An Online newsletter of
“The Andy Griffith Show” Rerun Watchers Club (TAGSRWC)

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Welcome to the Weaver’s Newsletter January 2025 edition!

Wow…it’s hard to believe this the first issue of Weaver’s Newsletter for 2025. It seems like just days since I was writing the first issue of 2023. It was in February 2023 when I (Allan Newsome) took over as writer & editor from  Jim Clark, Presiding Goober Emeritus of TAGSRWC. Jim had been filling those responsibilities from the inception of the both this newsletter as well as the TAGSRWC newsletter in all its versions (The Bullet, The eBullet, The Pocket, and The Button). Putting together issues of the newsletter is not a small endeavor and based upon my experience over the last 2 years, Mayberry fans all owe Jim a BIG thank you for keeping all of us “in the loop” about The Andy Griffith Show world over the many years.

So far, I haven’t run off too many of our loyal readers and I hope to continue to bring fun, smiles and information to the citizens of the Mayberry community. My respect for what Jim did gathering Mayberry related information in the time *before* the Internet grows with each issue. It is hard to find information requiring a lot of digging a Jim did it for 40 years. He has a right to be mighty proud of himself.

Speaking of proud, Mrs. Weaver has been hard at work finding new & fun Mayberry related items for Weaver’s Department Store. She has been running Weaver’s since 2015 and has done a great job of maintaining a sense of family with our customers. Many of you have seen the “little extras” that show up in your order. Be it a note from Jan (a.k.a. Mrs. Weaver), a “hat size,” a trading card, or sometimes even the box the item is shipped in (Miracle Salve), customers get a little piece of Mayberry fun to go along with their order.

Let’s move along to see what type of Mayberry fun Weaver’s has to offer fans of The Andy Griffith Show here in the new year.

****Mayberry First Years****

As the new year begins, I have been reflecting that there are many folks out there that love The Andy Griffith Show but may not be in the graduate studies program. They are “First Years” in that they enjoy watching the episodes but may not know all the things students in their “Eighth Year” might be aware of.

If you are in that group, or if you just want to brush up on your studies, this column is for you. We’ll begin with a few basics that will help lay the foundation.

There are eight seasons of The Andy Griffith Show (TAGS) with the first five seasons being filmed in black and white. In season six the series began its three “color” seasons and the character of Barney Fife moved away from Mayberry for new adventures in the “big” city of Raleigh. There were 249 total episodes of TAGS with 90 of them being color and 159 black & white running from October 3, 1960 until April 1, 1968 when the episode “Mayberry, RFD” aired. The town of Mayberry continued to be on television screens for in the series “Mayberry, R.F.D.” from September 23, 1968 through March 29, 1971 but for now we’ll focus our attention on the original series as our topic.

NOTE: The 249 episode total does not include the episode of “The Danny Thomas Show” called “Danny Meets Andy Griffith” (S7.E20) which acted as a pilot for what became “The Andy Griffith Show.”

You may have noticed I mentioned the title of the last episode of TAGS but did you know that every episode has a title? It would be easy to be unaware of that fact because the titles never appear during the 30 minutes an episode is on the screen. The titles were, however, on the scripts used by the production crew and actors when the episodes were being filmed. There are many places you can find listings of the titles by season. The easiest for most is to look them up online. TAGSRWC maintains a list on the website Mayberry.info where you can find the title broken out by season and by the “filmed” and “aired” order as well as the original air date.

As you look at the episode titles, you’ll notice that the order of the list in different books or websites may be different. That’s because some lists order the episodes by the “filmed” order while others use the “aired” order to make their list. As an example, the season 1 episode “Runaway Kid” was the 4th episode filmed but it was the 6th episode aired. This discrepancy in filming an episode but holding it to air later in a season is not uncommon for television series. Sometimes executives move episodes air date in order to have a better “flow” to the series or to introduce a new character as they did in this case. The executives chose to move the 6th episode filmed “Ellie Comes to Town” to air as the 4th episode to introduce Miss Ellie to the audience earlier in the series.

Hopefully the episode numbering isn’t confusing to you. In more recent years, the “aired” order of episodes has become the more “normal” way of listing them but neither method is “wrong,” it’s just something you should be aware of when using reference books or online lists. You often see episodes listed in this form: “Ellie Comes to Town“(S1.E4) to indicate Season and Episode number. You saw an example above related to TAGS pilot episode on The Danny Thomas Show.

