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

 

With Halloween upon us, that can mean only one thing…Ben Weaver’s getting things ready for Holiday shopping.  Now, that’s scary!  There are several new items on our online shelves at Weaver’s (www.weaversdepartmentstore.com) and some great vintage and rare stuff, plus bunches (“bunches, bunches”) of things on sale or at permanently lower prices.

In addition to some brand new items, we have lots of out-of-production and otherwise rare items.  We have only a small handful of some of these items (as few as just one or two), so browse our online shelves soon and see what you find.  Lots make great stocking stuffers!

Our merchandise features are up first, then our calendar of events, and then news updates (including a Mayberry Days gallery) and miscellaneous updates.

 **** Merchandise Update ****

 Mitch Jayne’s Old Fish Hawk

Beloved  Novel Now Available on CD!
$25.00

 Dillards/Darlings bass player Mitch Jayne’s Old Fish Hawk is a 4 1/2-hour novel on CD. This engaging novel, written and narrated by Mitch (with musical accompaniment), tells the story and adventures of an Osage Indian and the young boy he befriends and shares his wisdom with. The book is so compelling that the folks in Hollywood even made a movie of it. But hearing Mitch tell the story is even better because nobody can paint a better picture with words than Mitch.

We sadly lost Mitch Jayne August 2, 2010, at the age of 82.  But he left a tremendous legacy.  To still be able to hear his wonderful storytelling is just one of many blessings he left us.

“A Mayberry Christmas” Color Print by Dave Barnhouse
Was $60…Now on Special Sale for Just $25.00!!
(Ol’ Ben Weaver’s just trying to merry up Christmas!)

Released in 2010, this is the third print in the initial release of three prints in the officially licensed series of Mayberry artwork by acclaimed artist Dave Barnhouse.  (The first two in the series are called “Together Forever” and “Mayberry, My Hometown” and are also still available–in fact, they’re currently on sale, too!) 

Dave Barnhouse has captured the sentiment of the touching Courthouse scene in the “Christmas Story” episode when Ben Weaver generously expresses the spirit of Christmas.  It’s one of the all-time classic moments of the series, and one that is sure to instantly cause feelings of holiday joy for anyone who sees it.

The image size of the full-color paper print measures 18 in. x 24 in. (the image itself is 16 in. x 20 in.).  Dave Barnhouse has signed each print in this open-edition work.

Apparently already feeling good with the Christmas spirits, Ol’ Ben Weaver has trimmed the price of this outstanding print from $60 to an unbelievable $25.  Yes, that’s right…more than half off!  We think Ben’s feeling so generous just because he’s depicted in the painting, but we’ll take whatever price break he gives us!  That 58% savings will definitely “merry up Christmas” for the rest us…all year long!  Thanks, ol’ Ben!

Bring a little Mayberry cheer into your home and the homes of friends…even if you don’t have a skinny Santa Claus to deliver it!

Note: Other items ordered with prints may ship separately, but they will be billed together.  And there will be just our single shipping charge of $5.00 per shipping address, no matter how many items or shipments are going to that same address to fill the order.

  **** Weaver’s Fundraisers for Charities ****

 
“Don’t the trees  
 seem nice and full.”

With so many dire situations going on in the world, from natural disasters in the U.S., Japan and Haiti (and now Turkey) to famine in Africa and hard economic times everywhere, TAGSRWC and our Weaver’s Dept. Store are trying to do find ways we can relieve some of the suffering and offer a helping hand. We understand that so often life isn’t always as serene and happy as Mayberry, but if, through Mayberry, we can help bring a little joy and hope and a little less suffering for those in need, then that’s really the Mayberry Way.

Listed below are three of the most recent fundraisers TAGSRWC and Weaver’s have established. There are many more online at Weaver’s in the Fundraisers for Charities section.

The Bullet & The Pocket Back Issues Fundraiser for The Contributor newspaper
$60.00 $30.00

Back Issues Set of at least 30 issues of The Bullet and at least 10 issues of The Pocket. These were the official printed newsletters of “The Andy Griffith Show” Rerun Watchers Club from 1982 through 2004.

