July 2011
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07/28/11Look What Turns Up At Memphis Estate Sales: A British Dog-HeroEstate sales can sometimes offer the most astonishing things. They're not always piles of vintage clothing, dusty books, and other mothbally knick-knacks left over from people who have "moved on."Case in point: An estate sale in Midtown last week that offered a nicely stuffed British "hero dog" displayed in a fine glass case.The little white dog, supposedly close to a century old, wears a cloth vest adorned with tarnished and hard-to-read medals, though most of them refer to lifeboats and lifesaving. But it's the intriguing inscription on his collar that tells part of his story.On a large silver plate attached to a nicely crafted link-chain collar is this: "I am dog 'Ship" — Sailor's Friend. Presented by Royal National Lifeboat Institution For... Posted at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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07/22/11Controversy: The "Memorial to a Little Boy" at the Gaisman Park Swimming PoolTomorrow, July 23rd, marks the 57th anniversary of the death of a little boy named Ronnie Jones. His demise is remembered today with the fine swimming pool in Gaisman Park on Macon Road, and in the curious "Memorial to a Little Boy" cast in concrete next to the pool.If you think a swimming pool is an odd place to memorialize a drowning victim — for that's how 9-year-old Ronnie met his unfortunate fate — well, read on and I'll tell you how it came to be. And oh, how it upset so many people.Ronnie Jones was one of three triplet brothers who lived with their parents at 4076 Westover, in the Highland Heights part of town. On a hot afternoon in July, Ronnie, Richard, and Robert walked about a mile north to a popular swimming hole in the Wolf River, near the Jackson... Posted at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments: 5 |
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07/19/11Crews Demolish Hayes Funeral Home — Oldest African-American Business in MemphisThis week, demolition crews began pulling down the stately home at 680 South Lauderdale that housed the T.H. Hayes Funeral Home, considered the oldest African-American-owned business in Memphis.Frances Hayes, the last proprietor, died November 21, 2010, and there was apparently nobody left to take over the family-owned business. The property is owned by the First Baptist Church next door, which filed a demolition permit in June.A Tennessee Historical Commission marker in front of the stately house tells its story: "Founded in 1902 by Thomas H. Hayes, Sr., T.H. Hayes and Sons Funeral Home is Memphis' oldest black business. Originally on Poplar, the business moved to Lauderdale in 1918. Hayes was active in the National Negro Business League, founded by Booker T. Washington. In 1933,... Posted at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments: 5 |
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07/18/11Remembering "Happy Hal" MillerIf you don't remember Happy Hal, then you didn't grow up in Memphis in the 1950s, '60s, or even '70s. Because that's how long he was the "King of Toys" in our town. In fact, the photo here shows him in a typical role — showing off the latest gadgets for a bunch of children. In this case, it was something called a "spud gun," which you operated by cramming the barrel into a potato (yes, a potato) and when you pulled the trigger, it fired a pellet of mashed potato at your unsuspecting victim.Looks like that kid on the right, in the checked coat, is about to shoot his eye out! Be careful with those spud guns, kids!Born in 1923, Hal Miller was a remarkable gentleman. A graduate of Central High School, he studied at the New York Theater School of Dramatic Arts and... Posted at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments: 18 |
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07/13/11Lost Memphis: What Did H.G. Wells Have To Do With Britling Cafeterias?It's probably not common knowledge that the famed British author H.G. Wells played a role in one of our city's best-known restaurants.I'm referring to Britling Cafeterias, which occupied very impressive buildings downtown before branching out to other areas of Memphis. The first one here opened in 1921 at 155 Madison. A second location opened in 1938 at 75 Union, right next door to the Loew's Palace Theatre.The founder's name was not Britling, as you might expect, but A.W.B. Johnson, who decided that "Johnson's Cafeteria" just didn't have the right ring to it. The story goes that he was reading a collection of short stories by science-fiction master H.G. Wells (author of such classics as War of the Worlds and The Time Machine), when he encountered a story titled, "Mr.... Posted at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments: 12 |
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07/11/11Lost Memphis: The Old WMC TV Station on SummerMaybe this doesn't completely qualify as "Lost Memphis" since the building has survived — sort of — but it's just a shell of its former self.Anyone driving along Summer close to the intersection of Stage Road may turn and admire the rows of fancy ski boats for sale at Tracker Boat Center on the corner there, but few people, I'd wager, pay much attention to the very curiously designed building (just a detail of it shown here) off to one side of the parking lot.Hard to believe, but years ago, this was one of the communications centers of Memphis. Constructed in 1930, the concrete art deco building (newspapers of the day actually described it as "Moorish") housed the first transmitting station of the WMC Radio, and later Television, stations. Back then,... Posted at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
