She became a celebrity after moving from Mount Airy, but Donna Fargo can still find her way around town.  The Grammy-winning country music artist, who was born Yvonne Vaughn in Mount Airy, made multiple appearances in the Granite City after carrying out her duties as grand marshal in Saturday’s Christmas Parade.  Following the parade in the morning, Fargo stopped by the Earle Theatre where she spoke with WPAQ’s Kelly Epperson.  After that she headed to the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, where a Hometown Hero exhibit tells Fargo’s story. She held a meet-and-greet and autograph signing there before moving further down Main Street for an appearance at Pages Bookstore.

At the museum Fargo met up with her old friend Pete Ballard (an artist and costume designer from West Virginia who has local ties) prior to meeting with fans, who assembled in a long line on the second floor of the museum to await their turn to meet Fargo.  She was also interviewed by two students. Fifth-grader Savannah Allen interviewed Fargo for her project with the Jesse Franklin Pioneers Club of the Tar Heel Junior Historians; and 19-year-0ld UNC Chapel Hill journalism student Sara Pequeno interviewed Fargo for a final paper in one of her classes.  In answering one of Savannah’s questions, Fargo called singing “my little secret wish,” noting it was a dream she had always hoped to attain. The star sang at Slate Mountain Baptist Church as a child and in college for sorority events.  Fargo said singing in front of large crowds didn’t come easy, however, as she was a little nervous. She even fainted once when her brother set her up to sing without her knowledge of the plans.  She noted she draws inspiration for her songs from her childhood here and from her fans.

“My life in Mount Airy influenced me greatly,” said Fargo, noting she attended school in Flat Rock and at Mount Airy High. “The people of Mount Airy are wonderful people. They encourage you just because they love you.”  Fargo, who now lives in Tennessee, said she doesn’t regularly travel back home to Mount Airy. Instead, she makes occasional appearances for book signings, parades and other events.  She has an affectionate place in her heart for her old hometown.  “Visiting is a great opportunity to meet people who are new to Mount Airy, and I also get to see people I grew up with,” said Fargo. “It feels good to be home.”  She said the life experiences she gained in Mount Airy helped in her music career, and she was inspired to become a teacher by her own teachers in Mount Airy.  “It’s important we never lose sight of where we came from,” explained Fargo. “I’m a better songwriter and writer because I grew up here.”

According to many in town, Fargo breaks the mold when it comes to celebrities. She never forgot the town from which she came and adores her fans as much as they love her.  After graduating from then-High Point College in the 1960s, Fargo headed west to California, where she began teaching, according to a Fargo biography.  However, she saw her career in singing and writing take off when Dot Records picked up what would become her hit single, The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA, in 1972. That debut song hit number one in country music and also broke into the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in the same year.  Taylor Swift would be the next artist to accomplish that feat more than 30 years after Fargo did it.  Fargo has done much since her breakthrough, including recording multiple albums and writing many songs.  She also began work on her autobiography in 1992 and has a line of greeting cards. In 2010, she released her fourth book, I Thanked God for You Today. Prior to that, she had released three poetry books.  On Saturday she noted she has written seven total books.

Fans will have several opportunities to interact with local celebrity Donna Fargo over the weekend.  The Grammy-winning country music/pop singer will serve as grand marshal Saturday in the Mount Airy Christmas Parade, which kicks off at 9 a.m. After the parade travels up Main Street and concludes at the Southern end of the Main Street business district, Fargo will stop by the Earle Theatre for a brief noon appearance with Kelly Epperson of WPAQ.  The singer will next be whisked off to the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History for a meet-and-greet and autograph signing slated to begin about 12:30 p.m.  On Sunday, Nov. 27, a book signing will begin at Pages Book Store on Main Street at 2 p.m. until closing.  Representatives from the bookstore indicated that Fargo will be releasing a new book but did not provide any additional details.

“I think you will not find a famous person with more affinity for her fans than she has,” said Matt Edwards, museum director. “She loves her fans as much as they love her.”  Edwards noted that he grew up “functionally post-Donna Fargo,” and that his appreciation for Fargo was developed after he began work at the museum.  “I didn’t have a clue,” he said, but became familiar with Fargo’s historical significance while developing her exhibit at the museum.  “Working with her, she’s a great lady,” he said. “I cannot say enough good things.”

Fargo is best known for her music career, during which she released hits such as “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” in the 1970s.  But a lesser-known detail impressed Edwards as far as her historical contribution.  “She was the first woman to host her own TV variety show,” he said. “That’s pretty impressive. Everybody remembers Barbara Mandrell because her show ran for several years, but Donna’s show preceded that.”  The show, which was produced by the Osmond Brothers, ran for a year beginning in 1978 and ended so Fargo could address serious health concerns.  “It wasn’t because it wasn’t popular enough and it wasn’t because people didn’t love it,’ Edwards said. “She made the decision to step away.” 

Though the museum meet-and-greet is scheduled to continue until 5 p.m., the director said fans won’t be turned away.  “She will stay until everybody gets the opportunity to do so,” he said. “In many cases it’s really an old home feeling,” he said, a reunion of sorts for those who knew Fargo back in the day.  Edwards said, “Even if you aren’t one of those people, she treats you like you are.”

Having attempted a wide assortment of downtown tour options, the downtown ghost tours offered by the Mount Airy Regional Museum of History still remain the most popular. According to Matt Edwards, executive director, the museum has tried several different types of downtown tours over the years, but none of the tours have received the fanfare and attendance as the original ghost tours that Mark Brown was instrumental in putting together. “Mark was really the perfect person to take charge of the program,” Edwards said.  Brown comes from a theatrical background and did the majority of the research and scripting of the tours to ensure local historical accuracy. “We were pleasantly surprised, there was a lot of success right when we started,” Brown said. Terri Ingalls served as the tour guide on the Friday night ghost tour, having started as a tour guide during the second year of the program. Throughout the tour, Ingalls carried a lantern and regaled the group with stories of Mount Airy’s past. Ingalls doesn’t refer to ghosts as ghosts, rather “permanent residents.” Two of the permanent residents that she spoke of were Edgard and Mary, both of which reside in the building that houses the Mount Airy Regional Museum of History. The Friday night tour attracted people from Ohio and Charlotte, with the people from Charlotte driving up specifically for the tour. Ingalls stressed the fact that the permanent residents of downtown Mount Airy are benevolent and have no ill will about them.