This newspaper article sums up everything you need to know about how Tupelo regards its relationship with its native son today: All shook up in Tupelo By John Bordsen Knight Ridder News Service TUPELO, Miss. - This town on U.S. 78 is an onramp to any "Road to Rock 'n' Roll": Elvis was from here, and nearly 100,000 visitors, foreign and domestic, arrive every year to get close to where the King was born. They see the 15-acre park that cradles his birthplace and a museum and chapel that honor him. They drive to the markers at nine places in Tupelo that he fondly recalled later in life. But those markers are easy to miss. The park isn't easy to find. The reasons Tupelo seems so Elvis-deficient are tied to his basic saga of triumph/tragedy: He was born with so little; he died with too much. And he was from the wrong side of the tracks. The evening of Sept. 12, 1948, Vernon and Gladys Presley and their only child quietly left Tupelo. It is said that Vernon's sudden departure may have had something to do with bootlegging. He also had a reputation as a hard-partying skirt-chaser who couldn't hang onto a job. His and his wife's families had been in the area for generations but never amounted to much. Young and broke, the couple lived in blue-collar East Tupelo. The better part of Tupelo was on the other side of Mud Creek, across two sets of railroad tracks and the blacks' Shake Rag shacks. The two-room house where Elvis was born Jan. 8, 1935, was built with $180 Vernon borrowed from his boss, Orville Bean. In two years, they had no house: Vernon was convicted of forgery -- sentenced to three years at Parchman Farm state pen for forging or kiting a $3 or $4 check. That check was from Bean, who then repossessed the Presley shack. Vernon did eight months. The family moved around East Tupelo -- none of the residences is on the driving tour. The Assembly of God Church and the Shake Rag community, where Elvis was drawn to gospel and blues -- are also long gone. The remaining stops on the drive are grindingly mundane -- a grade school, a junior high, a library, a grocery -- the marginal high points of an obscure, impoverished life. But the drifter's son was to be the King of Rock 'n' Roll. In 1954, still a shy loner but now with long hair, sideburns and odd clothes, he leapt from truck driver to regional stage attraction on the strength of several rockabilly records. He hooked up with cunning ex-carny promoter "Colonel" Tom Parker and within 12 months was a national phenomenon. The kid who sold a million copies of Hound Dog in under two weeks was ready to return to Tupelo for the Mississippi-Alabama Fair & Dairy Show of 1956. It was in many ways a triumph: An often-seen photo shows Elvis leaning toward the crowd of 5,000 teens, hysterical girls reaching for him, on a sweltering September afternoon. The Presleys drove down from Memphis that noon, too late for the Elvis parade. Main Street banners read "Tupelo Welcomes Elvis Presley Home," Gov. J.P. Coleman made a nice little speech between songs, and Tupelo's mayor gave Elvis a guitar-shaped key to the city. (As a fifth-grader, Elvis took second place in the same fair's Kids Day talent show, singing Old Shep.) Offstage, Elvis was polite and respectful. Gladys was apparently ill at ease, remembering their former poverty. Vernon was riding high. Not everyone was happy. "That first show, there were these girls grabbing his clothes, and that didn't go over well," says Judy Schumpert, a hostess at the Elvis Presley Birthplace park. "So they warned him: 'If this happens at the later show, we will stop the performance right then and there; the show will be over.' "You see, they thought he was just a shaky-leg, hairy boy. A flash in the pan." He returned the following year -- bigger than ever -- to do another show. One of the people he met, the story goes, was Oleta Grimes, who was his fifth-grade teacher as well as the daughter of the recently deceased Orville Bean. The Presley house was still standing, and the property was for sale. Elvis told city fathers he'd donate proceeds from the show to the city if they'd buy the site and develop it as a park. "He'd got to thinking he'd like to do something for the place he was born," recalls Janelle McComb, who knew Vernon, Gladys and Elvis. Her grandfather owned a store where the Presleys had shopped; she befriended them and kept in touch. McComb, still in Tupelo, in her 80s and quite forthright on all things Elvis, is considered the keeper of the flame. "He saw little kids riding through the