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Summary

After the town council forces Andy to evict a poor elderly man for not paying back taxes, a 100-year old savings bond issued by the city of Mayberry is discovered among the man's possessions. Now the city 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. Suddenly, the same people who wanted to evict him, like Mayor Pike, Harlan Fergus, & 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 they neighbor."

Trivia/Notes

  • 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.
  • The name Frank Meyers appears in the end credits for just about every episode of the show. The character Frank Meyers 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)
  • This episode is an ambiguous ending-it is unknown whether the bond was purchased before or after May 20, 1861, the day North Carolina seceeded; if the bond was purchased after North Carolina seceeded, and in Confederate dollars of course, it would be worthless; however it was only payed for in "dollars" {denomination not given as either US or CS}; furthermore, if it was bought before North Carolina seceeded 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 2 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 the final scene before the epilogue, a car with a couple (man and woman) approaches the team repairing Frank's house and asks if "there's 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 in to Mayor Pike's office, stating Frank has a letter from the President of the United States responding to "Mr. Meyers 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).

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

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"Andy and the Woman Speeder" "Barney on the Rebound"
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