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Charley Farrior has lived most of his life in Wallace, save for four years at N.C. State University and about a year and a half in Kannapolis working for Canon Mills. So it’s perhaps no surprise that he’s one of the town’s biggest cheerleaders and supporters. Farrior served on the town council for 35 years, with 26 of those as mayor. He’s also president of the Carolina Strawberry Festival, which has become Wallace’s premier event, in addition to serving on numerous boards and committees, both for Wallace and Duplin County as a whole. For our next Q&A series, the Duplin Journal sat down with Farrior, and asked him about his many years of service to the town of Wallace, as well as the upcoming Strawberry Festival.
What made you first want to become mayor of Wallace?
My daddy was mayor from 1970-1979. I remember the celebrations and the joy he had in doing the job, but I also remember a lot of the challenges that he had in doing that job. And honestly, for a long time, I wasn’t sure that was something I wanted to follow.
But in 1986, the mayor at that time, Earl Whitaker, passed away while he was in office. And so that created a vacancy. The mayor pro tem was Arnold Duncan, so Arnold stepped into the mayor seat at that time. And then they had a vacancy on the board, and the town council at that time asked me would I consider running out Arnold’s unexpired term since he had moved up to mayor. I thought about it a lot and talked with [my wife] Harriet about it a lot, and decided that I wanted to see if I could contribute to the town that I love. So I got on the town council, and served a number of terms there and then in 1995, Arnold said that he was not going to run for mayor again and asked if it was something I wanted to do. The rest is history.
How has the town of Wallace changed since you first became mayor until now?
Having been mayor for 26 years, it’s changed a great deal. The one word that pops into my mind is growth. We’ve had growth downtown, and downtown in past years has been cyclical. You’ll have a flourishing downtown and then you might have a number of businesses that go out of business, or business owners pass away and you’d have empty buildings. But right now, I think Wallace’s downtown is the best that I have known it, particularly since I have been mayor.
What do you think makes the Strawberry Festival a great event for the community?
I think the Strawberry Festival, of course, its history is a celebration of agriculture, a celebration of the strawberry, which was the money crop for farmers back in the ‘30s, some into the ‘40s. Farmers would bring their strawberries to town, they’d auction them off, load them on trains, carry strawberries to New York and places further than Wallace. It was just a big, big deal and of course, all of Wallace would get together at the end of strawberry season and celebrate, and that’s where the Strawberry Festival started. It was that big celebration.
I think our festival now brings together folks of all ages. There’s something at the festival for everybody to do, no matter what age you are. Lots and lots of vendors; over 150 vendors this year. it’s just going to be a good time for everybody.
On a more personal note, what do you do in your spare time?
I like being part of my grandchildren’s lives. They’re in beauty pageants, they’re in dance recitals, they’re playing baseball, and Harriet and I try to attend as many of those events as we can. And in addition to that, I just like volunteering in groups that help the town of Wallace and help Duplin County.
What’s the last book you read?
The last book I read was ‘Boss Hog: The Legacy of Wendell Murphy.’ I really enjoyed reading that. It talks a lot about Wendell’s life and it brings in local folks that helped him build his industry. A lot of those local folks, I know. I like success stories and that book is a very creative man that wanted to change the hog industry and did that, and was successful at doing that, while he worked very, very hard.
What’s your favorite eatery in Duplin County?
I can’t boil that down to one. If I want a hamburger, I like to go to Dixon’s Grill. If I want a steak, I go to the Country Squire. If I want a pork meal, I go to the Mad Boar. If I want just good old country cooking, I like the Rose Hill Restaurant. A really good sandwich, I like Duplin Winery. If I want a croissant, I’m going to go to Burney’s. And if I get coffee, I’m probably going to go to MoJoe’s.
What, in your opinion, is the best thing about Duplin County?
The best thing about Duplin County is the people. They’re good folks that want to help their neighbor and their friends celebrate their successes, but also want to be there in times of need. And I think that love among the people is something that you don’t see in every area.
