Where is Mayfield?
I propose that this question, “Where is Mayfield?” is rarely asked, but it is answered, either in someone’s mind as they view the show, or done though Facebook threads in writing on a fairly regular basis. It usually plays out something like this, “In today’s episode on METV, Richard Rickover told Beaver he couldn’t go home until he saw a New Jersey license plate, so obviously, Mayfield is not in New Jersey.”
The above scenario can go on forever and I am very thankful that there are people who have done research on the subject of all the inconsistencies found in early television sitcoms that were written by numerous writers over numerous years, all from numerous backgrounds and various locations and believe it or not, some of the writers who have created such inconsistences, may never have even watched an episode of the shows for which they were writing a one-off episode.
GleeStreet.com
I am always looking for more content for GleeStreet.com, our classic TV website. If you are a person who loves classic TV (1950s-1970s), feel free to drop me a note via email or at our own small Facebook group and give me your idea or classic TV show to write about. As for addressing the “Where is Mayfield?” question, I have asked a frequent contributor to the Leave it to Beaver Fan Club Facebook group if I could post his research on Mayfield here on our site. The author, Scott Hettrick, has graciously allowed us to do so.
Fan Observations as Proof where Mayfield MUST be located
OHIO
Ohio is the most popular guess because… Shaker Heights, Mayfield (and Mayfield High), Grant Avenue, 211 Pine Street can all be found in Ohio. Additionally, Larry Mondello’s Dad is always on business trips to Cincinnati, and Larry’s brother lives there. If that isn’t enough proof, an Ohio State pennant hangs on Eddie Haskell’s bedroom wall in the season one episode Voodoo Magic. In another episode, a girl named Allison moves to Beaver’s school and says she is from Hamilton, a city about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. Some other reasons some say Ohio is that Wally and his friends mention Route 7 which runs in eastern Ohio from Conneaut to Chesapeake (north of Huntington, WV). There is also the Giant Dipper roller-coaster in Chippewa Lake, Ohio. Fast forward to the New Leave it to Beaver and a prop bank check in one of last episodes shows the Mayfield and Hamilton Ohio area code for Wally’s house next door to the Cleaver house, but also shows the zip code is from Simi Valley CA (and a bank routing number from Minnesota). More sports “proof” Mayfield is in Ohio is Wally talking about their team playing “Cleveland High” and in the episode about Lumpy’s football scholarship to “State,” his friend asks for tickets if they go to Rose Bowl this year – in those years the Rose Bowl game was between winners of the Big Ten and Pacific Coast Conferences, and Ohio State was in the Big Ten. Finally, the name of the Mayfield newspaper (in one episode?) was the Courier-Sun, which is similar to the Cleveland newspaper Sun-Star-Courier.
Here’s a couple negatives to the Ohio assumption:
— NOT TOO CLOSE TO CINCINNATI because… It is referred to as being elsewhere and far enough away for overnight stay.
— NOT OHIO because… In the episode, Box Office Attraction, June wishes the parents of the girl taking tickets lived in Ohio, a nice quiet state. Also, there are Giant Dipper roller-coasters also in Santa Cruz California and San Diego. If it had been the Giant Dipper in Ohio, it would have taken Wally 1 hour and 13 minutes to drive to Chippewa Lake – too far for a new teen driver to take his little brother.
Other possible answers to the question, “Where is Mayfield?”
* Oregon or Washington
* Connecticut because…
* Baltimore
* Michigan
* The Coast (one of them)
* Wisconsin
* Pennsylvania
* Tennessee
* North of Texas
You can find out why viewers say the above mentioned locations in this post where you can read more of Scott Hettrick’s observations, or his observations of other’s observations 🙂
