If this Memphis summer feels hot, imagine going back fifty years to August 1976.
The week of August 9 started pleasantly enough. On Monday, Memphis reached 84 degrees after a morning low of just 61.
That didn’t last.
Tuesday reached 91. By Friday, the high was 92, and on Saturday, August 14, the temperature climbed to 96 degrees. And there wasn’t much rain to provide relief.
Of course, 96 degrees isn’t unusual for a Memphis summer. What was different was how Memphians dealt with it. Central air conditioning was becoming increasingly common by the 1970s, but it wasn’t nearly as universal as it is today. Older Memphis homes often relied on window units, attic fans and electric fans. And plenty of people simply found somewhere else to cool off.
Shopping malls and movie theaters offered air-conditioned escapes. Public and private swimming pools were summertime fixtures. Kids ran through sprinklers and drank from garden hoses.
And in August 1976, Memphis had a brand-new summer attraction.
Libertyland had opened at the Mid-South Fairgrounds only about six weeks earlier. Memphians could spend an evening riding the Zippin Pippin and other attractions—although standing in an amusement-park line on a 90-degree day probably wasn’t anyone’s idea of air conditioning.
Evenings offered some relief, but not always much. On August 14, after reaching 96, Memphis fell only into the mid-70s overnight.
Fifty years later, summer in Memphis still means watching the thermometer climb toward triple digits and looking for someplace cool. The technology has changed.
The conversation hasn’t.
Hot enough for you?