After crossing back into North Carolina, we stopped in Mount Airy, also know as "Mayberry U.S.A."
Andy Griffith was born June 1, 1926, in Mount Airy, and lived with relatives because his parents could not afford a house. For the first several months, neither a crib nor a bed were available, so Andy slept in a dresser drawer.
When Andy was three years old, his family moved to the "blue collar" side of town and purchased the house that he lived in until he finished high school. For those that are really into the Andy Griffith culture, the house is now available as a nightly rental.
Another popular attraction in Mount Airy is Aunt Bee's Motel Room Shrine at the Mayberry Motor Inn. The motel owner, Alma Venable, was a fan of Frances Bavier, who played "Aunt Bee" in the Andy Griffith Show; so she collected a number of Bavier's personal items when they were sold at auction in 1990. The items are now on display in motel Room 109.
Parked in front of the motel are Andy's squad car and Emmett's pickup truck.
Located downtown are Floyd's City Barber Shop, Mayberry Courthouse, shops, and Wally's Service Station. The courthouse was not used when filming the show, but the building has been modified to look like the series courthouse.
The Andy Griffith Museum contains a large collection of Andy Griffith's memorabilia and is just a short drive from the downtown area. There is also a playhouse connected to the museum and an Andy and Opie (Ron Howard) statue is located on the same site.
TV Land commissioned the Andy and Opie statue in early 2000, but when the statue was completed they put the statue in Raleigh, the State Capital, rather than Mount Airy where Andy was born. When TV Land wanted to film a "Back to Mayberry" special, Andy refused to participate in the filming unless they made a second statue and had it placed in Mount Airy. Since there could not be a "Back to Mayberry" special without Andy, TV Land agreed to commission a second statue for Mount Airy, so now there are statues in both Raleigh and Mount Airy.
High Point, North Carolina, is known as the "Furniture Capital of the World" because of the large number of furniture manufacturers in the area. The High Point "Furniture Capital of the World" sign is located in front of the "World's Largest Chest of Drawers," which is 38-feet tall. The Chest of Drawers was reported to be lighted at night, but when we arrived the lights were out; so I am including a web picture of the "World's Largest Chest of Drawers." Apparently, someone closed the middle drawer with one sock sticking out.
 |
| Web Picture - Photographer Unknown |
We arrived too late and the Richard Petty Museum near Asheboro (population 27,156) was closed, so I have retained it on my Bucket List for my next trip to the area. The museum was reported to contain a number of Richard's race cars, along with his personal items.
After leaving Asheboro, we drove through Candor, the "Peach Capital of North Carolina." Since we were not there during peach season, we did not find any fresh peaches. However, as we headed south, we drove past numerous peach tree groves on both sides of the road.
While we were driving south, every few miles along the way there were advertising signs for Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site. This was not on my list of places to stop, but I could not resist after all of the advertising; so I made a slight detour, only to find that the site was closed.
The National Railroad Museum and Hall of Fame is in Hamlet (population 6,025), North Carolina. Located on the museum site is a visitor center, restored 1900 passenger station, and a collection of railroad memorabilia. There are multiple buildings to explore, but we only had time to stop at the visitor center. Someone that loves trains could spend all day here.
After crossing into South Carolina we stopped in Bennettsville (population 7,020), which is located along the Great Pee Dee River. Around the courthouse are a variety of monuments, murals, and historic structures. Actually, the entire downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Directly across the street from the courthouse is the historic James O. Breeden Buggies-Wagons-Harness Store, which was closed.
The reported "World's Oldest Cotton Press" is located near the intersection of Interstate 95 and South Carolina State Highway 38. The cotton press was built in 1798 and was powered by oxen or mules that rotated the beam to tighten the press. It seemed really unusual that the press was not protected in some type of enclosed structure.
In 1958, the U.S. Air Force accidently dropped an atomic bomb just outside of Florence (population 39899), South Carolina. Fortunately, the nuclear portion of the bomb was not armed and only the high-explosive trigger detonated on impact, leaving a crater 35 feet deep and 70 feet wide.
Railroad conductor Walter "Bill" Gregg and his family lived near the impact site and they were all injured by the explosion. Their house and outbuildings were totally destroyed and some buildings within a five-mile radius were damaged by the blast.
Located outside of Lake City is a giant cross that is 110-feet high with 64-foot arms. It weighs 100,000 pounds and is visible for two miles in any direction.
Dr. Ronald E. McNair from Lake City, South Carolina, was one of the astronauts that perished on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded during the launch. In his honor, a nice memorial has been constructed on the city library grounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment