Goober of Mayberry
For a time, Andy Griffith references in North Carolina newspapers were gold. Longtime columnist Jim Jenkins used to make them in these pages all the time. Still does elsewhere.
So you'd expect attention when we start a story this way:
Goober Pyle might've had some advice for the job.
A pair of century-old cars in the Greensboro Historical Museum recently were torn down to go into new exhibits.
Salisbury engineer Mike Greene moved them piece by piece. That's similar to what mechanic Goober did in a 1965 episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" when he rebuilt a car in the courthouse and gave Sheriff Taylor a fit.
Readers have questioned our use of Goober's character. That is, his very existence.
They think that we're confused -- that the only Pyle on the show was named Gomer.
Gerald said: "I'm guessing this is only a question because Gomer Pyle later had his own show. Goober was mostly called just Goober on the show, so many folks forgot that they share a same last name. And that they're cousins."
Gerald, by the way, had not been born when Goober made his last appearance in 1968. But his editor, Eddie Wooten, an Andy aficionado, was. And thanks to the wonders of reruns and TV Land....
More on Goober's 86 episodes here.