The author, John Marek, is executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. This post originally appeared here.
Tomorrow, Sept. 20, hundreds of students from Anson County elementary schools will converge on Uptown Wadesboro for the inaugural K-5 Uptown Tour sponsored by Atrium Health. Students will tour uptown businesses and museums, as well as learn about proper nutrition through Atrium’s 5210 program, and how to safely maneuver the town’s stoplights, crosswalks and streets.
The tour was envisioned by Anson County Schools and local businesses as a way to promote the uptown and its wide variety of cultural and entertainment activities to a new generation of Ansonians. Families from the more rural parts of the county may not be familiar with all the opportunities available to them right here in Wadesboro, and this is a way to expose them to things like the Ansonia Theater, Anson Historical Museum, Boggan-Hammond House and Ashe-Covington Medical Museum, along with historic uptown businesses such as the 110-year-old H.W. Little Hardware Store and 100-year-old Parsons Drug Store.
In a world dominated by big box stores and strip malls, the idea of the town center as the nexus for community life is rapidly being lost. I recall a field trip my elementary school class made to the Ottawa County Historical Museum. My school was located just a few blocks from downtown, so we walked. I remember it being a fine fall day. We took our brown bags and after the museum tour sat out in a grassy area and ate lunch. That would have been maybe 1971 or 1972 and at that time, we still had retail stores in the downtown; W.R. Thomas Five & Dime, Deans Variety Store, Greene Drug. It was an exciting adventure and I hope our young people will appreciate this version.