neighborhood where he was born and told the Colonel he wanted to build a center where kids and people like his grandmother could go and be entertained for free." The Presley home -- next to the museum/visitor center -- is the size of a garage and doesn't look too out of place in this scruffy warren of side streets. Over the decades, local prosperity seems to have moved in every direction but East Tupelo's. The 30-by-15 shotgun-style house undoubtedly looks better than when Vernon lived there. Its attendant said the painted white exterior was just weather-beaten wood back then. Inside, she said, the walls would've been covered with newspaper -- "this newer wallpaper matches what was up in 1957, when it was sold to Elvis." The roof has been redone; the linoleum, too. But the impression of poverty remains strong. Small wonder the birthplace museum has little of Elvis' early years. Much on display is from the personal collection of McComb, who would write inspirational verse for the family after the boy hit the big time. The collection is eclectic. A 1974 form letter from Sen. Strom Thurmond says, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness recently expressed by your Christmas greeting." There's the obligatory late-career sequined performance wear. Motorcycle boots. Sneakers. Hats. A book he wanted McComb to read titled Christ and the Fine Arts. There are also copies of historical photos and a 1991 Elvis bootleg LP pressed in China. The gift shop is large and includes six styles of shirts showing the birthplace and little Elvis (some with Vernon and Gladys cropped out). There are $9 reprints of the 1977 Memphis front page that screamed "The King Is Dead." There are repros of the similar issue of the Tupelo Journal. Walk the grounds. For the best photo op, stand next to the life-size bronze "Elvis at 13" by Michael Vandersommen. The Greensboro sculptor worked from a sixth-grade class photo taken at Lawhon Elementary. The figure is dressed in oversize overalls and carries a guitar. There's a fountain and a walkway. And there's the Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel. The 12 pews were sponsored by friends and fan clubs and have little donor plaques. The plaque at front left reads "In Memory of Elvis From The Colonel." That would be Tom Parker, who made him a star and a millionaire and -- many of the Elvis faithful believe -- squandered Presley's talents and ruined his health. Scratch marks deface "The Colonel." Make your last stop the 1939 Plymouth sedan, which the Tupelo Automobile Museum loans to the birthplace. It's a pristine replica of the beater Vernon Presley drove out of Tupelo. Up to 65,000 people a year pay to tour the museum; perhaps another 9,000 come to see the other buildings and the grounds, free of charge. But there is a disconnect between Elvis and Tupelo. The Elvis Festival, in June, was staged by the Main Street Association, not the city. The park is owned by the city, but structures on it are operated by the nonprofit Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation, which is funded by neither the city nor the Presley empire. Tupelo is still a pretty conservative place. There are those who would prefer it to be remembered as the hometown of Lawrence Welk Show vocalist Guy Hovis, not "Elvis the Pelvis." Sneering at Elvis and his background may once have been common, McComb says, "But they can't say anything now. They're making too much money off Elvis. Money is an attitude arranger. It certainly does this where I live, and this is no different from any other small town." And there is the Colonel's legacy of financially safeguarding his client's name: "Elvis" and "Elvis Presley" are registered and very actively protected trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Dead more than a quarter-century, the star is still making money. This trademarking puts a hold on related businesses -- and not just souvenirs. The flier distributed by Tupelo Hardware, for instance, has to explain the store's Presleyan significance obliquely, saying it was where "Gladys bought her son" his first guitar. Finally, keep in mind that Tupelo is the front end of the Elvis story. McComb is among those who want the town -- and the world -- fully aware of what he overcame. For this, an obelisk or promenade would not do. "We want to keep it 1935," she says. "The beginning wasn't fountains and sparklers. "I would've put up a clothesline in the park. Maybe an outhouse, except someone would've giggled at it. Or used it: You never know with