Month: September 2019

In my last blog post, I announced the new 2020 Mayberry Day-by-Day Flip Book Calendar.

The calendar was shipped today to everyone who pre-ordered the publication. I will add it to our website shop at some point next week before I leave for Mayberry Days. If you order one through our mayberrybooks.com website, I am always happy to sign and personalize the calendar to a specific name, if desired.

The calendar will also be available through other sources, of course. Beginning late Thursday afternoon, you can find it in Mount Airy at Wally’s Service, Mayberry on Main, Mayberry Hotel & Gift Shoppe, Mayberry Market & Souvenirs, and the Mill Creek General Store.

If you are traveling through Mayberry, Virginia or along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, the calendar will also be available beginning Friday morning at the historic Mayberry Trading Post, the general store pictured in Mayberry Firsts.

By the way, all of these fine businesses listed in the last two paragraphs also have (or will have by the weekend) our book, Mayberry Firsts. The book will also available as of Thursday at the Mayberry Motor Inn in Mount Airy and as of Friday at Meadows Mercantile in Meadows of Dan, Virginia.

I will be delivering a large supply of the calendars to Weaver’s Department Store while at Mayberry Days, so I am sure they will have them available promptly after their return from the festival. I will also add them to Amazon the week after I return from Mayberry Days.

I want to remind everyone attending Mayberry Days that I will be signing the new calendar and Mayberry Firsts at Wally’s on Saturday after the parade but before Prof. Brower’s lecture from 11:30 to 1:30.

And finally, I will also have the calendar for sale along with Mayberry Firsts at most appearances I make providing presentations on The Andy Griffith Show.

Just like last year, the calendar includes an easel that bends into a triangle shape so the item can be used as a desk calendar. At the end of the year, the easel can be removed (or folded flat again if you want to keep the item in its original form) and can be used as a reference book.

A sincere thank you is offered to all the Mayberry fans who have been so supportive of our mission to help keep the Mayberry spirit alive and spread it to as many fans as possible.

Long live Mayberry!

The new 2020 Mayberry Day-by-Day Flip Book Calendar will be released in just a few weeks. My plan is to do a new calendar annually for the foreseeable future. Of course, how could I not do so for the year 2020 since next year is the 60th anniversary of the debut of The Andy Griffith Show?

When I say “new,” I really mean it. This calendar is not a reprint of last year’s. It contains 366 all-new facts about our favorite show. (2020 is a Leap Year.) Just like the original, the publication is designed to be used as a desk calendar through the year with pages that are flipped over each day instead of being removed. At the end of the year, the easel can be removed if desired and it becomes a book that can be kept as a reference.

I had already changed the wording on the cover to reflect the 60th Anniversary. But I was thrilled to have the cover re-designed when I heard from Dixie Griffith, Andy’s daughter. I had gifted a copy of last year’s calendar to Dixie having it delivered to her through a mutual friend. Several months ago, I was surprised with a sweet email from Dixie who wanted to tell me how much she was enjoying the calendar every day.

Fast forward a bit and Dixie had agreed to write a blurb to be used on the cover. To say I was thrilled with her generosity and kindness toward the calendar is an understatement. Having her comment on the cover means so much to me.

The calendar will be available through my website which is your best option if you want your copy signed or personalized to a particular name. The calendar will also be available at shops in Mount Airy beginning with Mayberry Days, including Mayberry on Main and Wally’s Service Station. In fact, I will be doing a signing at Wally’s on Saturday after the parade but before Prof. Brower’s lecture from 11:30 to 1:30.

I am especially excited that the calendar will also be available through Weaver’s Department Store, the online shop run by Allan and Jan Newsome.  Not only does this couple do so much for the Mayberry community, but part of the proceeds of Weaver’s sales goes to support Mayberry events, many of which include Allan as the Floyd the barber tribute artist as a vital element. Weaver’s has LOTS of items related to The Andy Griffith Show, including my book Mayberry Firsts. You won’t regret making a purchase from Weaver’s!

On my third and final day of reviewing Andy Griffith’s original scripts at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, I was only able to stay half a day as I had an appointment to meet with a friend who is a longtime resident of Mount Airy.

On my first day in Mount Airy before the Mayberry Meet-Up began, I spent a good deal of time running around town showing shops which might potentially choose to sell Mayberry Firsts in the fall. Even so, I did not get the opportunity to visit them all so I also was able to complete that task by leaving the library a bit early as well.

In my book Mayberry Firsts, I discuss what I personally feel is the likeliest inspiration for Andy Griffith’s character on the show having the last name of “Taylor.”

Of course, the name Taylor is found in nearly any part of the country. There certainly were Taylors who resided in Mount Airy. I stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast my last night in Mount Airy which is on Taylor Street. There is also a Perry Taylor Road. But my friend showed me a Taylor grave monument that was in a small cemetery I did not even know existed.

There is an attorney’s office nearly right across the street from Wally’s on South Main Street. In the back of the parking lot is an iron gate that opens into a small, secluded cemetery that is not listed on most lists of cemeteries in Mount Airy. The marker is so worn, it is difficult to read. The name Taylor and the Masonic square and compasses symbol are easily visible, but the dates are worn badly. It appears to say Taylor died on December 19, 1892, aged 22 years, and an indecipherable number of months and days.

So while the theory I provide in Mayberry Firsts is my personal guess as to what is most likely, there is certainly no way to know for sure as Andy was undoubtedly and not surprisingly exposed to people named Taylor in Mount Airy.

By the way, there is a town called Taylorsville over an hour south of Mount Airy that is sometimes floated as a possible inspiration for the name. I do not think this likely. Regardless, the town was not even so named because of local residents. It was formed in 1847 and named in honor of General Zachary Taylor of Virginia who became a national hero due to victories he won in the Mexican-American War. Two years after the small town’s founding, Taylor’s military record led to his becoming the 12th president of the United States.