History

Hello and welcome to the official webpage dedicated to the History, or WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW about the newly renovated Thompson House. 24 East 3^rd St. Newport, Kentucky

This majestic mansion is located on the Southern, or Kentucky side of the Ohio River facing the Cincinnati, OH skyline.  The mansion that began as a 2 room log cabin and has been home to General  Southgate, John Thompson (inventor of the Thompson Submachine Gun) and The Knights of Columbus has been reinvented.   It is currently owned by a local family that has been in the business of entertainment in their hometown of Newport, KY since well before purchasing the mansion in 1976.   But, let me take a moment to ponder on the word “history”. 

HISTORY, what kind of word is HISTORY and what does it mean?  Well, since I found myself asking these questions and thinking “Oh no!  Not boring names that no one has heard of and dates no one remembers!” I thought you may be thinking the same things.  So, let me make it clear that it is an account of local people, business and places that you may not only recognize, but you may have met, known, have done business with, lived next to and may have visited on a regular basis.   Since, according to Webster’s dictionary “history” is “an account of the past”  I’d rather think this is an “exciting” history or “exciting account of the past”.  An exciting account of what I know, and didn’t know about the historic mansion that was locally referred to as “that big old house on 3^rd Street.”

It is hard to believe that “that big old house on 3^rd Street” started out as a 2 room log cabin.   While there are writings and accounts of the Richard Southgate family and home it‘s fame actually came from great grandson John Taliaferro Thompson whom we will talk about at some length later.  As far as the history of  Thompson House before John Thompson, I found it to come from such limited  documentation that they were all rather redundant.  In other words they all were alike and had nothing new to offer about the family or house.  So, with your permission, from here on I will take literary license and tell you in my words “what I didn’t know”,  what I learned and about my experiences in “the big old house on 3^rd St.”  I truly hope you find this account as exciting as my life with it has been.  Let me start with a question.

Did you know that during the War of 1812 British prisoners were housed in Newport Barracks in Newport, KY?  They were!  And at that time Ann and Richard Southgate lived in a 2 room log cabin on the banks of the Ohio River in Newport.  “So what?” you ask.  Who is Richard Southgate you asked?  Richard was the great grandfather of John Thompson who would make the house famous with his invention of the “Thompson Submachine Gun” or the “Tommy Gun.“    As an attorney Richard had high hopes for his family and a future in politics and he knew the log cabin would not suffice.   He had visions of a stately manor magnificent enough to welcome and entertain people of importance and wealth.  So, in 1814 he began building around the 2 room log cabin and turning his vision into a reality took 7 years.  The shrewd politician and businessman in him found it fruitful to use the British prisoners of Newport Barracks to build his stately mansion.  It saved him money.  Before he passed in 1857, and according to the Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky, Richard Southgate saw much more of his vision with visitors such as Henry Clay, James R. Polk, Zachary Taylor and Mr. & Mrs. Abraham Lincoln.  From the humble beginnings of a log cabin to entertaining and housing prominent  businessmen,  politicians and future presidents of the United States, the “big old house on 3^rd Street” had earned some historical significance.  Though it wouldn’t reach it’s pinnacle for a few generations to come.  When Richard Southgate passed the house went to his daughter, Francis Taliaferro (pronounced Tolliver)  Parker who in turn left it to her daughter, Julia Maria Taliaferro Thompson and then to Julia’s son Brigadier General John Taliaferro Thompson, who the house is named for today.

Though famous people had been entertained there it wasn’t until John Thompson was born in the big old house on December 31, 1860 that gave birth to it’s most exciting years and lasting fame.  Thompson was son to Maria Taliaferro and Lt. Col. James Thompson and brought great historic significance to the house with the documentation of his invention of the “Thompson Submachine Gun”.   John was said to have taken after his father having been soft spoken while being of strong character and a strong disciplinarian.   His great  grandfather, Richard Southgate graduated from West point and pursued a military career.  John Thompson had a life in the military planned and became an expert at handling and managing large supplies of arms and munitions for war.  Machineguns of the time were large, heavy weapons that needed several soldiers to transport them and to use them.  Recognizing the need for light weight, fast firing weapons he became dedicated to inventing a faster, lighter, automatic machinegun that would help end the First World War.   He was so determined that he actually retired from the Army and his life in the military in 1914 and moved forward with his quest of creating the machinegun.  During this time the Auto Ordinance Corporation was formed to help in financing, designing and developing the invention.  Thompson’s gun had several nick names including “trench sweeper” for it’s ability to be carried by a soldier from trench to trench sweeping the area with bullets and annihilating the enemy.  However, by the time the machine gun was ready for war there was no war.  What would the world do with a “trench sweeper” with no war?  The war had ended and who would purchase his gun?  Thompson had to find a market for it other than the military.  And, this is where it gets really exciting and tricky.  Thompson saw his gun as a weapon to help end the war and support world peace.  He had to reinvent his machinegun.

