Tornadoes Strike Memphis

 

On 5/2/2008 a massive outbreak of tornadoes struck the Memphis and surrounding areas. Graceland luckily escaped without damage but sadly there appear to have been several fatalities in the area. Our thoughts go out to the families who’ve lost loved ones or whose homes have been affected.

 

http://video.elvicities.com/storm/report.htm

 

Tornadoes Strike Memphis

 

On 5/2/2008 a massive outbreak of tornadoes struck the Memphis and surrounding areas. Graceland luckily escaped without damage but sadly there appear to have been several fatalities in the area. Our thoughts go out to the families who’ve lost loved ones or whose homes have been affected.

 

http://video.elvicities.com/storm/report.htm

 

Awwwwwwww that is sad, my thoughts go out to all those families too. :(

 

 

 

Graceland Safe Following Tornado Outbreak In Memphis Area

 

The staff of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and Graceland want all of the faithful Elvis fans around the world to know the famous Memphis mansion that was home to the King of Rock N' Roll was not damaged and none of our employees were injured by the series of tornados that tore through the Memphis area late Tuesday afternoon and evening.

 

"We appreciate the concern that has been expressed through your e-mails and phone calls as some of you are now starting to see the damage from news reports coming out of Memphis. The storm damage is primarily centered around the Southeastern portion of the city, Graceland and The Heartbreak Hotel never even lost power.

 

Graceland and all of it's employees were very lucky to escape unharmed and we ask for your thoughts to be with our neighbors in the Memphis and Mid-South region that were not as fortunate."

 

Thanks for posting that Derek, that's good to know that they are ok and still in good working order :yahoo: :cheer:

Cheers Derick for letting us know I'm so glad that Graceland wasn't affected but it was so sad to hear about all those who lost their lives :(

Tornado hits NE Mississippi:

 

Power outages are being reported along the apparent track of today's (Thursday) storms in Lee County, including Tupelo, and areas of Lafayette County north of Oxford and in the New Albany area of Union County.

 

The general manager of the Tennessee Valley Authority in Tupelo, Terry Kemp, confirmed the outages. Kemp says officials are trying to get outage numbers from the distributors and crews who are assessing damage to power lines and facilities.

 

EPE: No Damage Done to Elvis Presley's Birthplace in Tupelo, MS: A possible tornado was spotted over the Tupelo area during the early morning hours Thursday. There were numerous reports of downed trees and police reported some damage to a Mississippi Department of Transportation building, but Elvis Presley's birthplace did not receive any damage. Our thoughts go out to those who sustained damage.

 

(News, Source: EP Gold/AP)

Nice to see Elvis's birthplace stayed in tact, but sorry to hear alot of other peoples places didn't. :(

From Elvis Australia

 

The twister that made Tupelo famous

 

By: Bob Swanson and Doyle Rice

Source: USA Today

 

 

A twister brought national attention to Tupelo, Miss., long before its favorite son, Elvis Aron Presley, wiggled his way to fame on the Ed Sullivan Show. In fact, Elvis, born on Jan. 8, 1935, was just barely a toddler when an F-5 tornado roared through his hometown 70 years ago today, claiming the lives of 233 people. It was one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history

 

The newspaper that serves Tupelo, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, has a nice four-part series about the tornado. The retrospective features interviews with survivors and stories of those who didn't make it through the storm. Weatherwise magazine also did a nice feature article on the 1936 Tupelo tornado. Not only did the storm rip through the town of Tupelo, but its 15 mile path affected rural communities as well. The morning after the storms rolled through Tupelo, other tornadoes developed near Gainesville, Ga., claiming the lives of an additional 203 people

The storm, despite its ferocity, left the home where Elvis was born relatively unscathed. The home stands today, much as it did in 1936, though the ceiling and roof have been replaced due to age, not because of the tornado.

I've had the pleasure of visiting the Elvis Presley Birthplace. My wife, Meredith, is from Tupelo, and most of her family still resides in the area.

 

Tornado Hits Tupelo Area - May 9, 2008

A tornado was spotted over the Tupelo area during the early morning hours Thursday. There were numerous reports of downed trees and police reported some damage to a Mississippi Department of Transportation building, but Elvis Presley's birthplace did not receive any damage.

