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Wow, did time get away from me. I feel like Tom Silby returning to Mayberry after being away so long.

My initial inability to keep up with even the occasional blog post was the result of it taking a bit longer than I had guessed to get my upcoming book Mayberry Firsts to bed. I think Mayberry fans will find it was worth the extra wait. The book is at the printer and will be released shortly.

Frankly, after every moment of spare time spent doing last-minute polishing on the book, I just needed a break. And as soon as I was rested and before I knew it, it was time to leave for the 2019 Mayberry Meet-Up in beautiful Mount Airy, North Carolina. I will post about the gathering soon.

So while all that is enough to illustrate I have been busier than Andy and all the rest trying to get a town band concert together at the last minute, I also added on to my trip. While other attendees headed home on Sunday, I headed east for what I knew would be an incredible experience.

Before I got to my ultimate destination, I stopped in Siler City. I first located Frances Bavier’s former home which she arranged to be purchased sight-unseen before retiring there. I was respectful of the current owners and did not approach the house but I did take several photos from the road.

I then visited Frances Bavier’s gravesite in Oakwood Cemetery in Siler City. I knew from seeing various photos that fans often leave jars of pickles at the gravesite. That is clearly still the case.

After my visit to Siler City, I got back on the road and headed on to my final destination: Andy Griffith’s alma mater, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

On April 6 of this year, I was privileged to provide a presentation on The Andy Griffith Show at the beautiful Miami Township Branch of the Clermont County Library near Cincinnati. It was a wonderful experience that I look forward to doing again.

I have done public speaking since seventh grade and competed in public speaking competitions in college as part of an activity called Individual Events or Forensics. So the actual speaking part was just the norm for me. I did have two real hurdles, though.

First, the library asked me to do a one-hour presentation on the show followed by a 30-minute question and answer session. How do you discuss as broad a topic as The Andy Griffith Show in an hour?

As I worked through how to handle the request, I finally resolved to start with a brief “need to know” introduction (as we called it in Forensics), then discussed the four core characters (Andy, Opie, Barney, and Aunt Bee) followed by a discussion of selected secondary characters and a reflection on why the show remains so popular. As I said during the presentation, keeping it to an hour was a challenge. Just before I showed the opening credits, I told the audience my problem was I could easily spend 15 minutes talking about the short opening credits alone.

The second hurdle was that I had never done a PowerPoint-style presentation in my life. As it turns out, thanks to the magic of Google, I soon learned that capturing video clips and putting such a presentation together was not all that steep of a learning curve.

I was curious as to how many people would actually show up to such a presentation. I knew a friend from Lexington planned to attend as well as my son-in-law and his parents who were in town for a trip to the Bourbon Trail we went on the previous day. I also knew a couple of people would be there on the library staff. As it turned out, there were around 35 to 40 people who attended. A few I knew (though I did not know they would be attending) but most I did not.

I have to mention two people in particular. Terry Varvel is the tribute artist who performs so wonderfully as Barney Fife at Mayberry Days and Mayberry in the Midwest. I saw a comment he made on a Facebook post about the upcoming event just a day or two before it was scheduled. He said he and his wife planned to attend. This was a real surprise to me as Terry lives west of Indianapolis. That is easily doable as a day trip but it is still quite a long drive each way. I was blown away that he planned to come at all, but I couldn’t resist reaching out through a private message and asking if he planned to come in uniform. He immediately responded that he would if I wanted him to. Needless to say, I wanted him to!

I first met Wayson Cooper at last year’s Mayberry in the Midwest. Wayson is a real fan of the show and he and I talked well into the evening after sitting by one another at dinner the first night of the meet-up. Since then, Wayson has restored an early 60s Ford into a Mayberry Squad Car reproduction. Even though the library event was on the east side of Cincinnati, Wayson lives more than an hour east of there. I learned through a comment he made on a Facebook post that he planned to attend and would be bringing his squad car! The library staff arranged for a special parking spot out front where Wayson parked his squad car.