First Episode

With the new year beginning, it’s only fitting we discuss the “The New Housekeeper” which was the first episode of The Andy Griffith Show and sat the stage for eight years of enjoyment in Mayberry.

The New Housekeeper

• S1.E1
• Filmed: 1
• Aired: 1
• Original Air Date: 1960/10/03
• Writer(s): Jack Elinson and Charles Stewart
• Director: Sheldon Leonard

Plot

In the quaint, sleepy town of Mayberry, North Carolina, Sheriff Andy Taylor, a man of many hats who also serves as the town’s Justice of the Peace, found himself amidst preparations for a wedding. The bride and groom were Wilbur and Rose, the latter being Andy’s trusted housekeeper. Rose’s impending marriage meant she would no longer be able to care for Andy and his young son, Opie, who was just six years old.

The wedding ceremony, however, did not go as smoothly as planned. Little Opie, overcome with emotion and a child’s misunderstanding, voiced his objections during the proceedings. He believed that Rose’s marriage meant she no longer loved him. The adults tried to soothe him, explaining that love doesn’t disappear but can expand to include others.

Just as the dust was settling from the wedding and its unexpected interruption, Andy’s Aunt Bee arrived in Mayberry. Aunt Bee had led a life of caring for children and they had all grown and moved along. She was happy when Andy contacted her to ask if she might move in with he and Opie, filling the void left by Rose’s departure.

Opie, still grappling with the changes in his life, initially struggled to accept Aunt Bee. He saw her as a replacement for Rose, not another person who could love and care for him. Andy, ever patient and understanding, tried to help Opie adjust. He encouraged Opie to spend time with Aunt Bee, hoping they would bond.

Aunt Bee, for her part, also made an effort to connect with Opie. She tried to learn about his interests, even attempting to learn how to fish and play baseball, activities Opie loved. Despite their efforts, Opie remained resistant. He longed for things to go back to the way they were, with Rose by his side.

One day, a mishap occurred that pushed Opie’s resistance to its limit. Aunt Bee accidentally left the cage door open, and Opie’s beloved pet bird, Dickie, flew away. Opie was heartbroken and blamed Aunt Bee for the loss. Aunt Bee, feeling guilty and unwanted, considered leaving Mayberry.

Seeing Aunt Bee’s distress and realizing the pain he had caused, Opie’s heart softened. He understood that Aunt Bee was trying her best and that he had been unfair to her. He also realized that he could teach her about the things he loved, just as Rose had taught him.

Opie decided to give Aunt Bee another chance. He took it upon himself to teach her how to play baseball, fish, and even hunt for frogs. Opie discovered that Aunt Bee had her own unique qualities and that he could love her in a different way than he loved Rose.

Dickie, Opie’s bird, eventually returned, bringing further joy to the household. And as the sun set on another day in Mayberry, Andy strummed his guitar, filling the house with warm melodies. The music seemed to symbolize the harmony that had finally returned to their lives.

Odd Facts Known by Few

• The first episode of each season has a plot featuring Opie.
• Barney is the first person seen with a musical instrument in the series. He almost plays the harmonica for the opening wedding.
• Opie mentions his dog Gulliver. As a boy, Ron Howard had a dog named Gulliver.
• Opie’s pet bird was named Dickie.
• During a scene up in Opie’s bedroom, about fifteen minutes into the episode, the moving shadow of a boom microphone is visible for several seconds on the wall next to the bed as Andy enters and lies across the bed. Later, as Andy gets up and walks to a table, the shadow reappears moving up and onto the back wall and top of the door and settles near the center of the door.
• At about 5:40 into this episode, Andy and Barney call each other cousins. This is the first of three times; the other two references are also first season episodes The Manhunt and Runaway Kid. Their relationship was never mentioned in later seasons.
• Barney’s first arrest seen on The Andy Griffith Show was of Emma Brand for jaywalking.
• The role of “Wilber Pines”, Rose’s fiancé, was played by Frank Ferguson, who would later in the first season play the role of “Sam Lindsey” in two episodes (Ellie for Council and The Beauty Contest), and in later years would play “Charlie Foley”, the kind-hearted butcher who would offer to store Aunt Bee’s meat from Diamond Jim’s free of charge (Bargain Day) and would later get punched in the nose by Floyd (The Case of the Punch in the Nose).
• Actress Mary Treen is also seen in the TAGS episode, Ellie For Council.
• It has been erroneously reported over the years that a publicity photo of a young Frances Bavier is seen on the wall of the Taylor living room as Andy walks from the kitchen to the front door. It will be seen in several first season episodes. As pointed out by Randy Turner in his fantastic collection of essays, Mayberry Firsts, the picture is in fact a print of the painting Child With An Apple by the French artist of the 18th century Jean-Baptiste Greuze.

