Mayberry

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Mayberry is the name of a fictional town in North Carolina which was the setting for the American television sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D..

Mayberry, population 1,800, was a small rural town which is remembered as much for its slow-paced life as it was for the unique characters that inhabited it. [1] Mayberry had one traffic stop and, with the notable exception of moonshining (which seemed to be commonplace), was usually crime-free. This made for an interesting backdrop for The Andy Griffith Show, which depicted the day to day life of the town's sheriff, Andy Taylor. Sheriff Taylor seemed to spend more time dealing with his deputy Barney Fife's antics than law enforcement.

[edit] Archetypal small town

Many towns in North Carolina have been proposed as "the original Mayberry," but it is most likely that the town was loosely based on Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Griffith has also indicated that nearby Pilot Mountain, N.C., also in Surry County, North Carolina, inspired him in creating the town. However, it is more likely that Pilot Mountain was the inspiration for the fictional town of "Mount Pilot", a nearby larger town in relation to Mayberry, often referred to and occasionally visited by the characters in The Andy Griffith Show. The county seat of Surry County is in Dobson; thus, this is the location of the nearest courthouse to Mount Airy.

Due to the success and notoriety of the television show, "Mayberry" has been used as a term for both idyllic small town life and for rural simplicity (for both good and ill). For example, in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a vampire says that the high death count in Sunnydale "makes D.C. look...like Mayberry."

Ron Susskind, in an influential article written for Esquire magazine Jan 1, 2003, quotes DiIulio, who defines the Mayberry Machiavellis as political staff, Karl Rove and his people, "who consistently talked and acted as if the height of political sophistication consisted in reducing every issue to its simplest black-and-white terms for public consumption, then steering legislative initiatives or policy proposals as far right as possible. These folks have their predecessors in previous administrations (left and right, Democrat and Republican), but in the Bush administration, they were particularly unfettered."

Mayberry originated in an episode of The Danny Thomas Show and was the setting of both The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD. Although the county seat of an agricultural county, black people were rarely seen in Mayberry or the surrounding county. The Vietnam War was also never mentioned on the show.

Mayberry is also the name of a real community that was located in Laurens County, Georgia, around the time of the Great Depression and World War II. It was situated between Rentz and Dexter, Georgia on what is now Mark Wood Road, and had its own railroad stop. The tracks are now gone, and trains no longer pass through the area. The population of the area has increased greatly, but it remains a rural location, at least three miles from the smallest nearby town.

[edit] Town landmarks

• The Mayberry Courthouse — Where Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife maintained law and order. It also contained the county jail—all two cells. Aside from Andy Taylor's home, this was the main setting for The Andy Griffith Show.
• Myer's Lake — As seen in the opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show, it was the place Andy and Opie Taylor went fishing, and where Barney often drove with Thelma Lou for their "romantic getaways".
• Walker's Drug Store — This was the town drug store and soda shop run by Ellie Walker, Andy's first girlfriend (played by Elinor Donahue) on the show. In the early episodes, characters often talked about "going to Walker's Drug Store for an ice cream soda."
• Floyd's Barber Shop — Run by the scatterbrained Floyd Lawson, it was the main center of action in Mayberry. On any given day, it was not unusual to see many of the town's important figures, including the Mayor and the Sheriff, gathered here.
• Emmett's Fix-it Shop — Handyman Emmett Clark's business replaced Floyd's when Howard McNear left the show.
• Weaver's Department Store — Run by the miserly Ben Weaver.
• The Grand Theatre — The movie theater where Andy and Barney often took their girlfriends (Helen Crump and Thelma Lou, respectively) on dates.
• Wally's Filling Station — The town's only known gas station, it employed cousins Goober and Gomer Pyle. It also served as the town's auto repair garage.
• Bluebird Diner — This was the restaurant where Barney was often seen calling to talk to his secret love, the enigmatic waitress "Juanita".
• Mayberry Hotel — Where out-of-towners often stayed, the Mayberry Hotel was also where choir director John Masters was employed.
• Snappy Lunch — A Mayberry diner named after a real eatery which still serves lunches in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
• Taylor House - A humble yet handsome two-storey bungalow, only a short walk from the courthouse. Notable features include a front porch with a swing - perfect for conversation and guitar playing, a back porch with an extra refrigerator, and a living room with a high ceiling and rough hewn stone fireplace.

[edit] References

• Behind the Scenes of the Real Mayberry A behind the scenes look at The Andy Griffith Show and the real Mayberry, includes filming locations, the stars made on the show, and Mayberry trivia.