Mayberry

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This article is about the fictional setting for The Andy Griffith Show. For other uses, see Mayberry (disambiguation).

Mayberry is a fictional community in North Carolina which was the setting for two American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television movie titled Return to Mayberry. It is said to be based on Mount Airy, North Carolina, where Andy Griffith is originally from.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

Mayberry, population 1,800, was a small, conservative rural community which is remembered as much for its slow-paced life as it was for the unique characters that inhabited it [1]

[edit] The name Mayberry

The television show's community of Mayberry was apparently named for fictional founder Lord Mayberry. Historically, the word Mayberry is of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and is a locational name, a dialectical variant of the placename Maesbury in Shropshire. [1] Purportedly, Griffith himself chose the name of the fictional community.

[edit] Specific features

Mayberry had one traffic stop and little in the way of indigenous crime save moonshining and bootlegging. Out of town bank robbers, scam artists, escaped convicts, and vagrants occasionally found their way to Mayberry. Since sheriff is a county office/appointment rather than a civic position, and since the badge on the squad car is simply labeled "Sheriff - Mayberry", presumably the county and the town share the same name and jurisdiction. The town only had one long-distance telephone line, as referenced in the episode "Man in a Hurry", that two old ladies shared each Sunday preventing others from using the telephone.

[edit] Mayberryites

[edit] Archetypal small town

[edit] Real-life models

Many towns in North Carolina have been proposed as "the original Mayberry," but many assume Mayberry 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. One episode has a fictional nearby location—"Pierce County."

Other placenames used in the show refer to actual places in North Carolina, such as Raleigh – which was also often called "Capital City" – and Siler City. One of the stars of the show, Frances Bavier (who played Aunt Bea) retired to Siler City in real life. In Episode 249 "A Girl For Goober" the towns of Manteo and Toast are mentioned. Andy Griffith owns a home in Manteo (on North Carolina's Atlantic coast), and Toast is about 2 miles outside of Mt. Airy in Surry County. Stokes County, which borders Surry County to the east, is mentioned as the location of Myers Lake in Episode 140 "Andy And Helen Have Their Day". In one of the episodes they also mention Fancy Gap, VA which is a town just up the mountain from Mt. Airy, NC.

[edit] Becomes a generic term

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). Examples:

[edit] TV-Shows:
  • In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mister Trick says that the high death count in Sunnydale "makes D.C. look...like Mayberry."
  • In the episode "Blood Money" of the TV-Show Stingray aired in 1987, the reply to a white teacher (the hero of the show) saying: "Where I come from, we do not talk to teachers that way." by one of his black students is: "Where is that? - Mayberry?!" (9min-10min)
  • In the episode "The Angriest Angel, Part 2" of the Science fiction TV-Show Space: Above and Beyond aired in 1996 the commanding officer of the 58th squadron Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius "T. C." McQueen belonging to a minority of genetically engineered humans called InVitros gets into an argument with his subordinates for a lack of formal respect being reffered to as a "guy" by one of them. He answers with the following lines: "Guy?! What do you think, we're back on the blocks smokin' and jokin'? Hear this loud and clear, Marine. I am not your guy. I am not your joe. I am not your damn drinking buddy. And I sure as hell am not a mark in a singles bar. You hear this, C.F.B. I am not here to make friends! When this war ends and you go back to raising money for charity and you're eating dogs at Wrigley - and you go back to Mayberry - I'm still going to be out here - waiting for the next one. That's why I'm here." (8min-10min)
[edit] Reality:
  • The citizens of Middlebury, Indiana also make use of the term to describe their own small, Amish community.[citation needed]
  • "Mayberry on Acid" has been used to describe Fairfax, CA.

[edit] Origins and expansion

Mayberry originated in an episode of The Danny Thomas Show and was the setting for The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry RFD and the 1986 reunion movie Return to Mayberry. Although the county seat of an agricultural county, black people were rarely seen in the original series, but occasionally seen on RFD.

[edit] Eponymous real life community

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

[edit] Public Buildings

Mayberry Courthouse
  • The Mayberry Courthouse — Where Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife maintained law and order. It also contained the county jail—two cells, and the Mayor's office upstairs. Aside from Andy Taylor's home, this was the main setting for The Andy Griffith Show.
  • Mayberry Savings Bank - the town's only bank, which is often subject to robberies. It contains a large vault and it's only security guard is a man named Acea, who is constantly sleeping and who's dilapatated gun is filled with moldy bullets.
  • U.S. Post Office - the town's only post office.
  • Mayberry Union Highschool - the highschool where Andy and Barney graduated from.

[edit] Houses

  • Taylor House - A humble yet handsome two-story frame house on Elm Street, 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 (rusticated ashlar) stone fireplace.
  • Mrs. Mendalbright's Rooming House - Barney Fife boards upstairs and his landlady, is Mrs. Mendalbright.
  • Thelma Lou's House - the home of Thema Lou, Barney's girlfriend.
  • Mrs. Wiley's House - the home of Mrs. Wiley, which is frequently subject to parties, two of which were crashed by Ernest T. Bass.

[edit] Public Entertainment Venues

  • The Grand Theatre — The movie theater where Andy and Barney often took their girlfriends (Helen Crump and Thelma Lou, respectively) on dates.

[edit] Commercial Buildings

Walker's Drug Store
  • Walker's Drug Store — This was the town drug store and soda shop owned by Fred Walker. His niece Ellie, also a pharmacist worked there for a while and was 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 barbershop
  • 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.
  • Foley's Grocery - Run by Mr. Foley. where Aunt Bee and her friends shop.
  • 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.
  • Wally's Filling Station — The town's only known gas station, it employed cousins Gomer Pyle and Goober. It also served as the town's auto repair garage.

[edit] Places to Eat

Mayberry Hotel
  • Bluebird Diner — This was the restaurant where Barney was often seen calling to talk to his secret love, the enigmatic waitress "Juanita." A man named Frank ownes the diner. It is located on the outskirts of Mayberry, near Myer's Lake.
  • Snappy Lunch — A Mayberry diner named after a real eatery which still serves lunches in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
[edit] To Eat and Stay
  • Mayberry Hotel — Where out-of-towners often stayed, the Mayberry Hotel was also where choir director John Masters was employed.

[edit] Physical landmarks

  • 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."

[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.
  1. ^ SurnameDB: Mayberry surname meaning
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