Mayberry among TV's most memorable fake towns

The entertainment blog romow has a list of the 11 most memorable "TV Cities that Don't Exist," which includes good ol' Mayberry.

The Andy Griffith Show could rightly be called the most successful spin-off of all time. In the slow-paced, fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, Sheriff Andy Taylor serves as a straight and narrow policeman who breaks up moonshine distilleries and other crooked operations. Mayberry, which could be any non-urban part of North Carolina, is the epitome of relaxed southern living where community and non-violent mediation matter most.

Of course, we could remind the folks at romow that Mayberry is basically a real place called Mount Airy. But we'll let it slide.

Among the other choices are Springfield ("The Simpsons"), South Park, Colo. ("South Park"), Hazzard County, Ga. ("Dukes of Hazzard") and Quahog, R.I. ("Family Guy"), among others.

Griffith, Watson and Caesar among newest N.C. Music Hall inductees

The N.C. Music Hall has announced its newest class (Class of '10). These pioneers will be honored in October in Kannapolis as the newest members of the Music Hall.

Among the honorees are Andy Griffith, Doc Watson, Shriley Caesar and Donna Fargo.

The induction ceremony will be held October 7 at the Core Labratory Building on the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. The N.C. Music Hall opened there in 2009.


N.C. Music Hall Class of 2010
Performing Artists:
Maurice Williams, recording artist, Charlotte
Andy Griffith, gospel recording artist, Mount Airy/Wilmington
Donna Fargo, country recording artist, Mount Airy
Arthur Smith, country composer, performer, producer, Charlotte
George Hamilton IV, country recording artist, Winston-Salem
Doc Watson, country/bluegrass vocalist, musician, Deep Gap/North Wilkesboro
Curly Seckler, bluegrass vocalist and musician, China Grove
Dr. Bill Taylor, jazz pianist, composer, Greenville
Shirley Caesar, gospel recording artist, Durham

Deceased:
Don Gibson, country recording artist and composer, Shelby
Les Brown, Big Band leader, Durham
Oliver (William Oliver Swofford), recording artist, North Wilkesboro

Non-Performing Artists:
Don Schlitz, composer, guitarist and soloist, Durham

'Mayberry' still alluring

It's very easy to assume that everyone in America has as much of a romantic image of Andy Griffith's "Mayberry" (from The Andy Griffith Show) as us North Carolinians do.

Well, apparently they do.

Enjoy ...

In the classic Andy Griffith Show episode "Stranger in Town," a man moved to Mayberry, N.C., because he had heard so many good things about the town.

And in real life, Darrel and Debbie Miles, big fans of The Andy Griffith Show, made the same decision [writes the Winston-Salem Journal].

They are originally from New Albany, Ind., but just over three years ago they decided to make the move to Mount Airy, the town that inspired Mayberry. They opened Mayberry on Main, a store on Main Street that sells memorabilia related to The Andy Griffith Show as well as hot sauces and salsa.

Debbie recalls the first time she found out that there was a real "Mayberry" back in 1992.

"Reruns of the show were always on during dinner time," she recalled. "Like any other family, we'd be getting dinner ready and The Andy Griffith Show would be on. Then one day when I was at work, my oldest daughter, Natalie, called and said, ‘Mom, there really is a Mayberry and Oprah's there!' I said, ‘Well, find out where it is!'"

When they got home, Natalie had written down the name of "Mount Airy, N.C."

"That minute on, we made arrangements to visit," Debbie said. "And then every year at least once a year we could come down." ...

"We found more and more times when we had a few days off, we'd be driving down to Mount Airy," Darrel said. They visited frequently over the course of about 13 years.

And when Darrel retired from the manufacturing company where he had worked for 32 years, they decided to move to Mount Airy.

So, they made the leap. Was "Mayberry" everything they thought it would be?

Russell Hiatt, who runs Floyd's City Barber Shop on Main Street, said that he wasn't surprised when the Mileses decided to move to Mount Airy.

