Mount Airy was the birthplace and childhood home of American actor Andy Griffith, and is widely believed to be the inspiration for the fictional community Mayberry, the setting of The Andy Griffith Show and its sequel, Mayberry RFD. Several locations and names mentioned in both shows reflect real places and people in or near Mount Airy, including Mount Pilot (nearby Pilot Mountain and the town named for it) and Snappy Lunch, a restaurant which still operates in the city's downtown area and is famous for its pork chop sandwich. The town holds an annual "Mayberry Days" celebration during the last weekend of September; the celebration regularly attracts thousands of visitors from around the world. In episode #154 of the Andy Griffith Show, ”Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau", Andy is clearly seen in close-up reading what could be a Mount Airy newspaper. All that is visible are the words "Airy News". This could be another connection between Mount Airy and Mayberry. In 2009 the Surry Arts Council and Andy’s dear friend Emit Forrest created a home for Emit’s vast collection of Andy’s memorabilia in a beautiful new building located on the grounds of the Surry Arts Council and just behind the famous statues of Andy and Opie that were presented by the major motion picture association.
Mount Airy is Mayberry—and Mayberry is Mount Airy. Everywhere you go in Mount Airy, you are reminded of Andy Griffith and the cast of Mayberry R.F.D., the TV show that ran from 1965 to 1970. Andy was born and raised here. The popularity of the show had a lot to do with the good, clean, all American, solid citizens and quality of life of Mount Airy / Mayberry. That is just the way it is. Mayberry comes to life every morning in Mount Airy, and we are glad it does.
You can experience this personally. Mount Airy is a year-round tourist destination that enjoys visitors, and loves talking about the show. We have maintained the old Sheriff’s office, which was restored in 2009 with a grant from the Hampton Hotel chain and a group of local volunteers. There is also a tour company that has replicas of those old Ford police cars that Andy and Barney used to run around town, and they will take you on a tour from the North Carolina Granite Quarry to Andy’s Griffith’s home place and all points in-between.
There is Floyd’s Barber Shop, where “Floyd” still cuts hair almost every day. He’ll be glad to take a picture of every visitor that stops by his shop and put it on his wall of fame. Next door is Snappy Lunch; Andy and Barney frequented this restaurant to get their famous Pork Chop Sandwiches. Don’t miss getting one for yourself!
Every year in September is a weekend of fun we call Mayberry Days. As you might guess, there are hundreds of Andy Griffith fan clubs around the county with thousands of members. Mount Airy welcomes them all back for the annual reunion, to meet old friends and relive the magic of Mayberry. Several members of the original TV cast also come to add a direct tie to the show. Andy himself came to Mount Airy in the fall of 2002 to participate in the dedication of our main highway as the “Andy Griffith Parkway”. He was delighted that his old home town still retained the principals and traditions of Mayberry.
Donna Fargo (born Yvonne Vaughan, November 10, 1945, in Mount Airy, NC) is an American country music singer-songwriter, who is best-known for a series of Top 10 country hits in the 1970’s. These include "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" and "Funny Face," which both became major crossover pop hits in 1972.
Fargo has won many major awards since her debut in the late 1960’s, including one Grammy Award, five awards from the Academy of Country Music, and one award from the Country Music Association.
Donna Fargo has been singing since her early years, but never thought about singing professionally. She attended High Point College, and then headed west to study at the University of Southern California. After obtaining her degree, she became a teacher at Northview High School in Covina, CA, and eventually became head of the English Department. While in California, she met Stan Silver. He became her manager, when Fargo was performing in California clubs and first seeking a career in music. At this point, Fargo was still teaching. Donna Fargo and Stan Silver married in 1968.
She soon started to appear around Los Angeles, CA while still teaching. She went to Phoenix, AZ in 1966, adopted the name Donna Fargo, and recorded her first single. Her first major concert was with Ray Price, and she began playing in Southern California. Fargo recorded for a few small labels in the early 1960s, including Ramco and Challenge, but songs like "Who's Been Sleeping on My Side of the Bed" did not catch fire. Although her original singles were not successful, the Academy of Country Music Awards named her the "Top New Female Vocalist" in 1969. In 1972, Fargo recorded a single for the Decca label, before achieving her breakthrough later that year.
