Oscar Woodrow "Woody" Stanley (G)
(4:03) Mr. Stanley tells about Elvis Presley's visit to the Woody Mac drive-in in Colbert County, Alabama. This interview is part of an oral history project funded by a grant from the Alabama Historical Records Board, managed by the Alabama Department of Archives and History staff, using funds...
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| Format: | Electronic |
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Florence-Lauderdale County Public Library
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| Online Access: | https://cdm15947.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/oral_hist/id/136 |
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Electronic |
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Oral Histories Collection |
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Florence-Lauderdale County Public Library |
| publisher |
Florence-Lauderdale County Public Library |
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Oral histories -- audios and transcripts |
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Oral histories -- audios and transcripts Oscar Woodrow "Woody" Stanley (G) Florence-Lauderdale Public Library |
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Oral histories -- audios and transcripts Drive-in restaurants; Presley, Elvis 1935-1977; |
| description |
(4:03) Mr. Stanley tells about Elvis Presley's visit to the Woody Mac drive-in in Colbert County, Alabama. This interview is part of an oral history project funded by a grant from the Alabama Historical Records Board, managed by the Alabama Department of Archives and History staff, using funds provided by the National Historical Preservation and Records Commission.Florence- Lauderdale Public Library Digital Archive
Interview with Oscar Woodrow “ Woody” Stanley April 22, 2009 Florence, Alabama Conducted by Rhonda Haygood and Patti Hannah
( Also present: Lou Letson, Mac Letson)
Clip 7 of 7
Rhonda Haygood: Well, you’ve mentioned your book. What’s the title of your book?
Oscar Stanley: Y’all have it, don’t you?
RH: Um- hm.
OS: Ah, I got 92 Years in Colbert County: Before and After, I’d say Before and After would be the title, of ah, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. And the reason I got Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks is the black and white trouble up there at Leighton on the bus before, you know, before they was in the picture.
RH: You mentioned your dad going to the river. Did you, ah, go down to the river much as a child, fishing, swimming?
OS: I never was much of a fisherman and I’m just a fair swimmer. I wasn���t one of these guys that headed for the water every time I got a chance. And, of course, I’m sure I got in the book about Elvis and his trips to the Woody Mac when he’d come to the Community Center, you know.
RH: Tell me a little bit about seeing Elvis.
OS: About Elvis?
RH: Yeah.
OS: Well, first time he come into Sheffield, he stopped there at the Woody Mac and we had, ah, we had, we had some good, good help. We had a girl that was about sixteen. Her name was Pat Enlow. She looked like she was nineteen or twenty. She was, I’d say she was a full grown woman and a good looking girl, like I say, she looked kinda like Marilyn Monroe. And we had another girl— now Pat lived in Sheffield, and ah, what was that other girl’s name, black headed girl Lo—, Lolita something, lived in Tuscumbia, she was twenty- two, been married, had two kids and I told folks she looked like Hedy Lamarr, she was a fine looking girl. And they, they got acquainted with Elvis on his first stop and he carried them down to the Community Center, you know, to see his show and everything. But Elvis would spend the night, and always with one buddy and, ah, I was reading something about him here a while back, his, his band, and I decided on which one I thought spent the night with him, but I can’t remember his name now. But, anyhow, they would come back out to the Woody Mac for breakfast the next morning and Elvis would order, ah, double order of toast, double order of bacon, and four eggs. And I thought, well that dude, his just trying to impress the girls, show how much a macho man he is. Then I saw him on the Ed Sullivan Show. And I saw him on that Ed Sullivan Show and I said, “ Hey, he wasn’t trying to impress nobody, that dude was just starved to death when he got out there. He was hungry.” All that twisting and shaking.
Lou Letson: But he makes it— every time he’d come through Sheffield, he’d [ inaudible] the Woody Mac was where he’d [ inaudible].
OS: Yeah, he come to the Community Center three times and three times he come out and eat breakfast.
RH: Did you actually meet him in person yourself?
OS: I never did go over to the booth and talk to him. I thought about it since then. Why in the world didn’t I go over there and get personally acquainted with him? But I never did.
LL: Well you didn’t know he was going to be famous and he was just customer then.
OS: Well, ah, I never did any, any of our customers, because I thought, I thought well hey, they come out here to, maybe to kinda be private with somebody else and I’m not going to be butting in. Well, Elvis shook them up, that’s for sure, at the Community Center and a lot of other places.
Mac Letson: That Community Center, the last time he performed down there was where Tom Parker and Elvis had a hand shake deal.
OS: Yeah?
ML: Tom Parker was Web Pierce’s manager and Web Pierce said, “ That boy’ll never front a show for me again.” And he didn’t.
OS: Yeah. And Tom Parker took him over—
ML: Tom Parker took him over as his manager and stayed with him all the time.
RH: How about that.
OS: He was phenomenal, that’s the truth.
RH: Well, Mr. Stanley, we sure do appreciate you talking with us and—
OS: Well, I’m, I’m glad to do it.
RH: We enjoyed your stories.
