In the late 50’s it seemed that every area had some sort of amusement park. Memphis was no different, we had skating rinks and golf ranges and batting cages and also pinball machines or go carts.  Video games or the computer, at that time, seemed like science fiction because the computer age would not happen for roughly another 30 years. The success of Walt Disney’s Disneyland in 1955 spawned copy cat parks all around the world that would attempt to recreate Disneyland Park on shoe string budgets.

That can’t be said of Lakeland Amusement Park near Memphis. The evolution of Lakeland started with the construction of a dam and the building of one of the largest manmade lakes in Tennessee in 1959. It was located around the intersection of I-40 and Canada Road. The Park opened its’ doors on June 2, 1961 with two trains; one of them had an old fashion train robbery for the guests to experience.  The other train was somewhat of a smaller version and did not get robbed. Seems that one of the young men acting as a robber of the train was actually shot with one of the blanks from one of the guns used in the show. He had to have surgery to remove pieces of the wadding from his chest. The ride that most people remember best was Skyride that gave you a ride over the lake and back, but did you know that it was the famous Skyride from the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. You could also ride a river boat around the lake. Of course, there were all the standard rides of any park of the day. I remember that a very windy day caused the Skyride’s cables to jump its tracks and the fire department had to be called to rescue the passengers from their peril. Ever since that day, I have had a fear of riding in those gondolas. I was even terrified when riding in the one at Disneyland.

Overton Park was Memphis’s “Central Park”. Some of you might even remember that Overton Park was originally known locally as Lea's Woods, the reason for that is it was purchased from the Lea family from Nashville in late 1901. It was located in the city’s eastern borders of that time. The city actually hired a landscape architect to design Overton Park. Of course, as everything it took it's time and Overton Park was not established until 1906.

In the 1960’s and into the 70’s our Park was under siege. The federal highway commission had determined that they were going to cut through our Park with Interstate 40, but the residence of the Overton area banded together and took them to court. Unbelievably, they had stopped the federal government and the court ruled in their favor.

The park however is not just a golf course, garden and green area; it has the Overton Park Shell where we saw many a concert in the 60s and 70s.

There is also a world-class zoo located within Overton Park that I know all of us have enjoyed at one time or another and I'm sure some of you still enjoy the Memphis Zoo located in Overton Park today. The Overton Park Zoo is home to over 3500 animals from all around the world. Somewhere around 1907 the first animal building was finished. The zoo was not incorporated until 1910 as the Memphis Zoological Society was formed. From its humble beginnings of that one building in 1907, our zoo has gone through many upgrades and changes over the years. The now over 70 acre facility was upgraded to earn its world-class status in 1986. I still remember all the old buildings and the cages that the more dangerous animals were kept in inside buildings. But times changed and so have those buildings. I will never forget the last day I lived in Memphis before I moved to my new life and wife waiting for me in Canada. I took my little daughter to something that I had always loved as small child, the Memphis Zoo. It seemed like a great place to say goodbye to my daughter till I would be back to visit her. I barely remember it, because my mind was on 1000 different things. I had a long drive ahead of me and I was trying to give my daughter a good time, but I was worried, was I doing the right thing, is this where God is leading me. Soon after walking around, all of that seemed to just drift away as we watched the young animals with their parents and laughed at the baby monkeys hanging on to their mothers for dear life as they jumped from limb to limb in the trees. I have to say the zoo has always been a calming place for me and made me reflect on the things that are important in life. I think that's what it is really for; it's to remind us what life is all about. We have something to be extremely proud of, a world class zoo in a world-class Park.

Like most cities, Memphis has an art gallery and museum of art. It is known as the Brooks Memorial Museum of Art. To my memory, I am kind of embarrassed to admit, I have never been in the art gallery.

I think sometimes our city takes Overton Park for granted. This magnificent Park that we enjoyed, all of our young lives, from the days that our parents carried us to see the zoo to the concerts and the hippies and the war protests, Overton Park Zoo and Overton Park have played a major role in the city that we remember and love.

The city of Memphis wanted an Amusement park of their own, so they turned a few rides that were at The East End Park, the Mid South Fair Grounds into a small but outstanding park. It was known as Libertyland Amusement Park. At first the city embraced it and helped it flourish, but later administrations only saw it as an expense to the city. The upkeep and maintenance costs for such a Park were more than the city cared to continue to absorb. If you have ever looked at the amusement parks that are thriving, they have to keep up with the times. New rides must be added every year and all rides must be updated to keep the public's interest. I don't blame the city fathers for not wanting to continue the upkeep and updating of amusement park. They did not understand, nor did they want to understand the amusement park business. I must say though, I have never seen anything of that type or caliber that the city of Memphis has ever made a go of, everything that I remember the city taking over or tried to run, failed. That is just my opinion and I'm now even seeing private enterprise, such as Graceland, selling off Elvis’ jet the Lisa Marie.

I know that as the baby boomer generation dies out, Graceland will not be the shrine that it once was. But if you sell off all of its assets, all you will have left is a piece of ground and the house that nobody will even remember who lived there. Is Memphis just a curse for these type of attractions and is that why no one wanted to put the rock 'n roll Hall of Fame in Memphis. All of the great landmarks, such as Lakeland Amusement Park and Libertyland Amusement Park have vanished from the landscape of Memphis only to be seen in our memories. I hope that Graceland does not follow the legacy of such great attractions in Memphis.

Wake up Memphis! These and other attractions are worth preserving because they bring in tourists and tourist dollars. They cannot just be measured by the tickets or attendance, their hotel rooms, souvenirs and meals purchased at restaurants. I love the traditions in Memphis like the Cotton Carnival, but I'm afraid all of that is disappearing as well. The only thing that seems to survive and thrive in Memphis are the bars and, I have to say, I am not a fan of such places. They don't bring in the tourists that high caliber attractions do.