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The eBullet
An Online Newsletter of “The Andy Griffith Show” Rerun Watchers Club (TAGSRWC)
Volume 13, Issue 4
July 2013
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Welcome to our fourth issue of The eBullet for 2013!  Read on for news about recent and upcoming happenings with cast members and fans, and also merchandise, including the 2014 TAGS Wall Calendars it, as well as some vintage ones on our Weaver’s Department Store shelves.

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 Floyd’s Barbershop Bulletin Board
&
Event Calendar

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

* July 17 and 18: Two Nights with James Best: “Ride Lonesome” screening on the 17th and “One-Man Show” on the 18th in  Minneapolis, Minn.

* July 19: Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou) greets fans at the Andy Griffith Museum 12:30-3:30 p.m.  She will have autographed 8?–10 photos available ($10). For info, visit the website at www.andygriffithmuseum.org/ or call (336) 786-1604. And there’s also a Mayberry Meet-Up being organized in Mount Airy the same weekend, to coincide with Betty’s signing.  Here’s a link with details: Mayberry Meet-Up in Mount Airy July 19-21.

* July 20: Dean Webb and Missouri Boatride are still picking away at their Kimberling City Summer Bluegrass Concert Series at the Kimberling City Shopping Mall in Kimberling City, Mo. Look for them on the back of their ’41 Chevy flatbed truck in the parking lot outside the Hillbilly Bowl from 7 to 9 p.m.  The listening is free, but bring your own lawn chair or stump.  Continues every other Saturday night through Sept. 14.  And remember: No camping allowed!

* July 26th-28th: James Best appears at the Steel City Con toy and nostalgia experience in Monroeville, Penn.  More info at www.steelcitycon.com.

* Aug. 2: David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning is darn funny at the Bristol (Va.) White Sox baseball game.

* Aug. 3: Dean Webb and Missouri Boatride are back to pick and grin at the Kimberling City Summer Bluegrass Concert Series at the Kimberling City Shopping Mall in Kimberling City, Mo.,  from 7 to 9 p.m.  The music is free for the listening.

* Aug. 7-12: LeRoy “Mack” McNees has nine performances with Heaven’s Key in seven cities in eastern Colorado.  Visit www.leroymack.com for more info.

* Aug. 9-11: Margaret Kerry will be in the Gifts By Small Fry booth at the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.

* Aug. 10: Karen Knotts performs her “Tied Up in Knotts” stage show in Bardstown, Ky., from 6:00 to 8:15 p.m. Venue and more details TBA.

* Aug 10: Neal Brower, author of Mayberry 101, presents a lecture on the “Aunt Bee’s Romance” episode of TAGS, starting at 2 p.m., on the lower level of the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, NC.  Admission is included with an Andy Griffith Museum armband ($3 or $5) or is $5 without one.  Important reminder from this episode: Avoid carbolic acid.  “That’s goodbye in any language!”

* Aug. 11: David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning makes sure those gathered stay awake in their pews at the Fountain of Life Bible Church’s Mayberry Sunday.

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

* Aug. 17: Dean Webb and Missouri Boatride, Kimberling City Summer Bluegrass Concert Series, parking lot outside the Hillbilly Bowl, Kimberling City Shopping Mall, Kimberling City, Mo., 7 to 9 p.m., free, seat yourself.

* Aug. 17: James Best and his “Dukes of Hazzard” costars return to Henderson Auctions in Livingston Parish, La., for the Second Annual Family Reunion and Car Show.  They’re joined by country singer Doug Stone, cast members from “Duck Dynasty,” Lou Ferrigno, David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning, and others. For more info, visit www.dukesreunionla.com.

* Aug. 20 and 21: James Best participates in an art show with his paintings and also performs his “Best in Hollywood” show in Corydon, Ind.

* Aug. 23 and 24: Rodney Dillard and Maggie Peterson are joined by several of the Mayberry tribute artists (including David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning, Allan “Floyd” Newsome, Kenneth “Otis” Junkin, Phil “Ernest T.” Fox,  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. Tickets are $20 for reserved seats and $15 for general admission.  Tickets for children 6 years-12 years old are $10. For more info, call Jeff Branch at (704) 985-6987, e-mail jbranch205@windstream.net, or visit www.bluegrassintroy.com/.

