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Ask the Memphian: What was The Gray Hat Mystery?

By , Daily Memphian Updated: February 02, 2026 4:00 AM CT | Published: February 02, 2026 4:00 AM CT

Recently, it’s been hard to get through a week without hearing about crime in Memphis, whether it’s from a colleague, family member or friend.

But concerns about crime are nothing new. Travel back a century, and you’ll find it was still top of mind for Memphians.

“We think Memphis is wild now,” said Wayne Dowdy, an archivist with Memphis Public Libraries. “The ‘20s were really wild.”


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Prohibition was in effect, and Memphis — being on the Mississippi River — was a hotbed for bootleggers. Gangsters maintained a strong local foothold; and there was murder, mayhem, and what Dowdy described as the city’s “underworld.”

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John Klyce

John Klyce is an enterprise reporter with The Daily Memphian who writes a wide range of in-depth features, as well as profiles about local leaders, scientists, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and anyone else doing exciting and important work in this city. He previously spent four years with the Memphis Business Journal, where he covered public companies, startups, and innovation, and a fifth year with The Commercial Appeal, where he covered education, and chronicled how gun violence and poverty were affecting Memphis youth and their families. He has also been a fellow with the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. John has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Memphis and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Boston University.


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