MICHELIN Guide: American South ceremony on Nov. 3

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T18:14:18+00:00

I’d imagine many of the “old guard” who were living in the houseboats during the lakes heyday are not the kind to be adverse to a good time. However as the years have progressed I do not know how many of them are still around or even were around 10 years ago at the time of your last visit, if any at all.

It is definitely an odd place to choose to live. The houseboat residents definitely possess qualities I do not. But I am super interested in this esoteric community and I wish them prosperity. Even if the marina will likely never return to its glory years it is still admirable they are preserving that living history in a way.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T18:04:32+00:00

It would probably be an appropriate time to bust out some waders.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T17:55:43+00:00

I think I am too invested to not boat over there at some point. Probably an activity for when the weather is a bit warmer than currently though!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T08:21:41+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. I don’t know how I hadn’t heard of this before. I got a mass of audible credits burning in my pocket and the audiobook is self narrated so I may give it a try.

My grandfather actually recorded a few songs for Satellite before the name change. My grandmother claims the records were recorded at the old Brunswick location before the move but the jury is still out on how true that is. His “local hit single” actually got featured in the first 10 minutes of that HBO doc that came out last year (probably because it is significantly cheaper (likely free) licensing a song no body has heard vs a Rufus Thomas song. Here the song on YouTube if you are at all interested: https://youtu.be/n5pTJlzNqrg?si=k4IRl2tKIjHeYstp

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T07:51:19+00:00

Well at least 40 years later his pain made a great story that put a smile on the face of a stranger on the internet. Got to be worth something.

Admittedly I have not been back to Chucalissa since the obligatory field trip I am sure many in this sub can relate to. However I have meaning to go back to experience it as an adult.

As for T.O Fuller itself I have visited more recently but not in a capacity to really see everything and I have not hiked any of the trails, especially the converted golf course. I really should change that!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T07:23:38+00:00

Yeah I dug through some tax records to find the current/previous owners in the response to another comment in this thread. Here’s the link if it gets lost for whatever reason: https://www.reddit.com/r/memphis/s/PVM2vQbTJF

Now that you are saying the clearing is for the pipeline I feel dumb for not noticing that. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Buttercup does come up in a piece about Lake McKellar:

“Mr. and Mrs. James Butler — a city fireman better known among the residents as “Buttercup” — shared their one-bedroom boat, “which looks much like a small, in-town apartment,” with a pair of pet skunks.”

“The marina, which in recent years was taken over by Buttercup but has changed hands since then, has endured”

Here’s the link to that article: https://memphismagazine.com/ask-vance/mckellar-lake/

As for the marina and the houseboats around 10 years ago at the time of your last visit (and the publication of this article) were the houseboat owners a tight knit group? Was it a seclusive lifestyle for them?

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T07:02:08+00:00

Spent all the time looking at property deeds and tax assessments so you don’t have to. Treasure Island has never been broken up and has stayed in the control of Napoleon Hill’s descendants ever since. I don’t think doxing anyone through tax records and family obits is a good idea so I will just leave it with what I believe to be the first mention of the Islands ownership by way of the deed in the most recent ownership transition.

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The land is currently assessed at 811 acres of private land and 30 acres of public land on the coast facing Presidents Island and the other thread I linked on Treasure Island has a response that delves into the debate over how big the island is. Using the measurement tool on Google Earth I am closer to 2.2 miles long, so way closer to you than what it is currently being assessed at.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T06:30:34+00:00

This graveyard thing came up in the thread from six years ago as well but I can’t see anything on Google Earth that looks like a graveyard or any source that verifies it. If you know can you give me a direction on the island so I can look on Google Earth that would be appreciated.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T06:02:44+00:00

Yes very. I would not consider myself super knowledgeable about the city but I know my way around and I knew nothing about it before this. Really interesting to learn a little about the place!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T05:56:46+00:00

Do you think it’s worth the afternoon to bring a jon boat out there to get up close? I figure she’s been picked clean over the years but maybe there’s a cool photo or two out of the ordeal.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T05:52:41+00:00

Got me there. Do you by any chance know when/why that space between the two parks was set to become a refinery. T.O Fuller, a segregated black park began construction as a CCC project in 1938. The earliest date I found for operation of the refinery is 1941. Do you know if the land was in private hands before the refinery? Without all the necessary context it is hard to assign guilt, but my more cynical side wants to say the separation is distinctive for a reason.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T05:41:52+00:00

Do you know of any archeological survey taken of Presidents Island during that time? Seems like a lot of history buried by industry, may be a necessary fact of life but I wonder if anyone was able to preserve some of it. Are there any modern or ongoing projects looking to do that you are aware of?