The issues of The Bullet that area still available are mainly from the 1990s through March 2001, and The Pocket covers from 2001 through 2004, when our current printed flier, The Button, began.

Issues of The Bullet in particular feature interviews with the cast and crew from the show, plus Professor Brower’s Class columns by Neal Brower, lots of trivia, many rare photos, coverage of events, news, and trivia.  With this set of back issues, you get well over 400 pages of reading and rare photos.  (It’s probably over 500 pages worth, but Ernest T. got tired of counting.)

These vintage Mayberry newsletters are great way to discover (or relive!) some great moments in recent Mayberry history!

As a bonus, we’ll also include some issues of The Button (our current printed newsletter) and some issues of The Mayberry Confidential, the official newspaper for Mayberry Days, as part of the same great $30 deal.

And that’s not all.  All proceeds from the sale of these back issues go toward TAGSRWC’s support of The Contributor, a newspaper in Nashville that’s largely produced and exclusively sold by homeless and formerly homeless folks.

While our Mayberry newsletter staff cannot claim to comprehend the full scope of the struggles and difficulties of homelessness, we have witnessed enough and want to give these neighbors and friends a leg up and create awareness for the hard work they’re doing to help their lives and contribute to the community through their journalism and sales.

We appreciate the work involved in publishing and distributing a newspaper, so we especially applaud and support The Contributor‘s efforts.  What they’re doing is certainly going way beyond Mayberry to help those in need.  We hope that these sales of our Mayberry newspapers can assist their enterprise and success.

 Trading Card Series 2 Complete Set for Joplin Relief

$20.00 $12.00

This Series 2 Set of “The Andy Griffith Show” Trading Cards (#111-220) consists entirely of black-and-white photos, but the photos used depict scenes from all eight seasons of the show.  All proceeds (not just the profits, but all funds) from our sales of these Sets go toward ongoing relief efforts for victims of the Joplin Tornado Disaster. We acquired these Sets from Mayberry fan and collector Paul Mulik, who sadly lost his home in the tornado, for the sole purpose of raising funds to help Paul help other victims of the disaster. Much of Paul’s Mayberry collection, including these sets of cards, was stored safely away from his home and was undamaged.

Series 2 cards were manufactured in the early 1990s, and have long been out of print and are now scarce.  We think our price for this collectible is still so good that it might even make sense for many collectors to buy two sets–one set to open and enjoy and one set to Set back for posterity, when a Set likely will be even more rare and potentially valuable.  Sort of like Barney’s nest egg he that used to buy his car from Mrs. Lesch, who happens to be among those pictured on a card in this set. This Set of cards is full of wonderful Mayberry memories in a nostalgic format…and helping a good cause at the same time.

 

Goober’s Grab-Bag for African Famine Disaster Relief
 $60.00

This Grab-Bag supports the urgent relief efforts for victims and refugees of the ongoing drought and famine in Somaliaand Sudan.  We encourage everyone who can do so to give directly to the Disaster Relief effort of their choice. This Grab-Bag is just an additional way to support the Relief efforts.   All proceeds (not just the profits, but all funds) from our sales of this Grab-Bag are going to two relief organizations: CARE, the well-known international group that is on the ground doing relief work in East Africa; and the lesser known AFRECS (more info at www.afrecs.org), which has TAGSRWC members among its relief workers in Sudan.  Both groups have a very high percentage of their donated funds going directly to actual relief work.

