our state magazine feature
Come Summertime, Cantaloupes are Ridgeway’s Royalty
From the Waldorf Astoria to the White House and back, Ridgeway’s cantaloupes are famous for their sweetness.
Quick geography quiz: What comes next in this sequence of places and their famous foodstuffs? Philly cheesesteaks, Boston baked beans, Lexington barbecue, Ridgeway …
Answer: Cantaloupes. That’s right. You know Ridgeway. It’s in Warren County, just one mile from Norlina, which is the address of Richard Holtzmann Jr.’s produce stand. But for six to eight weeks every year, Ridgeway appears to be a bigger speck on the map than its handful of buildings — post office, store, the Opry House, and fire department — make it seem. This is when melon mania sets in.