There are 6 article(s) tagged Wayne Dowdy:

• February 2026

  • Ask the Memphian: What was The Gray Hat Mystery?

    A slain businessman, known as the “Hot Tamale King.” A young, fedora-wearing detective. And a tantalizing clue: a gray felt hat, left near the scene of the crime.

    By John Klyce February 02, 2026

• April 2025

  • Cossitt Library marks 132 years on Memphis riverfront

    Memphis Public Libraries marked the 1893 opening of the Cossitt on Saturday, April 12, with discussions of the history about public libraries in the city that touched on racial segregation and more.

    By Bill Dries April 15, 2025

• November 2024

  • Dorothy Walk sat firmly in Cossitt Library and changed the city

    She was arrested numerous times for participating in sit-ins, starting in March 1960 when she and others demanded access to library books.

    By Jane Roberts November 18, 2024

• September 2020

  • Educators plead for patience amid pandemic

    And, at local private schools, students give each other ‘air hugs’ and each lunch at their desks, as everyone tries to adjust. 

    By Linda A. Moore, Abigail Warren, Omer Yusuf September 21, 2020

  • MLGW-TVA: What happened the last time they split

    Memphis has left the Tennessee Valley Authority before, for a period that included the city building its own electric power plant. There are a lot of similarities between various turbulent chapters in the city's relationship with TVA as MLGW leaders again consider an exit from the federal agency.

    By Bill Dries September 07, 2020

• March 2020

  • Memphis closed schools, canceled church to stop an epidemic – in 1920

    In the final tally, 3,097 Memphians suffered from the flu and 75 died. However, it is certain that quick action to curtail public gatherings, along with the enthusiastic consent of the citizenry, halted the spread of flu and saved many lives. 

    By G. Wayne Dowdy March 18, 2020