a really nice house with a big yard and maybe a garage or storage shed for $1k / mo.
@@sidebite2533 and do what with it? That’s the problem. What to do with all that house except sit in it and wait to die? Nothing going on in these empty towns.
You can rent a small family home in Huntsville for about $900. one of the best cities, if not the best to live in the south.
@@Selmarya wow that’s incredible
Liking the video, it's nice cause I live in Alabama but I can't get out to the places like you and your wife do, but I can see them from here an it's nice. Thank y'all.
Awesome!
Hi Lord Spoda
Deserted roads, scattered houses, peacefulness is a typical picture of small rural town. Not always one gets a chance to visit these places. You do not just see but show these interesting and less known places to viewers like us. So as usual this video is nice. Overcast, drizzling and gloomy but it's ok. It's the weather of the region residents are used to.
Thanks for the video.
Well said, Rajeev. :)
1980 must have been a good year for a lot of people. With peak population in all of these towns. That was also the year I got married and we moved into our first home. Still married and still in the same home. That was also the year for the most consecutive 100 degree days. 42 days. This was in Dallas
I just finished my nursing program and looking to relocate to one of these little towns and hopefully bring some revenue back. Probably have to commute to a nearby city, but as long as they have a gym in the town I can make it work. A lot of people see a lot of misery and depression, but these towns are also new opportunities and potential for a lot of us.
Places like Ireland and Portugal are encouraging remote working. And it's doing a lot of good for remote towns and communities. Places that have suffered due to the draw of larger cities in these countries. At least now with remote working, these towns are being regenerated and new businesses are opening up.
I was born and raised in the western U.S. I have lived in Alabama for several years now and I really like it here.
Always planned in retirement to travel this great country of ours and visit the different states especially rural communities but due to health issues am not able to your videos allow me to see the country I don’t miss one of them keep up the great videos
These towns are my kinda towns. I'd rather support a local business that a big box store. I never eat at a fast food. I love that people in these towns
Same. I've lived in a large city and prefer my small town because I can get involved and people can actually buy/start a business. The downside (for me) is the unnecessary fear of the unknown or the different.
I enjoy your videos win it's cloudy or sunny! Your history, info and stats really make the video. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to you visiting the Carolinas where I live.
The Fayette downtown looks so cozy INS inviting. And the architecture is stunning!
You know, the county courthouse and the surrounding square reminded me of London and this Victorian style architecture heviky influenced by the classical ancient Greece and Rome.
It is beautiful.
I'm with you on the architecture. Amazing!
My late husband and my father in law did renovations on the courthouse several years ago. It's a beautiful building. The dome is amazing.
1980 must have been a bad year. I was still a teen then and the whole world to discover. Never knew all this stuff. I find your videos very interesting and informative to say the least. I think I would love to live in a small community for my retirement years, if I live that long. Who knows in today's world. Have a safe trip.
I live in Pell city Alabama and really injoy watching your vedios
"Far from the Interstate" explains one source of this unemployment. When most roads were two lane, roads mattered less but rail was crucial. With the arrival of the Interstates in the 1960s, businesses found it made sense to locate along them. Look at night-time satellite photos of the U.S. The strings of lights follow the Interstates.
You might check out the Southern towns where the economies are doing well. A common factor is having a rail line that parallels an Interstate. Raw materials come in by rail and go out on the Interstate. You will find that along I-85 from Atlanta and Montgomery. It also helps to have a major airport with a reasonable drive. That's the huge Atlanta airport, which is also on I-85. You will find a more cheerful theme for your videos there.
Enjoy all your videos. Very informative and educational!
In my travels, I noticed that rural people are more well-off in states that have an income tax. Anyway, that is just the impression I got.
It also helps that in Alabama the property taxes are relatively low. Lower income folks have more opportunity to own their own land/homes.
That dirt road in berry reminds me of the scary movie ""the wrong turn""😂😮 you do an awesome job ..thanks
My parents were from Alabama....moved to Texas in the mid 50s. I'm sure I still have family in and around Birmingham, though I haven't been in touch since my childhood.
Gordo and Reform were notorious speed traps at one time. Not sure if they still are.