These Grab-Bags often are purchased by customers with the idea of using the items for another fundraiser of their own (raffles and door prizes, etc.) for churches, schools, and other charities, so in the end, the original purchase of these items often helps more than one worthy cause. Here’s the scoop on this Grab-Bag, which is identical to one we currently have for the Japan Disaster.  We think we’ve come up with a fun Grab-Bag of interesting Mayberry items.  Most of the items are no longer in production and are therefore now in the category of “collectible.” At a minimum, each Grab-Bag has the following items:

* 1 Officially Licensed T-Shirt with Barney Fife on it (The shirt design included is our choice according to availability, but you’ll need to specify in the Comments section of the online order form whether you want Small, Medium, or Large.  (Sorry, but larger sizes not available for this offer, though we do have a 2X Mayberry shirt available without Barney on it, so you can request that instead.)  The default choice if you don’t indicate a size is Medium.
* 1 Mayberry-related book with an original retail price of at least $10
* 1 “Andy Griffith Show” logo ornament
* 1 Newspaper with coverage of a major Mayberry event
* 1 Officially-licensed Mayberry license plate
* 1 Vintage Mayberry wall calendar (still in its original shrink wrap)
* 3 Different wooden Mayberry building fronts (Bluebird Diner, All Souls Church, and Mrs. Mendelbright’s Boarding House)
* 2 Mayberry bumper stickers
* 1 Mayberry-related audio or video tape (still sealed)
* 1 Pre-owned and very used Jim Nabors album (the vinyl LP variety).  Most will date from the 1970s or ’80s.
* 3 Different Mayberry photos (8×10)
* 2 Different over-sized Mayberry posters
* 1 Barney Sipping Soda Lithograph
* 2 different Mayberry birthday balloons
* 1 10-card wax pack of “Andy Griffith Show” Trading Cards
* Assorted Mayberry event and news publications and materials (fliers, newsletters, fans, magnets, buttons, etc.)

If the items were sold separately, their suggested retail prices would easily total over $120. But Goober is not the best at arithmetic and Ernest T. wasn’t around to help us count by stomping his feet, so our price is only $60 for the whole Grab-Bag. We have only a handful to offer with this configuration of items because most of the items are in extremely short supply. Get ’em while you can.

All proceeds (not just the profits, but 100% of the $60 price) are going toward our support of CARE and AFRECS.  So with a Grab-Bag purchase, you get a good deal while also helping folks in desperate need!

Special Offer: When George “Goober” Lindsey heard we were doing these special Grab-Bags for Disaster Relief, he wanted to participate.  So, he signed a few photos that can be added to this Grab-Bag.  You can add one of these autographed photos to your Grab-Bag for an extra $20 (a total of $80).  Just select the option below to Goober-Size your purchase. We truly appreciate George for giving his support to our efforts to help the disaster victims.  And we thank all Weaver’s visitors for considering a purchase of this Grab-Bag.

 Don’t Wait for the Hearse to Take You to Church CD
by Rodney Dillard
$14.00  NEW ITEM!!!

This CD is brand new this fall from Rodney Dillard & The Dillard Band (featuring Beverly Dillard) singing Gospel favorites and some newer songs that are sure to become favorites.

Includes 10 tracks and four Bonus tracks from Rodney’s “Mayberry Values” radio show.

TRACKS:
1 The Devil Just Can’t Knock Me off My Knees
2 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
3 River of Jordan
4 Somebody Touched Me
5 Gospel Ship
6 Hear Them Thunders Roaring
7 Heaven
8 Softly and Tenderly
9 When My Time Comes to Go
10 Don’t Wait for the Hearse to Take You to Church

BONUS MATERIAL
1 New Minister
2 Church Inheritance
3 Man in a Hurry
4 Choirboy Barney

Uplifting music and inspirational words–all for a great price of only $14.00…giving everybody a little extra in their pockets when that offering plate comes around on Sunday!

 Dance ‘Til Your Stockings Are Hot and Ravelin’ CD
by the Grascals

$6.00

This exciting new Mayberry-inspired bluegrass CD from the mega-award-winning Grascals features 7 tunes, including 5 from TAGS—“Dooley,” “Boil Them Cabbage Down,” “Ol’ Joe Clark,” “Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)” and “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”—plus the “Mayberry’s Finest Theme” and a song written just for this CD, “Boy, Giraffes Are Selfish.”

You can tell The Grascals are not only world-class musicians and performers, but also true Mayberry fans.  This CD is truly a hoot!  And great music to boot.

Attaboy Don Knotts Comic Legends/Tied up with Laughter DVD


$15.00

Beyond Mayberry’s beloved Barney Fife, this Don Knotts: Tied up with Laughter! DVD shows Don in a series of wonderful, hilarious stand-up routines and skits in rare performances from the 1960s and ‘70s.

In this special hour-long comedy collection released just this spring, Don is joined by singer-actress Joey Heatherton, actress Jane Powell, former Dallas Cowboys player Lance Rentzel, comic (and Mayberry deputy) Jack Burns, Don’s Love God movie co-star Maureen Arthur (also wife of ”Andy Griffith Show” producer Aaron Ruben), and the legendary Jimmy Durante.

Bonus material includes Don with Lucille Ball and an early look at Don’s comedy career and some “never before seen” special features.

This DVD is sure to be a great treat for all fans of our favorite deputy–one of the true, cherished comedy legends of our time…and of all time.  And at a great price.

**** Cool Mayberry Caps for Hip Mayberry Cats ****

Embroidered Show Logo and Security by Fife Caps

$17.00 each

These officially licensed, cool canvas hats (in Mayberry Sheriff Dept. tan!) are finely embroidered with a choice of the official “Andy Griffith Show” logo or Security by Fife.  Or why not get both?  That way you’re covered for all occasions, except when you want to be just a Goober!  Adjustable for just the right fit for any occasion.

The Goober Beanie is Back!

$9.00

So…you say you wanna be a Goober?  This genuine Goober-Style Beanie Hat fashioned from brown felt has the look any Goober will love.  Best of all, you get to cut your own holes in the top, just as Goober himself would do.  Get your beanie, baby, and say “Yo!”  One size fits most Goobers (and Gooberinas, too).

T-Shirts Galore!!!
$18.00 each

Weaver’s has more than two dozen officially licensed Mayberry T-shirt designs.  Some are vintage designs that are no longer in production and hard to find anywhere else.  We also have a handful of shirts of other TV classics and some vintage embroidered Mayberry logo sport shirts and even a few Snappy Lunch sports shirts.

Despite this year’s spike in cotton prices, we’re holding the line on our T-shirt prices.  All of our heavyweight cotton T-shirts are still just $18.00.  And the sport shirts are nicely priced, too.  Most of the T-shirts are available in Sizes Medium, Large, XL and 2X.  Several also come in small.  (The size selection is not as large for the out-of-production vintage shirts.)

Have fun showing your Mayberry spirit with one of these fun-tastic shirts today!

     

    Just a few of our many Mayberry T-shirt designs.

 Miss Crump’s Mayberry Book Mobile

And T-shirts aren’t the only thing that we have dozens of!  We carry most of the Mayberry and Mayberry-related books that have been published.  Some have been out of print for years, but we still have some copies.  Whether your interest is history or trivia, biography or cooking, we’ve got the Mayberry book for you or a friend.  Here’s a sampling of what we have:

    

        

In the mood to watch Mayberry instead of read about it?  Then we’ve got your covered there, too!

“The Andy Griffith Show 50^th Anniversary—The Best of Mayberry” DVD

$22.00

This is a really exciting item that was released at the end of last year.  (Ben’s not so subtle hint: It was released too close to Christmas last year for a lot of folks to give as gifts, so it can instead be a great gift this year.)  It’s an item that we had long been hoping for.  In addition to a bunch of the very best episodes, this 3-disc set includes uncut versions of the “Danny Thomas” pilot for “The Andy Griffith Show” and the 1986 Return to Mayberry movie.  And all at a phenomenally low price, even before Ben Weaver’s additional discount.  Here are some of the highlights of what’s on it:

* 17 Favorite Episodes:

“Christmas Story” “The Pickle Story” “Barney and the Choir” “Mr. McBeevee” “Convicts-at-Large” “Man in a Hurry” “Class Reunion” “The Darlings Are Coming” “Barney’s First Car”

“Dogs, Dogs, Dogs” “Mountain Wedding” “Opie the Birdman” “The Sermon for Today” “Citizen’s Arrest” “Fun Girls” “Barney’s Sidecar” “Goober and the Art of Love”

* “Danny Meets Andy Griffith” (the “Danny Thomas” pilot for TAGS)
* Clips from Season Premiere nights for the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons
* The 1986 Return to Mayberry reunion movie
* Original sponsor commercials featuring cast members

This collection is chockfull of great Mayberry moments.  And the price makes for a truly unbeatable combination of quantity, quality and value.  We think it’s a dream come true.

