Gohisca, 1952 and the Generosity of a Friend, Part I

I have made many new friends through my involvement with the Mayberry community. Some I have had the pleasure of actually meeting face-to-face at festivals such as Mayberry Days but many I have only “met” over the internet. One of these friends this past week demonstrated the type of Mayberry spirit that is one of the reasons the Mayberry community is the best.

Jimmy Phillips is an administrator of a great fan group of The Andy Griffith Show called Mayberry, Our Favorite Hometown. Jimmy is also a member of the Facebook group I administer. When Jimmy first joined our group, I reached out to him when I saw he was originally from the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, the same state of my parents’ birth and where I still have many family and friends.

I recently received a Facebook Message from Jimmy completely out of the blue which read, “Hey, Randy! I have a piece of Andy Griffith memorabilia that I’m going to send you. I’m sure you will like it.” He asked for my mailing address and on Thursday a FedEx package arrived. I had no idea what was in the box but when I opened it, I was literally stunned. Jimmy sent me a copy of the 1952 Goldsboro High School yearbook.

After graduating from The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1949, Andy Griffith did not feel he was ready to make his living performing. He had been acting in the outdoor drama The Lost Colony during the summers after his sophomore and junior years. A friend of his from the production was a teacher at Goldsboro High School and convinced him to join the staff at the school in the music department. Andy agreed and he and his new wife, Barbara, moved to Goldsboro, North Carolina after appearing in The Lost Colony again that summer.

While he taught at Goldsboro, Andy and Barbara developed an act which they performed for groups such as civic clubs throughout the area. Andy would tell monologues while Barbara would sing. Andy also went to New York in 1950 and auditioned unsuccessfully for the famed Paper Mill Playhouse in nearby New Jersey. But by 1952, Griffith determined he was ready to commit to trying to make a living as a full-time entertainer and he gave his notice at Goldsboro.

To say I was surprised to open the box from my friend, Jimmy, and discover he had sent me the high school yearbook from Andy’s final year of teaching, does not begin to describe how I felt. I was moved and so grateful that he had thought to give me a gift that—and this is not hyperbole—I already treasure.

I called Jimmy and did my best to express my gratitude for his immense generosity. He told me he had owned the book for 15 years and knew that I would really enjoy it and so sent it to me. I know that this says something about the kind of man Jimmy is. He is clearly the epitome of kindness. I really can’t express how much his generous and kind gift means to me.

Obviously, Jimmy did not send it to me for any public recognition of his generous nature, but I think a recognition of his kindness is fitting.

Thank you, Jimmy.