Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2017)
Page 4C EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE East Oregonian Saturday, April 22, 2017 Memphis: One city, two days, four attractions By BETH J. HARPAZ AP Travel Editor MEMPHIS, Tennessee — My ultimate destination was Mississippi to explore blues history. But to get there, I flew in and out of Memphis, Tennessee, an hour’s drive from the Delta. With one day in Memphis on either end of my itinerary, I decided to visit four attractions there that would add to the music and civil rights themes of the Mississippi trip. Those four Memphis stops, plus an evening listening to music on Beale Street, were perfect bookends for my Mississippi sojourn. But these attractions also make an easy and interesting two-day itinerary whether you use Memphis as a gateway for other parts of the South, or as a destination unto itself. Stax Museum of American Soul Music One of the first things you see at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music is an exhibit portraying a Mississippi country church. That’s because soul, like so many genres of pop music, has roots in the Delta. The Stax recording studio was founded by a white sister and brother, Estelle Axton and Jim Stewart. But in an unusual arrangement for the era, Stax was also a place where whites and blacks worked together. And Stax’s roster of black stars, including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers, proved enormously popular with both black and white audiences, first in Europe and ultimately at home. Stax eventually went bankrupt but the museum was built on the original site and does a terrific job showcasing everything from costumes to cars to walls of hit records. Videos of TV and concert performances will have you dancing your way through the exhibits. Sun Studio Sun Studio calls itself the “birthplace” of rock ‘n’ roll, and as every music fan knows, there’s a straight line from the blues to rock. Among the Mississippi AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz This March 13 photo shows a view of the former Lorraine Motel balcony where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in 1968 in Memphis, Tenn. The former motel is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum. AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz This March 13 photo shows visitors getting ready to tour Graceland in Memphis, Tenn. Elvis Presley bought the mansion — which is small by 21st century standards — in 1957 and lived there until his death 20 years later. natives who recorded at Sun Records were B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf and Ike Turner. Turner played keyboards on what some regard as the first rock single, the Delta Cats’ “Rocket 88,” released by Sun in 1951. But it was an 18-year-old who wandered into the studio in 1953 named Elvis Presley who took Sun’s fortunes big-time. Presley recorded two dozen songs with Sun before switching to a national label to manage his rocketing career. An iconic photo displayed at the studio, dubbed the “Million Dollar Quartet,” shows Presley back at Sun in 1956, sitting at a piano with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. Lively guided tours of Sun Studio walk visitors through its hit parade with music clips and engaging anecdotes — including the tale of Sun founder Sam Phil- lips’ improvised repair of a busted amp. He shoved a wad of paper inside and the fuzzy distortion became part of the label’s trademark sound. You’ll stand in the footsteps not only of the label’s early stars but also more recent visitors like rock giants U2. National Civil Rights Museum The story of the blues AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz AP Photo/Greg Campbell, File This June 2004 file photo shows the cafe counter at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tenn., with a photo of the “Million Dollar Quartet” on the wall. The famous 1956 image shows Elvis Presley, who got his start at Sun Studio, seated with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash standing. Lively guided tours of Sun Stu- dio walk visitors through its hit parade with music clips, lively exhibits and engaging anecdotes. can’t be told without looking at black history, from musical traditions brought here by enslaved Africans, to the music shared by black laborers eking out a living on Delta cotton plantations in the early 20th century. One place to put that history in context is the National Civil Rights Museum, located in the former Lorraine Motel where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The museum has extensive exhibits on slavery, segregation and the protests that powered the civil rights movement. Allow several hours to take in the engrossing displays, which include video footage of marches, riots and news reports from the era, along with engaging interactive exhibits that offer inter- views with ordinary people reflecting on their personal experiences. King was in Memphis to support striking garbage workers when he was shot while standing on a hotel This March 8 photo shows the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, Tenn. The Stax recording studio’s roster of stars included Otis Red- ding, Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers. It eventually went bankrupt but the museum showcases everything from costumes to cars to walls of hit records. balcony. On your way in, you see the balcony from outside, but at the tour’s end, you’ll see the spot where he was murdered from inside the hotel. It’s a stunning, heart-stopping vantage point that brings you face to face with that watershed moment. April 4, 2018, will mark 50 years since that day. Graceland No trip to Memphis is complete without visiting Graceland, the mansion Elvis Presley bought in 1957 and lived in until his death 20 years later. The house — which feels remarkably small by 21st century stan- dards — is a time capsule, complete with green shag rugs and carved animals in the famous Jungle Room. Guests are shuttled through by the hundreds in a remark- ably efficient fashion, with each visitor issued an iPad and headphones so you can get information about what you’re seeing at your own pace. The King is buried in the onsite Meditation Garden, along with his parents and grandmother. There’s also a memorial gravestone for his stillborn twin brother. But visiting the house is only half the fun. A $45 million complex opened