grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • Biography
  • Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • My Thoughts on Publishing
  • SHOP!
  • Garden
  • Food
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter

hanging with Elvis in Tupelo…

May 5, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner 6 Comments

hanging with Elvis

Oh, you know, I’m just hanging with Elvis as one does, especially when one visits Tupelo. Quick story: I was invited to the Alabama Book Festival and immediately said YES not only because—Book Festival!—but also because to get there from here, I would drive smack through Tupelo and into the depths of Mississippi Blues land.

Tupelo is Elvis’s birthplace. He lived there until his family moved to Memphis when he was thirteen.

Graceland is Elvis’s deathplace. And what a contrast between the two.

I’ve experienced Graceland many, many times. When you grow up in the 1970s just across the river from Memphis, Graceland drivebys are a normal thing—just to look at the iron gate, to see the trees in front of the house, to see Elvis’s gardener outside, that sort of thing. Elvis was ours because of the nearness of him, and news of his death tore up our little town.

I toured Graceland BK and AK, which for non-Memphis people means before the kitchen was open to the public and after the kitchen became part of the tour. Graceland is most certainly worth a visit, but, not to brag, having grown up just down the interstate in the Bat Cave which boasts its own jungle room, major earthquake fault line, and scars from a real live state trooper shootout spanning three states and culminating in your own carport, well, it takes a lot to impress me.

Really, I’m more impressed by not a lot.

Elvis’s birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi is intriguing because I prefer beginnings. Johnny Cash’s homeplace. The barn where Hemingway wrote parts of A Farewell to Arms. “George Washington slept here” sort of spots on the map.

Elvis Presley Birthplace, Tupelo

These places are significant. Home base. The starting line before we knew where we wanted to go.

The birthplace museum focuses on Elvis’s early music and childhood, photos of his elementary school class, toys he played with, a replica of his first guitar, those sorts of interesting things.

Elvis's class photo

Elvis’s beginning was humble yet so rich in family and church and music. The church where Elvis spent every Sunday and Wednesday night is located on the birthplace property a few yards away from the home where he was born. It has been completely restored. The pulpit is original.

Be sure to time your chapel visit with the regularly scheduled multimedia presentation. It was my favorite part of the trip. I was immediately taken back to my childhood church with the hymns, the preaching, the hard pews, all of it. And I realized I miss attending a small country church.

Elvis's Church, Tupelo Miss

I saved the house tour for last.

It’s hard to call it a tour because the house is only a two-room shotgun with a bedroom and kitchen. Elvis was born in the bedroom. His twin brother was stillborn. (I’d forgotten Elvis was a twin). Although the furniture is not original, Vernon Presley helped choose similar furnishings and placed them in the exact positions.

Elvis's birthplace

There are people who aren’t Elvis fans. Folks who never got into his music or his movies or his story. I get it (sorta). It was before their time or after their time or whatever. But standing in the actual room where Elvis was born made the hair on my arms tingle. I felt awe-inspired, not only because ItWasElvis, but because his influence on our culture is extensive, especially considering his humble beginning.

I chatted with my tour guide for quite a while because I had lots of questions (and I’ve turned into my mother). Before I left, she bought a copy of The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee. (Writers take note: always have a copy of your book with you…) I gotta tell you, when I found myself signing the book I wrote while standing in the very room where Elvis was born…well, that felt giant for me.

Gracie Lee at Elvis's birthplace!

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Hanging with #Elvis in #Tupelo @MyTupelo @TupeloElvisFest #Mississippi #TheKing[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Elvis Presley, Peace in the Valley

Filed Under: Simple Pleasures, Travel Tagged With: Alabama Book Festival, Elvis, Elvis's birthplace, Graceland, Mississippi, Mississippi Blues, music, Tupelo Mississippi

Wanna receive posts via email? Sign up here!

Comments

  1. Paula Larson says

    May 5, 2016 at 7:49 am

    Very cool!

    Reply
  2. Barbara Tate says

    May 5, 2016 at 8:04 am

    How come I’ve never been to Tupelo? Seems like I drove through there one time on my way to, where else, Alabama. Love your blog about Elvis’ birth place. Enjoyed.

    Reply
  3. Colene says

    May 5, 2016 at 8:45 am

    I went to Elvis’s movie, Love Me Tender, when it first came out and I was so upset because I could not hear him sing over all of the excited fans screaming their heads off. Nice post and great pictures!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 6, 2016 at 9:40 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. frances creecy says

    May 5, 2016 at 9:13 am

    Enjoyed your blog today brought back memories of Rex and I going thru his home, I’ve got a picture of Rex setting in that swing. Thanks.

    Reply
  5. Tim says

    May 6, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    Awesome read, Talya, and thank you, thank you very much for posting it!!! I always thought Elvis was a pretty cool dude, and actually, come to think of it, I have some family who live in Tupelo who went to school with Elvis. Through jealousy, or maybe it’s the truth, I don’t know, but they told me that Elvis wasn’t too popular in school. They said he wore silk shirts and was a bit too flamboyant for their tastes, I guess. And in a way, I guess I could see where this would be true since as the King of Rock ‘n Roll where he ushered in a new form of music, he would have to be quite a bit different than the Average Joe. Elvis is and always will be a legend, not only in the music world, but as an American icon loved all over the world…So, anyhow, if you ever make it as famous as Elvis, just remember how nice I was to you in school…I’m sure Elvis never gave my cousins a call after he’d made it to the “Big Time,” as they say…haha

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Prior Posts

Tags

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Eureka Springs Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta moving Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer sunday letter Talya Tate Boerner novel The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday

Books by Talya Boerner / Purchase in Grace Grits SHOP

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 · Web Hosting By StrataByte