Continuity mistake: In the closeup of Barney's yearbook picture his name is listed as "Bernard Milton Fife," and Andy even reads it aloud, but in the previous episode from season 1, "A Plaque for Mayberry" Andy says that Barney's middle name is Oliver.
Character mistake: When Andy and Barney are looking through the yearbook, Barny's middle name is Milton. But Barney says many times throughout the series that his name is Bernard P. Fife.
Answer: As noted in the previous answers, in real life, things like this provided wind and/or rain deflection, and also maintained a bit of privacy when blinds were raised somewhat. The interior courthouse set was located in the studio, so the "outside" Main Street didn't exist. I believe these things were added to the courthouse windows for practicality, to avoid some crew movement being visible on the opposite side of those windows. These are not "window boxes" to hold anything, as they're actually bottomless; we can see the Venetian blind's long pull cords under them. They're made of plywood and simple to build, so the "material and labor" was inexpensive. Similar variations made of different materials are in other movies/shows. In 1957's "12 Angry Men," textured chicken wire glass panels are in the jury room windows, and in "Jesse Stone: Night Passage" another type is in Jesse's office windows.
Super Grover ★