Press Contact: Teri L. Sullivan
WKNO Promotions Manager
(901) 729-8735
tlsullivan@wkno.org
September 20, 2011
For Immediate Release
WKNO’s Interview Series “A Conversation With . . .”
Features Memphis Author Mike Freeman
WKNO-TV will premiere A Conversation with Mike Freeman on Wednesday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10. Freeman, the Memphis author and Mid-South history aficionado, has recently published his third book Clarence Saunders & the Founding of Piggly Wiggly: The Rise and Fall of a Memphis Maverick with The History Press (Charleston, SC).
The grocery business began as a complicated service industry. Random pricing, inconsistent quantities and prescriptive salesmen made grocery shopping burdensome. It took one brash Memphian with uncommon vision and unbridled ambition to change everything. Clarence Saunders worked his way out of poverty and obscurity to found Piggly Wiggly in 1916.
With an unprecedented approach, he virtually invented the concept of the modern self-service grocery store. Stores flourished, franchises spread and Saunders made millions. Yet just as the final bricks of Pink Palace—his garish marble mansion—were being laid, Saunders went bankrupt, and he was forced to sell Piggly Wiggly. A variety of new ventures helped Saunders out of bankruptcy, but he never duplicated his prior success. Memphis historian Mike Freeman tracks the remarkable life of this retail visionary.
“’One day Memphis will be proud because of Piggly Wiggly; and it shall be said by all men, that Piggly Wigglies shall multiply and replenish the world with more and cleaner things to eat.’ Clarence Saunders’ brash promise in 1916 has indeed come true,” said Freeman.
“Saunders created his store with a self-service design; today self-service is the principle design of every supermarket in the world. In 1980 I began working for Jefferson Square, at 79 Jefferson. This was the site of Saunders’ first Piggly Wiggly store. That fact motivated me to study history and write this book.”
For over thirty years, Mike Freeman has made a career out of his love for Memphis and regional history. He co-wrote, with Cindy Hazen, two books about Elvis Presley—The Best of Elvis in 1992 and Memphis Elvis Style in 1997—and a book based upon Patsy Cline’s letters, Love Always Patsy, Patsy Cline’s Letters to a Friend, in 1999.
For eight years Freeman owned and lived in the first home Elvis purchased at 1034 Audubon Drive in Memphis. Mike has also written or co-written magazine articles about the area’s fascinating personalities. In 2007, Mike helped create three DVDs: Elvis’ Memphis and Beyond Elvis’ Memphis with Artsmagic, Inc. (UK) and Elvis: Return to Tupelo with Michael Rose Productions.
With his partner, Sue Mack, Mike continues to do research today and offers guided tours of the region. This biography of Clarence Saunders was actually his first project and his MA thesis. Until now, only excerpts of this work were published in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly (1992) and Tennessee Encyclopedia (1997).
A Conversation with Mike Freeman premieres Wednesday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m. during the ‘KNO Tonite lineup and will repeat at 11:00 p.m. on WKNO2, available over the air on Channel 10.2 and on Comcast Digital Cable Channel 910.
About WKNO
WKNO is a non-profit, private foundation serving the Mid-South for more than 50 years. An important community resource, WKNO uses the power of non-commercial public broadcasting to provide the Mid-South with quality educational and cultural programs that inform, entertain, and inspire. For more information: wkno.org
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