The Tar Heel State - Mt. Airy

North Carolina - part six

(Sightseeing)

May 23, 2018 - May 26, 2018

Started heading north again from the Winston-Salem area in order to visit Mt. Airy, NC, hometown of Andy Griffith. Life here when Andy was growing up must have been pretty close to idyllic because the town served as the model for Mayberry, the fictitious town in the old Andy Griffith show.  The original show ran from 1960-1968 and 50 years later you can still watch it's reruns.  It's always been a favorite of ours and we wanted to check out the town it was based on.

We often pick up old VHS and DVD movies at thrift stores to watch at night.  We happened to pick up one titled "A Face in the Crowd" featuring Andy Griffith in the roll that made him a star.  If you've watched him as Andy in the Andy Griffith Show or as Matlock in that TV series, you will not recognize him in his roll in this 1957 movie.  He was the antithesis of his two TV rolls and we can certainly understand why this roll made him a star.  It's an excellent movie. 

Andy Griffith and Mayberry are a cottage industry in Mt. Airy and we were certainly not the only fans in town.  Our first stop was the Andy Griffith Museum where everyone and everything from the TV show is celebrated. 

Bronze statue of Andy and Opie heading down to the old fishing hole.

Andy at various stages in his life.

Andy's sheriff shirt from the TV show.

Barney Fife's salt and pepper suits.

The doors to the Sheriff's office in Mayberry.

Gomer's auto mechanic outfit along with his old hat (now bronzed for posterity).

Andy's sheriff's office furniture

Exterior of Floyd's barber shop.

Seeing all this was just so fun after watching the TV program for so many years.  Wish there were more shows like this one on TV today.  

Downtown Mt. Airy is also a tribute to the TV show.

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You can tour the town in an old Mayberry police car.

At the Andy Griffith Museum we were told that there would be free music that night at the old Earle theater so we decided to check it out.  It turned out to be a group of about 7 musicians who jam together every Thursday night.  They take turns deciding what to play and the the others just join in.  It went on for about 2 hours, all for free!  Really was a fun evening.

Local musicians jam session at the Earle Theater. 
Many of these folks play several instruments so we were treated to a variety of music.