at Graceland in March, adding displays that look at his career from his start at Sun Records, to his work in Hollywood, to his Vegas jumpsuit era. One area showcases his cars, another looks at his influence on other entertainers. Plant it and they will come BIRDS: ‘Letting part of your yard be messy is good for birds’ B Continued from 1C partially because birds recognize them. “Nature is made up of special- ized relationships such as the one between monarch butterflies and milkweed plants,” Tallamy said. “Non-native plants haven’t been here long enough to develop specialized relationships.” Some places, such as Portland, may appear to be paradises for birds, but aren’t because of the preponderance of non-native species. Tallamy said a survey of street trees in Portland revealed that 92 percent of the trees lining the city’s streets are non-native. “Portland likes to think of itself as a green city, but it created a canopy that won’t support birds,” Tallamy said. Native forbs, shrubs and trees provide a smorgasbord of insects, a power food for young birds, while non-native species gener- ally don’t. Tallamy cited a study that looked for insects on various native and non-native vegetation. Oaks in his area hosted 557 species of insects, for example, while non-native ornamental species of zelkova, ginkgo and myrtle provided almost none. Birds, Tallamy said, need lots of insects. “Six thousand to 9,000 cater- pillars is needed for one clutch of chickadees,” he said. Squeamish about insects? According to Tallamy, “You’re not going to notice them.” Of course, insecticides don’t help, along with our country’s obsession with big, green lawns. “Giant lawns provide nothing for birds with a small caveat for robins,” he said. Susan Barnes, a conservation biologist for the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish & Wildlife, echoed Tallamy. “Everything starts with the plants and the insects,” Barnes said. “Even birds who feed on fruits and seeds feed insects to their young. Insects provide a concentrated source of energy.” Staff photo by E.J. Harris A snag propped up by a fence post gives extra roosting possibili- ties on the property of Jack Simons outside of Pendleton. Barnes and Tallamy recom- mended additional measures to attract birds. Piles of brush and rocks provide cover. Leaf litter and other organic material left in the yard will help build the soil and host a diversity of inverte- brates and bugs that become food for birds. “Letting part of your yard be messy is good for birds,” Barnes said. Other suggestions included providing clean water, putting out nesting boxes, hanging a variety of feeders during times of scarcity and keeping cats indoors. No yard is too small to attract birds, Tallamy said. “It’s important for people to know their little piece of the world is an important part of the conser- vation effort,” he said. “What they do at home does matter.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@ eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. efore moving to Northeast spotted and other lists just for Oregon, my husband birds that visit our yard. Bill and I awoke many Bill determinedly set about mornings to the sounds of avian attracting birds to our yard. life at full volume outside our Except for the lawn, he would bedroom window. grow only native plants in Cooing sandhill cranes soared the backyard. He visited local over our house. Killdeer issued nurseries for a variety of native high, plaintive warnings. forbs, shrubs and trees Snipes winnowed. which he planted. The Nighthawks gave a nasal plants grew quickly and “peent” sound as they now provide a variety of perched in a nearby black seeds, berries and nectar. locust tree. Ducks, geese, Most require little water. chickadees, western In months, vegetation meadowlarks and a encircled our yard in multitude of other birds a thick ribbon that woke us better than any included serviceberries, Kathy alarm clock. currants, ninebark, Aney At the time, we lived ocean spray, mock Comment in Paisley, a tiny town orange, honeysuckle, in southeast Oregon. chokecherry, cascara, Our home sat close to coneflower, sunflowers, a variety of ecosystems: high snowberry, hawthorn and paper desert, the Chewaucan River, birch. A robust dogwood produces forest and marshlands. Driving berries and cover, as well as the highway that cut through attractive mid-winter color. town, one had to keep the speed Oregon grape provides berries. down in order to avoid hitting While not native, a bird-planted birds. mulberry now provides shade, One day I drove home from cover and fruit. the nearest town (Lakeview) a The sounds emanating from little too fast. A startled raptor our backyard are confirmation that if you plant it, they will come. rose from the road carrying a Many species of birds now dead rabbit. The bird couldn’t drop into our yard regularly. I get enough lift so he released recently flipped Bill’s bird log his payload. The carcass hit open to a page titled “Yard List my windshield with a whap — sounding like a ham hitting glass Pendleton.” Written there are the names of 28 bird species at 70 miles-per-hour — and slid he has spotted over time in our messily down the window. little yard. The list includes It was Wild Kingdom every the California quail, American day. goldfinch, western meadowlark, Then we moved. northern flicker, sharp-shinned Our new house in Pendleton hawk, western tanager, spotted sat on bare dirt in a brand new towhee and on and on. On another neighborhood. Landscaping was yet to come in our yard and many page are birds who didn’t land, but flew over: osprey, northern of those around us. harrier, Canada goose, Cooper’s One of the first things we did hawk, white pelican and a great that late spring was hang bird blue heron. feeders. We waited and waited. Mornings (and every other Cue the recording of the lone time of day) are once again a time cricket — without the cricket. of bird chatter. It’s a happy sound. Our yard remained distressingly My bird-loving husband is once quiet. again content — and so am I. Bill, a wildlife biologist who ■ just recently retired from the Kathy Aney writes about Forest Service, loves birds. He human interest and health for the did his master’s thesis on bird East Oregonian. You can reach communities of old-growth pine her at kaney@eastoregonian.com forests. As a birdwatcher, Bill or call 541-966-0810. keeps a life list of birds he has
