Weaver’s Newsletter          
An Online newsletter of
“The Andy Griffith Show” Rerun Watchers Club (TAGSRWC)
October 2016

 

Welcome to our fifth issue for 2016!

Not to scare you too much, but Ben Weaver is eager to remind everyone that it’s now less than two months till Christmas!  That’s even spookier to think about than having to go into the Remshaw House! But don’t fret, because Weaver’s Department Store is here to ease your holiday shopping worries. Here are some  highlights from Weaver’s shelves this season:

Old Man Remshaw Print

NEW! $12

Just in time for Halloween, Weaver’s was lucky enough to find this print of the very painting that hangs in the old Remshaw house in Mayberry.

As you look closely at the print, you will likely notice that the eyes seem to follow you when you move around the room. Of course…it’s probably just the lighting.

The black-and-white print is 16″x 20″ on heavy weight stock. The print will be shipped in an art tube to protect it during shipment.

The print includes the image of the original painting and the image of the frame (just as seen).

Proceeds from the sale of this item will go to support Mayberry events held throughout the year.

 

Johnny Lightning Toy Squad Car

NEW!  $12.00

Back in 1998, Johnny Lightning released a series of replicas related to famous TV shows and movies called “Hollywood on Wheels.”  That series has been out of production for many years, but Weaver’s was lucky enough to find a small number of a special order series called simply “Mayberry.”

This 2009 series of Johnny Lightning cars feature a die-cast metal body and chassis with detailed engine and interior and rubber tires. The size is the same as a Matchbox or Hot Wheels car. We have a limited quantity of these Mayberry Squad Cars. They are a must for a collection of either Mayberry items or rolling stock.

Barney’s Sidecar Company Sweatshirt

NEW!  $32.00

This sweatshirt is an addition here at Weaver’s to match the T-shirt and mouse pad of the same name and allow you keep showing your Mayberry spirit right on through the cold weather.  Check out all our sweatshirt designs.

The front of the sweatshirt declares “Barney’s Sidecar Company” as he gets ready for Checkpoint Chickie…helmet and all.

Color: Sand

The sweatshirt is 50/50 cotton/polyester with air-jet yarn for a softer feel and to prevent pilling. It has double-needle stitching, double-needle cuffs, and a 1-inch athletic Spandex rib. It’s preshrunk for a lasting fit, and it’s quarter-turned to avoid a center crease.

Andy Griffith Show Christmas Special DVD

NEW!  $15.00

Now in stock, this colorized Andy Griffith Show Christmas Special, featuring “Christmas Story” and “The Pickle Story” in color, as they were seen for the first time during the hit presentation on CBS last Christmas. (The DVD also includes the black-and-white versions of both episodes.)

Hint from Ben Weaver: What a great gift combo the 2017 TAGS Wall Calendar (see below) and this DVD will make!

2017 “Andy Griffith Show” Wall Calendar

$15.00
Now in stock!

All the photos contained in this 2017 edition are in black and white (actually sepia, as shown here), though some are taken from color publicity shots.  The calendar is 12″ wide x 12″ tall when closed and 12″ wide x 24″ tall when open.

The nine characters featured in this 2017 calendar are Andy, Barney, Opie, Aunt Bee, Goober, Gomer, Otis, Thelma Lou and Helen.

Order early and take advantage of this 16-month calendar. September through December 2016 are featured together with Andy, Opie, Aunt Bee and Helen on display. All other months are in separate openings featuring one new image per month.

Elsewhere in our store…

We have three dozen different T-shirt designs to choose from!

Here are two new designs in cool cream colored shirts we’re offering, along with two other favorites in gray:

Suit yourself to a super Tee!

 
Most of our adult-sized T-shirts are just $20.  (A few designs are $18, and the Lawmen all-over design is $25.)  We also have caps, Goober beanies and deputy patches.

 Floyd’s Barbershop

Bulletin Board & Event Calendar

The Andy Griffith Museum, featuring the late Emmett Forrest’s amazing collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia, is open daily in Mount Airy, N.C. For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

The following information is from “The eBullet“: Official E-mail Newsletter of “The Andy Griffith Show” Rerun Watchers Club (TAGSRWC).