 

 

From Elvis Australia

 

The twister that made Tupelo famous

 

By: Bob Swanson and Doyle Rice

Source: USA Today

A twister brought national attention to Tupelo, Miss., long before its favorite son, Elvis Aron Presley, wiggled his way to fame on the Ed Sullivan Show. In fact, Elvis, born on Jan. 8, 1935, was just barely a toddler when an F-5 tornado roared through his hometown 70 years ago today, claiming the lives of 233 people. It was one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history

 

The newspaper that serves Tupelo, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, has a nice four-part series about the tornado. The retrospective features interviews with survivors and stories of those who didn't make it through the storm. Weatherwise magazine also did a nice feature article on the 1936 Tupelo tornado. Not only did the storm rip through the town of Tupelo, but its 15 mile path affected rural communities as well. The morning after the storms rolled through Tupelo, other tornadoes developed near Gainesville, Ga., claiming the lives of an additional 203 people

The storm, despite its ferocity, left the home where Elvis was born relatively unscathed. The home stands today, much as it did in 1936, though the ceiling and roof have been replaced due to age, not because of the tornado.

I've had the pleasure of visiting the Elvis Presley Birthplace. My wife, Meredith, is from Tupelo, and most of her family still resides in the area.

 

Tornado Hits Tupelo Area - May 9, 2008

A tornado was spotted over the Tupelo area during the early morning hours Thursday. There were numerous reports of downed trees and police reported some damage to a Mississippi Department of Transportation building, but Elvis Presley's birthplace did not receive any damage.

 

 

 

Wow, Elvis's birthplace must be watched over by Gaurdian Angels. :wub: :yahoo:

Tupelo is a very special place for us all :heart:

 

'Elvis: Return to Tupelo' film screening, and the Elaine Dundy connection:

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/Elvisreturnsx.jpg

 

For Elaine Dundy, the late writer, the 'Source of the Nile' led to Tupelo: Thanks to Elvis Presley, it's easy to draw a line from Tupelo to anywhere in the world! Elaine Dundy grew up a daughter of privilege in New York, and spent years in Paris and London. It took a while for the boy from Tupelo to get her attention.

"One of the things she said was she didn't know Elvis was alive until he was dead," said Roy Turner of Tupelo. "When he died, every shop, every cab in London was playing his music. She said, Who is that?'"

Take a moment to consider her question: "Who is that?" Somebody says, "Elvis," and that would be enough for most of us.

But Dundy wanted a better answer, a complete answer. She was willing to travel from London to Tupelo to get it.

"She told her friends she was going to find The Source of the Nile,'" Turner said. "Her friends tried to talk her out of it, saying things like, They're still barefoot down there, you know.'"

She came to Tupelo in 1981, asked for a historian and hooked up with Turner, an East Tupelo native who spent his childhood roaming the same terrain that young Elvis had explored a few years earlier.

 

Dundy stayed in Northeast Mississippi for five months with Turner as her guide. The result was "Elvis and Gladys," which came out in 1985 and has never been out of print.

Turner helped with Dundy's next book, "Ferriday, Louisiana," and maintained a friendship that endured for 27 years.

"I was 29 when she came here. I was very insecure and not very confident," he said. "She helped me believe in myself, the greatest gift anybody ever gave me."

Turner said Dundy's influence gave him the courage to join with Jim Palmer to make the movie, "Homecoming: Tupelo Welcomes Elvis." Working on "Homecoming" got them connected with the creators of "Elvis: Return to Tupelo," which lists Turner and Palmer as producers.

"If Elvis hadn't brought Elaine here," Turner said, "I wouldn't have done any of it because she wouldn't have come here and expanded my idea of what's possible."

"Return" screened earlier this week at the Lyric Theatre in Tupelo

 

http://www.elvisinfonet.com/dundy1.html

 

(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet/Gansky)

Roy Turner, Elvis historian, talks about Elvis In Tupelo:

 

Roy Turner is an Elvis Historian who is well-known in the Elvis world for his amazing research into this all-important period of Elvis' past. He was the major source of research behind Elaine Dundy's book 'Elvis and Gladys', has been involved in multiple Elvis projects and was the author of the recent MRS book 'Tupelo's Own; Elvis Presley'. Roy has intimate information about Elvis' early days and became good friends with Brother Frank Smith and Elvis' Aunt Lillian. In 2006 Roy Turner & Jim Palmer produced a documentary about Elvis' 1956 triumphant Tupelo return 'Homecoming: Tupelo Welcomes Elvis' which was premiered at the Tupelo Elvis Festival. The recently updated edit of Roy Turner's documentary is soon to be shown on nationwide TV. In this fascinating interview EIN's Piers Beagley recently talked with Roy Turner about Elvis' past and the relevance of Tupelo to his career.

 

(Interviews, Source;EIN)

 

 

http://www.elvisinfonet.com/interview_royturner.html