I've been reading with fascination the comments about Mayberry being set in an
earlier decade than the 1960s, and I have to respectfully disagree. Admittedly
there are some references to movie stars and other events of earlier times, but
our favorite show definitely is set in the 1960s. In the episode where Opie
joins his rock and roll band, Goober asks if one day they might be as big as
The Beagles, to which Opie straightens him out by saying The Beatles. And in
the episode where the professor visits the Taylors for dinner, Aunt Bee asks
him what he thinks about the situation in Asia, a reference usually interpreted
as Vietnam. And when Peggy's father sends her a new car, it is a 1962 Ford
Thunderbird.
Regarding prices being so low, I remember as a first grader in 1963 my father
earning $45 a week and being able to feed a family of four children. It would
not be unusual for a group of four to go to the diner and eat for under $5
total. As far as mentioning movie stars of the 1940s and 1950s, my wife is
still enamoured by Cary Grant today (it may be my resemblance to him, though!).
Just because the Mayberry characters talk about old stars does not mean they
don't live in the 1960s. It's not uncommon for folks in small Southern towns
(like me) and anywhere else to have interests in things of the past.
No, I have to say that Mayberry definitely represents life in the 1960s in a
small rural Southern town, with a great appreciation of the past and a great
resistance to change. I think that why it is so comfortable and interesting to
all of us. I think I'll pick up my candlestick telephone and have Sarah place
a call for me. It's all part of the charm of our favorite town.
John "Cary Grant" WorshamProud Resident of Mayberry, NC
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