Near MOUNT AIRY, N.C.—
A section of state highway just north of Mount Airy was renamed Donna Fargo Highway, in honor of the Grammy Award-winning singer who hailed from Mayberry.Transportation Secretary Gene Conti and local officials held a ceremony Thursday to dedicate the section of N.C. 103.
"Donna is a shining example of how you can have a dream, set a course and it comes true," Conti told the crowd of nearly 500 assembled in downtown Mount Airy. "Donna may live in Nashville, but her heart is in North Carolina. We hope that today's honor continues your journey as the happiest girl in the whole U.S.A."
Fargo, who was born in Mount Airy, attended Flat Rock Elementary and Mount Airy High schools. She received her English degree at the University of Southern California after attending High Point College. She became a teacher at Northview High School in Covina, Calif., eventually becoming head of the English Department.
However, Fargo had a love for music and pursued a singing career while she teaching. She wrote most of her songs and was named the "Top New Female Vocalist" by the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1969.
Fargo is best known for her 1972 hit single "The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A." The song reached No. 11 on the Billboard chart and No. 1 on the country music chart, and won Fargo a Grammy Award for "Best Female Country Vocal Performance." Fargo went on to place more than a dozen singles in the country top 10 during the 1970s.
This is the second "celebrity" road dedication in Mount Airy. Part of U.S. 52 from Interstate 74 to the Virginia state line was named the " Andy Griffith Parkway" on Oct. 16, 2002.
