I am often pestered by words or phrases that come to mind with no discernable context or pedigree. But I have learned these free-floating visitors are most always tethered to current events or issues and like unexpected postal packages on the porch, my curiosity compels inspection.

Currently, the word “Mayberry” is competing for my attention, and it will not move on until acknowledged. My first thought was the 1960’s sitcom called the Andy Griffith Show which centered around life in a small North Carolina town called Mayberry. For readers old enough to remember, the main characters were Sheriff Andy Taylor, his bumbling Deputy Barney Fife, Son Opie, and Aunt Bee.

In the United States there are thousands of small towns with populations between 2000-5000 citizens

As I fondly remembered this TV show I recalled how everyone in Mayberry seemed to know each other and were connected in a variety of ways. From the mayor to the sheriff to the town handyman, they were in effect an extended family quick to help and of course quick to gossip--usually with no ill-intent. Mayberry of course was fictional and romanticized, but I now know why it popped into my mind.

Media in recent years is filled with commentary about the problems of big cities to include drug addiction, rampant crime, homelessness, budget mismanagement, fraudulent public services, failing schools and increasing political and ideological divisions among residents. It is though the urban “melting pot” has devolved into competing tribes rather than the aspirational E pluribus unum (of many one). Big cities have big problems seemingly immune to the collective efforts of families, friends, work associates, business owners, and neighbors to resolve. It is from this milieu of negativism that the antithetical Mayberry comes to mind.

In the United States there are thousands of small towns with populations between 2000-5000 citizens. This grouping includes over 75% of all incorporated communities and if you include towns with up to 50,000 residents this percentage is much higher. So here is the “what if” proposition.

Take my childhood hometown of Toledo, Oregon, with a population of approximately 3500 residents. Toledo was once a vibrant place with a busy downtown providing diverse shopping and entertainment venues; three automobile dealerships; an adjacent river shoreline and scenic ocean beaches just minutes away; scores of fraternal organizations; good schools; and a half dozen wood processing mills providing hundreds of well-paying jobs. During both World Wars Toledo mills produced wood fiber critical to national defense and later used to build the famous Spruce Goose seaplane. But, like many small towns, Toledo is no longer in its heyday. Many storefronts are vacant; mills are fewer along with jobs and the schools have been downsized and consolidated in response to fewer children.

What if towns like Toledo, Oregon could be repopulated by a workforce, some able to work remotely?

But, what if towns like Toledo with rich histories, established infrastructure and affordable housing were rediscovered by people no longer tied to large metropolitan areas for employment and associated social and cultural resources? What if towns like Toledo could be repopulated by a workforce, some able to work remotely, a workforce currently struggling to pay for expensive metropolitan homes and wanting a closer connection to neighbors and community leaders, safer streets, and access to schools with teachers and staff who also live in the neighborhood?

Interestingly, many small towns are currently experiencing population growth for the first time in decades. In addition to remote work capabilities there is a growing awareness of the inherent advantages of smaller communities, some of which are noted above. What if State and Federal policies were to favor small communities with tax advantages and other inducements designed to increase options for the nation’s businesses, workforces, and families? Policies centered around the proposition that governance closer and more responsive to citizens is a worthy goal.

This is not a new concept of course, Thomas Jefferson, a founding father and author of the Declaration of Independence, favored a federal authority with only very specific and limited powers and reserving to the states and local jurisdictions broad governmental powers closer to citizens (ref. Article 10 of the U.S. Constitution). Theoretically, large cities like small towns already operate under this system. But are huge and complex metropolitan bureaucracies just too distant from individual citizens to deliver constitutional intent and in effect run more like a federalist top-down model than one predicated on local governance?

This what if is notional of course with a host of fundamental how to questions that remain unanswered. But clearly the solution to the ills of our large cities is not estrangement borne of enormous size and complexity. And clearly modern means of communication and remote interconnectivity unheard of just a generation ago is now available to citizens of good-will looking for a better way--a Mayberry if you will.

Terry Oxley——Bio and Archives

Terry is a former utility executive, retired military officer and community service volunteer residing in Tumwater, WA.  He has served as Board Director for the United Services Organization (USO), Washington Business Week Foundation, Washington Youth Academy and the Bellevue Schools Foundation. Terry has also served as a contributing writer for The Olympian, a newspaper headquartered in Olympia, WA.