Notes

• The first line of The Andy Griffith Show is: “Anybody here know why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.“
• Barney talks as though he was recently hired. The length of time he had been on the force varies over the coming seasons.
• The pickup truck that Andy drives in this episode is never seen again in the series. The yard with the truck and garage door is also not used again.
• Barney mentions that he wants to be known as “Reliable Barney Fife,” a moniker he would refer back to many times in the series.
• The first song Andy plays in the series on his guitar is “The Crawdad Song.”

Character List

• Andy Griffith – Andy Taylor
• Ronny Howard – Opie Taylor
• Don Knotts – Barney Fife
• Frances Bavier – Aunt Bee Taylor
• Cheerio Meredith – Emma Brand
• Frank Ferguson – Wilbur Pines
• Mary Treen – Rose

*** Mayberry Rebus Puzzles ***

Last issue, Weaver’s presented a few Rebus puzzles related to The Andy Griffith Show. A “rebus” is a puzzle that uses pictures, letters, or symbols to represent a word or phrase. The word “rebus” comes from the Latin word rebus, which means “by things.” Weaver’s didn’t provide the answers until now so we’ll republish the puzzles and place the answers below the last one so you can have a chance to try your hand at answering.

Here are the correct answers to the puzzles. They are all music related and hopefully with the answer provided you can figure out how to arrive at the answer.

• Rebus Puzzle 1 – Salty Dog
• Rebus Puzzle 2 – There is a Time
• Rebus Puzzle 3 – Doug’s Tune
• Rebus Puzzle 4 – Flop-Eared Mule

*** Trivia: Who Said it? ***

Since we’ve been reviewing the episode “The New Housekeeper” this issue, all of the trivia will be related to things said during the episode. So, we’ll provide a quote and it’s up to you to provide the answer of “Who Said It?“

• “I’m speakin’ now, so’s I won’t have to forever hold my peace.”    
  
• “Well, now I’m tellin’ you if you don’t hush up, you’ll be forever holdin’ the seat of your britches!”
  
• “You don’t catch me marryin’ somebody else!”
  
• “And in the mornin’, I want you to eat all your cereal and don’t leave half the milk.”
  
• “And to think I was glad when you learned to talk.”
  
• “Naughty deputy!
  
• ” Well, if she goes, what’ll happen to her? She doesn’t know how to do anything… play ball, catch fish or hunt frogs. She’ll be helpless!”
  

Weaver’s will post the correct answers in the March issue of Weaver’s Newsletter. Feel free to add your answers in the comments on the website post for this issue of Weaver’s Newsletter (scroll to bottom of the page).

****News of Cast & Crew ****

Weaver’s doesn’t have a lot of news from the cast & crew so we’ll just give you a few highlights.

Ron Howard’s (Opie) was not directly impacted by the resent, and on-going, wildfires hitting Los Angeles he has been posting about the fires on social media. He said, “The fires in Southern California have sparked unimaginable challenges, but they have also sparked extraordinary acts of bravery and solidarity” and posted photos of moments of strength, hope and people coming together.

Heading back to happier thoughts, on Christmas day 2024 he posted the following special memory. “My grandad William “Butch” Speegle was Duncan, Oklahoma’s best known meat and poultry butcher. He also loved Christmas and all the decorations that came with it. So this plastic Jolly Santa was his gift to my folks the year I was born (1954). My mom inherited his excitement for the holiday and I dedicated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to her when it was first released in theaters. This Santa has been illuminated every yuletide season since in our family.“

Clint Howard (Leon) announced a BIG event for the Howard family. The Howards are making history in Orlando February 6-9. For the first time at a convention, meet Ron Howard, Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron’s daughter), and Clint Howard. Celebrate their incredible legacy this February at MEGACON 2025. Clint said, “we’ll be there to sign autographs and take pictures but the stories that I will share…it is “a must attend” at my table!” Clint has also been scaring up a good time attending horror related conventions in the last several months to the delight of many. He stays busy so look for him at a convention near you.

