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(The following Letter to the Editor appeared in the New Castle Courier-Times. Their website can be found at www.thecouriertimes.com.) New Castle's Mayberry effort tops them all What can I say? There are no words that can accurately describe our weekend in New Castle for the Mayberry in the Midwest Reunion Show. We have never been treated so kind by so many people in our life. I have attended, and promoted, several of these type shows and this past weekend tops them all by far. New Castle is a beautiful town. Everywhere we went was clean and the people were terrific. All of the venues we visited were up to the task of handling hundreds/thousands of people comfortably. As a fan I felt I had ample opportunity to get to see the performers up close and personal. Curt Bell and all of the folks involved in bringing this event to New Castle are to be highly commended. I know first hand it takes a lot of time and good people to pull something like this off and I think the crew that was assembled was the finest anywhere. Every event ran smoothly and that is due to the months and months of planning that had to occur. It also takes a lot of fine sponsors willing to pitch in. We stayed at the Best Western and were treated royally. Great rooms, great food, great atmosphere. The dinner on Friday was delicious and was run as well as any buffet I have ever seen. I was glad to have been able to contribute a few items for the auction. I understand a nice sum was raised. The school was a great venue for the autograph signing on Saturday morning. I had the opportunity to visit with some fans in the lines. Although the lines were long, everyone was having a good time. I think the "Mayberry" atmosphere and the air conditioning helped a lot. Kentucky Fried Chicken catered the meal before rehearsals on Saturday and that was some kind of good eatin!! The crew from KFC saw to our every need. I know I am leaving out a lot of folks who contributed greatly to the success of the weekend, but I think you get the idea. We had a fantastic time in New Castle and are making plans to return in the future. I do hope Mayberry in the Midwest becomes an annual event and again, as Gomer would say, "Thank you, thank you thank you to New Castle!!" Gary Wedemeyer |