"A Day in the life"
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" January 8, 1940 (Monday)
The Presleys celebrated Elvis' 5th birthday in Tupelo.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" August 25, 1940 (Sunday)
Vernon continued to work on the Sanitation Project as a carpenter and also as a cement finisher.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" October 31, 1940 (Thursday)
Vernon paid the Mississippi Road and Bridge Privilege Tax of $11 on a 1930 Chevrolet truck. It had a six-horsepower engine and a market value of $50.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" November 6, 1940 (Wednesday)
MOVING HOUSE - 510½ Maple Street, Tupelo, Mississippi.
The Presley's were now living in a rented house at 510½ Maple Street in East Tupelo. The Federal Works Project Agency notified Vernon by mail that effective from this date at 5:00 pm he will be released from his job "in accordance with statutory requirement prohibiting continuous employment for more than eighteen months". He would re-qualify for employment on December 10.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" December 25, 1940 (Wednesday)
Christmas with the Presleys on Maple Street, Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" January 8, 1941 (Wednesday)
The Presleys celebrated Elvis' 6th birthday in Tupelo.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" February 15, 1941 (Saturday)
Vernon purchased a 1932 Chevrolet Coupe from a Mr. E. Sheffield for $65. He would have to make $5 payments until the total of $85 which included interest was fully paid on July 26, 1941.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" September, 1941
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT (1st Year) - Ledyard Primary School, South Broadway Street, Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis began first grade school.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" December 25, 1941 (Thursday)
Christmas with the Presleys on Maple Street, Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" January 8, 1942 (Thursday)
The Presleys celebrated Elvis' 7th birthday in Tupelo. (photo date unknown)
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" January 24, 1942 (Saturday)
For an unknown period of time Vernon had been working at the S&W Construction Company in Sardis, Mississippi, some sixty miles west of Tupelo. But on this day, he quit due to illness.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" August 1, 1942 (Saturday)
To find employment, Vernon moved to Ozark, Alabama which was located more than 300 miles from Tupelo. He worked for J. A. Jones Construction Company. He was paid $44.05 for the week ending August 1, with an additional $5 for five hours the following week. (photo)
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" August 8, 1942 (Saturday)
Vernon found work closer to home in Aberdeen, Mississippi, just thirty miles south of Tupelo, at the Ferguson Oman Ordnance Plant, as a carpenter for $1 an hour. Additionally he also received overtime pay between $15-$18 per week. With the rent rate of $8 per week on the Maple Street house, the family could finally breathe a financial sigh of relief.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" September, 1942
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT (2nd Year) - East Tupelo Elementary School (Lawhon) 140 Lake Street, East Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis began second-grade school.
Sometime this year Gladys also suffered a miscarriage while Vernon was away.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" November 22, 1942 (Sunday)
Vernon found work as a carpenter for the S&W Construction Company in Como, Mississippi, which built internment camps for prisoners of war. He earned $1 per hour and $1.50 an hour for overtime.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" December 7, 1942 (Monday)
With Christmas coming up, Vernon was let go from work in Como due to a reduction in the workforce.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" December 12, 1942 (Saturday)
Vernon began employment with the Dunn Construction Company in Millington, Tennessee, just outside of Memphis. He earned $1.25 per hour and lived in the company barracks. He returned home to Tupelo at the weekends.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" December 25, 1942 (Friday)
Christmas with the Presleys on Maple Street, Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" January 8, 1943 (Friday)
The Presleys celebrated Elvis' 8th birthday in Tupelo. From the age of eight Elvis started to spend many Saturday afternoons at the Tupelo Courthouse where WELO broadcast it's Saturday Jamboree from 1:00 pm until 4:30 pm. On occasion he would be allowed to sing with "Mississippi Slim" on this show. (photo date unknown)
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" February 14, 1943 (Sunday)
Vernon received his final payment from the Dunn Construction Company in Millington.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" March 6, 1943 (Saturday)
Vernon borrowed $25 from the People's Bank and Trust in Tupelo, where he paid off a total of $27 with interest by June 2.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" March 10, 1943 (Wednesday)
Vernon was now employed by the Pepsi Bottling Company in Tupelo.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" April 29, 1943 (Thursday)
Vernon quit his job at the Pepsi Bottling Company in Tupelo.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" May 16, 1943 (Sunday)
The whole family moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast with Vernon's cousin Sales and his wife Annie. Vernon and Sales went to work for the Moss Point Shipyard near Pascagoula. Vernon now earned $1.25 per hour and $1.80 for overtime work.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" June 4, 1943 (Friday)
Vernon finally paid off the outstanding bill for the bank loan he got for a car. The bank had threatened to sue back in November 1938.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" June 20, 1943 (Sunday)
Because the Presley's were homesick for family and friends, Vernon quit his job at the shipyard and they returned to Tupelo where they moved into a duplex at 904 Kelly Street. They didn't move back into the house that Vernon had built as his father Jesse had sold it.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" June 31, 1943 (Saturday)
Vernon went back to work for the Dunn Construction Company near Memphis for just one week before he found employment as a driver for L.P. McCarty and Sons, a local grocer.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" September, 1943
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT (3rd Year) - East Tupelo Elementary School (Lawhon) 140 Lake Street, East Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis began third-grade school.
Sometime this year Gladys also suffered a miscarriage while Vernon was away.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" December 25, 1943 (Saturday)
Christmas with the Presleys on Maple Street, Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" December 31, 1943 (Friday)
Vernon Presley's "Optional U.S. Income and Victory Tax" was filed at the end of the year, with his name on the form spelled "Pressley." The declaration listed $539.60 in income from L.P. McCarty and Sons; $352.50 from Moss Point Shipyard; $89.50 from the Pepsi Bottling Co; and $251.28 from the Dunn Construction Co. in Millington, Tennessee. The total incom came to $1,232.88 with total taxes paid of $12.56.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" January 8, 1944 (Saturday)
The Presleys celebrated Elvis' 9th birthday in Tupelo.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" 1944
Vernon, for the first time in a long time had steady employment while he worked for L.P. McCarty and Sons and the family enjoyed relative prosperity as a result.
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" June, 1944
East Tupelo Elementary School (Lawhon) 140 Lake Street, East Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis received his report card from school. (photo)
Elvis: "A Day in the Life" 1944
Thomas Andrew Parker who was a thirty-five year old animal officer for the Tampa Humane Society and sometime promoter of shows in the Tampa area made a decision to move to Nashville, Tennessee to become Eddy Arnold's manager. Parker had previously been the manager of Gene Austin.