Moving from a big city like Charlotte, North Carolina to a small town like Picayune has revealed my appreciation for local family-owned businesses. In Picayune, it’s almost impossible to go on a short drive and not pass a mom and pop shop thriving in the local economy.

I love the small town atmosphere these businesses present in my newly acquired love of this town. 

What most people do not understand is that these family-owned businesses are a lifestyle, more than just a job. I spoke with the second-generation owner of Lawn Mower and Small Engine Services, Kenneth Dawsey, in downtown Picayune on Monday and met a man who loves what he does.

He spoke highly of the town he was born in and his appreciation for something most big corporations don’t understand, community camaraderie. I love the idea of locals going into a 30-year-old family owned shop just to catch up on what’s going on locally. As I walk around Picayune, I see plenty of this from local businesses, whether it be the same group of gentlemen getting a cup of coffee from the same local business every morning, to walking into a lawn mower shop to see the owner giving a fellow resident advice on how to fix a faulty lawn mower.

It’s a shame that local businesses aren’t booming as much in larger cities, because in a way they provide something no corporation can, a friendly down to earth environment.

These family business owners dedicate their lives to the business and in return, residents have a place they can go to run their daily errands, or just to talk about life with a friend.

If every city and town was as close-knit as Picayune, I’d imagine this would be a happier nation.