Oscar Mayer

Mount Airy, NC — In one of our first brushes with “fame” Big Bun, Tara, and I took a short day trip on one of our off days when we were in southwestern Virginia. Being lovers of classic television, Tara and I were very excited to see the inspiration and birthplace of Andy Griffith. However, once we got there, we had no idea how that sentiment would be reciprocated by the great people of the small community.

As with all things with the Wienermobile, there was an event that came about even on one of our off days. We were able to sneak into town via the Andy Griffith Parkway and into a back parking lot without much attention drawn to us except for a couple of teenagers that were questioning what we would ever be doing in Mount Airy and if we needed directions. We explained that this was a planned stop for us and were excited to see the attractions. Once inside, we were able to take in all things Mayberry as Andy’s hometown had completely embraced their #1 son and his accomplishments to show off many of the locations Andy had borrowed in the show or to go as far as re-create many of them to make

Big Bun and Andy’s Car

Mayberry come to life. The result is the perfect example of intimate small town, USA where everyone knows everyone else and it being a positive thing.

Our incognito status did not last too long, actually only until lunchtime. We were eating at a small diner dedicated to Deputy Barney Fife. It came out that we were responsible for the 27-foot hotdog down the street when I needed to get some cash from the lone ATM found in the chamber of commerce. When I walked in the door a woman jumped out of her chair and then sat right back down when I turned to the ATM and away from her line of sight. “I thought he was the hotdog man for a moment,” I heard her over my shoulder to another woman sitting at a desk adjacent to her. When I confessed to her, the smiles on their faces were indescribable. She told me that the local paper has been looking all over for us and that everyone around town has been talking about it.

When I got back to Tara to pay my half of the bill we made a plan to drive by to show our server at the restaurant and the ladies at the chamber the vehicle. By the time we pulled up to Main St. it seemed as though the whole town had emptied to come see us. We gave out whistles, took a lot of pictures, answered even more questions, and finally met up with the exhausted reported trying to track us down. The community made us feel at home and a part of Mayberry immediately which was a dream come true. For the community, it was the biggest event to hit Mayberry since the return of Barney Fife for the high school reunion*.
*Season 6 Episode 17 for those of you scoring at home.