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* Oct. 4 and 5: Beverly & Rodney Dillard bring their Mayberry Values Ministry with Maggie Peterson to Heritage Christian School in Karlstad, Minn. Show time is 6:30 p.m.  For tickets and info, call 218-436 -2144.

* Oct. 5 and 6: David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning and most of his merry band of fellow Mayberry tribute artists will be falling in line with cheery activities at the Autumn Jubilee Festival at Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury, N.C.  The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days (we think).

* Oct. 8: Karen Knotts performs her “Tied Up in Knotts” stage show at the Jackson Parrish Library in Jonesboro, La., from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m.

* Oct. 10: Karen Knotts performs her “Tied Up in Knotts” stage show at the Princess Theater in Winnsboro, La., from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m.

* Oct. 20: Karen Knotts performs a condensed version of her “Tied Up in Knotts” show in Colby, Kans., from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.  Venue and other details TBA.

* Oct. 28-Nov. 2: Halloween Cruise to Mayberry 8.  Five Days aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Paradise, leaving from Tampa to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and two “Fun Days” at sea. Special Guests for the cruise are Jackie Joseph, best known to Mayberry fans as Ernest T. Bass’ love interest, Ramona Ankrum, and Dobro-playing Country Boys member LeRoy McNees.

They will be joined by several Mayberry tribute artists, an Elvis tribute artist, and the VW Boys for entertainment provided exclusively to Mayberry Cruise participants. For more info, visit the All About Cruises website at www.allaboutcruisesnc.net.

* Dec. 7: Rodney Dillard and The Dillard Band and Maggie Peterson perform their Mayberry Christmas show featuring David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning at Long Branch Baptist Church in Autryville, N.C.  Shows are at 2 p.m and 7 p.m. with a meet-and-greet with the stars at 6 p.m.  For more info, call 910-531-3765.

2014

* Mar. 6-8: 17th Annual George Lindsey UNA Film Festival in Florence, Ala.  For info, visit www.lindseyfilmfest.com.

* May 2 and 3: 4th Annual Mayberry Comes to Westminster Festival in Westminster, S.C.  Details TBA.

 **** News of Cast & Crew ****

Andy Griffith was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame (in the Nationally Known Artist category) in Wilkesboro, N.C., on June 8.

Ron Howard‘s next feature film release, the action-filled biography Rush about the rivalry of Formula 1 racing legends James Hunt and Niki Lauda continues to get great media buzz as it revs up for its release on September 27 (note the new date, a week later than originally scheduled). Here’s a link to a 3 1/2-minute “featurette”about the movie, including Ron discussing it.

Ron is now in pre-production for an adaptation of In the Heart of the Seas, a tragic story of the Essex, a whaling ship destroyed by a whale in 1820. Ron has been spotted casually scouting possible filming locations in the Northeast, Great Britain and elsewhere.

Ron and Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer are also working on bringing the “Friday Night Lights” TV series to the big screen (where filmed versions of FNL, based on the FNL book, started in 2004). The interesting twist is that Imagine likely will use crowdfunding (that is, money from fans through KickStarter or a similar program) as part of the backing for the new movie.

Ron and Imagine are likewise still looking for a way to bring Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to screens of various sizes. This project has been Ron’s elusive white whale (not to be confused with his work on In the Heart of the Seas, of course). There has been a lot of speculation about the prospects for Dark Tower while Ron has been at the Cannes Film Festival this month.

In the Face of Jinn, the 2005 novel by Ron’s wife, Cheryl (writing under the lightly disguised pen name Cheryl Howard Crew), will be released as audio book later this summer (downloadable version already available). Daughter Bryce Dallas Howard provided the voices for all of the characters in the audio book.

Ron and Cheryl were also among the friends attending the June wedding of George Lucas and Mellody Hobson at Skywalker Ranch in California.

Rance Howard adds a nice touch of Western authenticity as a train engineer in the fun and so-far underrated Lone Ranger movie in theaters now.

Jim Nabors was back to sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” again at the Indy 500 in May. It was Jim’s 33rd time singing it live at the classic race since 1972.

