Long before the trendy farmers markets sprung up in Fayette County, there was Nub.
His full name was Howard Durham, but everyone called him Nub and knew his little produce stand along Highway 54 between Peachtree City and Fayetteville.
In his trademark overalls, near the hand-painted signs advertising the produce of the day, he would sit and wave to passing cars when he wasn’t helping customers bag their corn or weigh their tomatoes.
Obeying the adage to “grow where you’re planted,” he did just that. Born and raised in Fayette County, he raised his own family here too. His fields predated Peachtree City, and over the decades he saw a new kind of growth emerge around him.
But even when the quiet countryside became a busier suburb, Nub and his produce stand remained. That is, until May 29 when he passed away almost two months to the day after his wife, Pearl. He was 87.
Nub’s passing comes at a time when his particular section of Fayette County is undergoing dramatic change.
Just down the road from his produce stand, a whole new enterprise is taking shape.
Pinewood Studios, the British-based production company known for its James Bond and other films, has made Fayetteville its U.S. base. The company has built six huge sound stages on 288 acres, and even has its own Home Depot. It’s hard not to stare at the huge white monoliths and wonder what sort of movie magic is being made inside. It’s both an unexpected and impressive sight.
Folks around Fayette have already gotten pretty used to film crews around town. Production of “Drop Dead Diva,” “The Walking Dead” and movies such as “Joyful Noise” have been common sights for several years.
Recently, a crew set up in my kids’ former elementary school parking lot so that something could be filmed at the mini-mart across the street.
Pinewood is expected to bring millions of dollars in revenue to Fayette County, along with related development.
The area near Pinewood has already started to change due to construction of the West Fayetteville Bypass. Completion of the road has hit political speed bumps, and it likely won’t be finished as designed. But development along the existing road will increase, further changing the rural landscape.
Fayette County isn’t going to transform overnight because of any one company or industry. Businesses may come and go, but the county seems committed to attracting fresh enterprises that will maintain or improve the quality of life – even if that life looks a bit different.
Some people will like the changes and others won’t. But if you want good schools and high property values, things can’t be allowed to stagnate.
Just as Nub would have fertilized his fields every year to keep a good crop coming, so too must the county find new ways of making things grow.
Let’s hope that even as the faces in town change, we’ll still find a reason to wave hello.
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