The Tribune

By DIANE PHILLIPS

Meet Angela C Caraway, Mayor of Ansonville, NC, Population 503.

“But we may be getting one new resident,” says Caraway, as pumped as the mayor of a major urban metropolis would be if Ford announced it were launching a new plant to build Mustangs. 

Mayor Caraway’s eyes open wide and her voice takes on a decidedly excited tone: “And just the other day, one resident was clearing land meaning they are planning to build so things are happening in Ansonville!” 

Statistically, Ansonville has gained nearly 20 percent growth in the last five years since its population registered 440 in the 2020 Census. 

In this little, out of the way, off-the-beaten-path hamlet where proud heritage meets modern reality, things happen in their own sweet time, and that is just fine with the mayor, the town’s clerk, and the other four five members of the council who manage its daily operations.  

Unlike its busy neighbour an hour away to the northwest, Charlotte, North Carolina that pulsates with night life and a booming tech, sports and culinary scene attracting young professionals, Ansonville mostly appeals to those who have called the area home since their ancestors were slaves on nearby cotton plantations more than 200 years ago. 

Generations later, most of the folks who call it home were born in Ansonville or right nearby and they can’t really think of another place they’d rather be. 

Many of the residents are retirees. A few are farmers, others are poultry workers. The majority of the population, about 80 percent is black. The council is a perfect replica – three women, all black, two men, including one Caucasian. A population mirror – 80-20 in race, a fact that is not lost on the mayor. 

“We may not look like each other, but we all pretty much grew up together, so we know each other like people do who have lived together all their lives,” says the mayor, who admits there was a bit of a personal integration into the council when she became the first black woman mayor was the first new person to join in more than a dozen years. But, as she said, everyone knows everyone and familiarity is as common as the economic struggles and personal success stories the whole town suffers or celebrates together.  

“Everybody knows everybody and everybody knows everybody’s business,” says Mayor Caraway. Angela, Apparently, she is unconcerned or unaware that in some places that would be considered a detriment. “When there is a need, it becomes everybody’s need, the community comes together.”

Like the time a man was injured and could no longer climb the steps to his front porch which was, even before he was hurt, in a state of disrepair under the kindest of descriptions. 

“We The community all just got came together and found the resources and built him a ramp,” said Mayor Angela. 

Or that awful time when a woman lost her husband and daughter in a horrible car accident.

“We came together, everybody, and held a vigil and a service and made sure she knew she would never be alone,” recalled the mayor. 

Most days, the drama is smaller, like finding a way to keep the water on for someone who has fallen behind in his bill. 

“I can’t write everyone’s water bill off,” she says, “but when someone’s been out of work and facing a hard time, we try to figure out a way to help. Sometimes I call around and raise a few dollars or put in a few dollars.” She is not above begging for relief on someone’s behalf. 

In addition to her role as mayor, Angela owns and runs two full-time businesses. One is It’s an event planning company. And for more than a decade, she has been the energy behind a non-profit with a dual focus on young people and seniors, assisting with food security and promoting digital literacy and healthy living. 

Just in case you were wondering how I met Angela, it was in a shop on Parliament Street in Nassau where diva Sheena Carroll, the former radio personality known as Lady C, opened Dash Design, a boutique with a sophisticated line of clothing, shoes and accessories. Angela and I were both shoe shopping. 

The sun had been shining when she disembarked Utopia of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship with a Bahamas-only itinerary, but by the time we had both selected shoes after lots of debate and conversation as the rain came down in torrents. I offered her a ride back to Nassau Cruise Port. We dashed for the car, two women who met casually and vowed to stay in touch. And we have. And I am the richer for it. 

There is, I thought, a lot to be said for small town living, even among those who have to work hard to pay a water bill. We all long for a sense of community. 

Thanks, Angela, for taking that cruise and being in Nassau, reminding us that it is not the things we hold that make us rich, but the friendships and connections we make that enrich our lives.