Tupelo adds another historical marker to help tell story of Elvis
The latest marker is in front of the former office of the doctor who delivered Elvis and Jesse Garon
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The 14th marker on the Elvis self-guided driving tour is in front of what was once the second-floor office of Dr. William Robert Hunt, who delivered Jesse Garon Presley and Elvis Aaron Presley on January 8, 1935.
“it adds more to the ambiance of Elvis in his hometown,” said Barbara Fleishhacker, who owns the building that is now The Main Attraction. She has Elvis memorabilia and unique photos throughout her store and hopes the historical marker will mean more tourists and customers.
“Maybe I will get some tourism business through it, and I would like for local people to also see, they need to know what’s in their own backyard. I’ve heard from people my whole life, say I’ve never been to the birthplace, I’m like, ‘What? Are you kidding me?” Fleishhacker said.
At the birthplace, fans sang Happy Birthday to Elvis and enjoyed cupcakes. There was also an unveiling of the newest Tupelo-themed shirt by artist Betty Harper, which features Elvis at his 1956 homecoming concert.
“The inspiration is this place right here, birthplace. I love Tupelo, love coming here, there’s something about the city, and I love coming to the birthplace, there’s a feeling here you can’t get anywhere else,” said Harper.
You can start, or finish the driving tour at the birthplace. The house his Dad built for 180 dollars. 89 years after his birth and nearly 47 years after his passing, it attracts visitors from around the world who want to see where it all began.
“You can see he was very poor, he made big steps and that, I think it’s nice for young people to come here, to see this, know, when you have a dream, you can make your dreams come true,” said Davy Gilles, an actor and singer from Belgium who was leading a tour at the birthplace.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to be than Elvis’ hometown, where he was born, on his birthday,” said Keith Philippi, who is visiting from Wisconsin.
“We have been wide open, we had 31 tour buses in September, 29 in October, and 15 in November, last year we had 183 tour buses, already more than 200 booked for this year,” said Roy Turner, executive director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum.
The birthplace welcomes about 60,000 visitors each year.
Next year, the birthplace will have a big celebration on what would have been Elvis’ 90th birthday.
