photo #9055070

This is Johnny Callahan, standing out front of his store in Minneapolis, North Carolina. The locals affectionately referred to him as “The Mayor of Dogtown”. Why Dogtown, you say? Well, I’m glad you asked. Minneapolis was founded in 1892 (at least that’s when the first post office was built) and yes, it was named for the one of Minnesota fame. The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad passed through the town, and a depot was built to service an asbestos factory in the area. In terms of being a town, they never had the much going on, besides the weekly services at the one Baptist church and the one Methodist church. During the census of 1940, the census taker noted to the locals that town of Minneapolis had more dogs than it did people, and with with that proclamation, it quickly became known as Dogtown. In the middle part of the 20th Century, Mr. Johnny came along and put Dogtown on the map with his store. He was known far and wide to make the best bologna sandwich in all of Avery County. It was a regular stop for kids after school, who would be lined out the door to get a piece of candy and a Nehi. The old men would gather around and tell war stories on the weekends. If someone stopped in and “looked hungry,” Johnny would feed them without charging a dime. His store became a center for the community, and he became the de facto mayor of Dogtown. Johnny Callahan passed away in 2006, at the age of 79, and was buried on the hill at the Methodist church. If you ask anyone about him, they all say the same thing: “He was so good to me.” What a testament to a life well lived. The store was taken out in 2024 by Hurricane Helene, along with 1,000 memories of the place. But if you stand at his gravesite today, you can still look down the hill and see the site where a simple man, by most accounts, brought a smile and a light to community that needed one. That is the kind of thing that will echo in eternity.