 

* Oct. 21: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Oct. 21: Roland White and his band perform at 9 p.m. at the Station Inn in Nashville, Tenn.

* Oct. 21: Karen Knotts performs “Tied Up in Knotts” at the Milton Theatre in Milton, Del.  Show time is 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $15 to $25.  For more info, visit www.pcade.com.

* Oct. 22: Karen Knotts brings “Tied Up in Knotts” to the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, Penn.  Show time is 7:30 p.m. For more info, visit www.st94.com.

* Oct. 29 -Nov. 3: Cruise to Mayberry 11 with special guest star Jackie Joseph (aka to Ernest T. Bass’s Sweet Romeena)! Join the fun (including Halloween) in the western Caribbean aboard Carnival’s Paradise cruise ship as it departs Tampa with stops in Grand Cayman (a favorite of Asa’s and Mr. Meldrim’s) and Cozumel (a fave of Daphne and Skippy and Mavis Neff).

A bunch of popular Mayberry tribute artists (and also an Elvis) will join Jackie in providing entertainment and hosting contests, along with all the hearty eatin’ and usual cruise highlights.  For more info, visit www.allaboutcruisesnc.net or call 1-800-832-7993.

* Nov. 18: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Nov. 25: Roland White and his band perform at 9 p.m. at the Station Inn in Nashville, Tenn.

* Dec. 3: Roland White hosts and the Roland White Band performs for the 20th Annual Bill Monroe Appreciation Night at the Station Inn in Nashville, Tenn.

* Dec. 3: Get “Tied Up in Knotts” for the holidays when Karen Knotts brings her one-woman show to the Monroe Arts Center in Monroe, Wis. Show time is 7:30 p.m.  For further info, go to www.morrismuseum.org.

* Dec. 16: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

2017

* Jan. 20: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Feb. 17: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Mar. 2-4: 20th Annual George Lindsey UNA Film Festival in Florence, Ala.  Details TBA.  For updates, visit www.lindseyfilmfest.com.

* Mar. 17: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Apr. 21: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* May 19: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* June 10: Mayberry 101 author Neal Brower presents a lecture on the “Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee” episode of TAGS, starting at 2 p.m., in the Andy Griffith Museum Theatre in Mount Airy, N.C.  Admission is included with an Andy Griffith Museum admission ($6).  Visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* June 16: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* July 8: Mayberry 101 author Neal Brower presents a lecture on the “Convicts-at- Large” episode of TAGS, starting at 2 p.m., in the Andy Griffith Museum Theatre in Mount Airy, N.C.  Admission is included with an Andy Griffith Museum admission ($6).  Visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* July 21: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Aug. 12: Mayberry 101 author Neal Brower presents a lecture on the “Prisoner of Love” episode of TAGS, starting at 2 p.m., in the Andy Griffith Museum Theatre in Mount Airy, N.C.  Admission is included with an Andy Griffith Museum admission ($6).  Visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Aug. 18: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Sept. 15: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Sept. 20-24: 28th Annual Mayberry Days in Mount Airy, N.C.  Details TBA.  For more info, visit www.mayberrydays.org.

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* Oct. 20: Betty Lynn greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m. She will have autographed 8 x 10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Oct. 24-29: Margaret Kerry (Bess Muggins and Helen Scobey) is the special guest star for Cruise to Mayberry 12. This year’s cruise is for five days aboard Carnival’s Ecstasy, departing Charleston, S.C., and traveling to Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas.

Margaret will be joined by usual cruise company of Mayberry tribute artists and musical entertainers. For more info, visit www.allaboutcruisesnc.net or call 1-800-832-7993. Note: There’s a much earlier deposit deadline than usual for this cruise, so be sure to plan early.

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

The town of Massena, N.Y., celebrated the 100th Anniversary of  the birth of Hal Smith (Otis Campbell). Organized and hosted by TAGSRWC member John D. Michaud III, the festivities included watching film clips, eating cake and having the mayor of Massena declare August 24 Hal J. Smith Day in the city.