Because of his dedication to invent a better weapon Thompson had invented a gun that was automatic and still powerful enough to quickly spray hundreds of bullets over vast areas.  However, without a war who would purchase such a weapon?  John Thompson realized he had to make his invention appealing to other markets.   So he ordered Auto Ordinance to make an even smaller, handier machine gun.  Each and every part in the gun had to be redesigned as a smaller, lighter, working piece.  The name of the gun had to make it clear to the buyer that the gun was smaller and handier.  In 1919 The Auto Ordinance named it the “Thompson Submachine Gun.”   The name left no doubt that the new weapon was small, fast, automatic and more personal than those dinosaurs of the past.  Therefore Thompson is credited with redesigning existing parts and with inventing new pieces and parts to make his “Tommy Gun” possible.  Because of Thompson’s dedication his gun had the fire power of the gigantic machineguns of the past but it was lightweight and small.  These things made this invention very attractive to people of all backgrounds including military, bankers, farmers, railroads and gangsters.   While not the war ending gun of his lifelong dreams it was a huge improvement in arms and munitions that forever changed them in the history of the United States.  So Thompson had succeeded in inventing his small, light, automatic gun and brought that historic significance and fame to “the big old house on 3^rd St.”  Due to the importance of the innovations of John Talliaferro Thompson and his invention the house has been known as the “home of the inventor of the Thompson Submachine Gun.”  And, it was entered in the National Registry of historic Places by the United States of the Interior in 1977.  But there is more to say about the Tommy Gun!

Did you know they could be purchased in a local hardware store?  Imagine walking into the 5 and 10 cent store and asking to see a machine bun.  Since the new invention had never been taken to war and was considered experimental it was hard to sell.  The Auto Ordinance used every legal option they could find to sell the gun but wouldn’t get half the price that a “war ending weapon” would bring.   And couldn’t sell them in large lots as they expected to with the war.   They were left to sell them in magazines and any store that would agree to sell them.  Unfortunately that generally  meant selling them one at a time and not in large lots.  Anyone who has seen  a good Western movie has seen or heard of the “mail order catalogs” and seen cowboys and farmers with their sons shopping for guns in the town’s Mercantile or Hardware store.  Later movies portraying the Prohibition era showed the Tommy Gun used both by the law enforcement and the gangsters on the other side of the law which wasn’t what Thompson planned for his gun.  The submachine guns were so small and handy that gangsters found it easy to hide them, and handle one in each arm pulling them quickly from under a coat to spray the area with hundreds of bullets.  Anyone and everyone could buy and own a Thompson Submachine Gun.  There were no restrictions until the National Firearms Act in 1934.  John Thompson was 79 years old when he passed in 1940.  After his death the United States ordered the submachine gun  in large quantities for use in World War II.  As so often happens Thompson’s dream of a military weapon was realized after his death.  We have covered a lot of years from the War of 1812 when the house was still a 2 room log cabin.  In all of those years only a few were responsible for the Tommy Gun that made the house infamous.  And, there were a few owners after the descendents of the Southgate’s until it was purchased by the The Knights of Columbus (K of C), Bishop Mulloy council 1301 in 1914.    Did you know that the mansion was owned by The  Knights of Columbus?  I actually remember those days!

It was the K of C that added the ballroom on the back of the original mansion.  They made changes to the house necessary to hold their meetings and dances.   The ballroom on the rear of the building made it appealing to other clubs, schools and churches with little room for special events.  The K of C Hall hosted those and their own events, dances, meetings and the such.  What I didn’t know about the big old house was compelling me to learn more about it.  It is my understanding that the K of C had to sell due to lack of membership in 1976.  They simply couldn’t afford the upkeep without support of a large membership.  Which I didn’t know would turn out to be lucky for me!  It was sold to a local family and neighbor of mine.  One of my best friends happened to be a member of that family.  Until now I have shared things I have overheard, been told by the owners or read about “the big old house on 3rd St.“  From here on I will share my life with what is known as “The Thompson House.”  I will tell my story from 1976 when my friends the Raleigh family  purchased it and saved it from demolition.  

On my first visit I was hooked.  It was just a big old house in bad shape and in need of major repairs and decorating but I was hooked.  There were rumors of it being haunted and that was appealing to me.  I was in high school, young and attracted with a passion, to anything that had an aura of mystery or fantasy.  I did not know that it was a prelude to a love affair with the “big old house”.  That wasn’t all that I didn‘t know.  I didn’t know that I would someday be an employee at the house or that my curiosity would lead me to someday write what I know and didn’t know about it.  I  didn’t know that the “big old house” had a documented history or that I would be forever in love with it.  There was just too much that I didn‘t know and it was compelling me to go further into the house and roam around for a spell.

