Mid-South News

A Literary Light In Oxford, Mississippi: The Square Books Story

Peggy Reisser Winburne — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Richard and Lisa Howorth opened Square Books in 1979 with $10,000 they had saved up and $10,000 they borrowed from a bank. The couple rented an upstairs space in a building Richard’s aunt owned on the town square in Oxford, Miss. It didn’t even have visibility from the street.

“We painted on the risers of the stairs the categories of the store—mysteries, cookbooks, so forth and so on—so that if people did happen to stop and look through the glass door they would see that it was probably a bookstore,” Richard Howorth said.

You’ll Be Mine: Bringing Musical Tourism To West Memphis

Eleanor Boudreau — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Every year more than 10 million visitors come to Memphis, and spend more than three billion dollars, much of it on music-related tourism. But few ever cross the bridge to West Memphis, Arkansas. Now some in the area are trying to change that by capitalizing on the rich musical history of an old West Memphis radio station, KWEM.

As River Crests, Shelby County Is Better Equipped To Handle Rising Waters

Eleanor Boudreau — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Snowmelt and rainfall in the North have caused the Mississippi River to rise recently, and it is expected to crest at Memphis this morning. Forecasters with the National Weather Service anticipate the river will reach 33.5 ft at its highest point. That’s more than ten feet below the crest of 2011 which flooded thousands of homes and businesses in the area.

Memphis Musician Sid Selvidge Dies At 69

Eleanor Boudreau — Fri, 03 May 2013 02:23:34 +0000

Sid Selvidge was a cultural voice in Memphis for more than five decades, and he helped start the Beale Street Caravan radio show, which broadcasts live performances of Memphis music to more than 2.4 million people worldwide.

Still Not Out: Tigers’ Baseball Icon Is World's Longest Serving Bat Boy

Sara Hoover — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

If you think you’ve been at your job for a long time, think again.

Stan Bronson Jr. has been the bat boy for the baseball team at the University of Memphis for more than half a century. He holds the “most durable bat boy” title in the Guinness Book of World Records, has a retired jersey on the outfield wall, and is a beloved icon to generations of students and Tigers fans.