Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 22

This postcard is from a trip to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.  The visitors saw Ricky Van Shelton there.  Of course that's Minnie Pearl on the front.  I remember her from Hee Haw, but like about everyone else in the cast, she was famous before appearing on the show.  According to Wikipedia, she was friends with Dean Martin, Pee Wee Herman, and Elvis.

Speaking of Elvis, this is a card from his birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi.  It is open to the public.  

Windmill on the prairie in Oklahoma.

 

The Elvis Collection: Newspaper Clips 30

Hold it.  I thought I was done with this.  I didn't even watch an Elvis film marathon on the This network last weekend.  (They weren't the four best Elvis films.  I did watch the Beach Party marathon before it, though.)  

Just to show that Elvis is still relevant (to people still receiving paper newspapers and probably a senior  citizen), this came out last week.  Now . . . wait . . . this cover looks familiar.  Quick check.  Yes, they've used it before in 2008 (with a slightly different picture).  

I'll post a couple of other pages.  I did a post on Laura Ingalls Wilder's house recently.  And, I'm surprised that the Christmas Story house is a museum, though it shouldn't given how famous it is.

  

I have not yet posted my coverage on the recent MLB Field of Dreams game, but I will in the near future.

Here's the part of the article on Graceland along with Prince's house.  

The Elvis Collection: Newspaper Clips 29

Here we finally come to the end of the Elvis collection.  We'll start off with some merchandise.  Collector plates are a big deal, but would seem to me way too fragile to display.  

Elvis commemorative steins. 

 

And an Elvis commemorative quarter.

I gave mom a printed article I found about Captain Marvel Jr. and Elvis on the Internet.  Elvis was a big fan of Jr.  Maybe it was his somewhat dark origin story.  

    

Elvis had one of his suits designed after his outfit.   

Elvis' Taking Care of Business in a Flash logo was inspired by the Marvel lightning.

Captain Marvel Jr. returned the favor in Alex Ross' Kingdom Come series.  Here's future Freddie Freeman in costume.  (Yes, he has the same name as the Braves' MVP first baseman.)   

And here, our odyssey finally comes to an end.  There's probably not much to distinguish this newspaper insert coupon ad for an Elvis commemorative half-dollar, except that I clipped this one myself.  It's from March 2021.  Yes, actual paper newspapers are marketed to an older crowd, but it's  amazing that Elvis is still being mass merchandised.  

 

How can I possibly sum up this collection in a couple of sentences?  It was definitely a labor of love by my mom, as first a teen crush and then trying to keep his memory alive.  Posting this all here is a way of keeping mom's memory alive as well.  She collected a lot of things, but after her genealogical research, I'm pretty sure this Elvis collection was her favorite.  Doing all this has deepened  my appreciation for him and her.

The Elvis Collection: Newspaper Clips 28

This first one is an odd grab bag.  In an attempt to draw out Elvis after his death (?), a pass was left for him for a football game.  Also, Elvis somehow endorses Clinton from beyond the grave.  Oddly, in a fictional Elvis bio I read, Elvis beats out Clinton for the democratic nomination.  At the bottom, Elvis didn't take Nixon's suggestion to do a jailhouse concert like Johnny Cash.   

A shot at Lisa Marie and a shot by Pravda at Elvis.  You can also buy a copy of Elvis' will.  The Elvis Estate signs on to bringing an NFL franchise to Memphis.

Introducing the Elvis furniture suite.

Another Elvis birthday celebration, Elvis era car rentals, and a Graceland book.

More articles about Graceland celebrations.

Graceland added to the National Register of historic buildings.  Eddie Rabbitt was a host on the MDA telethon.  He wrote a couple of songs for Elvis in addition to being a successful singer in his own right.  Mom was big fan of Eddie too.

One more article about the annual Graceland remembrance.  

The Elvis Collection: Newspaper Clips 27

The director of the movie was an Elvis fan, but got completely sick of him after making a movie in Memphis.  

 

Article about the actress playing Priscilla in the mini-series based on Elvis and Me.  

And they also profiled the actor playing Elvis.

Erma Bombeck on the "Elvis is Alive" story.  Mom was a big fan of Erma.

Here, Grizzard compares Elvis to 2 Live Crew in terms of societal shock value.  He says in 20 years, 2 Live Crew will seem "Absolutely harmless."  Almost.  I don't even remember anything about them and probably nobody else does either.

 

Greene came back from Elvis week with an idea of turning Graceland into a cemetery where fans could be buried with him.  

 

Grizzard talks about hip hairstyles starting with Elvis.

An editor talks about seeing Elvis on his "Comeback" tour.  He almost passed it up because Elvis wasn't as popular as he used to be.  After going, he was really glad he went.

This is not the back of that article like I thought it was when I posted this.  Anyway, it's a little time capsule of movies in El Paso in the 80's.  Wow, these were terrible movies, especially Caddyshack 2.  I probably shouldn't have posted this.

The Elvis Collection: Newspaper Clips 26

Well, this is going to start off bleak.  The "Elvis is Alive" story forced an official statement.

Elvis' death was hotly disputed to be a drug overdose.

 

Here's the low-down on how Elvis is actually still alive.

And here's some articles discrediting said theory.

Ann Landers weighs in on the Elvis is Alive story.

Carl Perkins is forced to comment on whether Elvis is alive or not.  He's not pleased.

Here's a memorial to Otis Redding.  The only Elvis connection is that Otis won Male Vocalist of the Year over Elvis in Melody Maker magazine.  Great music really isn't a contest.  There's always room for more greatness. 

The Elvis Collection: Newspaper Clips 25

Here's a long editorial about Elvis.  Here's the only Elvis fan who was disappointed about his clean cut image, at least when he was young.

A passing mention of Elvis by way of Priscilla's book.  The writer doesn't approve.

A couple of articles about Elvis' death.  There were rumors that he was desperately ill with cancer before the end.

This is another article about his death.

Once he was gone, controversy about how he died flared up immediately.  Stories about the cause of Elvis' death would give way to the "Elvis is Alive" story later.