Please do not quote the entire WBMUTBB Digest
when you reply to this issue. - List Manager
wbmutbb-digest Thursday, June 15 2000 Volume 02 : Number 186
Topics in this issue:
Recent reference to the Siamese Twins in V2#169 on Mon. 6/5/2K
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
Mayberry names
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
please give a subject
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thursday, June 15, 2000 6:18 PM
From: Ann Vaughn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Recent reference to the Siamese Twins in V2#169 on Mon. 6/5/2K
A hearty and warm "hello" from the Mount Airy Visitors Center where the
largest collection of Andy Griffith Memorabilia resides!!......Yes, it is
indeed true...The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang Bunker spent most of
their lives in Mount Airy and their decendents number many in the area. We
have a small exhibit with some of the newspaper clippings regarding the Twins
and their contributions to the community. Andy Griffith is our most famous
son, but there are indeed other legends who called Mount Airy home.....The
Siamese Twins, Donna Fargo (remember her song "The Happiest Girl in the whole
USA", and Tommy Jarrell (the father of Old Time and Traditional Music...his
fiddle is in the Smithsonian Institution). The next time you visit our town,
please make the Mount Airy Visitors Center your first stop...We now have a
new orientation video, narrated by none other than David Browning, the
Mayberry Deputy from Bristol, Virginia. We are located at 615 North Main
Street and now sport a new Visitors Center sign out front! Come see us.
Just thought I would add the text of a history article that we hand out
regarding the Siamese Twins..Hope you enjoy!
Best of everything!! Ann L. Vaughn, Director, Mount Airy Visitors Center
(1-800-576-0231)
ENG AND CHANG BUNKER - THE SIAMESE TWINS
Most people have heard of Siamese Twins, but do not realize that the most
famous of Siamese Twins made their home right here in Surry County and are
buried in White Plains.
The twins were born in a fishing village in Siam and it was their
nationality that became the name for the birth defect in which two people are
physically joined together. Other than being connected by a piece of flesh,
the twins were completely normal and lived a relatively normal childhood.
Although the people in their village originally feared the twins, eventually
the community accepted them.
In 1829 a Scottish trader, Robert Hunter, and New England sea captain,
Abel Coffin, persuaded the twins to go abroad where they would be put on
public display. The King of Siam granted the twins permission to leave the
country and for the next eight years they toured the United States and Europe
under the auspices of Hunter and Coffin and later with P. T. Barnum. The
twins always drew large crowds to watch them perform feats of strength and
dexterity. The medical profession also continually conducted tests on them
and speculated on the cause of their malady.
Eng and Chang had planned to return to Siam, but eventually decided to
become naturalized American citizens. Learning that a surname was a
requirement for becoming naturalized, they selected the name Bunker. The
twins also decided to break with P. T. Barnum and began touring on their own.
When the twins visited Wilkesboro in 1837 they decided they were tired
of touring and that they liked the area. By this time, they had been
financially very successful. Two years later Eng and Chang stopped touring.
They opened a general store in Traphill (near Wilkesboro) and also purchased
land and began raising corn and hogs.
Shortly after moving to Traphill, the twins made friends with two
sisters, Adelaide and Sarah Yates and, in 1843, Eng married Sarah and Chang
married Adelaide. Between the two families, they had twenty one children.
They eventually moved to Surry County and built two houses about a mile
apart. The families of each of the twins stayed at their respective houses,
while Eng and Chang took turns visiting every three days. They followed this
routine until their death.
Eng and Chang's financial success continued until the Civil War when,
like many, they suffered financial hardship. To rebuild their fortune, they
decided to tour again with P. T. Barnum. They returned to Europe and also
hoped to find a doctor who would separate them. They returned home to the
states in 1871 having once again accumulated money, but had found no doctor
to separate them.
On the return voyage across the Atlantic, Chang suffered a stroke and
partial paralysis. From that time, his health began to fail. On January 12,
1874, Chang was stricken with bronchitis. The condition grew worse and he
died in his sleep on January 17. Eng woke to find Chang dead. A doctor was
summoned to try to perform a desperate operation, but Eng died before he
arrived. It is said that Eng, learning of his twin's death, died of sheer
terror. Their widows kept Eng and Chang's bodies in the cellar for one year
to protect them against grave robbers. They were later buried in the lawn of
Chang's house. In the late 1920's their remains were moved to the White
Plains Baptist Church cemetery. The Twins had donated the land on which the
church was built and also helped with its construction.