Margaret Kerry (Bess Muggins and Helen Scobey) has been posting on her Facebook page that she is doing well and wishing everyone a happy 2025. She also wanted to remind you that if you are spending any of the holiday money that you received, to take a look at her website, TinkerBellTalks.com. She has been adding new items with many of them being vintage, as she said, like her.

You might enjoy following Margaret on her Facebook page if you want to stay up to date with all she’s doing.

Dennis Rush (Howie Pruitt/Williams) continued his traveling following the Mayberry Cruise 2024 with a trip from San Diego to snowy Colorado to celebrate his bride Judy’s birthday and New Years Eve. Dennis is making plans for several Mayberry related events this year when he’ll be heading to Granville, Tenn., Mount Airy, N.C., and a return visit to the Mayberry Cruise 2025 in the fall. He was happy to hear that his interview on the Two Chairs No Waiting Podcast ranked in the most watched episodes of 2024.

Rodney Dillard (guitar playing Darling boy) got locked out of his Facebook account for 2 weeks right around Thanksgiving but he and wife Beverly regained access and have been recovering from the scam. He and the Dillard Band have a new album out that, sadly, Weaver’s doesn’t currently carry (we are trying to get it) called, “Songs that Made Charlene Cry.” Drop by RodneyDillard.tv and check it out.

Joy Ellison (Effie Muggins/Mary Scobey/Betsy/Iris) had attended the Cruise to Mayberry 2023 and had a wonderful discussion of her time on TAGS and her entire career. That interview was published for all of us to enjoy in mid-January by the Two Chairs No Waiting podcast. Joy gave the podcast episode her stamp of approval and hopefully you will enjoy it as well. Here’s a link to TCNW 821: Little Miss Mayberry Interview (video version).

That’s all the cast & crew news Weaver’s has for this issue. If you hear news of between issues, we’d love to hear from you. We’d be glad to name you a “roving reporter” if you contribute. Otherwise, Weaver’s will continue to comb the web for News of Cast & Crew.

****Chapter News ****

Mayberry Chapter (Knoxville, Tenn.) contacted us and wanted to get the word out that they would be releasing their 16-page newsletter called The Mayberry Minute during the week of January 24th. They put out a great newsletter and this issue will continue their good work. It contains articles about the chapter’s trip to California in April 2024 when they saw Aunt Bee’s plane and the Whiteman Airport where the episode “Aunt Bee’s Big Moment” (S8.E23) was filmed. 

Mayberry Chapter also reported they held their annual Christmas party on Dec. 7, 2024 at the home of Dennis Beal. The chapter members make some of the most creative gifts to trade during their gathering with all of them being Mayberry related. Just some of the fun items created and gifted by chapter members are:

Weaver’s Newsletter would like to thank Dennis Beal, Mayberry Chapter President for providing not only the update you see above but also his work as editor/writer/publisher of the Mayberry Chapter Newsletter. The Mayberry Minutes is available for $20 for two or three 16 page issues per year or $10 for a pdf version emailed to you. If you like your Mayberry news on paper, or as a pdf, Mayberry Minutes is a great option. For more info, contact Dennis at KingOfMayberry@comcast.net.

The Blood Brothers (Macon, Mo.) report they have the wheels in motion for Andy’s 100th birthday party in 2026 with details to be announced as soon as possible. The chapter sponsored Barney 100th Birthday Bash back in July 2024 so how can they celebrate Barney’s 100th and not Andy’s 100th, right? Be watchin for details in the coming year.

These are the only official reports from chapters since the November issue of Weaver’s Newsletter. This is a somewhat slow time for many chapter activities because of family and holiday related gatherings.

Weaver’s has received some “unofficial” reports from the Trivial Trivialties (Pawleys Island, S.C.) and from a Who’s Been Messin’ Up the Bulletin Board? (WBMUTBB – Internet Chapter) in the Savannah, Ga. area. I’ll grant that we never actually saw snow in Mayberry but we don’t often see snow in S.C. or southern Ga. either so I felt these reports were worth mentioning and showing some images.

****Chapter Update ****

Our total number of chapters started since TAGSRWC was founded in 1979 is holding steady at 1,491. There were no new chapters started since the last issues of Weaver’s Newsletter.

Starting a chapter of TAGSRWC is still just as easy as it was four decades ago. You simply pick a name that hasn’t previously been selected by another group. (You can check the searchable list of chapter names already taken at www.iMayberry.com.) Then submit your chapter’s name with your location and a list of your founding members by e-mail to Goober@imayberry.com. That’s all it takes!