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| title |
Oscar Woodrow "Woody" Stanley (G) |
| titleStr |
Oscar Woodrow "Woody" Stanley (G) |
| author |
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library |
| author_facet |
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library |
| id |
FLCPLoral_hist136 |
| url |
https://cdm15947.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/oral_hist/id/136 |
| thumbnail |
http://cdm15947.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/oral_hist/id/136 |
| _version_ |
1782468788101316608 |
| spelling |
Oscar Woodrow "Woody" Stanley (G)Drive-in restaurants; Presley, Elvis 1935-1977;(4:03) Mr. Stanley tells about Elvis Presley's visit to the Woody Mac drive-in in Colbert County, Alabama. This interview is part of an oral history project funded by a grant from the Alabama Historical Records Board, managed by the Alabama Department of Archives and History staff, using funds provided by the National Historical Preservation and Records Commission.Florence-Lauderdale Public LibraryFlorence-Lauderdale Public LibraryOscar Woodrow "Woody" Stanley2009-4-22sound; textaudio/mp3; text/pdfEnglishIs part of the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library collection.Contact the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library for permission to use.Florence- Lauderdale Public Library Digital Archive
Interview with Oscar Woodrow “ Woody” Stanley April 22, 2009 Florence, Alabama Conducted by Rhonda Haygood and Patti Hannah
( Also present: Lou Letson, Mac Letson)
Clip 7 of 7
Rhonda Haygood: Well, you’ve mentioned your book. What’s the title of your book?
Oscar Stanley: Y’all have it, don’t you?
RH: Um- hm.
OS: Ah, I got 92 Years in Colbert County: Before and After, I’d say Before and After would be the title, of ah, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. And the reason I got Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks is the black and white trouble up there at Leighton on the bus before, you know, before they was in the picture.
RH: You mentioned your dad going to the river. Did you, ah, go down to the river much as a child, fishing, swimming?
OS: I never was much of a fisherman and I’m just a fair swimmer. I wasn���t one of these guys that headed for the water every time I got a chance. And, of course, I’m sure I got in the book about Elvis and his trips to the Woody Mac when he’d come to the Community Center, you know.
RH: Tell me a little bit about seeing Elvis.
OS: About Elvis?
RH: Yeah.
OS: Well, first time he come into Sheffield, he stopped there at the Woody Mac and we had, ah, we had, we had some good, good help. We had a girl that was about sixteen. Her name was Pat Enlow. She looked like she was nineteen or twenty. She was, I’d say she was a full grown woman and a good looking girl, like I say, she looked kinda like Marilyn Monroe. And we had another girl— now Pat lived in Sheffield, and ah, what was that other girl’s name, black headed girl Lo—, Lolita something, lived in Tuscumbia, she was twenty- two, been married, had two kids and I told folks she looked like Hedy Lamarr, she was a fine looking girl. And they, they got acquainted with Elvis on his first stop and he carried them down to the Community Center, you know, to see his show and everything. But Elvis would spend the night, and always with one buddy and, ah, I was reading something about him here a while back, his, his band, and I decided on which one I thought spent the night with him, but I can’t remember his name now. But, anyhow, they would come back out to the Woody Mac for breakfast the next morning and Elvis would order, ah, double order of toast, double order of bacon, and four eggs. And I thought, well that dude, his just trying to impress the girls, show how much a macho man he is. Then I saw him on the Ed Sullivan Show. And I saw him on that Ed Sullivan Show and I said, “ Hey, he wasn’t trying to impress nobody, that dude was just starved to death when he got out there. He was hungry.” All that twisting and shaking.
Lou Letson: But he makes it— every time he’d come through Sheffield, he’d [ inaudible] the Woody Mac was where he’d [ inaudible].
OS: Yeah, he come to the Community Center three times and three times he come out and eat breakfast.
RH: Did you actually meet him in person yourself?
OS: I never did go over to the booth and talk to him. I thought about it since then. Why in the world didn’t I go over there and get personally acquainted with him? But I never did.
LL: Well you didn’t know he was going to be famous and he was just customer then.
OS: Well, ah, I never did any, any of our customers, because I thought, I thought well hey, they come out here to, maybe to kinda be private with somebody else and I’m not going to be butting in. Well, Elvis shook them up, that’s for sure, at the Community Center and a lot of other places.
Mac Letson: That Community Center, the last time he performed down there was where Tom Parker and Elvis had a hand shake deal.
OS: Yeah?
ML: Tom Parker was Web Pierce’s manager and Web Pierce said, “ That boy’ll never front a show for me again.” And he didn’t.
OS: Yeah. And Tom Parker took him over—
ML: Tom Parker took him over as his manager and stayed with him all the time.
RH: How about that.
OS: He was phenomenal, that’s the truth.
RH: Well, Mr. Stanley, we sure do appreciate you talking with us and—
OS: Well, I’m, I’m glad to do it.
RH: We enjoyed your stories.
http://server15947.contentdm.oclc.org/u?/oral_hist,136 |