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Vibe of Graceland Too changes after owner’s death

By WTOP Staff

EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — The Elvis Presley-congested rooms of a north Mississippi roadside museum are missing their kinetic buzz since owner Paul MacLeod left the building.

Dozens of people toured Graceland Too on Tuesday, hours after a private funeral for MacLeod. A sign in the museum still bills him, without regard to apostrophes, as “The universes, galaxys, planets, worlds ultimate Elvis fan.”

MacLeod died July 17, two days after police said he shot and killed another local man who tried to force his way into the attraction.

Since 1990, the perpetually caffeinated MacLeod had guided intoxicated college students, international tourists and other adventure seekers through his floor-to-ceiling collection of Elvis ephemera in the ramshackle antebellum home. His daughters say the collection — of dubious financial value — could be sold piecemeal to satisfy their father’s debts.

There are posters. Lamps. Life-sized cardboard cutouts. Figurines. Curtains. Vinyl LP and 45 rpm records. Stacks of “TV Guide” magazines with paperclips to show listings of movies, talk shows or sitcoms with even the most tangential mention of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

“Paul was attempting to document all references to Elvis Presley in all forms of media,” said Jeffrey Jenson, a filmmaker from Kingston, Jamaica, who spent years working on a documentary about the super fan.

Even with an eye-popping assortment of memorabilia, tours of Graceland Too were never really about the stuff. They were about the frenetic energy and nonstop storytelling of MacLeod, who took care of business with an intensity that many believed translated into art.

“Paul called it a ‘magnificent obsession,'” said Vernon Chadwick, a former English instructor who organized an international Elvis Presley conference at the University of Mississippi in 1995.

Graceland Too is not affiliated with Presley’s final home, the Graceland mansion, about an hour away in Memphis, Tennessee. Holly Springs is about halfway between Memphis and Presley’s birth city of Tupelo, Mississippi. That makes the town a convenient stop for pilgrims traveling the area this week to commemorate Presley’s death at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977.

MacLeod’s adult daughters, Brenda Young and Shari MacLeod of Madison Heights, Michigan, mingled with Graceland Too tourists on Tuesday but said they hardly had a relationship with their father. The former auto assembly worker left them and their mother when Brenda was 6 years old and Shari was 4.

Shari MacLeod said it was intriguing to chat with people who had made their way to Holly Springs — many of them repeatedly, and many of them from long distances — to tour Graceland Too and visit with her father.

“They got to experience what me and my sister didn’t,” Shari MacLeod said.

People who took the $5 tour at least three times received lifetime membership cards from MacLeod, and that entitled them to free tours. Mike Butcher of Columbus, Ohio, said he first visited Graceland Too shortly after he and his wife, Dawn, were married by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas 14 years ago.

“I found out quickly that 3 or 4 in the morning was the best time to come here,” Butcher said.

In his final years, MacLeod worked on a “Jailhouse Rock” theme for the backyard, including a homemade electric chair. The sturdy wooden structure is painted gray and studded with yellow clips strung with strands of electric wire connected to nothing. Tourists can sit in the chair and pose for fake execution photos, complete with an overturned metal colander for a hat. Shari MacLeod laughed as she did that Tuesday, while Butcher pretended to throw a switch.

It was, Butcher said, one of Paul MacLeod’s favorite gags — he would point at the upside-down horseshoe on the front of the chair and tell visitors: “‘You see that horseshoe? You’re out of luck, man. You’re out of luck.'”

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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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