Jim and June Ingram remember a Memphis that few of us could ever imagine.
On hot summer nights, they could watch the Memphis minor league baseball team play a double-header, have two barbecue sandwiches, a quart of soda, and travel through the city by trolley -- all for 52 cents.
During the day, they could pay an old man down by the river a nickel to paddle them across to President's Island for a day of hiking in the lush wilderness, residing amidst the mighty Mississippi.
Today, few aspects of the city's bygone days are evident amid the bustling metropolis, with exception to the Ingrams, who carry around a treasure trove of memories and personify the evolution of this city.
Working as a "soda jerk" at a local drugstore for 20 cents an hour as an after-school job, Jim still remembers the day his future wife strolled up to the counter and asked for a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a Coke.
"I was shy back then, and she was so pretty that I would get nervous and start fumbling things around," he said.
Last Wednesday, the Ingrams celebrated 53 years of marriage and spent the day recalling the transformations they have witnessed during their lives in the Bluff City.
As World War II raged on, Jim and many of his classmates were celebrating as the Class of '43 -- graduates of Central High School.
The celebration was short-lived. Jim and a host of other young Memphians were called upon to join the struggle that was tearing a continent apart half a world away.
"Before going to war, as far as we were concerned, Collierville seemed halfway to California," he said.
In Europe, he served as a Navy quartermaster on a ship that took part in the D-Day invasion, and continued to serve until the Allied forces claimed victory.
While many of his friends never made it back to Memphis, Jim was glad to be home, and he has never since left.
As part of the flood of men returning from the war, Jim enrolled at Memphis State College in 1946, and married the woman whose very name still brings a smile to his weathered face.
At the time, Harry S Truman had just been elected to a second presidential term, the resurgence of the "Red Scare" had Memphians looking out for Communists, and the population of the entire student body at The U of M was 2,500.
"We only had about five or six educational facilities at the time, we didn't have a football team and parking wasn't necessary because we either walked or rode the trolley to school," he said, then voiced displeasure at receiving two tickets for parking on campus without a hangtag last month while researching at the McWherter Library.
After two years of enrollment, he had to postpone his education to assist in his family's furniture manufacturing business, due to his father's failing health.
In the meantime, his wife had begun a lifelong love affair with the education of the city's children.
On top of raising her own children and teaching, June received her master's degree in education from Memphis State in 1964.
Over the years, she has steered and benefited the lives of thousands of this city's children, and has received such prestigious awards as Teacher of the Year for her efforts.
June still cheerfully recalls how the children touched every aspect of her life and remain an integral part of it to this day.
While the Ingram's memories of Memphis are largely fond ones, they remember some of the more despondent times the city experienced as well.
During the turbulent times of the 1960's, the city that was marred and torn by racial polarization became a focal point of the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived in Memphis to assist the municipal sanitation workers who were involved in a strike against city government.
On April 4, King was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel.
The anguish and chaos that ensued "brought the city to it's knees," according to Jim. It lives in the memory of the Ingrams as vividly as if it happened yesterday.
"The city was set on fire," he said.
Jim was at a roadside diner out of town when news broke of the assassination of a man who would become a martyr that Memphis night.
Worried about the safety of his family, Ingram hurried back to the city, and found an angry mob at the pinnacle of its rage.
"The entire downtown area became a war zone," Jim said.
Trying to get to his family, Ingram pushed through the fire and disorder that had engulfed the city.
Today, Jim feels fortunate for coming out of the madness unscathed.
"It was a chaotic and dark time for this city, but we got through it, and haven't looked back since," hesaid.
While the Ingrams often reflect upon the history of the city, they continue to grow and prosper alongside of it.
Jim enjoys constructing webpages for people as well as chatting with his war buddies over a cup of coffee. June can often be found at a local library reading to the blind or in the kitchen baking cookies for inmates at the county jail.
Although Jim retired in 1986, and June in 1994, both were a long way from completing their contributions to the city of Memphis, and Memphis still had something to offer the Ingrams.
In 1988, Jim set out to complete his education, 42 years after he began it.
"I got used to being one of the more 'mature' people in my classes," he said.
At the age of 70, Jim received a degree in information technology and worked for Federal Express until 1996.
Today, the Ingrams remain involved in th city are looking forward to the Memphis springtime to get into full swing.
"It just goes to show you that you can teach an old dog new tricks," Jim said.
