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08/08/12

Lost Memphis: Pitchfork BBQ

Consider this a "tease" for a longer piece I intend to run on the old Pitchfork BBQ restaurant, located on South Second, close to The Peabody. It's entirely possible that another Memphis landmark is in that location today, but I won't give it away. The only reason I'm even sharing this with you is because I found this interesting old ad in a 1958 issue of a handy publication called the Memphis Hotel & Motel Guide. As you can see, the Pitchfork offered all the usual fixin's you'd expect from a barbecue joint: hickory-smoked pit barbecue (is there really any other kind?), beans in a pot, ribs, and chicken. And if you're tired of pork, you could get a steak, salad, or even a sandwich of some kind. Now what is a little unusual is that...

Posted at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2

07/30/12

Mystery Photo: Is This the Luau or the Tropical Freeze?

Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis — don't make me humiliate you by naming names — know how obsessed I am about locating a high-quality image of several "Lost Memphis" establishments around town. Two of them being the Luau, the Polynesian-themed restaurant on Poplar across from East High School, and the Tropical Freeze, the ice-cream parlor/drive-in that was at the southwest corner of Poplar and White Station. So what am I to make of this photo, found in the back of a 1968 yearbook for Overton High School? The yearbook editors, as was often the case then and now, posed various "Who's Who" members of the senior class at local landmarks or popular hangouts, such as the Shoney's Big Boy in Eastgate, or McDonald's,...

Posted at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments: 6

07/26/12

Remember the Rainbow Lake Terrace Room?

Last week I posted an old color postcard of Clearpool, and everyone — well, at least some of my half-dozen readers — got such a thrill out of it that I thought I'd mosey down the road a bit (that road being Lamar Avenue) and show you an old photo of the Rainbow Lake Terrace Room that I turned up in the Special Collections Department at the University of Memphis. The two places are actually connected, in a way, because at one time they were owned by the Pieraccini family. Rainbow Lake was considered a bit more upscale than Clearpool. Just look at their fancy "AIR CONDITIONED" restaurant, that was proclaimed the "South's Finest," and who am I to argue with such a claim? Just to the right of this building, barely visible in the photo, is...

Posted at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2

07/23/12

Lost Memphis: Clearpool

I found this old postcard at an estate sale, and I keep it propped up on my desk during these miserably hot summer days, because just looking at it makes me feel cooler. Not that many years ago, we had a choice of huge swimming pools and bathing beaches around town: Clearpool, Rainbow Lake, the Fairgrounds pool, and just across the state line, Maywood, the "Beach Within Reach" with its genuine white Florida sand beaches. It's hard to believe that a place as Hades-hot as Memphis couldn't keep these pools open, but each one is gone.

Posted at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments: 12

07/13/12

Safety Patrol GIRLS at Memphis City Schools?

I've written many times before about the quasi-military Safety Patrols that guarded the lives of children attending schools in Memphis. Most of those stories were written in the "dark ages" — before the Internet — so I can't even provide you with a handy link to them here. But some of you surely remember the Safety Patrol boys, with their white sashes (yellow if you were lucky enough to be elected "captain" of the squad), wide-brimmed white plastic helmets, and wooden poles with the red warning flags. (In bad weather, you wore bright yellow raincoats and clunky black rainboots, which made the uniform complete.) These brave children would stand on street corners around the city's schools and help their fellow students cross the streets,...

Posted at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments: 12

07/09/12

Lost Memphis: Downtown's War Memorial Fountain

I wonder how many people have forgotten about the magnificent stainless-steel memorial fountain that once stood outside the Front Street post office? Well, here's a great image of it — from the Memphis Room at the main library. Impressive, no? It was erected in 1962, as a tribute to the dead of World War II. Later, I believe the inscription was altered a bit so it could also serve as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the Korean War as well. How did such a thing come about? It seems that a local group called the Gold Star Mothers — mothers of sons and daughters lost in action in our nation's wars — raised $50,000 and recruited Memphis architects to design a suitable memorial. What they wanted was a traditional, shrine-type structure —...

Posted at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3

06/28/12

Lost Memphis? — T.G.I. Fridays

I put a question mark after the "Lost Memphis" in this title here because even though Friday's — at one time the centerpiece of Overton Square — is long gone, I hope the nice-looking old building itself will not be lost to the wrecking ball. I won't waste your time here by reminding readers about the impact of Overton Square on our city. I just wanted to share this cool illustration/ad that ran way back in a 1972 issue of Key Magazine. I know I'm feeling (and showing) my age here, but it's really hard to believe that this was 40 years ago. Four decades! I like the sorta-homey enticements of this advertisement. Friday's offered anything and everything: It featured "atmosphere, people, dinner, drink, and good music." It was a...

