I was apparently under the false impression that advertisers paid for the ads placed in the newspaper. But I got the following email today that makes me think I've been misinformed all these years. On Thanksgiving Day, we will deliver to you the biggest newspaper of the year! As always, it is loaded with information you can use and valuable advertising to get your holiday season off to the right start. Because of its sheer size, the Thanksgiving Day newspaper is one of the most expensive to produce and difficult to distribute. And many of our carriers must use additional help to complete deliveries in a timely manner. Effective this year, we will charge a premium rate of $2.00 for the Thanksgiving Day newspaper. This charge will be debited to your newspaper account on Thanksgiving Day. The small increase in the rate for the Thanksgiving Day newspaper will result in a slightly earlier expiration date for your current subscription term. We hope you can appreciate the value of the Th...

From the WSJ (I think they could have added BRIEF to the title, but it's a start) Andy Samuel Griffith Born June 1, 1926, in Mount Airy to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Griffith. Graduated from Mount Airy High School in 1944. Studied music at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; graduated in 1949. Taught school and high school glee club in Goldsboro before becoming an actor. Played Sir Walter Raleigh for seven years in "The Lost Colony," performed by the Carolina Playmakers in Manteo. Created a one-man show while living in Goldsboro that he performed for area civic clubs; he came up with his famous "What It Was, Was Football" monologue on the way to a gig. Griffith recorded the monologue at a recording studio in Goldsboro. A record executive for Capitol Records heard it on the radio and signed Griffith to a recording contract. In 1954 Griffith performed in the Broadway play and TV adaptation of "No Time for Sergeants." His career was on t...