Throughout our country, it is often said that we are losing what made America great. We see the dwindling of manufacturing jobs to oversea companies and the outsourcing of key services once made great by American workers.

Yes, all of this is due to a more global economy, where supply and demand knows no boundaries and where consumers clamor for the lowest price regardless of where something is made.

But, it still rings true in our part of the country, and especially in Chilton County, that our local economy to this day hinges on the success of those that farm and are in manufacturing.

In a month, when we celebrate the annual Peach Festival, it is a special opportunity to thank the families that have for generations – or not that long – toiled over peach trees, fields and herds. It is an opportunity to thank them for their work, their sweat and their faith.

Over the next few weeks, The Advertiser will publish stories featuring local peach growers and their work. It is oftentimes nice to put a face, a family with the basket of peaches we often enjoy.

In other parts of America, farming may be a profession long forgotten, but here we know just how lucky we are.