A local man whom one of the staff at the library knew also brought a squad car reproduction to park out front. So when attendees arrived, they walked in by two squad cars and were greeted by Barney Fife inside. Pretty darn cool way to do my first presentation on The Andy Griffith Show that I am sure I will never top.

I say “first” because I will be doing more events, details of which I will eventually announce. I am currently scheduled to speak at a private event not open to the public at a senior citizen’s retirement community this fall. There are also events open to the public coming up. I will be doing a new presentation at the Clermont County Library this fall and will also be presenting in Danville, Indiana where Mayberry in the Midwest is held. I will also be a guest at chapters of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club in Dover, Ohio and in Danville. And in September of 2020, I am honored to be a guest speaker at the Centennial Celebration of the Carnegie Library in Marceline, Missouri, the town where Walt Disney spent his formative childhood years!

The Mayberry Cafe is always very crowded during the Mayberry in the Midwest festival. I considered going to a less crowded restaurant in town but the wait time wasn’t too heinous so I decided to stick it out. As I was waiting to be seated, a steady stream of the tribute artists came in and was ushered to a section of the restaurant set aside for them so they could eat quickly. When I was seated, it turned out I was in the same room though on the opposite side. While I am always fine traveling alone, it says something about Terry Varvel , the Barney tribute artist I mentioned earlier, and his lovely wife, Tonya, that they came over and sat with me so I would not be eating alone.

One other reason I decided to wait at the Mayberry Cafe was I had read that they had a good version of Indiana’s signature pork tenderloin sandwich. With the breaded meat extending far past the bun, these sandwiches are something for which Indiana is known. I know that some restaurants pound the meat extremely thin so you end up with a pork tenderloin the size of your plate but I have also read that in this situations you end up with more breading than is ideal. The sandwich I had certainly had a large tenderloin but it was also a decent thickness. I would recommend it if you are ever there.

The festival wrapped up with a free concert by the Grascals, the bluegrass band that served as Dolly Parton’s band for a time. This wonderful band has performed on the Grand Ole’ Opry many times and have won many awards, including nine from the International Bluegrass Music Association. I bought a CD they released in conjunction with Cracker Barrel that included their versions of all songs included in The Andy Griffith Show and even got the CD autographed by the band.

After another late night visiting with my cousin, Darrell, and a wonderful breakfast at a spot he recommended,  I headed back to Danville for the last day of the festival.

 

I had seen both tribute artists shows previously and knew I would have to kiss the last one at the end of the day, so I brought an umbrella and watched then Sunday afternoon show in the rain. Afterward, I headed to the Dixie Griffith interview,

 

 

Allan Newsome conducted the interview session which was worth the trip to Indiana all by itself. Dixie shared lots of photos and memories of life with her parents and fielded many questions from the audience.

If you are a Mayberry fan, you really owe it to yourself to attend these type of events.

Moxie is often said to be the first American mass-produced soft drink. It is primarily available in New England where I first tasted it some years ago. I distinctly remember thinking, “How in the heck can anyone enjoy this?” A friend insisted I should give it another try, and all I can say now is, “How in the heck can anyone enjoy this?” I think it’s like the musical Cats. You either love it or you hate it, though I find it difficult to love a sweet but slightly bitter soda pop that has a cough syrup aftertaste.

Actually, the pop also sells a lot in Houston, Texas for some reason. It is certainly available in wider areas—I bought this bottle in Ohio—but it is not a common sight on the grocery shelves in most of the country.

While the first version of the drink was developed in Lowell, Massachusetts by Dr. Augustin Thompson in 1876, in 2005 it was designated the official drink of Maine since Thompson was born there. The soda developer originally claimed Moxie was an effective treatment of “paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia.”

A few years later, Thompson added soda water to his creation to make it a soda and changed the name to “Moxie Nerve Food.” He began bottling it and selling it as a fountain drink in 1884. It is currently produced at several bottling plants under licensing agreements but was bought out in 2018 and is currently owned by Coca-Cola.

