'Over The Fence'

"Over the fence: a neighbor’s memories of Elvis", USA, [n.p.], [n.p], 1997 rev. 2006, 2012. 86 pp. B/w photos. Pbk. ISBN 0-9659265-0-8. Accompanied by a CD narrated by Sara Erwin, 51’35". Reviewed by Susan MacDougall, September 2012

Sara Erwin is a school teacher who, since retiring, has been active in Memphis clubs and societies. Over the fence is an account of Sara’s life in Memphis as a neighbour living on the other side of the fence from Graceland.

Most of her anecdotes are from the early years, starting with memories of stabling horses in Graceland barn before Elvis bought Graceland in 1957. Elvis came and chatted to Sara and other teenagers. They showed Elvis round the barn and talked about horses. He continued with these visits for some time. The teenagers gave him space and didn’t crowd him, take photographs or demand autographs, which he seemed to appreciate. Photo Right: Sara (in white top and blue pants) in 2012 pointing out the ladder they used in the barn/stables to climb into the loft before Elvis bought Graceland.

Once the land was subdivided and the perimeter fence built, they saw Elvis less often. He had his movie career and did his stint in the army. But he did use Sara’s back fence as a passage to the outside, escaping the fans amassed at the front of Graceland, who would honk their horns at him and follow him around. Often he would be going to Graceland elementary school field to play touch football. If he was wearing a black yachting cap, he would be going boating.

Later, on one occasion, Sara and her brother competed with Elvis’s Christmas/New Year firework display, at some disadvantage, given Elvis’s superior arsenal.

She was also very aware of the crowds and activity surrounding Elvis’s death. As a security measure, when Elvis’s body was brought back to Graceland, it wasn’t in the white hearse but in a red van.

Sara was touched by the fact that Elvis was not arrogant. When a boy asked him how he felt about all the girls screaming when he was singing, he replied that it covered his mistakes. Another time, Elvis stood back to let an elderly man to go through the gate first – a sign of his good manners and upbringing. When the fence was replaced, Elvis gave instructions to the workmen not to damage the neighbours’ vegetation. They moved the fence six inches back from Sara’s peach tree to avoid damaging it. (Offshoots from the original tree still grow in Sara’s garden today.) Photo Right: The path between Sara's house (on the right) and a neighbour's that Elvis took, climbing over the fence to avoid attention at the front of Graceland

While the teenagers were aware of Elvis’s quick temper, they saw very few instances of it. There are so many anecdotes that show Elvis in a good light.

This book is an easy-reading, lightweight book. The accompanying CD follows the book closely, relating most of the same anecdotes.

In it, Sara’s enthusiasm and wonder come across. It is worth listening to for her lively style and sporadic laughter at the stories. She has certainly lived in interesting times. Her experiences have brought many people to her door from various parts of the world, wanting to talk to her – and take photographs of Graceland through a knot-hole in the fence. That fence was recently replaced yet again with a taller one with no holes around July 2012.

Summary : "What, more books about Elvis?" you may ask. There are more profound books than this one around. But they all make up part of a vast mosaic that gives a more rounded picture of Elvis’s true nature, which was evident from early on. It is too easy to concentrate on sporadic negative actions and lose a sense of the whole person. There will, no doubt, be more publications about this enigmatic figure. Will we ever understand him?

Review photos courtesy of Mandy Squair

Review by Susan MacDougall.
-Copyright EIN September 2012
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Read other book reviews by Susan MacDougall:

In Search of Elvis
Elvis: In The Twilight of Memory
Elvis and Kathy
A Tale of Two Cooks
We Remember Elvis
The Elvis Reader
Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley
Elvis Religion

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