by Ron James

Created on: May 06, 2008   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

I reluctantly admit to being old enough to remember "The Andy Griffith Show" in first run. It was one of my family's "never miss" shows back in the '60s.

So it was like a trip back to childhood days when I recently found myself walking the streets of Mt. Airy, North Carolina - the "real" Mayberry.

Located at the foot of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, Mt. Airy was the birthplace of actor Andy Griffith, who drew heavily on his boyhood roots in creating the fictional All-American small town of Mayberry. A little known fact: Mayberry was actually created for an episode of "The Danny Thomas Show," in which Thomas's character was stopped for speeding by Griffith's small town sheriff, who was also the justice of the peace and the editor of the town newspaper.

Mt. Airy has certainly embraced its "inner Mayberry." A stroll down Main Street reveals the word "Mayberry" in nearly every window. This almost makes it easy to forget the town's real name. Mt. Airy bills itself as "the Friendly City," and that certainly is the case. Locals don't seem to mind at all that their city - with its rich Civil War history, its distinction as the location of the "World's Largest Open-Faced Granite Quarry," its fine local wineries and its idyllic natural beauty - has become forever identified with the fictional setting of a TV show. From what I could see, they mine it for all it's worth.

Of course, the town has changed since its most famous resident was born there in 1926. But the flavor of the era frozen in time by Griffith's perennially popular program is still prevalent. And that natural sense of being displaced in time is enhanced by some deliberate manipulations. Hey! Was that Sheriff Andy's patrol car that just went by? Actually, it's a replica of the 1962 Ford Galaxy police cruiser that Andy and Barney rode around in. You can ride around in it, too. Squad Car tours of the town are available.

The vintage movie theater had some vintage cars parked in front of it as we walked by, drawn by the sounds of Bluegrass music emanating from within the building. It seems that radio station WPAQ broadcasts its "Merry-Go-Round" from the historic Downtown Cinema Theatre - where Andy used to go to watch the live swing bands play - every Saturday morning. I was wondering about all the people I saw on the streets carrying guitar cases. There's a jam session at the theater an hour or two before airtime.

In fact, music - Bluegrass music in particular - is a big part of Mt. Airy's culture. Bluegrass

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