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06/12/13Lost Memphis: Messick High SchoolOne of the oldest — if not the oldest — schools built in Shelby County, Messick High School held its first classes way back in 1909. Over the years, the mighty Panthers trounced teams throughout the region, and kids came to regard the old red-brick building at the corner of Spottswood and Greer as a home away from home. But the building decayed, the school district changed, and in the early 1980s, the condemned main buildings fell to the bulldozers. I'd sure like to know what happened to the fine capstone shown here; it would have looked magnificent on the Lauderdale Mansion lawn. Although some of the other buildings have been converted for other purposes by the Board of Education, Messick's days as a regular high school are long gone. The school's... Posted at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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05/26/13Remembering the 1973 Jonesboro, Arkansas, TornadoAs everyone focuses their attention on the devastating storm that swept across the Oklahoma City suburbs a few days ago, let's pause for a moment to recognize that this Memorial Day weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Jonesboro Tornado, one of the worst storms in the history of Arkansas. Just a half-hour after midnight on May 27, 1973, a series of three massive twisters — the largest with a funnel cloud almost a mile wide — swept completely across the southern portion of this city, just about an hour northwest of Memphis. Within a few minutes, the damage was done, with the powerful winds erasing entire neighborhoods. The tornado roared through homes, the town's commercial district, and the Jonesboro High School complex, skirting the campus of Arkansas... Posted at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments: 5 |
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05/24/13Another Mystery Photo: A Humble Cabin, Its Owner, and a Visitor — Who and Where?Well, there's certainly a story here, but I just don't know what it is. These two images came from a box of old 35mm Kodachrome slides found at an estate sale. Most of them featured rather typical Memphis scenes of homes and churches, taken in the late 1950s, judging from the cars in the pictures. But then you have this. First of all, it's an interesting old log cabin, a rather tiny thing with one small window and a doorway that's not even as tall as the little fellow in the overalls. That other guy would have to bend at the waist to step inside, and gosh I do wonder what it looks like inside. Cozy, I bet. Two broken-down chairs, one without a seat, stand outside the cabin, and it looks like one serves to hold a wash basin, and that may be a water pump... Posted at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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05/13/13The 1963 Millington Plane Crash - A Resident Speaks About That NightIn our May 2013 issue, I tell the rather amazing story of the March 15, 1963, crash of a military transport into a residential neighborhood in Millington. Although the plane burst into flames after plowing through a line of trees, and came to rest just behind a row of homes on Hill Street, nobody in the aircraft or on the ground was seriously injured. One of the residents of Hill Street that evening was Mrs. Beverly P. Beasley, whose father, Lloyd Pitts, was quoted in my article since the plane actually came to rest just yards from his house. She wrote me a letter, telling about that dramatic evening and wanting to correct a few errors. Here's what she had to say: "My name is Beverly Pitts Beasley, and I was one of the people in the house on Hill Street the night of... |
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05/06/13An Interesting Baptist Hospital Ad After the Russwood Park FireIn our April issue, I told you the story of the 1960 Russwood Park fire, one of the worst blazes in our city's history, and included never-before-seen color images of the damage up and down Madison Avenue the following morning. The fire took consumed the old baseball stadium place right across the street from Baptist Hospital. And even though news photographs showed flames practically washing over the building, except for a few cracked windows, the hospital suffered little significant damage, and not a single patient was injured. We can thank the hard-working hospital staff for that — they evacuated hundreds of patients from the most dangerous areas — and certainly the quick work of the firefighters, but apparently some of that credit also goes to the special... |
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04/26/13Where Is This Mystery Memphis Restaurant? Hello? Anyone?In my award-worthy "Ask Vance" column, found each and every month (well, usually) in the pages of Memphis magazine, I spend long minutes researching and answering readers' questions about people and places from the past. I'm not sure that's the best way to handle it. It seems to me that it would be so much easier to let other people answer those questions for me. I would simply moderate the discussion from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy. As I'm doing right here. My pal Bonnie Kourvelas, who has a rich trove (is there any other kind of "trove"?) of old photos of Memphis, sometimes sends me images that have stumped her. This is one of them. Never mind who the people are; I think she knows that. What Bonnie (and I) want to know is: Where was... Posted at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments: 5 |
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04/22/13Remembering Marjorie Duckett and Her School of DanceSome two years ago, I wrote a column about Marjorie Duckett, a very talented dancer here. I'm sure you remember the story, because it was quite possibly one of the finest things I've ever done, discussed at water coolers and copy machines at offices around the nation. Do you know, it went on to win the coveted 2010 Hubert K. Bucknell Prize for Two-Page Columns About City and Regional Dance Instructors. It's a rather specialized honor, to be sure, but an impressive one. And good for a free car wash from Mr. Pride, too. What do you think of that, Nobel Prize committee? Anyway, Sara LeMaster, who has written many fine freelance articles for Memphis magazine over the years, knew Marjorie personally. She recently sent me a letter — okay, it was actually one of... Posted at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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04/19/13Another, Earlier View of the Filler Burger Drive-InA few days ago, I showed you a photo of the Filler Burger Drive-In, which I had located in a 1972 Frayser High School yearbook. Here's another (slightly blurry) view of that same establishment on Frayser Blvd., as it appeared four years earlier. This ad ran in the1968 yearbook of Harding Academy. You'll note that the big sign is slightly different, the roofline is drastically changed, and the little building at one time also carried a double sign on the roof, with a painting of a hamburger — for those who weren't quite sure what a "burger" was, I suppose. |
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04/15/13Does Anybody Remember Frayser's Filler-Burger Drive-In?This question is directed to any and all graduates of Frayser High School, though others may feel free to chime in. Does anybody remember the Filler-Burger Drive-In? I found this half-page ad in the 1972 edition of the Frayser High School annual. As you can see, it was a rather boxy little building, located at 2088 Frayser Blvd., which would have put it on the northwest corner of Frayser Blvd. and Overton Crossing. I especially like the Filler-Burger guy, with his chef's hat and his varsity-style sweater with the big "F". The cool checkerboard sign is a nice touch, too. I can't tell if this little building is still standing, though much transformed. A one-story building stands on the site today, housing an insurance company, and it's considerably... Posted at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments: 13 |
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04/04/13Vance Is Stumped! Where in Memphis Was This Miniature Bowling Alley?I hope you've appreciated the old color slides that I've posted recently (here and in the magazine) showing the ruins of the Russwood Park fire. Well, mixed in with that tray of slides was this intriguing image, and I need help — yes, I admit it — figuring out where this was, and what the game is, exactly. I mean, I know it's some form of bowling. But look — the four alleys are very short, the wooden pins are quite small, and the eight pins are arranged in a straight line. I assume some kind of lever mechanism simply reset the pins after you attempted to knock them down. Depending on your skill, notice the three levels of prizes available to you for a dime, which seemed to be limited to large, medium, and small chalk figures, just like the prizes... Posted at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments: 5 |
Ask Vance is the blog of Vance Lauderdale, the award-winning columnist of Memphis magazine and MBQ: Inside Memphis Business. Vance is the author of two books: Ask Vance: The Best Questions and Answers from Memphis Magazine's History and Trivia Expert (2003), as well as Ask Vance: More Questions and Answers from Memphis Magazine's History Expert (2011). He is also the recipient of quite a few nice awards, the creator of several eye-catching wall calendars, and the only person we know with a vintage shock-treatment machine in his den. 