The fascination with the Twins has continued over the years and several
books have been written about their life. A full length play has also been
written, 'The Wedding of the Siamese Twins', and it debuted in New York in
the 1980's. Actor/director Leonard Nimoy also once visited Mount Airy to
scout locations for a proposed feature film on Eng and Chang. In addition to
their world fame, the twins took an interest in politics, played the flute,
owned slaves, and were finanancially very successful. Many of Eng and Chang
Bunkers' descendants live in Surry County.
Reference materials used to compile the above information were: Cama C.
Merritt's story printed in the August 1 9, 1992 issue of the Surry Times
Discovering North Carolina by Jack Claiborne and William Price The Mayberry
Confidential dated September 25, 1992
(NOTE FROM ALLAN: Thanks to Ann for the background on Andy's hometown
folks!!!)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 18:15:14 PDT
From: "Ben Young" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
>Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 23:03:14 -0400
>From: "Jeff Koontz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Wow!
>
>What an outstanding collection of TAGS memorabilia Joel has! I hope he
>finds the right buyer. If you haven't seen the list or photos, it is worth
>posting the link again:
>Jeff
It's a great collection Jeff, but the price is highway robbery. I mean,
don't get me wrong...there are some amazing items in the collection that you
normally couldn't obtain, but $27,000??? That's sick! If anyone pays that
price they're crazy. Sure...most of those items are priceless but if anyone
has the money to pay that price for that stuff I can think of many more
things they can spend it on.
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 21:16:31 -0400
From: Greg Painter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Mayberry names
Maybe I'm as curious as Goober, but I thought I would count
the number of Mayberry character names that were found on an
internet "people search" . The results were: Andy Taylor (200+),
Barney (& Bernard) Fife (10), Opie Taylor (3), Beatrice Taylor (67),
Floyd Lawson (43), Otis Campbell (36), Helen Crump (15), Ernest
Bass (44), Elinor Walker (8), Howard Sprague (34). I was unable
to find any Gomer or Goober Pyle's!
"Makes you think"
Mr Mc-BV - Mayberry Chapter
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 21:27:23 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
In a message dated 6/15/00 8:16:04 PM Central Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< It's a great collection Jeff, but the price is highway robbery. I mean,
don't get me wrong...there are some amazing items in the collection that you
normally couldn't obtain, but $27,000??? That's sick! If anyone pays that
price they're crazy. Sure...most of those items are priceless but if anyone
has the money to pay that price for that stuff I can think of many more
things they can spend it on.
>>
WOAH Now, Ben.....slow down. We DO NOT attach folks here on the Digest.
That's a rule breaker. I agree that's a LOT of money but if'n somebody has
that stuck in the Mayberry Security Bank and can throw it out there....that's
their call.
We ought not judge what other folks do with their money. When I...I mean
Gomer's daddy...was looking at that collection, my mouth was a watering.
I....I mean Gomer's daddy...would love to have it. I don't know if I....I
mean Gomer's daddy...can swing that kind of cash though.
Let just try and be nice to one another and act like you's talking to your
friend sitting next to you instead of feeling all safe like we can say
anything we'd like cause we're sitting a little further apart. Them words
mean something and they can hurt folks.
Allan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 21:31:08 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
In a message dated 6/15/00 7:44:26 PM Central Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<<
By the way, after her previous, borderline poisonous, attempts at canning
with pickles and marmalade, why would Andy give Aunt Bee jars for canning?
That's like Rosie O'Donnell presenting Charlton Heston with a new revolver
ofr his birthday.
>>
Aunt Bee probably did a lot of canning besides pickles and marmalade. I
remember my mother usually canned everything that grew in the garden. That
was before everyone had a freezer and that was the only way to preserve it.
Aunt Bee just didn't have the touch for pickles and marmalade maybe.
I hate to see Rosie's name on the Mayberry digest but I realize you were just
making a point.
Hasty
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 21:33:50 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #185
In a message dated 6/15/00 8:32:15 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
<< I hate to see Rosie's name on the Mayberry digest but I realize you were
just
making a point. >>
WOAH again!! Folks....be nice. I do NOT want politics or political opinions
here on the Digest so no more on this one please.
Thanks!
Allan Newsome
"The Andy Griffith Show" Rerun Watchers Club - Webmaster
http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 20:56:20 -0500
From: "Paul Mulik" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: please give a subject
May I make a suggestion, folks? Please type a subject line when you send a
message to the Digest. Almost nobody does this. To see what I mean, look
at the "topics" from #184:
>>>
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #184
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #184
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #184
[none]
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #178
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #183
Wow!
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #184
Re: Emotional Responses--CANNING JARS!
Walking Who to Church?
Re: wbmutbb-digest
Another "That One Makes Me Cry"
Re: wbmutbb-digest V2 #183
>>>
Out of 14 messages, only 4 people bothered to type a subject!
- --Paul
------------------------------
End of wbmutbb-digest V2 #186
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