Raytown (Mama's Family)

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Raytown is the fictional community that the Harper family and their friends live in on the television sitcom, Mama's Family. The community is known as the "Hub of the Tri-State (sometimes, Tri-County) area". Usually, the correct description is "Tri-State Area". According to Vicki Lawrence, the town was based on the city of Raytown, Missouri.

The mayor is Alvin Tutweiler. For a while, Thelma Harper was the mayor, but only for a day when she returned the reins of power to Tutweiler, who had been linked to Thelma's daughter, Ellen Harper.

Other communities nearby include a town, across the river from Raytown, called Bump, which Eunice Harper Higgins once tried to run away from home to. As Thelma explained, "Eunice only got as far as Bump." Highway 5 goes through Raytown, and nearby is a community called Hinckley. Hinckley is presumed to be much larger than Raytown, although Raytown is a good sized community. Example being that Hinckley had a Diamond mart. Another nearby community often mentioned is the town of Bundy.

Points of interest in the community is the former brothel "Ma Bodine's" where the town's founder, James A. Ray, died. What was Ma Bodine's at Number One Old Decatur Road is now the location of the Harper house, which was made a Raytown Historical Landmark.

The community's leading food store is Food Circus where Naomi Harper worked as a cashier, and was later promoted to assistant manager. Also located in town is "Kwik Keys" where Naomi's husband, Vinton works as a locksmith.

Located in downtown Raytown is the community's (as well as the area's) leading department store, "Nedemayer's". Another famous point of interest is The Bigger Jigger, Raytown's leading bar and grill, where Thelma's sister, Fran Crowley died after choking on a toothpick in the ladies room.

There are some more places of ill-repute, namely a place called Manny's Midnight Motel, where the eternally snide Eunice gleefully noted to her sister, Ellen, that her husband, Bruce Jackson, was spending most of his hours, with his secretary, Peggy.

The community is also possessed of a junior college, where Bubba Higgins, Thelma's grandson, attended, and is the home of Edgar Allan Poe High School, where most of the family attended high school (It's team name is, appropriately, the Ravens). The community's newspapers include the Courier (obviously the major daily newspaper) and the Bugle, the latter newspaper was where Fran worked as a reporter.

Some would say that Raytown is a southern town, or a midwestern town, but it's seemed to be combining the features of both. There is a real-life Raytown, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, but it is unknown whether or not the fictional place is named for the real place. However, since ION Television has begun showing Mama's Family on their prime-time schedule, on their website, it has been determined, that Raytown is definitely the Raytown in Missouri.

Supporting the probability that Raytown, Missouri was considered a source location for the sitcom, in one of the first season episodes a picture of the Bigger Jigger sign is briefly shown. That sign did actually exist, and during the 1960's and 70's, and possibly into the 80's, there were at least two Bigger Jiggers in business bearing that sign, in the Kansas City area, of which Raytown is a suburb.

Also, in another first season episode, Vinton's friend Claude called asking Vinton to post his bail. Claude said he was at the police station at 63rd and Brookside. There was actually a Kansas City Missouri police station known as the "Brookside Station" located on 63rd street, about a block from the intersection of 63rd and Brookside. This station was only a few miles from Raytown itself.

Mama's Family

Main Characters: Thelma Harper | Vint Harper | Naomi Harper | Buzz Harper | Sonja Harper | Ellen Harper | Eunice Harper Higgins | Ed Higgins | Bubba Higgins | Fran Crowley | Iola Boylan Recurring Characters: Lloyd Meechum | Alberta Meechum | Alvin Tutweiler

Other: Raytown | Episodes