As I approached the house I really began looking at it for the first time and I paid attention to the huge brick  structure and what made it so special.  On the tip top of the towering mansion sits what is called a Widow’s Watch.  I had never really paid particular attention to any one part of the building until now.   Now, not only the top but the windows, the huge brick structure and long porch spanning from one end of the house to the other were all so attractive to me.  I wondered why I had never looked at it before now.  Another attraction of the house were the stories that have been handed down through the years and those told by the current owners of the mansion.  

I learned that few families in the area were well off enough to afford a home of the magnitude to support a Widow’s Watch.  There were few structures tall enough to offer the view up and down the Ohio River.  The Widow’s Watch is a small area with waist high walls, open from the waist to  the small roof and is said to have been where the women went to watch the Ohio River for the boats carrying their loved ones home from war.  It is also believed that on one such occasion the wife of a Riverboat Captain waited for him and witnessed a boat explode on the river.  Thinking it was the boat of her beloved Captain, who she could not bear to live without, she took her life by hanging herself in the Widow’s Watch.  As the story is told it was not her Captain’s boat that exploded.  While that was certainly a sad story there are many kinder accounts of the house.  Those of auras of men and women roaming the house are common.

Men and women dressed in war period clothing have been seen crossing hallways and entering rooms in the original part of the mansion.  There have been no mention of any cruelty or mean actions or anyone trying to hurt anyone.  In other words they seemed to be nice or kind spirits.  The original mansion is also known for the part it played in the Underground Railroad.  There is a doorway that appears to open an ordinary closet.  However, upon further inspection, under a carpet on the floor was a trap door leading to a basement type area.  A short distance in it was bricked up, probably due to having had areas that were falling or crumbling away and possibly deemed dangerous.  It is the doorway that is believed to lead to the Ohio River where slaves would cross to freedom.  They crossed the line from the South to the North to live a new life of freedom that they had never known.  We can only imagine how many lives were saved and how many were led to freedom though those doors.  The K of C occupied the house for 60 years before having to sell.

When the K of C sold the house it was bought by the Raleigh family.   They had a vision and a plan and a huge job on their hands saving the house from demolition.  I have watched them invent and reinvent it with changing times and with future generations of the family.  As a friend of the family I was around from the beginning and loved every minute of it.  From my first visit when I was “hooked” and when the family was all there working so hard on rehabbing and repairing until today.  I am still “hooked”.  It just so happened that my dad, Clarence “Evey” Everson, had a concrete business with dump trucks and heavy duty tools.   The family hired him to tear out the existing bar area in the ballroom.  I remember taking lunch to him and my little brother David who was finally old enough to be a helper.  To replace it the family, I should say Roger Peterson built a larger, open, attractive bar.  The ballroom was two stories tall and he built a third tier to offer the best possible views of the stage and added spot lights.  Now mind you the second story of the ballroom was a horseshoe shape and building a third tier on it was no small job.  Roger and Armina worked together but other family, Ben “Winky” Goines and friend, Tommy Lyons were always there when Roger needed help with a bigger, harder, heavier job.  Most jobs in the house were big jobs but Mina was always there and responsible for the décor and techniques used to achieve the decorative styles and effects she wanted for the house.  Other than that Roger did all of the building and maintenance on everything himself.  I think the only time I ever saw him stand back was when he had to have a Certified Electrician or Master Plumber to make sure all codes were met.  He kept the heat, air and ice machines running and the beer cold.  And, when he and Mina weren’t there they were on call.  It wasn’t an ordinary night if we didn’t have to call out for Uncle Bill or get Roger or Mina on the phone.  The renovations included the monumental job of painting, wallpapering, carpeting, building and decorating.  I said monumental but it was more than a monumental job.  Thinking back, it seems impossible that they accomplished as much as they did.  The entryway was enormous.  Hanging wallpaper was truly a monumental job.  The paper of choice was red and gold flocked wallpaper and if you are familiar with it you know that it is probably the heaviest of all wallpapers.  Shucks no one told them it couldn’t be done so they didn’t know better and they did it!  And yards and yards of red carpeting.  The staircase and railing was painted black and dry brushed with gold.  The light reflecting from the chandelier flickered and jumped from the gold of the walls to the stairway and back again.  When done it was an unbelievably beautiful showplace.  And, when the doors were opened for business people were lined up waiting for the premiere of Mom’s Opry.