Floyd the barber was a fan of a good cold bottle of pop and also thought that Calvin Coolidge said lots of things he actually did not. One wonders how he would have reacted to that fact that President Coolidge was a fan of the drink.

Moxie is the only soft drink whose trade name has entered the American lexicon. With a lowercase “M,” moxie is defined as courage or daring, as in “Anyone who drinks this stuff regularly has real moxie!” In fact, it was even used in The Andy Griffith Show episode “Back to Nature.” When Barney was explaining the benefits of camping to Opie and his friends, the following exchange occurred:

Barney: This ways, both the sheriff and I will be able to pass along to you our skills as woodsmen, in order that you, in turn, can pass it along to your children and your children’s children. Now, you will be away from the roaring traffic’s boom, and you will learn to get along by using good ol’ pioneer moxie. Live off the land. Now, w-what if all the electricity went off tomorrow? Would you know what to do? W-would you, Howie?

Howie: Uh, put in a new fuse?

The company plays on its austere reputation. The “Moxie Man” on the label points his finger at you, demanding you drink what’s good for you. The cap doesn’t even contain the drink’s name; it’s solid black.

Saturday morning I arrived in plenty of time to watch the parade. Mayberry in the Midwest’s parade is certainly not as long as the one at Mayberry Days but is always fun.

Maggie Peterson Mancuso and Ronnie Schell were the cast members in attendance, but George Lindsey Jr. was also a special guest.  As is so often the case with me, I did not get photos with all the folks I intended. In fact, I literally told George at the meet-and-greet dinner the night before that I wanted to be sure to get a photo with him (he was a bit busy right at that moment) and then I failed to get that done over the weekend.

My friend, Steve, helps with the organization of the festival. He decided to walk in the parade this year as the hermit Regis who came down from the hills to protest the gold standard in “Black Day for Mayberry.” Steve apparently felt he needed more hair to pull off Regis so it looks like he borrowed Mr. Schwamp’s toupé.

As always, there were many tribute artists in attendance. Since David Browning, the Mayberry Deputy has retired from doing the Mayberry festivals, Allan Newsome as Floyd the barber has had to step up and organize the shows. There were four separate tribute artist performances and they were all different. I won’t try to name them all, but a special shout out needs to go to my friend Terry Varvel who has stepped up and is doing a great job as the Barney Fife tribute artist at the festivals.

While I usually participate, albeit not that successfully, in the trivia contest since the small entrance fee goes to support the festival, I missed the beginning of it this year. In the course of administering our Mayberry Facebook group, The Gomer and Goober Pyle Comic Book Literary Guild and my activities in the Mayberry community, there are a number of people I have “met” online but never got the chance to actually meet in person. One of those people is Denny Reese who has written a book about Gomer Pyle-USMC that he hopes will be released next year. Denny asked me to contribute an essay for his book which I was happy to do. I had communicated with him many times through the internet and even spoken with him by phone on one occasion but had never actually met him. He sent me a message early afternoon that he was seated at The Mayberry Cafe so I went over to say hello. By the time I got back to the stage, they were several questions into the trivial contest so I was just an observer this year. Matt Hurley won the competition which was especially fun for me to see as Matt also was kind enough to review the upcoming Mayberry Firsts book for me.

 

While I forgot to get photos with people I knew there, I did get an important one. I finally got to meet Ron Blankenship in person, Ron is a longtime fan who I have corresponded with through the internet and missed meeting last year. I made it a point to find him this year and grab a photo.

 

When I had arrived in Danville I made it a point to park by the library. I will be giving a presentation about The Andy Griffith Show there in October and I wanted to be sure my computer would work with their system. This also enabled me to easily update the Facebook group from a cool location.

I next attended an event at which Ronnie Schell shared remembrances from his time in Hollywood and his friendship with Jim Nabors and the recently-passed Tim Conway. Ronnie is best known for playing Gomer’s buddy Duke Slater in Gomer Pyle-USMC but also appeared in two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.