people." McComb is still involved with the birthplace. And yes, she says she's been there with Lisa Marie, the King's daughter. "She leaned over one time, pointed at a coal bucket and said, 'What is that?' "Every time she's been here, she's been utterly amazed, because she was born into enormous wealth," McComb says. "When Elvis sang The Impossible Dream, he meant it. Because he lived it." In the know If you go Elvis' Tupelo then . . . The fairground where Elvis tore up the audience in 1956 and 1957 is gone, but a 14-year-old who sat in the front row at the first show -- Wynette Pugh -- was inspired to great things. She became country legend Tammy Wynette. . . . and now At the Tupelo visitors center, 399 E. Main St., you can get a map showing a driving tour of nine sites associated with him. The map has errors: Driving around the area to find the monuments can be a hassle. Good news: The center will give you a coupon good for free admission to the Elvis Birthplace (you'll still have to pay to see the museum). Tupelo historian Roy Turner is finishing up a documentary about Elvis' triumphant '56 return to Tupelo. He hopes to have Homecoming ready for release in spring '06. Where to eat: Try Johnnie's Drive In, on East Main in East Tupelo -- little Elvis used to go there with his friends. There's a historic marker on the site. If you're part of the chain gang, the McDonald's at 372 S. Gloster St. has an Elvis theme. Roy Turner's wife, Debbie, just opened Hound Dog Cafe at 1439 E. Main St., in East Tupelo (inside Bishop's Flowers & Gifts). The menu includes EP's fave: fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Check the decor, which includes items from Roy's collection. Elvis' Birthplace: 306 Elvis Presley Drive, Tupelo, Miss. Cost: $7 for home/museum; $6 for museum only; $2.50 for home only; $3.50 for home/museum admission for ages 7-12. Chapel/grounds free. Hours: 9 a.m.-5:30p.m. Monday-Saturday. Details: (662) 841-1245; www.elvispresleybirthplace.com. Info about Tupelo: Convention and Visitors Bureau, 399 E. Main St., Tupelo; (800) 533-0611, toll-free; http://tupelo.net. Stop by to get birthplace directions, a coupon for free admission to the birthplace home, and a fan with Elvis' 1950s likeness on it -- "It's for Elvis fans," they say. In the know If you go Elvis' Tupelo then . . . The fairground where Elvis tore up the audience in 1956 and 1957 is gone, but a 14-year-old who sat in the front row at the first show -- Wynette Pugh -- was inspired to great things. She became country legend Tammy Wynette. . . . and now At the Tupelo visitors center, 399 E. Main St., you can get a map showing a driving tour of nine sites associated with him. The map has errors: Driving around the area to find the monuments can be a hassle. Good news: The center will give you a coupon good for free admission to the Elvis Birthplace (you'll still have to pay to see the museum). Tupelo historian Roy Turner is finishing up a documentary about Elvis' triumphant '56 return to Tupelo. He hopes to have Homecoming ready for release in spring '06. Where to eat: Try Johnnie's Drive In, on East Main in East Tupelo -- little Elvis used to go there with his friends. There's a historic marker on the site. If you're part of the chain gang, the McDonald's at 372 S. Gloster St. has an Elvis theme. Roy Turner's wife, Debbie, just opened Hound Dog Cafe at 1439 E. Main St., in East Tupelo (inside Bishop's Flowers & Gifts). The menu includes EP's fave: fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Check the decor, which includes items from Roy's collection. Elvis' Birthplace: 306 Elvis Presley Drive, Tupelo, Miss. Cost: $7 for home/museum; $6 for museum only; $2.50 for home only; $3.50 for home/museum admission for ages 7-12. Chapel/grounds free. Hours: 9 a.m.-5:30p.m. Monday-Saturday. Details: (662) 841-1245; www.elvispresleybirthplace.com. Info about Tupelo: Convention and Visitors Bureau, 399 E. Main St., Tupelo; (800) 533-0611, toll-free; http://tupelo.net. Stop by to get birthplace directions, a coupon for free admission to the birthplace home, and a fan with Elvis' 1950s likeness on it -- "It's for Elvis fans," they say. home | new | the man | lisa marie | priscilla & others | fun | clothes | photos | records | movies | concerts | gifts | web | guide | e-cards | today | facts Click here for more info on the book The Girls' Guide to Elvis Click here to check out sister book The Girls' Guide to Country Click here to check out the latest sister book The Ultimate Guide to Chick Flicks