Betty Lynn greeted fans at the Andy Griffith Museum in June, and will be back this Friday (July 19). Look for her at the Museum the third Friday afternoon of just about every month, with occasional special appearances other dates.

James Best has had a full schedule with personal appearances and exhibitions of his original art. So far this year, he has been to Las Vegas, Nashville, Mississippi, Maryland and beyond, with more on the way. Many of his personal appearances are “Dukes of Hazzard” reunions, but he’s often joined for comedy sketches onstage by David “Mayberry Deputy” Browning.

James may be a star on stage and screen, but Best in Show around the Best hound-hold these days is his and Dorothy’s new puppy, Sparkles ‘N’ Shine, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (with James at right).

Peggy McCay (Mayberry’s Sharon DeSpain) was nominated for Best Actress at June’s Daytime Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Caroline Brady on “Days of Our Lives,” a role she has played since 1983.

Like grandfather, like grandson. Richard O. (Dick) Linke (TAGS associate producer and longtime personal manager to several TAGS actors) shared this recent photo (at left) of himself with two-year-old grandson Duke.

In addition to her starring role at New York’s Metropolitan Room on July 3 (a special evening that put a spotlight on her remarkable and varied career, while also raising funds for the Actors & Others for Animals charity), Jackie Joseph has been especially active lately in fundraisers for Blindness research and for leukemia and lymphoma assistance. And she still finds time to regularly write a column for the Tolucan Times and to be involved in SAG/AFTRA issues, among many other activities.

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 **** Chapter Update ****

We have two new chapters since the May eBullet, which brings us to 1,406 chapters founded since TAGSRWC began.

“Half Mad with Thirst”                                          Denver, Colo.
“You Just Can’t Be Nice to People”                    Mustang, Okla.

If you’re interested in starting a chapter of TAGSRWC, all you need to do is choose a name that hasn’t already been picked, and submit it with a list of your founding members by e-mail or by U.S. mail to TAGSRWC’s HQ in Nashville.  There’s a searchable list of existing chapter names at www.tagsrwc.com.

What you do as a chapter is entirely up to you. Your group can do as much or as little as you like. The idea is simply to have lots of Mayberry fun with whatever you do.

Or if you’re feeling more like a joiner than a starter, you can write to us about how to contact a chapter near you.

Our mailing address is TAGSRWC, 9 Music Square South, PMB 146, Nashville TN 37203-3211. Our e-mail address is Goober@iMayberry.com.

And you can join our online “Who’s Been Messin’ Up the Bulletin Board?” chapter. (It’s really quick and easy to do. Info is at tagsrwc.com.)

We hope you can enjoy the fun of being part of a TAGSRWC chapter!

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**** Merchandise Update ****

Browse the full selection of books, apparel, DVDs, artwork, collectibles, items for your vehicle, and much more online at Weaver’s (www.weaversdepartmentstore.com).

There are lots of great vintage and rare things, too. First one thing and then another.  We appreciate your shopping at Weaver’s, especially because Weaver’s sales are the main thing that helps TAGSRWC be able to support Mayberry Days and other Mayberry-connected events and charitable efforts throughout the year. We appreciate it!

Featured This Month at Weaver’s:

2014 Andy Griffith Show Wall Calendar

$15.00

The official “Andy Griffith Show” Wall Calendar is back for 2014! This calendar contains all black-and-white photos (though some are of color seasons). When hanging up, the calendar measures 12 x 22.

Favorite characters featured in the 2014 edition are Andy, Barney, Opie, Aunt Bee, Gomer, Goober, Weaver’s Mannequins and a very skinny Santa (ho-ho-ho).
Be sure to make your dates with Mayberry in 2014!

2013 and 2014 Andy Griffith Show
Wall Calendar Combo

Was $30.00 Sale: $22.00

Two calendars for one great price. Just $22.00 for the pair, but only when you buy them together in this special combo.

Don Knotts Birthday Month Special

Cover pric: $27  For July only: Just $16!

Here’s a great book at great price for summer reading. The Incredible Mr. Don Knotts is coffee-table book with interesting text and photos that all fans of Barney and Don Knotts will love. And we’ve got copies that are brand new and $11 off the cover price for just $16! (That’s a discount of more than 40%!) But only for the month of July in celebration of the 89th anniversary of Don’s birth on July 21.  After that, the book goes back to our usual discount of $5 off at $22, still a great deal….just not quite as great as it is for the rest of this month!

