Mayberry, North Carolina

Were you a fan of the "Andy Griffith Show?"  The "Andy Griffith Show" is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from 1960 to 1968.  I guess what our family watched when I was in junior high school must have been the syndicated episodes, since I was only eight years old when the original show ended.  

My main memory of watching this show was that it was just coming on around dinner time (or supper, as we used to call it) and I remember the show's theme song playing as we were sitting down to eat.  Then we watched the Carol Burnett variety show after dinner most evenings; what a classic that one was, too.      The actor, Andy Griffith, grew up in the small town of Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and it is strongly believed that Mt. Airy was the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry in the "Andy Griffith Show."  Mt. Airy is about an hour away from where I live in North Carolina, and it's about 30 minutes away from where my mom currently lives.  On Saturday, I visited my mom, and we went to Mt. Airy for lunch at our favorite Amish store, where they serve delicious deli sandwiches at lunch time.  Saturday was forecast to be a beautiful day, so I had already planned to take my camera.  I've been intending to take some photos of Mt. Airy and write a post about the town and its favorite son, Andy Griffith.  Yesterday, I finally got around to taking some pictures.   

My parents liked to visit Mt. Airy when I was growing up, and many was the year that we attended Mt. Airy's "Autumn Leaves" festival in the fall.  I can assure you that as an adolescent, the festival didn't interest me in the least.  😏  I just thought Mt. Airy was a dull, not-so-pretty mountain town.  You see, at that time I loved the Andy Griffith show, but I didn't yet know that the show was never filmed in Mt. Airy; it was filmed in Los Angeles, CA, on a studio lot.  The fictional town of Mayberry looked quite different from the real town of Mt. Airy to me.  I was so disappointed when I found out that the charming house Andy lived in with Opie and Aunt Bee did not exist outside of a studio.  

   Now, all these years later, I can see Mt. Airy, North Carolina, in a somewhat different light.  They certainly have a prettier little downtown now.  In the spring and summer, they have beautiful hanging baskets of flowers on all the light posts, and yesterday, there were several fall displays all around the historic downtown area.  In addition, there were lots of friendly people walking around.      

   My mom kindly consented to pose for me in this picture.  😊    

Even though it has been many years since I watched an episode of the "Andy Griffith" show, Hal and I still quote some of our favorite lines from the show.  Deputy Barney Fife's "Nip it in the bud," is probably one of our very favorites.  If you watched the show regularly, you'll know what I'm referring to.  😄 Favorite characters at our house were the Darlin' Family, Ernest T. Bass, Malcolm (the polite British gentleman) and of course, Barney Fife.     

The character of Ernest T. Bass was probably one of my all-time favorites.     

Floyd, the barber.   

   

   

You will see in most of these pictures that there were lots of people on the sidewalk.  My mom said it's like that most Saturdays.  It definitely wasn't like that when we were growing up. 

   

It seems odd to see that the Taylor Swift concert movie is playing here.  The world has come to Mayberry.

   

In one episode of the show, Andy (Taylor) suggested to Barney that they go to the Snappy Lunch and get a bite to eat.  Snappy Lunch opened in 1923, so it was definitely in existence in Mt. Airy when Andy Griffith was growing up there. 

   

          

   

   

   

   

Mt. Airy, North Carolina, certainly owes the majority of its tourism to Andy Griffith and his shows, "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Mayberry RFD."  Now in 2023, there are some cute and eclectic gift shops to be found in Mt. Airy, as well as some of the older antique stores.  In addition, there are wineries quite close by, and it's not far at all from Mt. Airy to the Blue Ridge Parkway, where you can spend a day driving and enjoying beautiful scenery. 

   

   

There are also some beautiful old houses and churches to be found in Mt. Airy.  I plan to go back with Hal and take some more pictures (soon, I hope).  

        

   

      

The last thing I'm sharing today is the modest little home Andy lived in when he was growing up.

      

Isn't it something that some people loved this show so much that they will pay to spend a night (or more) in Andy Griffith's homeplace?  My family and Hal's have fond memories of "The Andy Griffith Show."  My mother-in-law and I were discussing it some years ago, and we concluded that one thing, besides the humor, that really resonated with this show is that it taught us life lessons.  It taught us how to treat those around us kindly; and it taught these lessons, not by being preachy and overbearing, but with gentle humor.  I think, also, that the fondness for this show continues to exist because it represents a much simpler time in our history and not-so-distant past.  Life has never been easy no matter what time period you lived in, but it seems almost ridiculously complicated these days, and a bit scary, if I may say so.  

   

I believe that Andy Griffith was the only member of the cast who was actually from North Carolina.  But after the show ended, two of the actors ended up living in North Carolina until their death.  Frances Bavier, who played Aunt Bea, was originally from New York.  She retired to Siler City, North Carolina, where she lived until her death at age 86.  In 2006, Betty Lynn, who played Thelma Lou, Barney's girlfriend, moved to North Carolina from California.  She actually lived in Mt. Airy until her death in 2021, at age 95.   

   

There is also an Andy Griffith Museum and Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mt. Airy, which I hope to share with you before the holidays.  Thanks so much for your visit!!  I hope you have a lovely week!