Or why not get the whole Mayberry video shebang all in one package, at a super-Goober price?

All 249 TAGS episodes on DVD, plus the “Danny Thomas” pilot, Return to Mayberry movie, bunches of original commercials and more–all for only $172!

 

 

 

**** Phone Orders ****

In addition to accepting orders online or by mail, our Weaver’s Dept. Store has a phone number FOR ORDERS ONLY (615) 604-1298.  The phone number is generally in operation from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday.  (They sneak out a lot to go fishin’ for carp and pike and such, so if you miss them during business hours, just leave a message with a number where they can call you back.)

Please call this number only for ordering or for inquiring about orders placed by phone.  All inquiries about online orders and mail orders should be made online to weavershop@aol.com.

Holiday Shipping Notice

We’ll be accepting orders for Christmas delivery as late as Noon CT on Dec. 22.  But by that point, it’ll require FedEx overnight delivery to most places, which will be very expensive.  In fact, any orders we receive after Noon CT on Dec. 20 will likely need express delivery of some sort, such as FedEx 2-Day, but maybe not the extreme expense of overnight delivery.

Anyway, it’s way cheaper (just our flat-rate $5 to any U.S. address) and less stressful for you and our Goober elves to get your orders in by Noon CT on Dec. 20.  The closer the shipment’s delivery address is to Nashville, the more you can squeeze out an extra day or so past that deadline, but why take the chance and push it?  Tomorrow may be the most perfect day for a hobo to trim the Taylors’ hedge, but today’s the best day for placing your order at Weaver’s!

 

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The Andy Griffith Museum, featuring Emmett Forrest’s amazing collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia, is open daily in Mount Airy, N.C. You’ll usually find Emmett himself there on Thursdays (and often other times), and Betty Lynn generally greets fans there during the afternoon of the third Friday each month.  For info, visit the website at http://www.andygriffithmuseum.org or call (336) 786-1604.

* Nov. 6: Rodney Dillard and The Dillard Band perform at 3:00 p.m. at the Sheldon Theater in St. Louis, Mo. Tickets are $20 to $25. For more info, call (314) 533-9900.

 * Nov. 10: Neal Brower, author of Mayberry 101, makes the first of two special appearances at the Andy Griffith Museum this fall. Each session will feature an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” followed by a detailed lecture and Q&A. Lectures will take place in the lower level of the Museum at 2 p.m. Admission is $10. The episode featured for this first lecture is “Andy and Opie, Housekeepers.” Learning stuff was never so much fun!
 

* Nov. 12:  Music for Memories Gospel Concert–A Christmas Homecoming starring Mayberry’s Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou) and Maggie Peterson (Charlene Darling), and also Janet Paschal of The Gaithers, at 2 p.m. (doors open at 1 p.m.) at Life Church, 7422 Deer Branch Road, Roanoke, Va.  Admission is $10 at the door, and a “loving offering” will also be collected.  There will also be a silent auction and other ways to contribute to the event’s beneficiary, which is the Adult Care Center of the Roanoke Valley, an organization that specializes in Alzheimer’s care.  For more info, call (540) 947-2207.

* Nov 12-17: A Cruise to Mayberry 6: A 5-day Western Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas. Leaving from Tampa, Fla., with ports-of-call in Cozumel and Costa Maya, and 2 days at sea. For more details, contact Sharon at All About Cruises by phone (10 a.m.-5 p.m. ET) at 1-800-832-7993. For more details, visit the Mayberry Cruise section of the All About Cruises web site. (Note: You must have booked through All About Cruises and be part of the “Mayberry Cruise” in order to attend Mayberry portions of the cruise.)
  

