Ken Anderson 2906 May Street Eau Claire WI 54701 715-839-8470 [email protected]www.mayberryreflections.com
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One aspect of life in Mayberry that we saw little of was what it would be
like to be a teenager in Mayberry. We had just a short glimpse of it in the
final season when Opie began go to boy girl parties and when he became a
professional musician with the "The Sound Committee". We also saw a few
teenagers in "Helen's Play". Then Andy and Opie left Mayberry just as Opie
was about to enter high school. So what would the teens in Mayberry do?
Probably the same things I did growing up in a small town in the '60's. I
would imagine the hangout after school would have been the drug store where
the kids would stop off for their cokes, root beers, and malts. After
basketball games and football games they would most likely have headed to
the diner for their hamburgers and fries and cokes. One thing that was
really missing from Mayberry was a drive-in with car hops. Back in the 60's
just about every small town had at least one drive-in where teens would hang
out on warm summer nights. But it would appear that Mayberry did not have
one at all. The school would have been the center of activity for the young
people of Mayberry but certainly not to the extent that it is today. Most
likely they would have an occasional school dance, including an annual
Homecoming dance and parade, and of course spring would bring in the Junior
Prom. But for the most part the teens of Mayberry would have had to create
their own fun. Part of that fun would have been cruising around town in the
convertibles and hardtops on weekends and especially Saturday night. Summer
would bring trips to Myer's Lake for swimming and picnics and I would
imagine the boys would do a lot of fishing. Winter would most likely usher
in the ice skating and those wonderful hayride parties that were so popular
back then. Being a teen in a small town back in the '60's wasn't very
exciting, but then those of us who grew up at that time weren't really
looking for excitement. Perhaps the most common pastime growing up in a
small town was walking. Not just the fun of walking to and from school, but
just the enjoyment of walking around town with friends and talking about our
hopes and dreams. I would imagine for many of us those many of our hopes
and dreams did not come to pass. But I do have some wonderful memories of
the slow, quiet, and friendly small town where I grew up. And I would
imagine those kids who were lucky enough to grow up in Mayberry are now
saying the very same thing.