"They had been coming here every year, and always come in to see me," he said. "Then they came in one time and told me they were wanting to move here and go into business ... I was tickled because they were great folks. I helped them find a building." ...

Some visitors think that The Andy Griffith Show was actually filmed in Mount Airy (it was filmed in California). "We try to break it to them gently, this is really Andy's hometown, this is the real place he lived," Debbie said. "We came for Mayberry, but Mount Airy, you fall in love with it. It's the kind of town everybody would want their hometown to be."

(Screenshot from sitcomsonline)

Quick hits: Musical bonanza

Pickler's latest will separate her from the country-music pack
"It's hard not to like Albemarle's Kellie Pickler, especially if you're from the Carolinas," says the Charlotte Observer.

"Pickler's down-home charm, unapologetic honesty and humor has helped the former 'American Idol' finalist establish herself as one of country music's rising young female stars. She picked up three CMT Music Awards earlier this year; she'll compete for New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards on Nov. 12; and her self-titled sophomore album hit stores Tuesday.

"Having recorded her gold-selling debut 'Small Town Girl' while touring with “American Idol,” Pickler took a larger role in crafting her follow-up: She co-wrote half the disc's tracks. ..."

North Carolina Music Hall of Fame ... in Kannapolis?
"What do Earl Scruggs, Thelonious Monk, and Shirley Caesar have in common? They are all Grammy Award Winning Musicians from the state of North Carolina. Earl Scruggs (Shelby), Thelonious Monk (Rocky Mount), along with fellow North Carolinians, John Coltrane (Hamlet) and Doc Watson (Deep Gap) have been honored with the Grammy lifetime achievement award. Shirley Caesar (Durham) has received 11 Grammy awards and 7 Dove Awards throughout her career as a gospel singer. In fact North Carolina has produced some of the finest musicians in the modern world, but surprisingly, very few people are aware of North Carolina’s rich musical heritage.

"North Carolinians have helped shape every category of the music world, from country to rap, indie to pop, and from big band to jug band," writes New Raleigh. "Nina Simone (Tryon), Tori Amos (Newton), Charlie Daniels (Wilmington), George Clinton (Kannapolis), and of course Andy Griffith (Mount Airy), all have received numerous awards for their various contributions to the field, yet where would a person go to be explore this history?

"Many people might believe that the young James Taylor was baptized in the ol’ well at UNC on the day of his birth, although he was actually born in Boston. Both he and Tift Merrit were born outside the state, but graduated from the University of North Carolina.

"But nowhere in the entire state are all of these musicians and their achievements showcased. Why doesn’t North Carolina have a Music History Museum? Also, why is North Carolina creating the NC Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis? ..."

Quick hits: Mayberry and maybe UNC medical in the mountains

Barney Fife's girlfriend moves to 'Mayberry'

"On the drive home from the Los Angeles airport, there was a particular billboard along La Cienega Boulevard that always gave Betty Lynn a chuckle. 'This Ain't Mayberry!' it declared.

"As if she needed a reminder of that fact, the West Hollywood home where Lynn had lived since 1950 was broken into twice last year," writes the Associated Press.

" 'That made it for me,' the 81-year-old actress says. 'I just was too frightened to stay. So I thought, I've got to find some place I feel SAFE.'

"When she reflected on what safe meant to her – and what 'home' meant, for that matter – one place stood out.

"And life imitated art.

"The woman who played Thelma Lou on 'The Andy Griffith Show' moved more than 2,100 miles to Mount Airy – Griffith's hometown and one of the inspirations for the fictional Mayberry. ..."

Western UNC med school proposed

"Officials say a proposal to create a branch campus of the UNC School of Medicine in Western North Carolina could bring more doctors, jobs and newcomers to the region," writes the AP.

"Mission Health and Hospitals, the Mountain Area Health Education Center and the Western North Carolina Health Network submitted a proposal for the medical branch campus.

"A similar branch campus proposal has also been submitted by Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. The medical school is considering the proposals along with increasing enrollment at Chapel Hill. ..."