The Year of Small Towns

In our part-time state of Alabama, 2010 was declared The Year of Small Towns & Downtowns. Before the year gets away from us, we hope to visit at least one of the upcoming events being celebrated in these special places – events like A Gathering & Fish Fry Celebrating Fiddler Charlie Stripling on Nov. 13 in Belk. That sounds cool. Folks say Stripling was Alabama's greatest old-time fiddler, with recordings that date back to the 1920s and '30s. Read more about him here. And while we're on the subject of small towns, here are a few of our favorite town names from around the state:

     Arab       Arbacoochee    Autaugaville        Bayou La Batre
Boaz     Clayhatchee             Choctaw              Demopolis
      Emelle       Fishpond          Flomaton          Gasgue
 Gees Bend     Hatchechubbee        Loachapoka       Eufaula
              Muscadine                 Naheola           Natchez
     Nauvoo              Ohatchee              Opelika          Ozark
         Pushmataha       Romulus       Wedowee         Wetumpka