* Nov. 17: Roland White and wife Diane play the Coffee Gallery, Altadena, Calif., with Bill Bryson and Herb Pedersen.

* Nov. 17: Karen Knotts performs her “Tied Up in Knotts” show at 8 p.m. at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Santa Monica, Calif.

* Nov. 18: Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou) greets fans at visit the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, N.C., from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. She’ll have autographed 8×10 photos available ($10).

* Nov. 18: Roland White and wife Diane play Grange Hall in Los Olivos, Calif., (filming location of Return to Mayberry in 1986) with Bill Bryson and Herb Pedersen.

* Nov. 19: Roland White and wife Diane play McCabe’s in Santa Monica, Calif., with Bill Bryson, Herb Pedersen and Blaine Sprouse.

* Nov. 20: Roland White and wife Diane play AMSD Concerts in San Diego, Calif., with Bill Bryson, Herb Pedersen and Blaine Sprouse.

* Nov. 25:The Roland White Band performs at The Station Inn, Nashville, Tenn., at 9 p.m.

* Nov. 26: David Browning marches into Unicoi, Tenn., for its holiday parade.

* Dec 3: Roland White and The Station Inn present the 15th Annual Bill Monroe Appreciation Night at The Station Inn in Nashville, Tenn., at 8 p.m.

* Dec. 8: Neal Brower, author of Mayberry 101, makes the second of two special appearances at the Andy Griffith Museum this fall. This installment features the classic “Christmas Story” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” followed by a detailed lecture and Q&A. The lecture starts in the lower level of the Museum at 2 p.m. Admission is $10. It’s a great way to get in the holiday spirit!

* Dec. 6-11: Ronnie Schell performs in Harrah’s Comedy Room in Las Vegas. More info at http://www.harrahslasvegas.com.

* Dec. 16 and 17: Ronnie Schell performs in the Chinook Casino in Lincoln City, Ore. More info at www.chinookwindscasino.com.

* Dec. 19: David Browning is all aboard for the 25th Annual Morgan Shepherd Christmas Charity Train, starting in Stuart, Va.  For more info, visit www.morganshepherd.com.

 2012

* Feb. 20: David Browning performs “From Gettysburg to Mayberry” (as Abe Lincoln and the Mayberry Deputy), at Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va.

* Mar. 1-3: 15th Annual George Lindsey/UNA Film Festival in Florence, Ala. Details TBA. For updates visit http://lindseyfilmfest.com.

* Mar. 8: Neal Brower, author of Mayberry 101, makes the first of two special appearances at the Andy Griffith Museum this spring. Each session will feature an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” followed by a detailed lecture and Q&A. Lectures will take place in the lower level of the Museum at 2 p.m. Admission is $10. The episode featured for this lecture is “Big Fish in a Small Town.”  Go ahead….take the bait and get hooked on learning neat stuff!

* Apr. 12: Neal Brower, author of Mayberry 101, makes the second of two special appearances at the Andy Griffith Museum this spring. The “Fun Girls” episode will be shown today and will be followed by a detailed lecture and Q&A. Lectures will take place in the lower level of the Museum at 2 p.m. Admission is $10. Neal’s lectures are always fun, girls and boys!

* Apr. 20 and 21: Second Annual Mayberry Comes Westminster in Westminster, S.C. Details TBA.

* July 14: Tentative date for the Mayberry Comes to Mayberry and Mayberry Squad Car Nationals in Graysville, Ala.  Stars and details TBA.

* Aug. 24 and 25: Rodney Dillard and Maggie Peterson are joined by several of the Mayberry tribute artists (including David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning, Kenneth “Otis” Junkin, and Jeff “Howard” Branch) for a Cruise-In on Fri. and then concert benefiting the Montgomery County DARE program on Sat. The evening concert will be at the James H. Garner Center in Troy, N.C. Details TBA. For more info, visit http://www.bluegrassintroy.com/.