Get Your Cool Summer T-Shirts!!!

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 “Andy Griffith Show” logo sport shirts and even a few Snappy Lunch sports shirts (only in size Small for those).

All of our preshrunk heavyweight 100% cotton T-shirts are 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, and a few styles also come in 3X. 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.
All still only $18.00 each!

 Find all of these items and much, much more at www.weaversdepartmentstore.com, or just click on the Weaver’s button at the top of the page whenever you’re visiting www.imayberry.com.

“Matlock” Complete Nine Seasons
Now Available on DVD!

Whether you need just the last season or two or the Complete Series Set, all of “Matlock” has now been released on DVD and is available at Weaver’s.  And at a discount that would make Ben Matlock smile (and Ben Weaver scowl).

Oh, and Weaver’s of course has individual Seasons, entire Series and a 50th Anniversary Collection of TAGS on DVD, as well as “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” and favorite movies and other features starring Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, George Lindsey and the Dillards.

**** Mayberry Tonado Fundraiser ****

Our thanks to all who participated in TAGSRWC’s T-Shirts for Tornado Relief effort in Oklahoma in May and June.  We needed to make one adjustment in our initial plan.  Our original idea was to send the Mayberry T-shirts to Moore, Okla., because they were hit so hard. But they had received such an outpouring of donations that they simply couldn’t handle any more donations of clothing.  We tried dozens of civic and faith organizations with no luck. (We didn’t want to just randomly dump the shirts on the Salvation Army, etc.)

 

When the tornadoes hit Oklahoma again the following week, we found out that some of our TAGSRWC members suffered damage in that storm.  Even so, they were more concerned about helping others who had suffered worse damage.  TAGSRWC member Clyde Hughes (founder of our new “You Just Can’t Be Nice to People” chapter, by the way) and his fellow church members and staff at South Yukon Church of Christ had identified the community of El Reno, Okla., as one to focus their efforts on.  They said they would be delighted to have our Mayberry shirts as part of their relief efforts, so that’s where we sent the shirts.

We ended up shipping 60 T-shirts (plus some funds) to South Yukon Church of Christ.  We hope those smiling faces of Andy, Barney, Opie and Gomer on the shirts helped spread some joy around a devastated community.

**** Chapter News ****

Chapter activity has heated up with the arrival of summer.  But even before that, things were already cooking.  Case in point...”Shakedown! Shakedown!” chapter (Laurinburg, N.C.) held their annual cookout in May.

Leader Dewey Lamb reports, “We had the usual cookout fare of burgers, dogs and a good variety of desserts. A good time was had by all. We had 26  in attendance, including five from another chapter join the festivities.  Jeff “Howard Sprague” Branch, Tammy “Millie Hutchins” Branch and Phil “Ernest T.” Fox regaled us with their musical instruments and songs, including a gas-can serenade.”

Several chapters gathered from around Indiana and even as far away as Florida (“Them Timers Are Tricky” chapter) for a meal and Mayberry fun at the wonderful Mayberry Cafe in Danville, Ind., on June 10.  TAGSRWC’s Danna Gordon reported, “The atmosphere, food and fellowship were in keeping with any time Mayberry fans gather together.”  Bob “Briscoe” Mundy of Briscoe of Mayberry chapter (Indianapolis) echoed Danna’s report when he visited Nashville in June.

Other chapters that dropped by Nashville for an informal gathering (and of course a few meals together) in June included members of Mayberry chapter (Knoxville, Tenn.), “Mother Figure” (Huntsville, Ala.), Mayberry Minutemen (Graysville, Ala.), Goober’s Auto Dismantling (West Frankfort, Ill.), Foley’s Market (La Salle, Ill.), “Hearty Eatin’ Men and Beautiful, Delicate Women” (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), Tennessee TAGS (Nashville and elsewhere), “You Better Put a Buckeye in Your Pocket and Do the Incant for a Sore Foot” (Bessemer, Ala.), “You’ve Got to Understand; This Is a Small Town” (Marietta, S.C.), Andy chapter (Nashville), and a contingent of four (!) from “‘Course, I Don’t Fix ’em; I Just Put in the Gas” (all the way from Petrolia/Oil City, Ont.).  And a pair from Remembering Mayberry (Chillicothe, Ohio) missed the larger gathering, but arrived in time for the “scramez-vous” a couple of days later.