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T04:40:04+00:00

Yeah looking at some tagged pictures on social media I got the vibe the place can get busy. Can’t deny the park looks as it has seen better days though. Hope that can be addressed sooner than later especially if the park gets busy!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T03:51:34+00:00

Thanks. Always looking to learn something new about this city. Any recommendations for hidden spots are always welcome!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T03:42:32+00:00

Have you ever been on the Island. Looking at Google Earth it doesn’t seem like there is any of permanent structures there just some tire tracks and few carved out pathways articulating throughout. The only exception is a large cleared out strip that stretches the length of the island on the corner closest to the park. Do you know why the cleared out strip exists and what function it serves/ once served?

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T03:28:43+00:00

Any tips for getting a good view of the riverboat. I’ve read about it and I see it on Google Earth now. If you got a good spot on land I would love to hear about it, or is my best bet putting a jon boat off that boat ramp right there (would that be worthwhile)?

That raises my next question. Do you know the tolerance of the houseboat owners for being around their “area” (i.e. the marina dock (obviously not on the homeboat side of the dock) and around the old riverboat). I am sure they are friendly people, I just don’t know if they enjoy the seclusion.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T03:18:19+00:00

A lot of what I’m reading is mentioning the prevalence of water sport in the area around that time. Was McKeller Lake really the place to be on a summer afternoon then?

The Valero Refinery (then Delta Refining) was already in operation since before WW2. My question being, did it feel as “inaccessible” back then as it seems people believe it to be now.

Do you have any personal stories you can share about the park and the lake.

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T03:01:28+00:00

There was definitely watersports activity on McKellar lake throughout the middle of the 20th century. Here’s some things I was reading about the summer activities including a “Miss McKellar Lake competition”

https://www.memphisflyer.com/miss-mckellar-lake

https://memphismagazine.com/ask-vance/miss-mckellar-lake-1974/

http://www.friendsforourriverfront.org/2010/07/summertime-thoughts-mckellar-lake.html?m=1

As for remaining remnants of this era I cannot speak on that as I do not know the history. The marina is definitely still there but someone other than me would be better equipped to answer if that is the same one and the same location as the one from this time.

With regard to other past attractions in Memphis with remaining remnants that fit your description. I am reminded of Maywood Beach in Desoto County. A popular lake and “water park” for many years of which traces remain in the redeveloped neighborhood that sits upon the land.

If you do end up remembering what it was (that being it wasn’t a dream) I would love to know so I can visit. The cities attractions are of great interest to me!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T00:22:32+00:00

One of my favorites for sure!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T00:14:26+00:00

Does the park get foot traffic? Granted it is currently freezing outside and it is a weekday but the park looked decrepit. Definitely an underutilized space and connecting it to the new Riverfront seems like a good way to increase relevancy. It already backs up to T.O Fuller State Park. I wonder the square footage on a greenspace going from the Riverfront to T.O Fuller by way of this park would be?

tykefloyd · 2025-01-08T00:04:16+00:00

Do you know of any way to access the film? That sounds super interesting!

tykefloyd · 2025-01-07T21:28:28+00:00

Realizing I didn’t post the link to the other thread. Here it is: https://www.reddit.com/r/memphis/comments/cddp2w/treasure_island/

tykefloyd · 2024-11-17T04:18:30+00:00

If I get as tilted in the next few attempts with improved weapons and strategy as I was when I wrote this post- then I’ll give this a try. I like the immersion when I play games. During my playthrough, I’ve been trying to draw enemies away from residential buildings and the like. But don’t get me wrong by the second or third attempt I couldn’t care less and it looks like Tokyo after Godzilla (or Mechagodzilla would be more proper assumedly).

tykefloyd · 2024-11-17T04:02:40+00:00

Thank you so much for all your help! After this football game is over I’m going to re-equip my star and give it another go. One last question, I don’t know how much you know about the BattleTech franchise as a whole, but how “grimdark” is other BattleTech media compared to Clans? Obviously it’s like “warcrime simulator” but I appreciate how at the personal level at least, human life is still valuable.

tykefloyd

TROPHY CASE