and
The Leather Apostle
"Memphis First Head Shop"
Highland Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee
1967 - 1968
| Three Memphis friends and would be entrepreneurs, Jerry Faerber, Mike Dean and Lee McKnight, opened in the fall of 1967 Memphis first "head" shop Pembroke of Memphis. It was located on Highland Avenue near Memphis State University. This was the first and largest of three such shops which included Pembroke of Jackson and Pembroke of Tuscaloosa. Pembroke sold beads, buttons, posters, hookahs, paraphernalia, musical lights, hippie clothing and had a large blacklight room of posters. It had been inspired by the three friends trip to California trying to visit Haight-Ashbury's "Summer of Love" in 1967 San Francisco. On this trip in Los Angeles they met their first hippies and saw their first head shop. The not totally successful cross country trip in Jerry's VW Beetle, was an experience in of itself. This shop also inspired and sponsored the legendary Acapulco Road Trip to Mexico to buy goods to sell, and to buy Mexican goods to sell in Pembroke. From Jerry's inspiration, the shop was named after an insane asylum in England. Who chose the purple and yellow color theme is unknown. Memphis first handmade leather sandal shop, The Leather Apostle, was opened inside Pembroke and mainly manned by another friend Rodney Dowling. While numberous people were employed as clerks the unforgettable Dede Hooe stands out. While not a total financial success, it did contribute to Lee becoming a lifelong hippie, India and the Love Family; Mike being even more Mike; and Jerry's beginning to an ever larger succession of retail stores. The shops were finally closed within a year having attracted too much attention of the local authorities. This attention included a police raid on the store, confiscation of all Hookahs and paraphernalia and a very short visit in the Memphis Jail. It was a wonder time. |
| Pembroke of Memphis | ||
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| Pembroke's Grand Opening | ||
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| Inside Pembroke and the People | ||
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