After another tribute artist show and another stop at the library, I headed to the Squad Car Nationals. I attended this for the first time last year. People bring their squad car reproductions which are certainly judges on quality, but the owners also drive through a course with an assistant in the back seat who has to hop out at each station and fulfill a task that relates to an episode or some aspect of the show, such as shooting with a slingshot or making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I got to see my friends Johnna, Robert, and Marsha as well as Mike and Carol before heading to the Mayberry Cafe to have dinner.

Last weekend was the annual Mayberry in the Midwest festival held in Danville, Indiana. I attended the event for the first time in 2017 and again in 2018, but during those years I drove over and back on Saturday. People in the know urged me not to miss the opening night event, a “meet-and-greet” dinner which included this year for the first time a silent auction. I am so glad I took their advice. I attended Mayberry in the Midwest from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

One of the event organizers asked me to make a donation for the silent auction so I came a bit early to set up the items. Regina, the lucky winner, got from Liberty Grove Press our out-of-print 2019 Mayberry Day-by-Day Flip Book Calendar, one of our Andy & Opie t-shirts, and will be the first to receive Mayberry Firsts and the 2020 Mayberry Day-by-Day Calendar as each is received from the printer. I also want to give a shout-out to my high school buddy, Elvin, who donated a unique handmade pen that was included as part of a great Mayberry gift basket that someone was lucky enough to win. The silent auction raised over $2000 for the festival, by the way!

A couple of months ago, I was surprised to receive an email from Dixie Griffith, Andy Griffith’s daughter, telling me how much she enjoys the current calendar. I had sent one as a gift to her through a mutual friend and, needless to say, that email made my week. While I have seen Dixie a couple of times at festivals from afar since she is one of the two tribute artists who portray the “fun girls from Mount Pilot,” I had never actually met her. She asked me to be sure to introduce myself and I was able to do so at the meet-and-greet dinner.

One last point to mention is that I was lucky enough to sit with Mayberry friends Johnna, Robert, and Marsha at the dinner. This worked out especially well as Johnna and I discussed a speaking presentation I will be making in Missouri in 2020! More details will eventually follow.

After a wonderful evening with Mayberry friends, I drove to my cousin’s house who had generously offered to let me stay with him during the festival. This was an extra special treat for me as Darrell and his brother Robert were two of my favorite cousins growing up. They lived in Indianapolis but we saw them frequently whether through mutual visits or both being in Eastern Kentucky at the same time visiting our grandma.

Staying with Darrell was also a bonus because the local hotels all around Indianapolis raise their rates drastically during the weeks leading up to the Indianapolis 500 during time trials for the race. The only “downside” (and I am using that word facetiously) is how late we stayed up talking since we don’t get to see one another often enough.

The next morning, Robert met us at a nearby diner called the Knuckle Sandwich, a little restaurant in Martinsville housed in what used to be a Dairy Queen. It was great to see Robert again. We said our goodbyes after a great breakfast and I headed back to Danville.

When I shared my blog post on Sun-Crest Orange and NuGrape last week in my Facebook group, a friend said they were two of his favorites along with Choc-Ola.

The beverage is arguably not really a pop but, like Yoo-hoo, it was sold in bottles and cans in the same section of the store as other soda pops and the cans were available in pop vending machines. I say “was sold” because Choc-Ola was phased out of production in 2003.

Choc-Ola was created by Harry Normington, an English immigrant who eventually settled in Indianapolis. He began selling Choc-Ola in 1944. It became extremely popular in Indiana and surrounding states, never more so than when it was touted by Cowboy Bob, the host of an Indianapolis kid’s show. At the height of its popularity, it was sold in 1977 to Moxie who sold it eight years later to Yoo-hoo. In 2003, Mott’s bought the company and promptly phased out Choc-Ola.

