Mayberry RFD

Nov 1, 2016 | Welcome Column

This month’s column is brought to you courtesy of a three day jam class in the Mount Airy and Pilot Mountain area of North Carolina. Mount Airy is the birth place of Andy Griffith and where he grew up. It is believed to be the basis for the Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD. Whether you like the Andy Griffith Show or not, how can you dislike a place that lists Mountains, Music, Merlot, and Mayberry as the main attractions? The drive into the mountains was beautiful as the leaves are changing and the weather was great. Pilot Mountain is just a few minutes from the town of Mount Airy and looks like a pilot house of rock sticking up about 2000 feet above the surrounding rolling green hills. Although the schedule did not allow for extensive exploration, it would appear readily apparent that Mount Airy does not mislead those who are seeking gorgeous mountain get-aways. If you like mountains, you will certainly love this part of the country.

One down, three to go starting with the Merlot. Apparently the Yadkin Valley is considered the Napa Valley of the East. Mount Airy is centrally located to more than 40 wineries and boasts the recent addition of a brewery as well as a moonshine/whiskey/brandy distillery. There are a couple of places that have wine tasting in Mount Airy and you can even get moonshine ice cream at the Hillbilly Bakeshop and Ice Cream and Creamery in down town Mount Airy. Of course you could skip the ice cream and go straight to the Mayberry Distillery that makes moonshine and whiskey or there is also the Old North Winery in downtown for those with more up market taste than moonshine ice cream. Those that want to combine getting out and seeing some of the mountain scenery while sampling some of “Napa East” can choose from any number of wineries to include Elkin Creek Vineyards, Brushy Mountain Winery (I think that is where the Bluegrass band, the Brushy Mountain Boys live), Adagio Vineyards, or one that I know someone would have to visit because of the name and maybe for the Llama trekking, The Devine Llama Vineyards. Moonshine, whiskey, wine, but what about the beer? Never fear, you beer lovers can sample a variety of craft beers at the Granite City Brewery in down town Mount Airy. They are open daily year around so you can always stop in for a cold one if you like.

Mount Airy is two for two, but really, I was there for the Music, and specifically the Jam Class. However, I found out a lot about the music around Mount Airy during my short visit and it does not disappoint. Bluegrass and Old Time Music is integrated into the community with several opportunities to play in public jams every week while many others host regular jams at their homes. For example, the Andy Griffith Playhouse hosts a weekly open jam. Folks gather to play, sing and dance and all are welcome to join in the fun. The Old-Time Music Heritage Hall next to the Andy Griffith Playhouse regularly hosts Bluegrass and Old Time bands and dances with Old Time Bands performing.  Then there is the historic Earle Theater on Main Street. The Theater was built in 1938 and has remained much the same as it was in the 1930s. In addition to hosting the Voice of the Blue Ridge and the Blue Ridge and Beyond Concert Series, you can join in a free bluegrass/old-time jam session every Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Earle where “anyone is welcome to bring an instrument and join in the fun!” The Earle Theatre is also home to the second-longest-running live radio show in the nation, broadcast on WPAQ 740 AM – the Merry-Go-Round show, every Saturday at 11 a.m. with a bluegrass jam session after the show. WPAQ broadcasts Bluegrass, Old Time, and Gospel music throughout the rest of the week and incidentally, the Earle also still shows movies throughout the year. But wait, that’s not all. There is the Blackmon Amphitheater across from the Andy Griffith Playhouse that hosts a summer music series in addition to regular concerts and other events. Just a few miles away on the Blue Ridge Parkway is the Blue Ridge Music Center amphitheater and music museum of old-time music, near Galax Virginia. Then there is the annual Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddler’s Convention the first weekend of June at the Veterans Memorial Park in Mount Airy (That would be June 2nd and 3rd for 2017 in case you are making plans). For you Old Time fans, the area is home to the Round Peak style of Old-Time Music, which started in the Round Peak community, just north of Mount Airy. To help keep the music going in the community there are several education programs sponsored by the Surry Arts Council in addition to some of the events already mentioned. The one I particularly like is the weekly Fiddle and Guitar lessons for children ages 6-16 for free! Parents are invited to stay, but aside from being free, the kids just show up for classes. No registration is required; simply show up and learn to play.

As you might suspect after all of the references to the Andy Griffith Playhouse, Mount Airy also does Mayberry pretty good. The Andy Griffith Playhouse was the first public school in Mount Airy and was the elementary school Andy attended. It is currently operated by the Surry Arts Council and is used for year-round classes, theatre productions, art camps, and live music concerts. The Andy Griffith Museum is adjacent to the playhouse along with the bronze statue of Andy and Opie with their fishing poles. The house where Andy grew up is now a Bed and Breakfast about a half mile from Main Street. They have recreated many of the landmarks from the TV show in downtown Mount Airy. You can get your hair cut at Floyd’s Barber Shop, get a Pork Chop sandwich at the Snappy Lunch, and visit the court house and jail. You can take a tour of the town in one of three Ford Galaxy Squad cars or by horse drawn wagon. Next to the court house is Wally’s Garage and Service Station. Behind Wally’s is the recreation of the Darling family home. They were the moon shiners from the hills that came to town every now and then and they usually played some Bluegrass music when they did.

It was in front of the Darling shack that we took the jam campers on a little field trip. After folks waited for their food at the Snappy Lunch or maybe Nana’s Kitchen, everyone gathered to play and sing what was supposed to be a couple of songs before taking a class photo and returning to the Jam Class. In good old Mayberry tradition folks thought it best to pick a couple of tunes that had been played by the Darling family on the show. After careful consideration they settled on Dooley and Salty Dog. Did I mention they like music in Mount Airy? The group started playing the first tune and before you knew it there was a handful of people gathering to listen. They clapped when the group finished and during the second song more folks gathered. Some folks wandered off, others came, and some stayed as the group finished. Then someone from the crowd yelled out play Will the Circle be Unbroken, then another, and another, and another. So we played and the Jam Class was having fun entertaining the crowd. Then an older gentleman came up and listened for a minute and another yelled out, “Do you know who he is”? That is Russell Easter of The Easter Brothers. The gentleman said, yes that is who I am and I live right there across the street. He asked if we knew “They’re Holding Up the Ladder” and explained how he had written that song. So we went over the chords with the class and they all played while he sang the song. Although he was not happy with the speed, he said it was way too slow, he enjoyed singing and the class enjoyed playing. Russell hung out for a series of pictures in front of the Darling shack and later in the court house and even inside the jail cells. It was a fitting end to the field trip. I don’t know how old Russell is, but the students in the class ranged from age 7 to 72, some of whom had never heard of the Andy Griffith Show or Mayberry. Yet there they were playing music in the setting of Mayberry in 2016 and they got the same response from passers by that would have been portrayed in the show. Folks would have stopped, clapped, hollered out other songs, and they might have even joined in the singing. The best part was that everybody had fun playing music in Mayberry RFD.

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