I published this article on Medium last year:
5 min read·
Apr 21, 2025
“Downtown Hickory” photo by the City of Hickory — Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.
I grew up in a town where the river was a backdrop — not a battleground.
Here in the heart of Western North Carolina, the Catawba River has always been present — cutting across the foothills terrain, defining the borders of Burke, Catawba, Caldwell, Alexander, and Iredell counties. The industrial base that once anchored communities like Hickory, Lenoir, Morganton, Valdese, Granite Falls, Newton, Conover, and Statesville sat just a few miles off the water — reliant on it for production, processing, and growth.
The furniture and textile industries created an ecosystem — one built on hard work, strong hands, and a rhythm of life centered on stability, family, faith, and function. It worked for generations.
But the river tells a different story now.
During dry spells, it can smell off. The water flows sluggish, darkened by agricultural runoff and sediment buildup. There are more warnings than fish. If you pay attention, you can sense something’s wrong. Some blame weather. Others point upstream. I say it’s a metaphor.
Because this region is facing two crises — one in the water, and one in the economy.
The Wages of Globalization
We were told for decades that free trade would create prosperity for all. But while the large metro areas like Charlotte and Raleigh turned into hubs of capital, data, and decision-making, many towns like ours — built on local manufacturing — were simply carved out of the equation.
In Hickory, more than 40,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared since the 1980s. These weren’t just jobs — they were careers, traditions, and roots. The kind of work you could build a household on.
Wages flattened. Stability frayed. And many of our best and brightest began to leave.
Statistical models suggest that roughly one in three young adults (ages 20 to 34) have left the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area over the past 14 years. It’s not hard to understand why. When the work disappears, opportunity often goes with it.
Meanwhile, more than 460 permitted discharges continue to pollute the Catawba River — primarily from upstream poultry operations and industrial waste. It’s not just environmental degradation — it’s a signal of systemic disregard.
If we want a future worth staying for, we’ll have to build it ourselves — with new tools, new skills, and renewed control over our direction.
From Mill Hands to Tech Stewards
This isn’t a pitch for tech bros or glossy innovation zones. It’s about practical adaptation.
Boise, Idaho saw $15 billion in private investment flow into a semiconductor facility. In five years, with help from community colleges, they trained 2,000 people and sparked more than 15,000 jobs — direct and indirect.
That’s not fiction. That’s a roadmap.
Here in Hickory, we could launch a tailored version of that blueprint — through Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) and local partnerships. The proposal is simple: train 1,000 young people over five years in robotics, AI, and green tech, with an emphasis on environmental restoration and modern manufacturing.
The results could be:
· 500 new green jobs
· $15 million in wages
· $5 million in regional product and service sales
· A meaningful reduction in youth outmigration
This isn’t about chasing a trend. It’s about restoring the value of staying rooted.
Culture and Commitment
Training alone isn’t enough. People have to believe in it.
That’s where culture matters. Behavioral nudges — like a “Tech Star” badge — might seem small, but they carry weight in communities where pride is earned, not given. Visibility, status, and identity all matter.
This kind of acknowledgment reinforces that we’re not just offering training — we’re honoring a new kind of working-class excellence. Not abstract coding. Not remote work for someone else’s platform. But local skills with visible outcomes.
We’re not asking people to forget who they are. We’re asking them to carry their values into the next era — with new tools in hand.
Resistance Is Expected
There will be resistance. Some worry robots and AI will replace them. Others don’t trust institutions that promise change and deliver bureaucracy.
The skepticism is real — and earned.
We’ve watched initiatives come and go. We’ve seen factories close and tax incentives vanish. We’ve seen big promises end in empty buildings and quiet layoffs.
But this moment is different.
We’re not waiting for someone to bring back the old jobs. We’re building new ones that serve our needs and our land. Environmental recovery and economic relevance aren’t separate goals — they’re interwoven.
Yes, we’ll face funding competition. Yes, green tech policy will shift. But if we let the uncertainty freeze us, we’ll continue to drift — and we can’t afford that any longer.
The River Isn’t the Only Thing That’s Been Polluted
The Catawba River carries more than water. It carries the weight of what’s been lost — and the potential of what could still be reclaimed.
We can’t wait for approval from people who’ve never heard of our towns.
We can’t define ourselves by what we used to make. And we can’t expect the next generation to stay unless we give them something meaningful to stay for.
This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about survival.
Robotics. AI. Clean water. Work with purpose.
These aren’t buzzwords. They’re what a working-class future looks like in the 21st century. And we still have the power to shape it — if we act.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
What Happens When a Southern Mill Town Bets Its Future on Robots and a River
Follow @hickoryhound on X and share using #FoothillsCorridor and #RuralRevival. https://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/
This isn’t about going viral. It’s about going forward!
References:
Pollution Threats
More than 460 permitted discharges continue to pollute the Catawba River, according to the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation. — https://www.catawbariverkeeper.org/state-of-the-river
Manufacturing Decline
Reuters reported that Hickory lost over 40,000 manufacturing jobs as globalization took hold (Reuters).- https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HICK837MFGYouth Outmigration
Roughly one in three young adults have left the area in recent years (Reuters follow-up). — https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/hickory-catawba-nc/residents/Boise Tech Blueprint
Micron’s $15 billion investment in Boise, Idaho demonstrates the potential of tech-driven regional renewal (Micron press release). — https://www.micron.com/about/careers/apprenticeshipCVCC Green Tech Training
Catawba Valley Community College offers workforce programs like Sustainability Technologies to train students in renewable energy and environmental solutions. — https://www.cvcc.edu/Academic-Resources/Programs/Industrial/Workforce-Solutions-Complex.cfm
