Tom Lee Centennial concludes with pop-up museum in Klondike
The museum on the larger history of the Klondike area is in an old bank building on Jackson Avenue, about a block from the house where Tom Lee lived the last 27 years of his life.
Topic: Tom Lee
RSSThere are 20 article(s) tagged Tom Lee:
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May 2025
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The Making of a Hero: Tom Lee’s legacy
Tom Lee’s story endures because it has avoided the racial trip wires and political calculations of his time. It appeals to Memphians as part of a larger undercurrent in the city’s history.
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The Making of a Hero: The bend that took down the M.E. Norman riverboat
The series of turns in the Mississippi River just south of Memphis has claimed boats before and was known for strong currents. It has changed in the century since the M.E. Norman capsized and sank to the river’s muddy bottom.
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The Making of a Hero: What happened to Tom Lee after the river rescue
When Tom Lee arrived on the Memphis riverfront May 9, 1925, the morning after that long night, he began encountering people who already knew his name and knew the bravery of what he’d done.
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The Making of a Hero: 100 years ago, an engineers’ convention turned deadly
On May 8, 1925, about 100 years ago, a steamboat capsized in the Mississippi River — a disaster that forced dozens of men, women and children to fight for their life against the current until a brave Memphian, a veteran river worker, reached out to help.
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February 2025
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Parade, other events to mark 100th anniversary of Tom Lee’s river rescue
Memphis River Parks Partnership officials announce plans to honor Lee, who on May 8, 1925, pulled 32 survivors of a capsized steamship to shore, making five trips and working by lantern light.
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December 2024
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Celebration planned for 100-year anniversary of Tom Lee’s heroism
This coming May will mark 100 years since the 1925 river rescue, when Tom Lee saved 32 people from the Mississippi River south of Memphis after their boat capsized.
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May 2024
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The story of Tom Lee and his afterlife
After his heroic efforts to save 32 people from a capsized excursion boat on the Mississippi River, Tom Lee worked as a city sanitation worker and lived in the Klondike neighborhood.
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99 years later, Tom Lee’s heroism remains relevant in poetry competition
Against a wall of windows facing a wind-swept Mississippi River, a small group of people at Beale Street Landing raised a toast to Tom Lee Wednesday, May 8, in the park named in his honor.
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September 2023
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‘Fishing for lives': Tom Lee’s story told by Grammy-winning poet J. Ivy
J. Ivy has written and performed a new piece about Tom Lee to mark the opening of the redesigned riverfront park named in Lee’s honor. The work is the first in a series commissioned by the Mellon Foundation.
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Calkins: Tom Lee Park is now officially open — and it’s spectacular
Nearly every good thing in Memphis has had to overcome fierce opposition. See Shelby Farms and the Grizz. So it’s no surprise that change didn’t come easy for the new Tom Lee Park. But the new place looks spectacular.
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August 2023
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Morris: Tom Lee Park reflects the glory of Memphis
“I hope we will all treat it with honor and respect because Tom Lee Park will change the way outsiders view our city and how we see ourselves.”
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November 2022
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Brooks Museum artwork honors Tom Lee
“I want the viewer to connect with the characters in the painting. I want the viewer to know the history of Tom Lee,” local artist Carl. E. Moore said.
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May 2022
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New generation of poets find familiar in legacy of Tom Lee
The story of a man who rescued 32 people from the Mississippi River 100 years ago inspires three high school seniors who won the first Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word Contest.
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Guest column: Like Tom Lee, Memphis should believe in itself
On Tom Lee Day, the Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word Contest encourages young people to engage in the success of our city.
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February 2022
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Sculptor relieved Tom Lee bronze will remain a focal point
“The river is a remarkable, remarkable sight right there at Tom Lee Park ... like the surface of a muscular dragon,” said David Alan Clark, who created the monument that was put in place 16 years ago.
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October 2021
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Oh, Snap: This week’s best photos
We gathered a half dozen of our favorite images from this week’s issues of The Daily Memphian. Now you can vote for the best one.
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May 2021
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Tom Lee anniversary reflects larger changes after hero’s life
The 2006 sculpture honoring Tom Lee’s 1925 rescue of 32 people from the Mississippi River is a prominent part of plans to remake the popular park. But the fate of a 1954 monument that refers to Lee as a “very worthy Negro” is uncertain.
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May 2019
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Tom Lee’s story remembered 94 years after river rescue
The hero who rescued 32 people on the Mississippi River south of Memphis in 1925 has a simple story but a complex legacy. It includes descendants dedicated to making sure he is remembered and connections to those he rescued as well as those rescued by others.
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April 2019
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The river defines who we were and who we will become
Memphis and the Mississippi River are joined eternally. Our relationship with the river, and the stories buried deep in its muddy waters, define who we have been even as we wrestle with questions that will define who we become.
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