Posted at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments: 6

06/19/12

Lost Memphis: The W.T. Rawleigh Company

Every day, people drive past this impressive ruin overlooking Crump Blvd., close to Riverside Drive, without realizing it was once home to one of the largest mail-order companies in America. These buildings once housed the W.T. Rawleigh Company. The firm was started by a fellow named — no surprise here — W.T. Rawleigh, who was born in Wisconsin in 1889 and started a business selling liniment and medicine to farmers. By 1895, he was so successful that he started manufacturing his own products. In the early 1900s, the W.T. Rawleigh Company, with its national headquarters in Freeport, Illinois, was producing and selling more than 100 household products — medicines, salves, balms, spices, flavorings, seasoning, ointments, cleaning products, you name it....

Posted at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments: 5

06/13/12

How Whitehaven High's Jimmy Brawner Became the "Mean German" Wrestler Kurt Von Brauner

In our June issue, I tell the remarkable story of Jimmy Brawner, a handsome kid from Whitehaven High School, who transformed himself into Kurt Von Brauner, one-half of a "mean German" wrestling team. They're shown here, with their equally colorful manager, Saul Weingeroff. That's Brawner/Von Brauner on the left. No — he's on the right. No wait, left. Oh heck, I can't tell these guys apart. My pal Mark James actually owns several of the massive world-championship belts the Von Brauners won over the years, such as the very impressive ones shown here. They are just two items from Mark's amazing collection of wrestling memorabilia, and you can see many others — trophies, photos, news articles, and much more — on his website, Memphis...

Posted at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

06/11/12

More Tools for Historians: Now Historical TOPOGRAPHICAL Maps Are Available Online

Well, it just keeps getting better and better for local historians. A few weeks ago, I told you about an amazing website called historicaerials.com that allowed you to view aerial images of Memphis (or anywhere in the country, really) and then with a click of a button, look through the years at the same scene. It was amazing to click back and forth, to see how buildings, streets, and other landmarks had changed over the years. The same company now offers historic topographical views, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, which show even more physical features that are sometimes hard to detect in aerial photos. These carefully delineate such things as creeks, power lines, water lines, even cemeteries. And some of them go all the way back to 1944. Using the "hand" tool,...

