Summary[]
Andy is forced to evict a poor man who owes back taxes, but it is soon discovered that the evicted man owns a 100-year old bond and the town apparently owes him $349,119.27.
Plot[]
Andy is forced by the town council of Mayberry to evict Frank Myers (portrayed by Andy Clyde), the poorest man in town, for failure to pay his taxes. Andy and Frank discover that Frank has an old bond issued by the town worth nearly $350,000. This problem is that the town has nowhere near enough funds to pay Frank.
Fixing Up the Myers Place
Suddenly, the same people who wanted to evict him, like Mayor Pike, Harlan Fergus, and the rest of the Mayberry City Council, can't seem to do enough for him, including renovating his house. However, it turns out that the bond is worthless and Frank is once again looked down upon. In the end, Andy is able to teach the principle of "love thy neighbor."
Notes/Trivia[]
- The name Frank Myers appears in the end credits for just about every episode of the show. The character Frank Myers in this episode was named after a member of the crew.
- A question, if the bond was still legal after 100 years?
- According to an inflation Adjustment, and they're Goooood adjusters, $349,119.27 from 1961 is $2,828,475.29 as of (2017)
- In the final scene before the epilogue, a car with a couple (man and woman) approaches the team repairing Frank's house and asks “is there a hotel in this charming town.” Andy says the hotel is six blocks up the road and says "Welcome to Mayberry.” The man in the car (driver) said, "Mayberry? We thought this was Elm City.” Elm City is an actual town in the east/northeast part of North Carolina. The distance from Elm City to Mt. Airy (Andy Griffith's hometown and the basis for Mayberry) is 189 miles.
- In the epilogue, Andy brings a well-dressed Frank into Mayor Pike's office, stating Frank has a letter from the President of the United States responding to "Mr. Meyer's invitation for the President to come to Mayberry" (Mayor Pike assumes it is JFK). In the letter, the President states "current critical events have kept me close to my office.” This could be a veiled reference to the Cold War tensions brewing between the United States and the Soviet Union in Berlin. As the letter closes, it is revealed that the "President" in reference was Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, and the "current critical events" was actually the Civil War. The letter was to Frank's relative (it is assumed it is the same relative who owned the bond Frank wanted to cash).
- Don Knotts does not appear in this episode, despite being credited.
- This episode is an ambiguous ending-it is unknown whether the bond was purchased before or after May 20, 1861, the day North Carolina seceded; if the bond was purchased after North Carolina seceded, and in Confederate dollars, of course, it would be worthless; however it was only paid for in "dollars" {denomination not given as either US or CS}; furthermore if it was bought before North Carolina seceded and since Andy figured on the interest after 100 years, this means there was no expiration date on the bonds-thus the town could still owe Myers interest on the bond! Likewise, since two experts had calculated the interest on the Bond, it must have been issued before the outbreak of the Civil War...since as noted above a Confederate War bond ...is worthless! In a real life situation ending would be that Mayberry stills owes Frank the interest on the Bonds-minus of course the Taxes that Frank owes; the remaineder would be put in a trust at the Mayberry bank where the income would be devided between the towns taxes and Franks living expenses.
Goofs[]
- In a blooper, Frank Myers states that his medallion is from the "1906 World's Fair in St. Louis" but that World's Fair occurred in 1904.
- DirecTV listings accidentally add Elinor Donahue to the cast.
Music[]
Quotes[]
Andy - Well Mayor, the point is, that accordin' to the computation machines down at the bank, and they're Gooood machines we, that is the town of Mayberry, owe Frank Myers $349,119.27.
Mayor Pike - Over a quarter of a million dollars.
Frank Myers - I'll take it in cash!
Gallery[]
