Laurel Hill Publishing LLC is pleased to announce the publication of 35th book from the regional history press. Beyond Mayberry: A Memoir of Andy Griffith and Mount Airy North Carolina by Thomas D. Perry will … be available exclusively at Mayberry on Main on Main Street in Mount Airy, North Carolina through Mayberry Days on Saturday, September 29.
The book is part biography of Andy Griffith and part memoirs of the town of Mount Airy pointing out the connections between the town and it’s most famous son beginning on the day of his death of July 3, 2012. Perry also discusses his own life in the town and his thoughts about the tourism that keeps the downtown so vibrant.
Perry wrote the book while recovering from prostate cancer surgery. Looking for a project to get back into the swing of writing, he found the laughter of The Andy Griffith Show to be just what he needed. He watched all Andy Griffith’s performances available and based the books on published sources. He observed the events of Griffith’s death and the next day July 4, 2012, which was Donna Fargo Day in Mount Airy as the favorite daughter was in town to be Grand Marshall of the July 4 Parade.
Thomas D. Perry is the author, editor or publisher of over 35 books on regional history. Holding a BA in History from Virginia Tech where he studied under Civil War Authority James I. Robertson, Jr., Perry started the effort to preserve J. E. B. Stuart’s Birthplace just outside Mount Airy in Patrick County, Virginia. Perry is an award-winning historian, who recently raised over $200K to expand the Bassett Historical Center and worked with the Martinsville Virginia Heritage Center and Museum on a groundbreaking exhibit on the Vietnam War titled “Never Forget.”
The book is available online at Laurel Hill Publishing LLC’s website www.freestateofpatrick.com. The cost is $19.99.
John Peters at Mt. Airy News did a brief review of this book, which you can read here for more information.