In 1972, one of Fargo's self-written songs, "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" was picked up by Dot Records. Fargo was then signed to the label, and the single was released the same year. She was one of the few female country singers to write her own material at the time, and one of the few country singers to cross over to the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in a big way, which she did in 1972 with "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." The song peaked at #1 on the Country Music Chart. An album of the same name was released following the song's success. The album was certified gold by the R.I.A.A. in early 1973, selling over a half-million copies. The follow-up single, "Funny Face," also peaked at #1 on the country chart, and became a bigger pop hit than her previous single, peaking at #5. Both singles were certified gold by the end of the year.
In 1973, the Grammy Awards gave Fargo the Best Female Country Vocal Performance award for "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA.” and she was also named "Top Female Vocalist" by the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Fargo ultimately became the fifth most successful female country artist of the 1970s, according to Billboard Magazine.
Recognized as one of the leading country songwriters of the era, Fargo's songs have been recorded by Tammy Wynette, Sonny James, Kitty Wells, Tanya Tucker, Jody Miller, Marty Robbins, Dottie West and other artists. Additionally, for many years, Fargo wrote the almost all the songs she recorded.
Fargo also sang a duet with Billy Joe Royal for her next single, "Members Only." The song became a Top 25 country hit in 1987, peaking at #23. In 1991, she released the song "Soldier Boy," a reference to the Gulf War, which was going on at the time. The song was Fargo's last charting single.
Fargo has not released another studio album since 1986. In 1992, she began work on her autobiography. In 2008, Fargo released a new single CD, "We Can Do Better In America."
Since she stopped recording albums and singles, Fargo has pursued other careers outside the music business. She has established a successful line of greeting cards in The Donna Fargo Collection, through the Blue Mountain Arts Poets and Artists series. She has just finished another book. More recently, Fargo has released another series of poetry books, including “Trust In Yourself”, “To the Love of My Life”, and “Ten Golden Rules”. Fargo sells her books on her official website.
Chang and Eng Bunker
Mount Airy was also the home of the famous Siamese Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker (1811 – 1874), Chinese brothers born in Siam, now Thailand. Chang and Eng were joined by a band of cartilage at the chest (xiphopagus) and with today’s surgical procedures, could have easily been separated. For many years they traveled with the Barnum circus, and upon retiring in the 1840’s, they married sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates of North Carolina, and purchased two adjoining farm properties just west of Mount Airy, in the community of White Plains.
Together they fathered between 20 and 23 children (accounts vary, and many of the children died in early childhood). The twins would spend three days at one farm, then three days at the second farm. They owned slaves before and during the American Civil War; Chang's son Christopher and Eng's son Stephen both fought for the Confederacy. In January 1874, Chang, who was a heavy drinker, fell ill with pneumonia and died during the night. Eng also died within a few hours, surrounded by his and his brother's families. The brothers are buried at White Plains Baptist Church, and many of their descendants still live in the Mount Airy area.
The June 2006 issue of National Geographic had an article about the Bunkers. There are some 1,500 descendants of the Bunker twins. Among them are 11 sets of twins, none of them conjoined.
In addition, "The Wedding of the Siamese Twins" a play by Burton Cohen, detailing the salacious and often amusing lives of Chang and Eng Bunker, is performed annually at the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy.
Tommy Jarrell made his living from road construction, operating a motor grader for the NC Highway Department until his retirement in 1966. Jarrell was an influential musician, eventually attracting attention from Washington, DC, when he received the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 1982.
Jarrell's style was notable for his expressive use of syncopation and sliding ornamentation, and he was adept at singing while playing. His formidable technique and rough timbre continue to influence modern aficionados of Appalachian old-time music and, in particular, the Round Peak style of claw-hammer banjo.
He got his first fiddle with ten dollars he got from his grandpa. That fiddle is now in the Smithsonian Institution.
In his later years, Jarrell lived in the small unincorporated community of Toast, a small bedroom community located in Mount Airy, NC. His life is documented in two films by Les Blank, 1983 - Sprout Wings and Fly, and 1994 - My Old Fiddle: A Visit with Tommy Jarrell in the Blue Ridge.
An annual Tommy Jarrell Festival and Fiddlers Convention was established in 2002 and is held in Mount Airy, NC each June.