The drink was only available in the occasional bottle that lingered on Indiana store shelves afterward. But in 2010 the owner of the Rock-Cola ‘50s Cafe in Indianapolis secured the expired patent and trademark and now sells it at his restaurant.

The plan had been for Choc-Ola to be released in cans and thus be more widely available. In fact, a few years ago, some friends told me they had seen cans at the Indiana State Fair, but the canning venture did not work out. At this point, the only place to get Choc-Ola is at the Rock-Cola diner in Indianapolis.

My buddy, Barry, and I sought out the oh-so-illusive beverage few years ago and made a trip to the Rock-Cola ‘50s Cafe. Choc-Ola is similar to Yoo-hoo but has a creamier, richer chocolate flavor. The main reason for this is that Choc-Ola actually has nutritional value as it is 40% milk. The owner of Rock-Cola says the main difference between Choc-Ola and Yoo-hoo is that Choc-Ola tastes good. I agree that Choc-Ola we tasted was truly better than Yoo-hoo, but I may have been partially swayed by the fact that I was enjoying a delicious Hawg Dog at the cafe too.

We are happy to announce that our first traditional book will be released soon. Mayberry Firsts is written by Mayberry expert Randy Turner. The 224-page softcover book contains dozens of short-form essays about The Andy Griffith Show. Far more than a checklist of the first time something was seen in the show, the “firsts” are used as springboards for in-depth discussions of the background and history of The Andy Griffith Show.

For those who may be familiar with my occasional posts using the same title in my Facebook group, please know that these are not verbatim reprints. These are far more detailed discussions and the majority of these essays are completely new for the book.

The book is anticipated to be released in early July in several waves. The very first copy will be sent to Regina,  the winner of a silent auction held at Mayberry in the Midwest. People who pre-ordered the book at my recent presentation at the Clermont County library and charter members who ordered our first publication before it was printed who pre-order this book will make up the second release wave. Those who ordered our first publication last year after it was printed will be contacted soon to allow them to pre-order with free shipping. Those that order this book will be the third wave. Finally, the book will be released to the general public.

We are excited to share the newest book about The Andy Griffith Show with the Mayberry community.

Last week, I posted about orange Nehi and included a photo of Andy gleefully holding a bottle. As popular and ever-present as Nehi was, my guess this may well have been what Andy had in mind when he originally mentioned a “big orange drink” in his comedy monologue What It Was Was Football.

 

 

Recording as Deacon Andy Griffith, in the routine, Griffith told the story of a country bumpkin seeing a football game for the first time and not understanding what it was. For example, he described the field as “a purty, little green cow pasture” that “somebody had took and drawed white lines all over it.”

As the comedy monologue opened, the narrator said, “And we come up on a big sign,  it says, ‘Get somethin’ to eat ‘chere.’ And I went up and got me two hot dogs and a big orange drink.” He soon dropped his drink. Once inside and hearing each group of people yell, he asked a man why everyone was yelling. “Well, he whopped me on the back and he says, ‘Buddy, have a drink!’ Well, I says, ‘I believe I will have another big orange.’”

Regardless of whether Andy had Nehi in mind, once his comedy recording became a big hit, he agreed to appear in advertisements for Sun Crest Orange.

The brand Sun Crest was introduced by the National NuGrape Company in Atlanta in 1938. While I don’t have a photo of a Sun Crest pop I have tried, I have had the original main flavor of the company, NuGrape.

NuGrape Soda is a grape pop invented in 1906 and first bottled in 1921 in Atlanta. Ownership of the brand has changed hands several times but the formula remains the same, still sweetened with cane sugar. This is a very sweet and refreshing pop with a strong grape flavor that aficionados often claim as the truest and juiciest grape taste (though it contains no juice).

More than four decades after the company introduced NuGrape and Sun Crest and before it was sold the first time, it launched the previously discussed Kickapoo Joy Juice in 1965. The company was sold to another soda company in 1968 and now, like many classic pops, is bottled by different companies which recognize and preserve these older brands.