MOUNT AIRY-MAYBERRY PHOTO EXHIBIT
Andy made this statement in a speech at the Andy
Griffith Parkway dedication on October 16, 2002, to
hundreds of visitors and Mount Airy residents. The
speech can be heard in its entirety on the audio guides
that are available in the Andy Griffith Museum.
Andy’s speech at the TV Land Landmark statue
unveiling is also on the audio guides.
The brand new Mount Airy-Mayberry Photo
Exhibit is in the lower level of the Andy Griffith Playhouse, just outside the Surry Arts Council offices.
There are photos, old and new, of people, places and
things that are mentioned on The Andy Griffith Show
and remind the folks in Mount Airy of real life.
The exhibit contains a photo of the Weiner (pronounced Weenie)-Burger, which was owned by Andy’s first cousin, Evin Moore.
The Weiner-Burger was located on the corner of Rockford Street
and Worth Street. Andy mentions taking Peggy McMillan to the
Weiner-Burger in “Andy’s Rich Girlfriend.” Andy worked there for
a brief time when he was a teen. Also in the episode “Off to Hollywood,” the Taylors talk about visiting cousin Evin Moore in
Asheville.
Emmett Forrest and Andy are in photos as 7th graders and then
again in 2004 when Andy was visiting Mount Airy. Emmett and
“Some people say that I patterned
Mayberry after Mount Airy. …
Sure seems like it, doesn’t it.”
--Andy Griffith, October 16, 2002
Andy have remained friends through the years. Emmett has long
collected Andy Griffith memorabilia and is graciously sharing it
with thousands of fans in the Andy Griffith Museum! Many of his
prized possessions in the museum are gifts from Andy Griffith.
Bannertown is where Mr. and Mrs. Parnell Rigsby live in
“Opie’s Fortune.” If you continue down South Main Street in
Mount Airy, you’ll end up in
Bannertown. Otis mentions
Dobson in the episode
“Sheriff Barney,” and Dobson is the County Seat of
Surry County. The Blu-Vue
Motel was the place to eat
or stay many years ago. The
Blu-Vue is mentioned in
separate episodes as a fancy place for a date and possible place for
a Russian summit meeting. It’s located off of Highway 52 North.
Fancy Gap is mentioned as the possible location of a still in
“Alcohol and Old Lace.” Take a ride up Highway 52 to Fancy Gap
for beautiful vistas and a great drive!
The Grand Theatre was mentioned in
several episodes. The Grand was in
Downtown Mount Airy at Greene Finance. Andy and Barney took their girlfriends on dates to movies at the Grand.
The school crossing at Rockford and
Haymore was mentioned in “Malcolm at
the Crossroads” and is where Andy
crossed the street to go to Rockford
Street Elementary School. Andy lived at
711 Haymore Street and the Rockford
Street School auditorium is now the
www.surryarts.org
Andy Griffith Playhouse, 218 Rockford Street. This is where Andy
gave his first public performance. He was in the third grade. He
sang “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet” on this same stage! When
Andy visited in 2002, Emmett photographed him standing on the
Andy Griffith Playhouse stage in
the very spot that he stood in the
third grade. With his hands behind
his back and swaying back and
forth, Andy reprised “Put on Your
Old Grey Bonnet” for his wife
Cindi.
Spring Street is across the street
from the Andy Griffith Playhouse.
The stop sign falls down on Spring
Street in “Andy and Opie Housekeepers.” It does seem to be bent a lot! In “Andy and Helen Have
Their Day,” they have a picnic at Myers Lake in Stokes County.
Stokes borders Surry County. You go through it on your way down
Highway 52 to Winston-Salem.
Toast was mentioned in
the episode “A Girl for
Goober.” Toast is where
world famous old-time fiddler Tommy Jarrell lived.
It’s at the stoplight where
Highway 89/Pine Street
crosses Franklin Road.
Gomer Pyle says that
Nelson’s funeral Parlor has
calendars with the words to
the “Marine Corps Hymn” on the back in the episode “Gomer Pyle,
U.S.M.C.” Roy Nelson worked at Moody’s for many years and
talked to folks on Mayberry Days walking tours during our first
years. In 1920 Mount Airy’s funeral home was named NelsonMoody Funeral Home. In
1928, Mr. D.E. Nelson sold
his share to Wade Moody
and the name was changed
to Moody Funeral Home.
Moody’s, as we all know it,
is located behind the Andy
Griffith Museum on Pine
Street.
There are many references to the town of Mount Pilot, home of
Miracle Salve, the “Fun Girls” and Mayberry rivals. Pilot Mountain is a quartzite monadnock, rising 1,400 feet above the Piedmont
plateau. It can be seen from all over Surry County, but the residents of Mayberry never saw it. Pilot Mountain, the town, is located less than a “Griffith” by car from Mount Airy. Earlie Gilley’s
Garage is in Pilot Mountain. The real Earlie Gilley was married to
Virginia Lorraine Beasley Gilley, Andy’s first cousin. In “Opie’s
Fortune,” the Mayberry Gazette announces that Earlie Gilley is engaged to Virginia Beasley. Lorraine says, “Andy always loved Earlie’s name.” Earlie Gilley’s Service Station is in Mount Pilot. Earlie
Gilley is mentioned in four episodes. By the way, Earlie Gilley IV
was born a few weeks ago.
The basement of the
Moravian
Church is mentioned as a possible meeting location in “Barney
Hosts a Summit Meeting.” Andy took music lessons from the Reverend Ed Mickey at Grace Moravian Church, and he joined the
Moravian Church’s brass band. This was a turning point in Andy’s
life. He attended church at Grace Moravian while he was in Mount
Airy, and he is currently a member. It is one of Mount Airy’s many
beautiful churches that are made of Mount Airy granite.
The furniture factory is
mentioned in three
episodes. Andy’s father
worked at Mount Airy
Chair Company, and Andy
worked there intermittently.
There were numerous furniture companies on South
Street. Locals referred to
each as “the furniture factory” or just “the factory.” The whistle at “the factory” blew when
the shift was over and it could be heard all over town. Folks knew
when the whistle blew that their loved ones would soon be home.
The Snappy Lunch opened in 1923 and is the only business that
is mentioned on the show that is still in existence by the same
name. Charles Dowell began working there in 1943. He bought
half of the business in 1951 and then became the sole owner in 1960. Andy
Griffith ate there as a boy. Fried
bologna sandwiches were a nickel.
Andy suggested to Barney in “Andy the
Matchmaker” that they take the girls to
the Snappy Lunch to get a bite to eat.
Snappy has famous pork chop sandwiches – and wonderful tenderloin biscuits!
The Mount Airy Bears were state
champions in football in 2008. In the
episode “Family Visit,” Andy mentions
looking at the sports page to see how
the Mayberry Bears did. In the episode
“Aunt Bee’s Invisible Beau,” Andy can be seen reading a copy of
The Mount Airy News, which was established in 1880 and is still
published daily. It is the newspaper that prints The Mayberry Confidential.
Let us know on Andy Griffith Museum’s Facebook page about
all the references we haven’t mentioned, and we’ll keep updating
the list – and the exhibit!
The exhibit validates that Mayberry is real – in our hearts!
The Surry Arts Council
wishes to thank Hobart Jones,
Jim Clark, Jeff Koontz, Kenny
Hooker, Emmett Forrest, Mike
Moore, Steve Talley and others
for helping to collect and
define the photos in this
exhibit.
Page 25