1.) Normal Station Depot
In 1909, Memphis won a bid between a neighboring cities to host the West Tennessee State Normal School—a small teacher's college that would eventually bud into the University of Memphis. The railroad that runs parallel to the land the school was built on was integral to Memphis securing the bid, ensuring a history of influence in the area.

2.) YMCA
One of the few places that U of M students of the 20th century could rely on for late night activity that didn't center around drinking or partying was the late YMCA center on Walker Avenue. For the a majority of the latter half of the 1900s, it stood as a healthy beacon of campus life. But in recent years it has grown less popular, leading to its eventual closing in 2013. Though it's unfortunate, health nuts should not fear as The Peddler Bike Shop will take its place, still promoting fitness in the memorable spot.

3.) Garibaldi's Pizza
Garibaldi's Pizza has been a notable eatery for the neighborhood for more than 30 years. The Italian food of Garibaldi's includes pizzas, pastas and sandwiches at a reasonable price. To this day, it remains a great place to relax after taking a big exam.

4.) Highland Strip
Though it started with humble beginnings as a place outside of Memphis city limits where one could shop for goods in the late 1800s, the Highland Strip has become a cultural epicenter for the University District. From drug busts in the 1960s to it's current list of bars and restaurants, it has a rich history of Memphis business and culture.

5.) Cossitt Library
The corner of Highland and Midland housed one of the Memphis city libraries for many years. In addition to the YMCA, this was another spot that students could spend time that did not focus on eating or drinking. Sadly, the library closed in 2013 due to inactivity. Not to disrespect the historical building, the University of Memphis has announced plans to utilize the building in the coming years.

6.) University Area
The neighborhood residing in between the U of M campus and the Highland Strip is in slow decay. Since U of M has announced plans to eventually use the land for campus space, landowners have become negligent in home care to wait for sale offers from the University. The school has been actively been buying the land over the past few years and slowly continues to do so. Though it may look decrepit now, the area will be revamped in the coming years once the school has purchased all of it. 

7.) Traffic on campus
For the majority of the school's history, students were able to drive through the campus streets to get closer to buildings they would otherwise have to walk to. This changed in the 1970s when the campus became a pedestrian campus and restricted parking to lots along the outside perimiter of the campus. Though some cried out about inconvenience, the school has benefitted from the change with increased safety and become more pedestrian-friendly promoting a healthier campus all around.

8.) Sign Markers
Around the U of M campus are several sign markers that describe the dense history involved. Included are markers for the Normal Depot, the school itself, and the story of the Memphis State 8—a group of eight African-American students who first integrated into the school in 1959. These markers are important for their historic value and honor to those involved. When walking on campus, it's a great idea to keep your eye out to hear about the past.

9.) Administration Building
The tour ended at the Administration Building on campus. It was one of the very first buildings on campus and is still standing and in use some 102 years later. The architecture is grand with gigantic columns and lots of use of marble. It stands as a dedication to the ambition of school-past, present, and future.

10.) Memphis
Jimmy Ogle concluded his tour around campus by talking about the school in reference to Memphis. He closed by saying, "Memphis is a city that was actively involved in the Civil War, a big part of river trade, and hugely important in civil rights. Its the birthplace of a truly American style of music and a lot of unique culture. There are many cities that illustrate our nations history, but none of them paint quite the picture as Memphis does."

By Courtney A. Smith

The city of Memphis is considered to be the home of delicious barbeque along with having some of the best talent in sports, especially basketball. With food and sports being the talk of the town, art is another great aspect of Memphis that should be in the conversation.

Take the Five in One Social Club for example. The establishment has been in Memphis for a year and has already made its mark in the art industry.

Michael and Alice Andrews, who celebrated the Five in One Social Club one year anniversary last week, are originally from Wisconsin and came to Memphis looking for a perfect location to start their business. They eventually found the perfect spot on 2535 Broad Ave.

“We moved to Memphis seven years ago and started an art space called Five in One and social club was part of that, like a component of that where artists can get together and hangout and draw on their sketch books,” Alice said.

"A year we heard about a program called MIM Shop. MIM Shop is a small business that the mayor’s innovation team is running and we heard of it like a grant. So we heard about that and thought well what if we turned social club into a business where we taught people how to do things and open a store where we sold things made by all of the awesome local artists that we know," she added. "So that’s how we got started. We applied for a grant and we won the grant and now it’s a year later and things are going pretty good over here.”

There are plenty of items for purchase inside the store such as T-shirts, hats, wallets, purses, rugs and cups that represent the city of Memphis. Alice mentioned that the T-shirts are one of the hot commodities that the customers crave for when they come to shop.

“Everybody loves the T-shirts. Since they are all Memphis themed, which I think is the biggest reason why they are so popular because we totally believe in Memphis. It’s all made in Memphis,” Alice said. “Michael draws his inspiration for designs from things that are local. Like right now, we have the Invest in Good Times, which is graffiti from the Tennessee Brewery downtown and Orange Mound T-shirts."

As customers spend their  money on the variety of shirts the store has to offer,  Michael and Alice are already in the procress of making more shirts with their screen printing business.