As noted in Floyd’s bulletin aboard above, another informal Mayberry Meet-Up by a group for next weekend (July 19-21) in Mount Airy, N.C.  (It’s timed to coincide with Betty Lynn’s appearance at the Andy Griffith Museum this Friday afternoon.)  Folks from at least as far away as Ohio and Alabama are making plans.  Y’all come if you can!

And that active bunch at Mayberry chapter in Knoxville is having a full summer with a miniature golf outing in June, a day the lake coming up in August and the local TVA Fair followed by Mayberry Days in Mount Airy for many in September.

Barney chapter (Greensboro, N.C.) continues to meet monthly.  And chapter leader Neal Brower gives a lecture at the Andy Griffith Museum once a month, which is sometimes included as part of an official Barney meeting and sometimes just a good reason to get everybody on the truck for an extra visit Mount Airy.

If your chapter has news or photos to share, we’d love to hear from you.  You can e-mail us at HQ at Goober@imayberry.com.

**** The Mayberry Sidecar ****

A Couple of Links to Mayberry-Related Stories About Mount Airy

* Up first, a recent story from the The New York Times (aka the “nattering nabobs of negativism”): New York Times Naysayers Story

 

* And this more discerning one from the Mount Airy News that paints a much prettier picture:

Andy Griffith Museum Mural (Click here to read.)

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

The iMayberry Community
This newest TAGSRWC online group is organized and overseen by webmaster Allan “Floyd” Newsome.  It’s called iMayberry Community.  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.  Combined with TAGSRWC chapters and the various Mayberry events for all fans (from Mayberry Days to ocean cruises), not to mention enjoying the sites of Mount Airy year-round, the world of Mayberry fun keeps expanding.

And best of all, it’s all rooted in watching the show itself.  Whether through DVDs, local stations or TV Land, loving to watch the show continues to be the energy that feeds all the other Mayberry fun and activities that we enjoy.  What a wonderful thing Andy Griffith and his talented team of actors, musicians, writers and crew people created 53 years ago–for us and generations to come!

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. (There have been 244 episodes since the podcasts began almost 5 years ago.  And counting!)

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. If you’ve got sound on your computer or have an iPod or similar device, you can easily tune in live or download these podcasts.

Also, check out the podcast area of our www.imayberry.com site for info about a Mayberry Bible Study Podcast, also hosted by Allan.

And there’s a Brother Figure podcast to Two Chairs, No Waiting. It’s hosted by longtime TAGSRWC member Kevin Burke, who does a super job of describing and discussing individual episodes. It’s called Burke on Mayberry. Check it out.

 

TAGSRWC’s official page on Facebook now has more than 39,000 friends! You can find us at www.facebook.com/tagsrwc. There’s a variety of comments about Mayberry, and a lively stream of fans’ favorite TAGS lines. And our Facebook page is also one of the first places we post announcements and breaking news about TAGS. 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!

   **** Post Note ****

If you ever miss receiving an issue of The eBullet, you can always catch up by reading it in the eBullet Archives in the Newsletters section at iMayberry.com. Each issue is usually placed in the Archives within about a week or so of its being distributed to subscribers.

Between issues of The eBullet, keep up with the goings-on in Mayberry with the daily Who’s Been Messin’ Up the Bulletin Board? (aka WBMUTBB) Digest. It’s a free subscriber list that consists entirely of comments, newsflashes, and questions and answers from subscribers. You can sign up for that list by going to the Mailing Lists link at tagsrwc.com. WBMUTBB also has its own Archives where you can follow the ongoing stream of messages.

And TAGSRWC publishes Weaver’s Newsletter in more-or-less alternate months to The eBullet. Like The eBullet, the Weaver’s Newsletter is free. Its focus is mainly on new Mayberry merchandise and collectibles and quick newsflashes. To sign up, go to: Weaver’s Newsletter Sign-Up.

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 next eBullet is planned for September, and the next Weaver’s Newsletter is scheduled for August.  Till then, happy Mayberry watching!

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