In Mount Airy, Holt recalled, all the local shops quickly sold out of American flags.

NEWYORKER: Coming Apart

After retiring, he went to work at the unemployment office in Mount Airy because it made him feel good.

NEWYORKER: Coming Apart

In the show, Griffith played the amiable sheriff of an small, idyllic town modeled on his own birthplace of Mount Airy.

CNN: Actor Andy Griffith dead at 86

Think of the Poconos, and a few images come to mind: go-karts, sleepaway camp, heart-shaped hot tubs at the Mount Airy Lodge.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, in 1926, Griffith graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1949 with a degree in music.

CNN: Actor Andy Griffith dead at 86

Born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, in 1926, Griffith was a 1949 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received a degree in music.

CNN: Andy Griffith buried shortly after death, source says

Today, Mount Airy is representative, not marginal.

NEWYORKER: Coming Apart