“We make the T-shirts ourselves. So Michael makes the designs and we print those ourselves. We also print the posters. I do a lot of the sewing for the stuffed animals and the bags,” Alice said. “Then I have 15 artists who are vendors with me so they make all kinds of things from cards and coloring books to jewelry and purses.”

A lot of people have come into the store disappointed with the T-shirts for sale and have asked for one customized t-shirt for their own purpose. The cost for one printed T-shirt is $350, Michael said.

Not only the T-shirts are popular, but the rug of Jerry “The King” Lawler is another unique item that wrestling fans would love to have inside their household. Lawler started out as a wrestler in Memphis in the early 1970s and quickly became one of the fan favorites to ever step into the squared circle.

One of the customers couldn’t recognize what person was on the rug and Alice quickly said, “It’s Jerry Lawler come on,” as she was smiling at the clueless customer. The rugs are only made during Labor Day weekend.

“This is a fun thing we do on Labor Day weekend. We did it last year and we are going to do it again this year. It’s called steamroller printing,” Alice said.

“So what you do is take a big piece of wood and cut the images into a woodblock. Then you cut your image out of the wood. Normally when people makes this kind of art, it’s small and you print them on paper. So we use really big sheets of wood that we get from the Home Depot (4 by 8)," she added. "So we cut all of the images and then you roll your ink on top to create your drawing and then you take them out into the street and lay the fabric down on the top of it and rented a steamroller. We drove it (steamroller) over the block and that prints your image.”

Last year, customers were able to pre-order them for $175. On Labor Day, the rugs went up to $250.

The small rugs are now $250 and the large rugs cost $450.

The social club is mainly used for the creation of the products along with the customers purchasing the items, but it has also become a place for couples to rent out for special occasions.

William Justice, son of University of Memphis Assistant Professor Candace C. Justice, and his fiancée Julie Jeschke, are looking for a place to use for their wedding reception in June. William is a regular at the social club, but Jeschke is a newcomer to this horizon of art on Broad Avenue.

“We were planning to have a reception here but we think we may have more people than expected,” Jeschke said.

The wedding reception will have at least 150 people attending and as a result, the social club is too small to hold the event.

Outside of the planning for the big day, Jeschke enjoyed her first time at the social club.

“It’s a great atmosphere," she said. "I like all of this stuff.”

If customers are interested in learning how to make designs for a T-shirt, photograph or even a poster, Michael and Alice can assist you as they teach a class on Monday and Saturday evenings.

On April 28, people will learn how to make fused plastic wallets. If there are any wrestling fans available on May 3, they should come to the social club as Michael and Andrew will teach them how to make Mexican wrestling masks.
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Christopher "Dumma Boy" Gholson is a well-known music producer from Memphis, Tenn. He has worked alongside top Hip Hop artist such as Young Jeezy,
T.I. and Two Chainz.

He is the founder of Drum Squad Foundation and an activist in his community. Recently, Drumma presented a grand opportunity for Shelby County School (SCS) students to participate in a contest and have a chance to win $2500. 

The "Dream Summit" was a competition that served as a way for Drumma to give back to his community and provide young entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their talents. 

The event was held Saturday, April 26, 2014 at the University of Memphis in the FedEx Institute of  Technology. 

SCS students, parents and teachers attended the event to learn more about opportunities in the music and sports industries from a panel of industry leaders.

Ron Highsmith, Executive Director of Drum Squad, detailed the importance of the event is to expose the youth to understanding curricular development and gain knowledge about the business side of multi-million dollar industries.

"It is important to present more opportunities and careers they may not learn about in school,"
  said Highsmith, "This is such a broad and diverse industry, and they will benefit tremendously from this summit."

The objective for the contest required students to create and present a business plan of their choice, including branding, budgeting and other market strategies that strive to benefit the
community.

During the summit, he was accompanied by a panel of guest speakers to share their success stories and help influence the youth who attended the seminar including Willie Gregory, Director of Global Community Impact for Nike, Kimberly Simmons of CTE programs, Johnnie Walker, executive director of Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission, and Jason Wexler, chief operating officer of the Memphis Grizzlies. The speakers shared insights to obtaining prosperous
positions in competitive industries and answered questions from inquiring minds.
Gregory talked to students about expanding their circle and building good relationships with people to become successful. He was passionate about the youth getting involved in programs that will benefit their career paths and promoting networking capabilities.

"If you are the smartest person in your crowd," Gregory said. " You are in the wrong
crowd."

Walker coached students about striving for excellence and never giving up on their dreams. Her message to the youth was to continue pursing goals and not allow anyone to stand in the way.

"If someone tells you no, flip it and it's ON," she said.

After each guest speaker shared their words of wisdom and stories of success, they presented the winners with a grand prize. The winners of the competition were a group of young women who displayed the creative plan of "Supreme Courts of Memphis," a recreational facility to
provide training for upcoming athletes and a great place for fitness.

"Drumma demonstrates his passion for giving back and by providing opportunities for the youth to have a chance at becoming successful in whatever career path they chose," Highsmith said.

Creative Stitches, an embroidery store in the University District, offers a unique variety of clothing, gifts and printed goods. 

The store, which is located in a house at 3525 Mynders Ave., opened in 1989. Since then, it has changed owners and adapted to the university community surrounding it.