Tag: Forest Hill Cemetery

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The Trimble Monument in Forest Hill Cemetery

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Forest Hill Cemetery has many fine monuments, but one of the best is the Trimble Monument, showing a beautiful young lady weeping by the side of a tomb, beneath a stone canopy supported by massive columns.

The inscription reveals this is the last resting place of Frank Trimble (1840-1915) and Lilly Shelton, identified as “his wife” (1852-1899).

Who were these Trimbles, and why did they build such an impressive tomb, you ask? Just sit back and I’ll tell you. Wait, you’re leaning back too far! Can you still see the computer screen? Okay, then.

After weeks of research (well, I mainly just walked across the room), I turned up a 1911 edition of Who’s Who in Tennessee. Frank Trimble rated a mention, which told me that he was born in Hazel Green, Kentucky (don’t you love the names of some of these small towns?). He moved to Illinois at the age of 22, then ventured to Memphis during the Civil War, where he became a merchant. That didn’t last long, what with the war and all, so in the late 1860s, he started a real estate firm, called simply Frank Trimble and Company, dealing in “farm lands, etc.”

The Who’s Who also told me he was a Royal Arch Mason (the best kind), a member of the Knights of Pythias, and a member of the Episcopal Church, though which one it didn’t say. It gave all that, and yet not a single mention of “Lilly Shelton, his wife.”

Old city directories in the Lauderdale Library reveal that Trimble and Company was located downtown on Madison, while the Trimbles themselves resided at 23 South Diana, just south of Madison. The house was torn down years ago, but Trimble Place — which runs for two blocks behind Overton Square and stops at Diana, close to where the house was — remains today, as yet another (more humble) monument to the Trimbles.

Some of their descendants, including Dr. Peter Trimble, DDS, still live in Memphis.

The years have not been especially kind to the monument in Forest Hill. From a distance, it still looks magnificent, but venture closer and you can see that the wind and rain have etched away the details on the statue’s face (see below). It’s still quite beautiful though, and considering that drivers have a good view of the monument from the nearby expressway, one of the most admired tombs in the cemetery.

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Pancho’s in the 1950s

CREDIT: PHOTO BY JERRY DAWS

Panchos on South Bellevue

  • PHOTO BY JERRY DAWS
  • Pancho’s on South Bellevue

My pal Bonnie Kourvelas recently sent me two wonderful images (originally Kodachrome color slides taken by her parents, Jerry and Edna Daws) showing the exterior and interior of the old Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant that was located on South Bellevue. That’s the Daws family in the pictures, but don’t ask me to identify all of them. It was a private affair, and I wasn’t invited.

To tell you the truth (as I am prone to do, from time to time, mainly when I am drunk), I wasn’t familiar with this location. I knew Panchos’ had (and still has) a restaurant on the outskirts of West Memphis, and I knew there was also a branch at Union and McLean, and later at Poplar and White Station.

But sure enough, from about 1959 until about 1972 (those dates are guesses, based on city directory listings, which are not complete, for some reason), Pancho’s was located at 1670 South Bellevue, just across the street from the entrance to Forest Hill Cemetery. That building is gone now, so I’m glad to see these photos. I especially like the wonderful mural, and the terrific neon sign. And I’d certainly like to have some of those fine cars out front. And below is a shot of the interior. It’s rather dark, and I certainly don’t know WHAT the photographer was aiming at, but you can get a sense of the “authentic” Mexican clutter inside.

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Where Is This Cemetery??

Mystery Cemetery

  • Mystery Cemetery

I certainly have my hands full these days answering questions from readers. And yes, I know that is my job, but with my hands (literally) full, how am I supposed to flop in my La-Z-Boy, sip my Kentucky Nip, munch on bags of Circus Peanuts, AND work the tv remote control?

It’s almost more than I can handle, which is probably (though doctors can’t say for certain) why I spend my nights crying myself to sleep, in my little cot in the basement of the Mansion.

Anyway, now that I’ve got THAT off my chest, I thought I’d share with you just what I’m talking about. Somebody (oh, I won’t name names) picked up this nice old photograph at an estate sale, taken (as you can see by the name in the lower righthand corner) by the noted Memphis photographer, C.H. Poland. It shows a cemetery with what appears to be a freshly covered grave, considering the piles of flowers.

And the question is: Just where, exactly, is this cemetery?

We really don’t have many clues. There’s no date on the photo (front or back) and no obvious landmarks in the picture. I can’t even make out any names on the tombstones. It’s clearly a rather large graveyard, and it looks a bit hilly, but that doesn’t really narrow it down much, since Elmwood, Forest Hill, and Calvary all have hills and dales.There are a few distinctive gravestones in the background, including several topped with a cross, and there’s some unusual stonework in the foreground.

It also seems a bit cluttery and unkempt, doesn’t it? The tombstones don’t stand completely straight, and the grass looks high.

But I’m stumped. I suppose I could drive around all the cemeteries in the area — assuming that, since this is a Poland photo, this is even a Memphis graveyard — looking to see if I could spot an area that resembles this. And in fact, that may be what I’ll end up doing.

First, though, I thought I’d see if anybody else recognizes the place. Before I go to all that trouble, you see.