People: Ask Vance Blog, Memphis Flyer

The Craver Family's Unusual Birth Announcement

Vance Lauderdale — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:12:43 -0500

My serfs (okay, they prefer to be called "interns") are still cataloging and filing away the more than 43,000 items I purchased at the recent Shelby Foote estate sale.

Every few hours, they will clamber out of the basement to show me something of interest, but I think that's just an excuse to get a sip of water, a spoonful of porridge, and a breath of air.…

Vance Lauderdale — Hard at Work (For a Change)

Vance Lauderdale — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:39:55 -0500

Well, I begged and pleaded for years, and look — the good folks at Memphis magazine finally bought me a new computer!

Now I can crank out these columns in a matter of days.

Just as soon as the hot lead cools, and the ink dries, and the pages are trimmed, and ...…

Richard Halliburton Vs. The New Yorker

Vance Lauderdale — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:56:40 -0600

Richard Halliburton was one of our city's most famous celebrities — an international adventurer and author, whose books about his many exploits — swimming the Panama Canal, crossing the Alps on an elephant, and more — were bestsellers in the 1920s, '30s, and 40s. He died as he had lived, trying to sail a Chinese junk across the Pacific during a typhoon.…

The Shelby Foote Estate Sale - Empty Rooms Now

Vance Lauderdale — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:49:07 -0600

I made a return visit to Shelby Foote's former home on East Parkway today, just to see what wonderful treasures were still left for the taking.

Well, not much.…

Treasures from the Shelby Foote Estate Sale!

Vance Lauderdale — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:04:23 -0600

More than 4,000 people lined up to peek inside the charming Tudor-style mansion of Civil War historian Shelby Foote today, and I was one of them. Foote died in 2005, and his family held an estate sale on East Parkway so history buffs could purchase treasures from one of the greatest writers of our time.…

Now THIS Was Some Party

Vance Lauderdale — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:06:36 -0600

Anyone who reads this blog regularly (yes, I have a list of your names and addresses) probably knows that I have a tendency to stumble on great old photos at estate sales, yard sales, you name it. You call it luck; I call it skill.…

Well, This Goes Without Saying ...

Vance Lauderdale — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:38:10 -0600

Yes, it happens to the best of us.

A tombstone (and family name) at Calvary Cemetery in Memphis.…

A Memphis Circus Family from the late 1800s

Vance Lauderdale — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:00:02 -0600

This unusual photograph turned up on eBay recently, purporting to show a group of circus performers from the late 1800s. What made this photo especially interesting was that it was taken by a Memphis photographer named Day, who had a studio on Main Street.…

Remembering "Monk" — aka Tony Cassatta

Vance Lauderdale — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:29:18 -0600

Tony "Monk" Cassatta may be the most famous Memphian that people here never knew.

Let me explain: Most people living here in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and beyond had heard stories about the odd little fellow that everyone called Monk.…

Vance Lauderdale - Young Scholar

Vance Lauderdale — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:15:55 -0500

It seems I can't even walk down the candy aisle at Schnuck's these days without someone stopping me and saying, "Vance, how is it that you know so much about so many weird things in Memphis?"

If the person is a subscriber to Memphis magazine, I will usually take the time to reply, the best I can. If they are not a subscriber, then I knock them aside with my cane and storm out of the store.…

When James Jones Lived at Leahy's Tourist Court

Vance Lauderdale — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:02:03 -0500

Most everybody is familiar with the best-selling novel, From Here to Eternity, which the Modern Library has ranked #62 on its list of the "100 Best Novels." Perhaps even more of you have seen the 1953 movie based on the book, which won a whopping eight Academy Awards.…

The Grave of the Vienna Sausage King

Vance Lauderdale — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:10:10 -0500

Not many people know that Archibald K. Wortham, the "inventor" of the tasty Vienna sausage, is actually buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis.

On July 19th, the anniversary of Wortham's birth, his devoted fans (mostly former Boy Scouts) leave empty cans of the delicious concoction at his gravesite.…

Remembering Ted Rust 1910-2010

Vance Lauderdale — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:49:05 -0500

Edwin C. "Ted" Rust died last week at the age of 99. As the longtime director of the Memphis College of Art, and the Memphis Academy of Arts before that, he was an icon in the art world of our region.…

Miss McKellar Lake — 1973

Vance Lauderdale — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:35:03 -0500

Since everyone seemed to enjoy the photo I posted below, showing the 1964 finalists for the coveted title of Miss McKellar Lake, you must indulge me while I share a photo of the 1973 contestants.

