For more information: Teri L Sullivan
WKNO Promotions Manager
901-325-6518
tlsullivan@wkno.org
November 11, 2010
For Immediate Release
WKNO LOOKING FOR MEMORIES OF
OVERTON SQUARE
In its role as the Mid-South’s storyteller, WKNO is planning a new episode of its popular Memphis Memoirs series, Overton Square – the Golden Age. If you were part of the Overton Square scene in the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, and have stories, photos, or memorabilia you’d like to share, WKNO wants you to call us at 901 729-8150 or send an email to memphismemoirs@wkno.org.
In the 1970’s, the Square was the city’s hip destination. You could hear the young Billy Joel there at Lafayette’s Music Room, ice skate down Madison Avenue during the holiday season, and see and be seen at the only T.G.I. Friday’s outside of New York City! Overton Square occupied the intersection of Cooper and Madison and just a few blocks to the west, but for a little more than a decade, it was a mecca for young Memphians. On weekends, the crowds were so thick with hippies, yuppies and Millington sailors that the city had to establish a 20mph zone to protect the pedestrians.
WKNO’s Memphis Memoirs: Overton Square – the Golden Age will bring this scene back to life. “With the recent discussion about redeveloping the Madison/Cooper area, a lot of people suddenly have Overton Square on their minds,” observes the show’s producer, Emmy-award winner Susan Howe. “Like Downtown in the ‘40’s and ‘50’s and Beale Street today, Overton Square in the 70’s was a real energy center - not just for Midtown, but all of Memphis. Feeling the excitement generated by these memories can only fuel an interest in seeing a vibrant community grow there again.”
Memphis Memoirs is more than a local history series, it’s a nostalgia series; each program is like a scrapbook of the city’s past - pieced together with the recollections of the people who lived it. The Memoirs phenomenon began in 1995, when WKNO called on the city to send in its memories of fun places and events in the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. Those stories became the very first Memphis Memoirs: Remember When? The latest installment, Overton Square – the Golden Age, will be number 19 in this ongoing series.
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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