April 2011
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04/28/11The Memphis Flood of 1927The past few weeks have certainly been nerve-wracking times. First, we endured terrible thunderstorms, with rain and hail and straight-line winds that toppled giant old trees — sometimes onto houses, with devastating results. Now we watch anxiously as the river and creeks rise and begin to overflow their banks. Many homes in the county have already been damaged by floodwaters, and even the Memphis in May events are in peril.I searched through the Lauderdale Library to see if I had photographs in our collection from the terrible floods of the 1920s and 1930s, before flood control measures helped reduce — but not entirely eliminate — the danger.All I found was this one — an old snapshot from 1927. Based on a scribbled note on the back, it supposedly shows North... Posted at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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04/25/11Electric Charging Stations for Cars - in 1923!My pal Lindsay Jones recently published a story in the Memphis Flyer about the fancy electric charging stations for battery-powered automobiles that will (we hope) be installed at various locations in Memphis and other cities in Tennessee.It's a great idea. But not exactly new. Someone thought about it, oh, 90 years ago.As you can see from this old advertisement that I turned up in a 1923 Memphis City Directory, an establishment called the Electric Garage was in business downtown at 199-209 Jefferson Avenue. Not only did that firm sell and service the new Edison and Philadelphia line of electric cars, but it proclaimed, "Our electric service department makes the electric the car for Memphis."And what a grand-looking electric car this "typical" Memphis family is... Posted at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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04/19/11"Ask Vance" Calendar at Buckingham Palace!This may be the greatest honor ever bestowed upon me, and folks, that is really saying something.My "Ask Vance" calendar has turned up in surprising places — the boardrooms of our city's top executives, the offices of our political leaders, and — so I've heard — the Greyhound bus station bathrooms.But look! Here it is displayed prominently on the wall of Buckingham Palace, clearly placed there by Queen Elizabeth herself just in time for a state visit from President Barack Obama and the First Lady, Michelle.My pal Alasdair Halleron, who hails from Great Britain, apparently took several of the calendars "across the pond" on a recent visit, and presented one to the Queen, no doubt hoping for a knighthood. He certainly deserves the honor, if you ask... Posted at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
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04/17/11The Girl on the Wall - Idlewild Presbyterian ChurchGeorgianna Awsumb Ensminger died last week in Memphis at the age 0f 93. She had graduated from Central High School, the school then known as Southwestern, and attended graduate school at the University of Illinois. By all accounts, she had a good, long life — married, with three sons, and countless grandchildren and even great-grandchildren — and was active in the YWCA, King's Daughters and Sons Home, and other civic endeavors.But what's all this got to do with Idlewild Presbyterian Church, beside the fact that she was a lifelong member there?Well, Georgianna was one of the two "Faces of Idlewild," with her image cast in stone above one of the doorways to the cathedral.Here's how that came about. Her father, George Awsumb, was one of our city's greatest architects.... Posted at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments: 4 |
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04/15/11The Mid-South Coliseum Under Construction - 1964With all this talk about whether we should preserve the Mid-South Coliseum or feed it to the bulldozers, I thought it would be interesting to share this image with you.In the 1964 edition of the White Station High School yearbook, the editors decided to pose two students in the interior of the building as it was being constructed. Often compared to the famous Coliseum in Rome (well, by some people, anyway), it really does resemble its more famous namesake from this angle, and in this condition. Look at all that nicely poured concrete! Can't you just smell the cement dust?But, impressive as it may look here, what's really intriguing is what, precisely, the authors of Memphis: An Architectural Guide say about the building.Or more accurately, don't say. This handy book normally lists... Posted at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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04/13/11The Baffling Mr. BakerI was puttering around in the Lauderdale Mansion attic last night, searching for a whetstone so I could polish my swordcane, when I came across a box of old photos that we had run years ago in Memphis magazine. I don't know how these things end up in my possession, but it was quite thrilling to dig through it — especially when I turned up this fine photograph of Harmon Baker, a gentleman who gained considerable fame as "the world's oldest magician."Space (and, let's face it, an almost fatal case of ennui) prevent me from telling the whole story of this extraordinary gentleman. Let's just say that his claim was probably correct. After all, he was still performing shortly before his death — at the age of 106!Many things are still unknown (to me, anyway) about Harmon... Posted at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments: 6 |
03/31/11Welcome To My New Blog, Everyone!I’m as excited to be here as this lovely woman, who just ripped off her clothes and started dancing in her living room, she was so thrilled. (Okay, Mildred, you can calm down now.) The brand-new blog will have words and pictures and — okay, maybe it’s pretty much like the old one. But it’s in a new location on the Internet, so you need to bookmark this or you’ll never see me again. Why did I move? To tell you the truth, I was getting pretty tired of the old place. Over the years, it had grown all cluttery and dusty, and I couldn’t even turn around, it seems, without some old books or photographs or jewelry or bags of money or something tumbling onto the floor. The other day, I was shuffling around in my houseshoes, and tripped over... Posted at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments: 9 |
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