Posted at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

	08/08/12 Lost Memphis: Pitchfork BBQ Consider this a "tease" for a longer piece I intend to run on the old Pitchfork BBQ restaurant, located on South Second, close to The Peabody. It's entirely possible that another Memphis landmark is in that location today, but I won't give it away. The only reason I'm even sharing this with you is because I found this interesting old ad in a 1958 issue of a handy publication called the Memphis Hotel & Motel Guide. As you can see, the Pitchfork offered all the usual fixin's you'd expect from a barbecue joint: hickory-smoked pit barbecue (is there really any other kind?), beans in a pot, ribs, and chicken. And if you're tired of pork, you could get a steak, salad, or even a sandwich of some kind. Now what is a little unusual is that... Posted at 07:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 2
	07/30/12 Mystery Photo: Is This the Luau or the Tropical Freeze? Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis — don't make me humiliate you by naming names — know how obsessed I am about locating a high-quality image of several "Lost Memphis" establishments around town. Two of them being the Luau, the Polynesian-themed restaurant on Poplar across from East High School, and the Tropical Freeze, the ice-cream parlor/drive-in that was at the southwest corner of Poplar and White Station. So what am I to make of this photo, found in the back of a 1968 yearbook for Overton High School? The yearbook editors, as was often the case then and now, posed various "Who's Who" members of the senior class at local landmarks or popular hangouts, such as the Shoney's Big Boy in Eastgate, or McDonald's,... Posted at 11:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 6
	07/26/12 Remember the Rainbow Lake Terrace Room? Last week I posted an old color postcard of Clearpool, and everyone — well, at least some of my half-dozen readers — got such a thrill out of it that I thought I'd mosey down the road a bit (that road being Lamar Avenue) and show you an old photo of the Rainbow Lake Terrace Room that I turned up in the Special Collections Department at the University of Memphis. The two places are actually connected, in a way, because at one time they were owned by the Pieraccini family. Rainbow Lake was considered a bit more upscale than Clearpool. Just look at their fancy "AIR CONDITIONED" restaurant, that was proclaimed the "South's Finest," and who am I to argue with such a claim? Just to the right of this building, barely visible in the photo, is... Posted at 11:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments: 2
	07/23/12 Lost Memphis: Clearpool I found this old postcard at an estate sale, and I keep it propped up on my desk during these miserably hot summer days, because just looking at it makes me feel cooler. Not that many years ago, we had a choice of huge swimming pools and bathing beaches around town: Clearpool, Rainbow Lake, the Fairgrounds pool, and just across the state line, Maywood, the "Beach Within Reach" with its genuine white Florida sand beaches. It's hard to believe that a place as Hades-hot as Memphis couldn't keep these pools open, but each one is gone. Posted at 11:58 AM \| Permalink \| Comments: 12
	07/13/12 Safety Patrol GIRLS at Memphis City Schools? I've written many times before about the quasi-military Safety Patrols that guarded the lives of children attending schools in Memphis. Most of those stories were written in the "dark ages" — before the Internet — so I can't even provide you with a handy link to them here. But some of you surely remember the Safety Patrol boys, with their white sashes (yellow if you were lucky enough to be elected "captain" of the squad), wide-brimmed white plastic helmets, and wooden poles with the red warning flags. (In bad weather, you wore bright yellow raincoats and clunky black rainboots, which made the uniform complete.) These brave children would stand on street corners around the city's schools and help their fellow students cross the streets,... Posted at 02:33 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 12
	07/09/12 Lost Memphis: Downtown's War Memorial Fountain I wonder how many people have forgotten about the magnificent stainless-steel memorial fountain that once stood outside the Front Street post office? Well, here's a great image of it — from the Memphis Room at the main library. Impressive, no? It was erected in 1962, as a tribute to the dead of World War II. Later, I believe the inscription was altered a bit so it could also serve as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the Korean War as well. How did such a thing come about? It seems that a local group called the Gold Star Mothers — mothers of sons and daughters lost in action in our nation's wars — raised $50,000 and recruited Memphis architects to design a suitable memorial. What they wanted was a traditional, shrine-type structure —... Posted at 03:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 3
	06/28/12 Lost Memphis? — T.G.I. Fridays I put a question mark after the "Lost Memphis" in this title here because even though Friday's — at one time the centerpiece of Overton Square — is long gone, I hope the nice-looking old building itself will not be lost to the wrecking ball. I won't waste your time here by reminding readers about the impact of Overton Square on our city. I just wanted to share this cool illustration/ad that ran way back in a 1972 issue of Key Magazine. I know I'm feeling (and showing) my age here, but it's really hard to believe that this was 40 years ago. Four decades! I like the sorta-homey enticements of this advertisement. Friday's offered anything and everything: It featured "atmosphere, people, dinner, drink, and good music." It was a... Posted at 01:33 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 6
	06/19/12 Lost Memphis: The W.T. Rawleigh Company Every day, people drive past this impressive ruin overlooking Crump Blvd., close to Riverside Drive, without realizing it was once home to one of the largest mail-order companies in America. These buildings once housed the W.T. Rawleigh Company. The firm was started by a fellow named — no surprise here — W.T. Rawleigh, who was born in Wisconsin in 1889 and started a business selling liniment and medicine to farmers. By 1895, he was so successful that he started manufacturing his own products. In the early 1900s, the W.T. Rawleigh Company, with its national headquarters in Freeport, Illinois, was producing and selling more than 100 household products — medicines, salves, balms, spices, flavorings, seasoning, ointments, cleaning products, you name it.... Posted at 02:31 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 5
	06/13/12 How Whitehaven High's Jimmy Brawner Became the "Mean German" Wrestler Kurt Von Brauner In our June issue, I tell the remarkable story of Jimmy Brawner, a handsome kid from Whitehaven High School, who transformed himself into Kurt Von Brauner, one-half of a "mean German" wrestling team. They're shown here, with their equally colorful manager, Saul Weingeroff. That's Brawner/Von Brauner on the left. No — he's on the right. No wait, left. Oh heck, I can't tell these guys apart. My pal Mark James actually owns several of the massive world-championship belts the Von Brauners won over the years, such as the very impressive ones shown here. They are just two items from Mark's amazing collection of wrestling memorabilia, and you can see many others — trophies, photos, news articles, and much more — on his website, Memphis... Posted at 01:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	06/11/12 More Tools for Historians: Now Historical TOPOGRAPHICAL Maps Are Available Online Well, it just keeps getting better and better for local historians. A few weeks ago, I told you about an amazing website called historicaerials.com that allowed you to view aerial images of Memphis (or anywhere in the country, really) and then with a click of a button, look through the years at the same scene. It was amazing to click back and forth, to see how buildings, streets, and other landmarks had changed over the years. The same company now offers historic topographical views, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, which show even more physical features that are sometimes hard to detect in aerial photos. These carefully delineate such things as creeks, power lines, water lines, even cemeteries. And some of them go all the way back to 1944. Using the "hand" tool,... Posted at 11:02 PM \| Permalink \| Comments