Still is.
They absolutely are!
That’s their main source of revenue. Sure it won’t stop any decade soon.
The “flea market” is a chicken house lol
I LOVE gloomy days,.AND many people do not realize it is the best time to video
Me every time: "I'm only going to watch for a little bit." Every time.
Love this video- grew up in Lamar county in a small town called Sulligent - can’t wait until you do a video there. I live in Houston Texas now and sometimes miss the small town vibe.
I have to admit that it is kind of depressing when I go back home to Alabama and see what was once thriving little towns becoming more like ghost towns.
But it does bring back good memories- ❤❤
Really do great work moving it along. Also the eye candy is also nice😊👍
Thank you for these relaxing and informative videos.
You're welcome, Summer!
I find it fascinating really. Thank you for capturing these areas! To see present day 2023. No better time to document then the present otherwise nobody would even know!
Sycamore is also a very interesting place for you to investigate. It, too had a cotton mill.
Love these videos, so interesting! My mothers side is from the south, so these tired old towns are very familiar. I especially love the small town videos. Also, northern Louisiana has many interesting small towns, and Lakes, and I think would make a great video. I wish you well and please keep these coming.
Recently I came across your videos, I watch the whole video without a skip , the videos are smooth without any shake or jerk and nice on the eyes.
👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you! :)
I was really looking forward to lunch & 🍻 😆 🤣 😂
06:42 Lovely old Arts & Crafts Style home!!!! A little TLC, and it would be gorgeous!!!!!
Thank you for all your information I love your program
Another enlightening video. Thank you.
I believe I. That one town that was not a flea market but use to be a chicken farm. I helped my neighbors with there chicken farm . They had three of those long buildings. It was in Texas. They grew the chickens for a corporation. Then once fully grown would come pick them up.didn’t we have a recession in the 80,s?? If so then people were moving looking for jobs.
That makes sense.
My family moved to Berry Alabama in 1968 from northern Illinois when I was 2 years old. My baby brother was born in Tuscaloosa in 1971 and we moved back to Illinois in 1972. I have a large family in Fayette, Tuscaloosa and Berry still to this day. The Piggly Wiggly you drove by was the only grocery store in town back when I lived there and its still the only grocery store in town and it has always been at that location. We had a small farm and lived right next door to my grandparents on hwy 18 which you also drove past when you were in Fayette.
As usual a great video, helps me see America without leaving my home. You do a great job.
Thank you, Curtis!
My Dad was raised in Hokes Bluff, and it's true,some of the most lovely people you will ever meet!!!!❤❤❤❤❤
I could hear the Banjo at the start of your journey 😁 very interesting content. Thank you. I'll be delving into your videos back to back.
Awesome!!
I can't stand to see trash on public grounds as well. It's disgusting! L♥️ve your videos!
@@picard2069 Same here💯
Thanks 👍♥️ ... good seeing lots of opportunities left in North America ♥️
You should come see Sylacauga. Take a tour of the Mill Village. Since the cotton mills closed, we have retail stores everywhere!
I again loved your video! Fayette has such beautiful homes and a gorgeous courthouse. I’m with Nicole… I don’t like maple syrup either. Not the taste, smell or headache it gives me. Maybe I can Google the syrup you showed and order some. I felt like I was in your car!! Thank you for taking me with you!!
Thank you for the great compliment, Denise!
Golden Eagle is a great tasting syrup. I prefer it over maple any day. We used to call it, table syrup because you could use it on any meal. It's good on a buttery biscuit and it's good on a hunk of cornbread. Table syrup...yummy!
@@NomadBeadz I can’t wait to get it!! Thank you, Nomad!!
Thanks for pointing out the chickens - I must say I'm impressed with the Bronco - seems to be a smooth ride.
Alabama is the friendliest place ive ever been. I've decided to move there.
i love your videos man its awesome
We have beautiful gulf beaches and mountains , NASCAR, lots of beautiful lakes and rivers for fishing, woods for hunting, plenty of respected Universities and Trade Schools and much more .