* Sept. 27-30: 23rd Annual Mayberry Days in Mount Airy, N.C.  Details TBA.  For updates, visit www.mayberrydays.org.

 

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

Andy Griffith continues to enjoy staying close to home on the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The Don Knotts Legacy Fund is about halfway to its fundraising goal for creating a Memorial Park (including a statue) in Don’s hometown of Morgantown.  Here’s a website (not fully up to date, but still with some good info) where you can learn more: http://www.donknottsstatuefund.org/donations.php.  A supplemental fundraiser for the Legacy Fund is being offered by Don’s friend John Pyles. For a donation of $25 (plus $3 shipping), you can get a CD of 1958 recordings of Mr. Pyles singing 24 Songs You Love (plus four bonus songs). Make checks payable to Don Knotts Legacy Fund c/o John W. Pyles, 2201 Surrey Drive, Morgantown, WV 26505.

Ron Howard and his Imagine Films are producers for J. Edgar, in theaters nationwide on Nov. 9 and directed by Clintwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Ron is also producing the re-ignition of Arrested Development with new episodes for TV and a feature film coming to theaters. Ron is expected to continue his role as narrator.  And Ron is also in pre-production (as producer and director) for the feature film Rush about Formula I racing (starring Russell Crowe and Olivia Wilde).

George Lindsey is enjoying official retirement, but keeps a full schedule. An honor coming up for him this fall was his induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame at the University of North Alabama in Florence, where he was quarterback “a few years back.”  The University is also building a black box theater that will be named in honor of George.  Construction should be complete by early next year and in time for the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival in March.  Here’s a link to a story about it (with a construction photo): http://www.timesdaily.com/stories/Black-Box-Theater-within-budget,183092.

Doug Dillard and brother Rodney Dillard performed with their respective bands at a big celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, at the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Owensboro, Ky.

Rodney and his Dillard Band also have a new gospel CD out (see Merchandise Update above), and the band has a new fan site called DillardGrass at this link: http://rodneydillard.tv/?tcp_product=join-the-fan-club

All of The Original Dillards (Doug Dillard, Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb and the late Mitch Jayne) have been inducted into the Missouri Music Association’s Hall of Fame. They’re joined by their late pal John Hartford and by Charles Wolfe as the first members of the bluegrass genre in the initial class of Hall inductees.

Maggie Peterson teamed up with TV brother Rodney Dillard for several appearances at Mayberry-themed events so far this year, including the Mayberry Squad Car Nationals in Graysville, Ala., in July and Jeff Branch’s DARE fundraiser in Troy, N.C., in August.

To stay current on the latest Shrews news (including sneak peeks from the set), visit www.killershrewsmovie.com.

Meanwhile, James still found time for a successful “Dukes of Hazzard” event in Virginia in August and Mayberry Days in Mount Airy in September.  And he also continues to be an avid painter.  He specializes in barns.  (No, Goober, he’s not painting actual barns.  He’s doing beautiful renderings of barns and other rural subjects and landscapes in oil on canvas!)

Roland White (one of Mayberry’s Country Boys in the “Mayberry on Record” episode) is a recipient of a 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Keep tabs on Roland at www.rolandwhitemusic.com.

Margaret Kerry (two TAGS episodes) had an appearance at a Disneyana event in Dayton, Ohio, earlier during the summer. And she was in British Columbia for another one in August before heading to Mount Airy to see Mayberry friends in September. She’s also getting oh-so close to publishing her autobiography.

Richard O. “Dick” Linke (longtime personal manager for Andy Griffith and others and also TAGS associate producer) sends his greetings (Aloha!) from his home in Hawaii to Mayberry friends, especially in Mount Airy.  He turned 94 in October. 

 

 

 

****Mayberry Days Gallery **** 

Much of the recent activity for many of the TAGS cast and crew took place at Mayberry Days in September.  There were several new faces (assistant director Bruce Bilson, Morgan Brittany and George Lindsey Jr.)  Below are a few photos by our staff photographers, including Alan Thornton.