From left to right, they are: Tommy Hooker (Miss McKellar Lake of 1963), Tori Petty, Elaine Henderson, Paige Petty, Donna Hodges, Susan Harris, Diane Long, Pam Parrish, Margaretta O'Neill, Cheri Phelps, Barbara Clemons, and Judy Joe.…

The Dog Fountain at Rhodes College - UPDATED

Vance Lauderdale — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:57:30 -0500

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the interesting water fountain at Rhodes College, which was dedicated to the beloved German shepherd, Cujo, who had once belonged to a Rhodes alumnus named David Granoff.

Well, somehow Granoff found out about the story, and took the time to contact me and tell me more about the fountains — yep, there is more than one at the school — and about his life after leaving Rhodes.…

The Dog Fountain at Rhodes College

Vance Lauderdale — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:08:19 -0500

Not many people — and it seems not even many Rhodes College students — are aware that a rather remarkable tribute to man's best friend can be found on that campus.

Just east of the Bryant Campus Life Center, close to the soccer fields, is a nice stone drinking fountain, with a bronze plaque on it, dedicated to a dog.…

A New Website for Berl "Mr. Music" Olswanger

Vance Lauderdale — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:11:07 -0500

I've written before about Berl Olswanger — "Mr. Music of Memphis" — not only on this blog, but in my regular "Ask Vance" column in Memphis magazine.

He was a remarkably talented fellow: music store owner, teacher, author, composer, pianist, bandleader, and all-around entertainer.…

Ella Carver — 73-Year-Old Fire Diver!

Vance Lauderdale — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:31:23 -0500

Memphis has always attracted our share of unusual entertainers. Some of them are born here, and some come from other places.…

Rest in Peace, Tom Turner (1924-2010)

Vance Lauderdale — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:47:42 -0500

Memphis lost two of its "lions" this past weekend. Everybody knows about the contributions of Rendezvous founder Charlie Vergos, but even though his name may not be a household word here, many of us benefited from the contributions of my pal Tom Turner.…

Charlie Vergos, 1926-2010

Vance Lauderdale — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:20:00 -0500

Charlie Vergos, who turned a cluttery barbecue restaurant tucked away in a downtown alley into a Memphis — no, I'd say a national — institution, passed away Saturday morning. Considered by many as the unofficial "mayor" of Memphis, he will be missed by many, and his praises will be sung by others better at these things than I am.…

The Last Photograph of Mother and Father Lauderdale

Vance Lauderdale — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:11:00 -0600

It's not a pleasant image to post on my blog, but last night I discovered this faded photograph tucked away in a shoebox in the attic, and when I gazed upon it, I realized it was the last photograph ever taken of Mother and Father Lauderdale.

The yellowed snapshot was taken during an excursion to Maywood, and even though it was the middle of June, Mother is wearing her beloved chihuahua-fur coat and stuffing a Hostess Twinkie in her mouth (she gobbled them down by the dozen).…

Homer Wells — "The Bloodhound Man"

Vance Lauderdale — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:54:00 -0600

In the next installment of WKNO's fine Southern Routes show, I talk about the life and times of a very interesting character named Homer Wells, known far and wide as "The Bloodhound Man."

Wells was a private eye in Memphis in the 1920s and '30s, then tried his hand writing stories about his exploits for True Detective Mysteries, Master Detective, and other magazines of the day and became quite a local celebrity. These (below) are just some of the many "true-crime" publications that contained his stories.…

MORE Sidewalk Signatures

Vance Lauderdale — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:06:00 -0600

Awhile back, I wrote about "sidewalk signatures" — those names pressed into sidewalks years ago by the contractors, who were so pleased with their work that they actually signed it. If you don't remember my original column, then that's really a shame, but go here and try to pay more attention this time.…

Cybill Shepherd - Supermodel

Vance Lauderdale — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:19:00 -0600

Most people these days probably think of Cybill Shepherd as mainly a TV and movie actress. And who can blame them, after some really fine roles in the movie The Last Picture Show and then on television with Moonlighting (with Bruce Willis, back when he had hair) and later, Cybill.…

Beatrice Garrison and the Pentecost-Garrison School

Vance Lauderdale — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:51:00 -0600

In the January issue of Memphis magazine, I wrote about the Pentecost-Garrison School for Boys, one of this city's best private schools, and the forerunner to today's Presbyterian Day School and Memphis University School.

At the time, I had not located a photograph of one of the school's founders, Beatrice Garrison, so we only included an image of Althea Pentecost.…