The event was so successful that more lectures are planned, and there’s even talk about someday creating a statue of Hal for the town.

Less than a week after the Hal Smith celebration, friends and fans gathered in Mount Airy, N.C., to help Betty Lynn celebrate her 90th birthday.

Betty received more than 300 birthday cards from fans and friends all around the country. She started her birthday celebration by greeting fans and signing autographs for several hours at the Andy Griffith Museum.  Betty easily could’ve taken her birthday off from autograph “work,” but she wanted to spend time on her birthday visiting with fans!

After greeting well-wishers and signing autographs and posing for photos for a couple of hours, Betty then went next door to the ground floor of the Andy Griffith Playhouse for the unveiling of a beautiful new permanent exhibit about her life.  Be sure to check it out during Mayberry Days or whenever you happen to be in Mount Airy.  The exhibit contains many wonderful treasures (some likely unexpected) from throughout Betty’s fascinating life.

Next on the day’s agenda was a stop at The Loaded Goat, a downtown restaurant, for a birthday dinner, including surprise guest Dan Forest, Lieut. Governor of North Carolina!

The celebration then moved down Main Street to the Earle Theatre. Lieut. Governor Forest surprised Betty with induction into The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is considered the State of North Carolina’s highest civilian honor.

Roses from Ron and Clint Howard were presented to Betty in a clever and charming way (see the video link in the caption for the photo of Ron and Clint below).

Also, the Betty Lynn Scholarship for the Arts was announced during the presentations at the Earle.  The scholarship, administered by the Surry Arts Council, will support local students pursuing studies in the arts.

The main event of the evening was a screening of June Bride, starring Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery, and featuring Betty in the title role.  Betty shared some memories about making the film and then watched it along with the hundreds in attendance.   In all, it was simply a fantastic day to be Betty Lynn or to be able to share the special celebrations with her.

And last, here are links to some good articles written about Betty around the time of her birthday:

* Charlotte Observer story by Mark Washburn
* Winston-Salem Journal story by Tim Clodfelter
* Mount Airy News coverage by Tom Joyce

And two photo galleries of the birthday goin’s-on that are on the Surry Arts Council site:

* Photos by Hobart Jones
* Photos by Kenny Hooker

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Ron Howard‘s Imagine Entertainment produced and Ron directed The Beatles: Eight Days a Week–The Touring years, a documentary made in cooperation with the Beatles and their families that premiered in theaters on Sept. 16, and then on Hulu the next day. Here’s the trailer for the doc.

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Ron continues with post-production and initial promotion work for Inferno, which is scheduled to be in theaters (including IMAX) on October 28 and is a solid bet for big box-office success. Here’s the current trailer.

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Ron and the Imagine team are also producing a six-part sci-fi docu-miniseries called “Mars” about the colonization of Mars that’s scheduled for National Geographic Channel’s 2016-17 season. Here’s the first promo for the series.

The Imagine team is also producing a re-imagined remake for Disney of their 1984 hit, Splash!  This time Channing Tatum has been hooked to play a merman. They’re also producing a live action version of their Curious George franchise for Universal Pictures.

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Rodney Dillard announced at Mayberry Days in September that the current Dillards are finalizing a record deal with Elektra, the original record label of the Original Dillards all those years ago.  There’s no word yet on the release date for the album, but Rodney is pleased to be back home again with Elektra, and he and the band are very excited about the new album.

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It was another outstanding Mayberry Days.  Beautiful weather and a great lineup of stars drew large crowds for the entire festival. For the record, the TAGS peformers in attendance were Betty Lynn, Rodney Dillard, Maggie Peterson, Ronnie Schell, Margaret Kerry, and Ronnie Dapo.  They were joined in performing by family members of late members of the cast and crew: Karen Knotts, Laura Hagen, and Dorothy Best.  Dixie Griffith, daughter of Andy Griffith, also participated in the festivities. Clint Howard and Joy Ellison were unable to attend because of last-minute movie work, and Mayberry Days favorite George Spence was under the weather and unable to travel from his home on the North Carolina coast this year.

