Summary[]
Plot[]
As the episode begins, Aunt Bee is writing a graduation card to Willis Spooner (son of Aunt Bee's friend, Louise). Andy and Aunt Bee begin to realize that Opie will soon be entering high school and will begin college in a few years. Opie enters the room and mentions that he and Arnold have already talked about going to college together but also that many of their classmate's parents have mentioned to their children that they can't afford college. Unaware of the cost, Andy meets with Helen to discuss the current price of a college education. Andy is stunned to hear that a four-year college education is around $15,000 for private colleges. Helen mentions that state schools (like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) are cheaper but Opie's grades are average at best and he would not be accepted.
Determined to send Opie to college, Andy realizes that he will need supplemental income to be able to afford the cost. An advertisement in the paper details the monetary benefits of opening a laundromat. Andy invests and opens a washateria in Mayberry.
A visit from Mr. Rogers (head of the state bureau of investigations) and highway patrolman Leroy Miller catches Andy off guard while he is pulling double-duty as a business owner at the laundromat. Andy soon realizes he's in over his head as this new venture gets in the way of his sheriff duties. While discussing his plight with Mr. Rogers and Leroy, Opie stops by the office and waits outside. Through an opened window Opie overhears Andy speak of the economic struggles of sending a child to college and realizes that if he studies, he can get into a state school, saving his dad thousands of dollars and not requiring him to have any side jobs other than Sheriff. As the episode ends, Aunt Bee and Andy stare with pride as Opie goes up the stairs to study.
Trivia/Notes[]
- Howard relays to Andy and Emmitt that he graduated from Bradbury Business School in Mount Pilot. The program took a year and a half.
- Opie mentions that he wants to be a dentist and Arnold wants to be a doctor (like his father). However, in Return to Mayberry, we see that Opie has decided to be the editor of the Mayberry paper.