Answers for the Week of 10/3/24:
Q: What Memphis park hosts the annual Memphis Italian Festival, and for how many years has it taken place?
A: Marquette Park. For 35 years, the Memphis Italian Festival, hosted by Holy Rosary Parish, celebrates Italian-American heritage with food, music, and more.
Q: What famous Memphis-born musician is known as the “Father of the Blues,” and why?
A: W.C. Handy is known as the “Father of the Blues” because he was one of the first people to publish blues music, which made it accessible to the wider public beyond the Delta region.
Q: When and why did the Commercial Appeal win its first Pulitzer Prize?
A: The Commercial Appeal won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of and opposition to the Ku Klux Klan’s operations in the region.
Answers for the week of 9/5/24:
What year did Elvis Presley move to Memphis?
A: 1948
On November 6, 1948, 13-year-old Elvis and his parents packed their belongings in a trunk, strapped it to the roof of their 1939 Plymouth, and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in search of a better life economically.
Q: What year was the Memphis Fire Department established?
A: 1846
The Memphis Fire Department was established in 1846, making it one of the oldest fire departments in the United States. Originally formed as a volunteer fire brigade, the department was created to protect the rapidly-growing city from the frequent and devastating fires that plagued many urban areas in the 19th century. The first fire company was known as the “Mississippi Fire Company,” and was quickly followed by others, as the city’s population increased.
What famous writer grew up right outside of Memphis and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977?
A: Alex Haley
Alex Haley was a renowned American author and journalist raised in Henning, Tennessee, just north of Covington, near Memphis. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977 for his landmark book, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” which chronicles the story of his ancestors from their enslavement in Africa to their lives in the United States over several generations. “Roots” was praised for its vivid storytelling and meticulous research, which brought to life the struggles and resilience of enslaved African Americans. Haley’s work became a cultural phenomenon and earned him the prestigious Pulitzer Prize.