And if you’re wondering why George Lindsey Jr. wasn’t able to be at Mayberry Days this year, giddy-up on over to this link about Rufus Leekin to lasso the story.

We’ll have a more detailed Mayberry Days recap in the November issue of our brother-figure online newsletter, The eBullet.  In the meantime, here’s a link to a Gallery of Mayberry Days Photos taken for the Surry Arts Council by Hobart Jones and Kenny Hoover.  They’re outstanding!

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Mayberry License Plate Campaign in North Carolina

Don Teague, a member of TAGSRWC’s Barney chapter (Greensboro, N.C.), has established the Mayberry Plate Fund and is spearheading an effort to produce an official Mayberry affinity license plate in North Carolina.  And it’s all for a great cause.  Proceeds will benefit the Surry Arts Council, sponsor of Mayberry Days!

Here’s what the design looks like:

But here’s the catch: Before the plate can be produced, 500 licensed North Carolina vehicle owners need to register for their plates in advance by filling out some paperwork and sending the license fee to Don.  Once he has the received the required 500 application forms and fees, Don will then send everything to the North Carolina DMV for approval and processing, and production will then begin.

This flier online flier includes a link to the North Carolina DMV page with the application form that can be printed out, then filled out, and dropped in the mail (with the fee) to Don.

This is a huge effort for Don to undertake, largely on his own.  He has all his ducks in a row.  He just needs help from fellow fans in spreading the word to as many other fans of Mayberry in the Tar Heel State as possible.  So please pass the word on to friends and family, and maybe by this time next year we’ll be seeing official Mayberry license plates from Checkpoint Chickie to Raleigh…and beyond!

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**** Mayberry on the Web ****

The iMayberry Community

This TAGSRWC online group is organized and overseen by webmaster Allan “Floyd” Newsome with able assistance from Keith “Col. Harvey” Brown. You can check it out 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 page, online newsletters (such as The eBullet), weaversdepartmentstore.com and chat rooms.

Two Chairs, No Waiting is our weekly podcast of TAGS news, interviews and pretty much whatever happens to be going on in and around Mayberry. It’s hosted by Allan Newsome. There’s a new episode every Tuesday (and you can watch and listen live during tapings on Monday evenings). Past episodes are in an online Archives in case you want to listen to or view episodes you’ve missed.

Allan started the podcast eight years ago this month. This week’s episode was #398. That’s a bunch of great barbershop talk about Mayberry! There’s a lot of info and discussions that you simply won’t find anywhere else, including rare interviews (vintage and new) with cast and crew members of TAGS. And you’ll also find links there to a couple of other outstanding Mayberry-related podcasts.

TAGSRWC’s official page on Facebook now has more than 239,000 friends! 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!

And even Ol’ Ben Weaver now has his own Facebook page at www.facebook.com/weaversdepartmentstore. Check it out for the latest Mayberry items and merchandise news.

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   **** Post Note ****

Between issues of Weaver’s Newsletter, keep up with the happenings in Mayberry with the daily “Who’s Been Messin’ Up the Bulletin Board?” Digest. It’s a free subscriber list that consists entirely of comments, news flashes, and questions and answers from subscribers. You can sign up for that list by going to the “Mailing Lists” link at www.tagsrwc.com.

TAGSRWC also publishes The eBullet in alternate months to Weaver’s Newsletter. The eBullet is the online successor to our longtime printed newsletter, The Bullet. Like Weaver’s Newsletter, The eBullet is free. It includes some of the same news as Weaver’s Newsletter, but generally with more features and depth and a little less emphasis on merchandise news. To sign up, go to: www.tagsrwc.com/ebullet.

TAGSRWC’s other main vehicle for Mayberry information is simply our website at www.tagsrwc.com (and its sister site www.iMayberry.com). Both sites have extensive content and links for just about everything a Mayberry fan might be looking for.

The final issue of Weaver’s Newsletter for 2016 is scheduled for December, and this year’s last eBullet will be out in November.

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