Oaklawn Garden Residence

This is the Oaklawn Garden residence, built in 1854.

In this area, homes of this vintage are often painted white or cream. I think that green suits this residence, allowing it to remain in harmony with the gardens which Mr. and Mrs. Cloyes generously share with visitors.

Please do click on the photos for a more detailed view.

May Theme Day: (Dwindling) Numbers

They don't make 'em like this anymore (as the railroad caboose is now found in very limited numbers)...but you can find this Norfolk and Western Caboose (1944) anytime in Harry Cloyes' collection of Germantown artifacts at his home, Oaklawn Garden. He and his wife, Becky, generously open their garden and vast collection for the public to enjoy each day, and have bequeathed their home and garden to Germantown (just outside the Memphis city limits) for future generations to enjoy. I will share a photo of the Cloyes' home, built in 1854, tomorrow. You can see why this garden was a favorite spot for my boys to visit...Mr. Cloyes' collection of railroad, municipal, and military artifacts delights both little boys and grown-up boys alike.

For those of you who asked about the jail building in yesterday's photo, yes, it truly was the original jail building for the Germantown area.

Please click on the photo to see a detailed view (railroad car numbers included). And please visit these other wonderful CDP blogs, listed on the CDP Theme Day Page here to view their contributions to today's Theme Day.

Reservation For One...

This is the original jail for the Germantown community, which can be seen at Oaklawn Garden, the home of Harry and Becky Cloyes. You can see photos of Mr. Cloyes here.

The Cloyes are lifelong Germantown residents, and for years have graciously opened their gardens to those who enjoy seeing their beautiful azaleas and other plantings, and also their extensive collection of Germantown artifacts. They still live in the lovely home on the property (built in 1854...I'll show you that soon), and have generously bequeathed their home and land to the city so that future generations can continue to enjoy this very special place.

I will be posting another artifact in Mr. Cloyes' collection tomorrow, for Theme Day.

W. C. Handy Statue, Beale Street

W. C. Handy is often called "The Father of the Blues", and he and his band moved to Memphis in 1909 to establish their musical presence on Beale Street. His famous song, "Memphis Blues", was originally titled "Mr. Crump", as it was written for then-Mayoral candidate Edward H. "Boss" Crump. It was so popular that he later rewrote it and changed the name to "Memphis Blues". It is considered by some to be the first blues song. You can read more about W. C. Handy here.

This is one of my favorite statues, not only on Beale Street, but in all of Memphis. (All colored bold script should provide a clickable link for more information. Please click on the photo(s) to see an enlarged version.)

edited to add: Annie asked this question: "I've always wondered if B. B. King named his guitar after W. C. Handy's first child. Do you know?"

Per Wikipedia: "One of his trademarks is "Lucille", the name he has given to his guitars since the 1950s after he escaped a fire at a juke joint he was playing in. The fire was started by two men who were fighting over a woman named "Lucille". During their fight, they knocked over the bucket of burning kerosene used for heat. When King escaped the building, he realized that he had left his guitar in the burning building. He ran back inside to get it and after learning of what happened, he named his guitar "Lucille" to remind himself not to do it again." You can read the entire entry here.