Whether or not you start or join a local chapter, you can always join our online “Who’s Been Messin’ Up the Bulletin Board?” chapter or any of several exclusively online chapters on Facebook (see Mayberry on the Web below).

**** Mayberry on the Web ****

The iMayberry Community

This TAGSRWC online group is organized and overseen by webmaster Allan “Floyd” Newsome with most of the actual work begin done by Keith “Col. Harvey” Brown of the Trivial Trivialities chapter (Pawleys Island, S.C.). You can check out the fun of this online community and sign up for free at: http://imayberrycommunity.com.

The iMayberry Community complements our other online activities, including our main www.imayberry.com page, podcasts, Facebook pages, online newsletters (such as The Weaver’s Newsletter), weaversdepartmentstore.com and chat rooms.

Mayberry Podcast

“Two  Chairs, No Waiting” is our weekly podcast of TAGS news, interviews and pretty much whatever’s happening in and around Mayberry. It’s hosted by Allan Newsome.

There’s a new episode every Tuesday (and you can watch and listen during live recording of the show on Monday evenings at 8pm ET @ live.twochairsnowaiting.com ). As of this week, there have been 822 episodes of Two Chairs since Allan launched the podcast over 16 years ago, in October 2008. Past episodes are in an online Archives in case you want to listen to or view the YouTube video installments you’ve missed. We’re sure you can find at least a few episodes you’d enjoy out of all those that are available. OH….they are all FREE!

Take some time to look around the main Mayberry Podcasts (https://iMayberry.com/podcaasts) website for various other links, including one for another outstanding Mayberry-related podcast: “Burke on Mayberry“ (hosted by TAGSRWC’s Kevin Burke since 2008). There are also links for the Mayberry Devotional hosted by Brian Rose and for the Mayberry Bible Study Podcast.

Facebook

TAGSRWC’s official page on Facebook  has over 251,000 Followers. You can find us at www.facebook.com/tagsrwc. If you haven’t already dropped by the page, we hope you’ll check it out sometime when you have the chance. We invite you to become a TAGSRWC Facebook Friend!

Two Chairs No Waiting podcast also has a Facebook page and group where you can follow along with the podcast and interact with fans.

We also have links in our “Liked by this Page” section to the pages (in the “About” section) of several TAGSRWC chapters on Facebook, as well as to Facebook pages for Mayberry Days,®  the Andy Griffith Museum, TAGS actors and others. Click “See All” to check out all the links.

Even Ben Weaver has his own Facebook page at www.facebook.com/weaversdepartmentstore. It features all the latest in Mayberry items and merchandise news. Weaver’s is also on X (Twitter) so follow Weaver’s there if you’re on X.

**** Post Note ****

We’ve kicked off a new Weaver’s Newsletter year and I hope you enjoyed the ride. Thank you to those that sent chapter reports and updates and I encourage other chapters to stay in touch with us here at Weaver’s and share what your chapter is doing in and around Mayberry.

Thank you to all of you who shopped with us at WeaversDepartmentStore.com during the Christmas season and throughout the last year We can’t tell you how much your support means to us here at Weaver’s HQ. We hope you’ll consider browsing around Weaver’s online store to find things that make you smile and you just can’t live without. Share those items with your friends and family so they’ll know where to shop for gifts for you. We also hope you get joy from reading our Newsletter.

Between issues of the Weaver’s Newsletter, you can keep up with all that’s going on in and around Mayberry by being part of the daily Who’s Been Messin’ Up the Bulletin Board? (aka “WBMUTBB?”) Digest. It’s free and you can sign up for that list by going to WBMUTBB.com and choosing the “Join/Subscribe/Unsubscribe” link.

Check out the WBMUTBB Facebook Group with links to more WBMUTBB chapter fun. The Facebook group is private and administered by me (Allan) so I hope that makes you feel better about joining in on the fun. It’s made up of TAGS fans only and I do my best to make sure things are fun for all…both on the WBMUTBB Digest emails and the WBMUTBB Facebook group.

The next issue of our Weaver’s Newsletter will be published in March 2025 . Please make sure you’re subscribed to the newsletter so you don’t miss an issue when it publishes. Stay in touch with things going on around Mayberry by listening to/watching the Two Chairs No Waiting podcast.

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