Reminiscing on my hometown

By Ken Anderson, The Mayberry Guru Two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show dealt with how Mayberry was “My Hometown.” In a very early episode, a stranger, Ed Sawyer, arrives in Mayberry. He knows everything about the people of Mayberry, and even though he has never been to Mayberry, he claims Mayberry is his hometown. He said he was from “no place” and learned about Mayberry by reading his army friend’s Mayberry newspaper. So he decided to make Mayberry his hometown.

In another episode, Keevy Hazleton, a famous rock and roll singer, stops in Mayberry and decides to stay a few days to fish. However, Aunt Bee and her friend Clara Edwards decided to get Keevy to sing a song they wrote called “My Hometown.” Despite some initial hesitation, Keevy agrees to sing the song on TV, and it becomes an instant hit.

This past Father’s Day weekend, I returned to my hometown of Dorchester to participate in their Sesquicentennial celebration. It turned out to be a very fun-filled and emotional experience. While I could only be there for the Sunday festivities, I met up with some high school classmates and my very best friend while growing up in Dorchester.

I contacted my Dorchester best friend, Greg Mertens, our best man at my wedding, to see if he could drive my Mayberry squad car in the parade while I walked the parade route. Because he was in Utah at the time, he said he could not make it. However, while waiting to meet up with some classmates at Dorchester, he suddenly appeared with a big smile. So, after having a chicken dinner, he drove my squad car while I walked. After the parade, we both commented on how many memories surfaced as we passed by many old familiar people and places.

When it was time to leave Dorchester, my wife and I visited the Dorchester Memorial Cemetery to see if our headstone needed attention. We had just pulled in when Greg’s car drove up behind us. Greg and I spent quite a while together, walking around the cemetery. It was as if we were going back in time over 60 years. We saw the many names of all the people who had been a part of our lives when we were children.

There is something special and unique about having a small village as your hometown. A part of that town stays with you for your entire life. The people and places that you once knew have helped in small ways to make you the person you are. Even though I have been gone for over fifty years, whenever someone asks me what my hometown is, I always proudly say Dorchester.