Memphis Moments and Monuments

We were again fortunate to find a wonderful farmers’ market and stocked up on bread, vegetables and fruit. Each of the markets we have visited has had its own unique flavor and this one had location as an asset. It is near lovely townhouses overlooking the Mississippi. The townhouses replaced a blighted industrial area. The neighborhood also includes many lofts in old commercial buildings.

After our purchases were stowed away, we went to Elmwood Cemetery.

Established in 1866, the eighty-acre cemetery has several tours. We took the standard audio tour purchasing a CD in the Carpenter Gothic Cottage. Fifty leading gentlemen of Memphis created Elmwood as a rural cemetery that now is the final resting place for more than 75,000 souls and is also an arboretum and social gathering place for lectures, parties, weddings and funerals.

Our tour took us to both simple markers and creative stones of the famous and infamous. We heard stories of civic leaders, madams who helped the sick during the plague, a wife who killed three of her six husbands, philanthropists, military heroes, and the first Duck Master of the Peabody
Hotel.

This tree trunk symbolizes a life cut short. It is entwined with ivy representing eternal life. The monument behind it was used in the film The Firm.

The Superintendent of the cemetery placed this swing near the grave of the father of a five-year-old to ease the sadness of the young orphan.

Our two-hour drive was fascinating and educational. We learned that the dead do have stories to tell.

On the advice of Mark and Ellen, we visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King was assassinated. This museum has done an excellent job of telling the story of King and the movement he led. We were pleased to see many young people there. The tour starts with a film narrated by Rev. Billy Kyles, the man with King on that tragic evening. We were privileged to meet him as we left the museum.

The tour includes King’s hotel room (the one with the wreath on the door) and James Earl Ray’s room across the street.

We spent three hours reading the many quotes and articles and could have stayed even longer.

We spent our last evening doing the obvious, strolling Beale Street. After clearing security, like at the airport, we wandered up and down the street. Competing bands blasted, beer flowed and spilled, and everyone was in a good mood.

One surprise on Beale Street was an exhibition of the work of black photographer Ernest Withers. He took photos of the leading black sports and entertainment stars of the 1940s and 1950s, including Negro League players and such stars as Lena Horne who was staying at the Lorraine Hotel. He chronicled the civil rights movement but, according to recently discovered documents not mentioned in the exhibit, was also a spy for the FBI.

The sunset behind the Interstate 40 bridge spanning the Mississippi gave us a colorful ending to our time in Memphis.