Slabtown Road in Zionville (Watauga County, North Carolina) is Daniel Boone Country. It's where established buffalo and Indian trails and Daniel Boone's westward exploration trail came together just before reaching the Tennessee border.
Daniel Boone was a member of the 47% and had good reason to press westward through these mountains as fast as possible. While fighting off bears, sorry weather, and challenging terrain, Daniel Boone was dogged his entire life by lawsuits and debt.
The fine folks who live in the rural Zionville community today are members of the 47% too. The average household income in Zionville is $30,147. Of the estimated 1,986 people living in Zionville, 1,408 are registered to vote, and Republicans out-register Democrats almost two to one.
David G Miller Farm Supply on Slabtown Road has been the hub of the Zionville community for over 35 years. In addition to agricultural products and services, Miller's Supply offers everything from septic repairs to fresh eggs offered daily from the family's 200 chickens.
The Watauga County Democratic Party decided it was high time to pay its respects to Miller's Farm Supply and to nearby Hill Top Drive-In for its 3rd "cash mob." We are, afterall, the Party of the 47% percent, and perhaps a trip out that way to put our money where our mouths are would help prove the point.
Catch what happened when the word got out.
I have written two previous diaries about our local Party's cash mobs here and here.
For those of you just now catching up:
The general idea is to encourage people to go into small, local businesses and spend their money, en masse, to give the business owner a little bit of economic stimulus.... ...the first gathering called a Cash Mob appears to have been held in Buffalo, NY, on August 5, 2011, and was organized by blogger, Christopher Smith.
Our Party
owns the cash mob movement in our county.
Collectively, we have to date pumped almost $7,000 into local businesses, most struggling in these hard times. We're excited and pumped.
The businesses are elated.
This Saturday, the first wave of local Democrats (and others) rolled into David Miller's Farm Supply just in time to grab a quick group shot before we got down to the serious business of some serious shopping:
Miller's Farm Supply is no tourist trap. As more and more people joined our first wave, locals called or stopped in just to find out why the parking lot was so full:
The Store Pootie found Marsha right off the bat:
Chaos and shout-outs: "Should I get this? Or this!"
Fresh eggs were bought out in a matter of minutes:
I don't know what Paula ended up buying, but she certainly wore the button of the day:
I had no trouble with my choices (who'd have ever guessed I'd find the perfect boots in Zionville, North Carolina):
Checkout and onward...
...To Hill Top Drive-In for classic vanilla shakes and foot long hotdogs. There are usually just a couple of cars in front, at best. Take a look from across the street, the only place we could find parking:
Not even any standing room left in the order line:
"Overwhelmed," "excited," "proud," and "Democratic Pride" were the words of the day in Watauga County yesterday. And Zionville found out that while talk is cheap, community support isn't. Join us on October 13th for our next cash mob. We'll leave the light on for ya.