My family both sides are from Gordo and berry and my aunt at one time lived in Fayette. Thanks brother for showing these towns they're really beautiful places very peaceful
Cool, didn't know you were a fellow Dallasite. Great videos man. Happy travels to you and your wife ✌️
To me, when evaluating a town the weather is irrelevant. If the town is nasty looking all the good weather in the world won't help and if it's good looking it will shine through bad weather. Objectivity is key and I admire yours.
Thank you. :)
Wow, yea, I was born and raised up in McCalla, near Tannehill State Park!! And now I'm living in Adger, cause we've kinda fallen in hard times since the pandemic, but I STILL go to my parents house 3 times a week, lol!!! Love my hometown, and if I ever leave Alabama, we're moving to Florida, hopefully close to a beach, lol!! But yea, thanks for the video!!!
You do a good job, young man. Bravo!
The environmental ambience was definitely gloomy: overcast, drizzling with leafless trees. It's January, after all, even in Alabama. You gutted it out but seemed tired. Unsurprising, of course. Don't neglect your own health. Enjoyable video, nonetheless, as usual. Did see the cat but only after he/she hit the ground. One thing stood out: the prevalent use of red brick in many of the commercial, retail and public buildings as well as a number of the more stately homes. Isn't always the case depending on where you are in the country. The spectacular courthouse in Fayette has a well maintained exterior. I say so because the metal in the dome is copper or brass and it shines, without any natural tarnishing to green if left alone. No pedestrians spotted; but did see an elderly bicyclist. One other special site: a small commercial establishment at one end of a string of tiny retail buildings constituting the remains of Berry's center, namely, the Berry Discount Apothecary. It sure seemed open (traditionally, drug stores are open on Sundays): not many still call themselves apothecaries any more; and nearly all have succumbed to the large franchised operations. Stay well.
You always spot the interesting details, David. :)
For a long time I used to live in carbon Hill Alabama and there were a few towns around it that literally dried up and the only thing keeping it going was a Dollar general and people driving 30 minutes to the next county for jobs there are a lot of towns that are literally gone off the map and turned into ghost towns in parts of upper Alabama
I-22 has bypassed both Jasper and Carbon Hill. US 78 is getting a smaller cut of the maintenance budget.
It doesn't bode well for the area.
@@WCM1945 sadly it doesn't because towns like Winfield and we all know nauvoo as all but dried up and I'll never understand how people are holding on to carbon Hill the wood industry is no longer there nor is the coal mining everybody is moving down to Birmingham or other big cities but I still call carbon Hill and known areas My adoptive home because of how beautiful they are and how kind people are around there
I'm from Alabama and I haven't heard of somebody's towns thank you I will go take a visit
Thanks for this UPLOAD.
I live in Alabama.
Just found your channel and I love your videos! Your voice is so relaxing.
Thanks!! :)
Another fine video on your adventures threw the USA 🇺🇸 sir. Take care and be safe sir. See you on your next video 📹.
Thank you, James!!
From watching these videos, I am really glad I live in Rhode Island.
G'day LS, thanks for showing all these interesting places, that didn't look like Deliverance more Blaire Witch to me 👍.
90 percent of Alabama is like those towns
💩 🕳️ state.
I remember traveling thru Reform to get to Tuscaloosa, and they would always get me on a speed trap on highway 82. They have gotten more than enough of my money to Reform my speeding problem 😂
You are definitely in the Bible Belt. My hometown is Tuscaloosa AL, and I have been fishing and camping at Reform many times at a private lake and camp house.
Karen, my maternal grandfather Elmore's mother was a Fair before she married. She was descended from Johan Berhhard Fehr who came from Germany in the mid-1700's and Anglicized his name to Fair. I have never met any Fairs. I currently live in Cottondale. Thanks for replying.
Looking At These Cities Thru Your Eyes Is ReFreshing for me... I don't travel much AND LOVE THIS! Im from Chicago and thats basically all I knew before I came to Dallas! #LavaLab™
No maple syrup in pancake syrup either. LOL Good blog!!
I love your far off the interstate series. Who would have guessed that your satiric news channel turned into this kind of content one day.
I know, right? CZcams hated my channel when I did weird news.