Andy and Opie Housekeepers

Andy and Opie Housekeepers
Season 1 > • < Episode 23 >
Air Date	March 13, 1961
Cast	Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor Ron Howard as Opie Taylor Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee Taylor Hope Summers as Clara Edwards (called Bertha in this episode) Rory Stevens as Jimmy (friend)
Director(s)	Bob Sweeney
Writer(s)	Frank Tarloff (credited as David Adler)
Previous	Cyrano Andy
Next	The New Doctor
Summary	Before Aunt Bee leaves town she scolds Andy and Opie for making a mess of the house. They are determined to clean up before she returns.
Sequential Episode	23

Summary

Before Aunt Bee leaves town she scolds Andy and Opie for making a mess of the house. They are determined to clean up before she returns.

Plot

After Aunt Bee finishes scolding Andy and Opie for being slobs, she has to go out of town

Scolding for a Messy House

for a few days, leaving her boys to take care of themselves. Despite being afraid of the mess Andy and Opie will make without her, Andy convinces her that he and Opie will be alright. Andy's best intentions to keep things neat are quickly given up, and Taylor's home is soon a complete wreck. Andy thinks he can procrastinate at least one more day, But Aunt Bee calls and lets Andy know she'll be home from Mount Pilot that afternoon. Anticipating the tongue-lashing they'll get when she sees the mess, Andy and Opie get busy, clean the entire house, and make it look spotless. But as Andy and Opie are sitting back and admire their hard work, Andy realizes that a spotless house might make Aunt Bee think she's not really needed.

Bertha Finds a Mess

Furthermore, Andy knows that despite her outward appearance, Aunt Bee is really happiest when she feels needed. So, Andy and Opie proceed to get the place back in disorder and make it an even bigger mess than before. On their way to pick up Aunt Bee, they run into Bertha (later known as Clara Edwards) who decides to peek in on the house. She is shocked to find it in such a state and starts cleaning up! When Aunt Bee returns home with Opie and Andy, she is shocked and dismayed to find the house perfectly neat and clean, but not as shocked as Andy and Opie. Seeing her disappointment, Andy and Opie set out to mess up as much as they can as quickly as they can. Aunt Bee catches them in the act and thinks they are trying to clean up. Privately, she is overjoyed to realize how helpless they are without her. In the epilogue, Bertha comes in and asks Bee how the house looked when she got home. After describing what a pigsty the place was, an insulted Bertha storms out.

Notes/Trivia

• Mayberry's sister city, Mount Pilot, is first mentioned in this episode.
• Hope Summers makes her first appearance in the series as Bertha Edwards. In future episodes, she will be referred to as Bertha Johnson and ultimately as Clara Edwards.
• This is the only time in the run of the show that the Taylor house is seen so messy.
• Don Knotts does not appear in this episode, despite being credited.

Goofs

• When Andy and Opie are leaving the house to pick up Aunt Bee at the bus stop Clara Johnson wishes them "Good Morning." However, in an earlier phone call with Andy, Aunt Bee said she was coming in on the afternoon bus.
• French doors can be seen by the fireplace in the Taylor's home. In later seasons, these doors are not seen.
• When Aunt Bee calls from Mt. Pilot, she is sitting in front of the same wallpaper seen in the Taylor's house.

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