Siler City: A lionized Piedmont town embraces transformational change while grasping to retain its charm. - Business North Carolina

Siler City: A lionized Piedmont town embraces transformational change while grasping to retain its charm. - Business North Carolina

Horner’s Rural Route By Bill Horner Rural Route is a new Business North Carolina column authored by veteran journalist Bill Horner. He will focus on key issues in less populated parts of the state. My admittedly hazy recollection from TV’s make-believe Mayberry is that Siler City — where Barney would make the occasional foray, and where Andy was once ticketed for fishing without a license — was a pretty robust place. Today, in the real Siler Cit…