My godmother from Memphis called this morning telling us to read the Commercial Appeal in the memories section. JB McCaleb is my grandfather and he was a character to say the least. Below is a copy of the article from The Commercial Appeal out of Memphis:

“50 years ago: 1957

For just a few moments yesterday at noon, the Cotton Carnival became the Catfish Carnival. A tankload of blue catfish was dumped into Court Square’s fountain, a gift to the people of Memphis from their fellow Tennesseans at Savannah. Mayor J.B. McCaleb of Savannah set the tone of the occasion by handing Savannah Joe, leader of the finny tribe, to Mayor Edmund Orgill. Mayor Orgill held Joe while movie cameras ground and flashbulbs exploded. Then he dropped the fine fish into the fountain. Moments later, some 20 other catfish were deposited in the fountain to keep Joe company. But you can recognize Joe if you look. He is wearing a red tag with his name on it. The cascade of catfish was Savannah’s way of contributing to the campaign to replace Court Square’s goldfish with creatures more appropriate to the region. ”

Only my granddaddy would take a bunch of catfish wrapped up in a bow and dump into a fountain in Memphis! Welcome to Tennessee ya’ll!