I'm visiting every town in NC -Ahoskie , North Carolina

[@p0rqu3]

1:05 Thank you, Mr. French! My ppl used to live in Ahoskie about 100 years ago. I’m personally hundreds of miles and decades away from the last time I was there. You are doing the Lord’s work. Keep it going, at least the grandkids I hope my sons one day have will be able to see where their Pawpaw is from😊

[@TimothyFrench]

Thank you. I’m glad the video is being helpful to you and your family 👍

[@rebeccacook7924]

Thank you 💓💗💖💕💗

[@TimothyFrench]

And thank you for watching, Rebecca👍

[@MegaBait1616]

Excellent 👍

[@TimothyFrench]

Thank you👍

[@matthewchrome5144]

Your documentations are marvelous. Many times, Matt has driven thru some or many same cities & towns you’re documenting. Matt truly wishes he had recorded them. For what its worth, via KZbin, view a video “Coming Home” by Bob Seger which features a Trailway Bus with mountains. Again, thank you for your excellent videos.

[@TimothyFrench]

Thank you for the positive feedback. And I will definitely check out the “Coming Home” video.👍

[@matthewchrome5144]

@@TimothyFrench With love & kindness. Thank you

[@berrysealey5628]

You are speeching the truth, downtown's in smaller towns/cities are Dead.We need to come by to our love of Mom and Pop stores!Look at all them Beautiful one of a kind buildings,our youth need to be educated on their hometowns!!

[@TimothyFrench]

True, I hope my videos are doing that.

[@derklavierspieler7491]

Good to see a small town where at least some businesses remain in downtown. Hopefully the people who live there will support them. Thank you for this continuing series of looks into the past.

[@TimothyFrench]

It is. Hopefully they can attract domestic more.👍

[@kayrhoney543]

Nice little town thanks for sharing enjoy

[@TimothyFrench]

Thanks for watching ❤️

[@keithmosseyklr650]

Hey Tim TY for the truth of these small towns. Those big box stores areruining small towns. Love your true videos. Keep them coming.💪👏👍

[@TimothyFrench]

I will, thanks 👍

[@quibbs9848]

If you google drive by the grey building on the corner of Rail Road st and Main the pictures change to those taken Feb 2008 (if you are "driving" with the building on your left). Stark contrast between the pictures taken more recent. 2008 photos the town looks like it was way busier. Maybe it's just the timing of when the pictures were taken. If not, downtown had way more life less than 20 years ago. These towns are like unintentional deteriorating museums of previous generations that built, worked, lived and died in these places.

[@TimothyFrench]

You are correct. And I think young people would be wise to network together to form businesses in the towns to make them viable, just like the young people of the past did when they built them

[@bobby-ov9qn]

I got a bit excited when I clicked on and saw the big and small buildings on both sides of the town, but it didn't take long to see that with few exceptions they were all empty. As I walked with you down the street, I imagined what it was like in it's hay-day, when the people actually shopped there. And while the anticipated ice cream shop is being finished, I would be surprised that people would drive to town for a scoop or two. Hope I'm wrong. As for your ranting on and on . . . don't worry about that, as most of us agree with pretty much every thing you say.

[@TimothyFrench]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Bobby. I’m hoping people start to see the dangers of having their town centers abandoned or replaced by the big chains and corporations that want to replace them.

[@keithmosseyklr650]

the interstates, also took a lot of people/cars going threw town.

[@TimothyFrench]

That’s true 👍

[@Delta9Brian]

I'm going to be 40 in 10 days. I lived my first 18 years in Ahoskie until college, though I only moved to Murfreesboro fo that. Main Street brings back many memories, saw many movies at the Earl Theater. Most of even these closed businesses that I see closed on Main street now weren't even there when I lived there. So many have come and gone. I drove through last after a funeral in Murfreesboro. Sadly, I have no reason to go back "home" unless someone dies.

[@TimothyFrench]

Thanks for sharing your family’s history and memories of Ahoskie with us. 👍

[@91210paige]

To bad someone with business sense can't find a way to treat these towns like Mutual funds. People from all over can chip in and buy into them as they are fixed up and redeveloped. Like you said all you hear about is lack of housing. There are plenty of apartments that can be made there for the people to fill those stores.

[@keithmosseyklr650]

and one for the algorithm..

[@redbagsrambler9326]

My goodness. Downtown Ahoskie has declined so much since the last time I was there, and that wasn’t too terribly long ago. Your thoughts and remarks are spot on. There is so much to unpack in this video but I’m going to address only two. 1) Even if a local business keeps its prices down to the very bare minimum to keep the lights on, it still cannot compete with the lower prices from the volume buying power of the corporate entities. 2) You are correct in how town’s zone along a “by-pass” which drained traffic from our town centers. This falls directly on the town council who are quick to give the necessary zoning. Two reasons for this. The local landowner often needs the zoning to make a high dollar land sale to corporate interests. The council willingly obliges as they know the landowner as a friend and neighbor and want to accommodate his wish. The other is the town council has been convinced that providing zoning for corporate interests will lead to greater sales tax collections. I have seen this exact scenario in several towns. Often the end result is a shell of a downtown and a by-pass that has become so congested with traffic signals and driveways that it has lost its original purpose of quickly moving thru traffic.

[@TimothyFrench]

Excellent review, thank you. And you are correct on the volume buying as well. I personally think wholesalers should have to sell their products to all buyers at the same price. Not doing so creates an unfair business practice that favors the large companies over the small. Resulting in the loss of mom-and-pop businesses