When we booked at Barnes Crossing CG we had opted to stay two nights. After further review we thought maybe that was a mistake and one would have been sufficient to get our housekeeping stuff completed.
As it turned out, it felt good to hang around and at times do nothing, but by 1 PM Ron was getting antsy so we ventured out to check out the Elvis Presley Museum. We are not really fans of Elvis (I know we are weird) but since Tupelo was his birth place we thought we would see what his life was like before fame, fortune and an untimely death.
Just about everyone who heard of Elvis Presley knows of his great singing career, fame, fortune and also the sadness in his life that ultimately resulted in his early demise. The museum in Tupelo did not focus on his stardom but on his youth growing up dirt poor in a seedy neighborhood with nothing but his love for his parents, his faith in God and a gifted voice.
His mother Gladys and father Vernon met when she was 21 and he 17. Within 3 months they had run off and eloped.
Elvis was born in a two-room house built by his father, grandfather and uncle. Elvis was one of identical twin brothers born to the Presley's. His brother Jessie Gordon was stillborn. Elvis grew up in Tupelo surrounded by his extended family.
Front porch of the two room home.
Back door to house
Room #1 Bedroom
Room # 2 Kitchen
Financially times were hard for Vernon and Gladys and they had to move out of the house where Elvis was born when he was two and a half years old for lack of payment. Vernon and Gladys worked various jobs while in Tupelo and moved several times during the thirteen years they were there. Unfortunately his father Vernon spent time in jail for non-payment of his mortgage and bills.
While in Tupelo, Elvis attended the Assembly of God Church where he was first exposed to gospel music that influenced his musical style throughout his career. He was exposed to a variety of music styles including the blues, and country music.
At age ten he made his first public radio broadcast and sang “Old Shep” in a youth talent contest. He won a second place prize of $5.00 and free admission to the county fair and could ride the rides all day for free.
At age 11 he went to the Tupelo Hardware store with his mother to purchase a .22 caliber rifle but he decided to buy a guitar instead. His pastor taught him how to play and he could be seen around town with his guitar in hand.
Bronze statue of Elvis at age 13
In 1947 Elvis played his guitar and sang a farewell tribute to his Milam Junior High class before moving to Memphis where his father hoped to make a better life for his family. The car below is believed to be the make and model of the car used to transport Elvis and his family and their meager belongings to Memphis.
Nine years later Elvis returned to the fairgrounds and performed a benefit concert. He donated the proceeds of the concert to purchase his birthplace home and the surrounding property to make a park for the children.
Elvis’s childhood church was moved from one block away to its current location on the museum grounds. We did attend a simulated gospel mass in the church as part of the tour.
The chapel was small but lovely inside.
We toured the museum that houses many of Elvis’s belongings but were not allowed to take pictures. There is a huge addition being added to the museum which will more then double its size.
We spoke to the volunteers at the museum and they were quick to differentiate their museum from the one in Memphis. That this museum was focused on the young Presley before he became famous and how much he meant to their community.
Despite the fact we’ve really never been interested in “Elvis” – it was certainly educational and once again confirmed for us that great things can happen to people from all walks of life in America.
Tomorrow we head back out onto the Natchez and hope to end up in Vicksburg.
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