Yes it was Mom’s Opry!  As I mentioned the Raleigh family bought the house in 1976 and they named it for the matriarch of the family, Bess “Mom” Raleigh.   Mom Raleigh came from the hills of Kentucky in Breathitt County.   After just a few moments speaking to her it was apparent that she believed in family and working hard to make a living.  She was a sweet lady with a kind word for everyone.  She was also a loving mother and grandmother to a large family.  She was ever present in the family’s business and lovingly known as Mom by everyone.   Mom never missed work and yet was always there for her family.  She always had a meal and a few bucks for someone, including strangers,  down on their luck.  I saw her help a many a stranger and come up with a job for those who could/would work.  Even if it was sweeping up she knew the importance of “earning your way” and “supporting a family“.  She had a great work ethic and passed it on to her family and anyone else who cared to listen.  I was blessed by knowing her and by her influence on my life.  Mom Raleigh was a wise woman who left a legacy of hard work, and family love.  Maybe the name Mom’s Opry gives you a clue to the type of entertainment offered.

Yes, as it indicates Mom’s Opry was a country western music showplace.   With that came my first job there as hostess which included taking reservations, creating and arranging a seating chart, meeting, greeting and seating people.   I even bartended and waited tables as needed.  And, I was often needed as we packed in people from all over the United States to see the famous country music stars.   And, that was a trick because I had never been a hostess before much less tended a bar!  I didn’t know a long neck from a martini glass!

I remember my first night behind the bar.  As usual we had a much larger crowd than we expected but this night we were found short handed.  My boss Armina Lee came to the entrance, where I was proudly doing my job.  As they approached the mansion I loved watching faces of each one taken aback and gasping as they entered through the huge doorway.  Each one entranced by the décor, chandelier lighting and grand stairway disappearing into the upper floors of the estate.  Can you tell I loved my time at Mom‘s Opry?  As Armina worked her way through  the crowd to me she took me by the arm and pulled me to her to talk into my ear.  I couldn’t imagine what could be the matter.  No, I really couldn’t imagine since I had never tended bar before I really couldn‘t imagine that was what she wanted.  I immediately reminded her of the importance of my presence at the entrance and that I must seat each and every one myself.  No amount of pleading would do!  She said, “Patty you can do it!” and proceeded to pull me away from my most beloved post to the bar just off the entranceway.    An area completely strange to me.  Bartending that is.  For the rest of the evening I was a bartender and Armina was hostess.  Word quickly spread to others working in the grand ballroom and my best friend Linda, who was tending bar there sent me a recipe book that had been left there by one of the liquor salesmen.  I’ll never forget that little red hardback book with gold letters, full of concoctions foreign to me.  But, Armina was right.  I could do it.  I did it with the help of others including my beloved customers.  It seems they love giving directions for how to mix their favorite liquors with or without ice.  Something else I didn’t know was that that was the first of many nights I would spend tending bar.

Whether I was tending bar or seating people I loved every minute in that big old house.   I met and spent time with every entertainer and as many patrons as I could.  I always had a camera and my autograph book ready.  One of my favorite photos is of me and Johnny Rodriguez at his bus.  If you ever listened to country music you might remember him singing "Pass Me By."  I loved "Mom's Opry"!

Mom’s Opry “put Newport on the map” the moment they began bringing in famous country music entertainers such as Johnny Rodriguez, Johnny Paycheck, Don Williams, Kitty Wells, Mike Twitty (Conway's son), Moe Bandy, Boots Randolph, Bobby Lumen and many, many more.  I continued to hostess and bartend.  It was a fun time for me as I loved the country music and who doesn’t like meeting celebrities!  Though we always had a full house I don’t think everyone was aware of  just how much Nashville entertainment we had right there in Newport, KY.  Week after week it was standing room only.   In our part of the country Beverly Hills has been a pretty famous place with Vegas caliber stars on stage there.  Some of the best entertainers in the country were at Beverly Hills.   Mom’s Opry has been called the “Beverly Hills of Country Music!”  In case you don’t know that is a dynamite compliment!  We welcomed and served people from far and wide.

The ballroom had red carpet around a marble dance floor.  The stage front was painted black.  The windows were gigantic in the upper level and covered with red draperies.  There was a decorative railing around the upper level and table high, walls around the 3^rd tier.  The tables were black and the chair frames were black with red seats and backs.  It was quite attractive once our spot lights were on and the waitresses were busy.  It was an ocean of red, black, gold and pressed blue jeans.  At that time it was the style to press a crease in the jeans legs with the exception of the band members.  Their style was boot style; cowboy boot that is.  Our waitresses wore boots too and dynamite uniforms.  It’s hard to think of them as uniforms.  Just doesn’t seem like the right word for them.  The colors were like the house, red, white, black and gold.  Myself, as hostess and the barmaids wore black slacks with white blouses and black & white vests and black cowgirl hats.  Boots were optional behind the bar.  Waitresses wore red leotards,  flesh tone tights, cowgirl hat and boots.  They also wore a gold vest and short, gold, wraparound skirts made of a vinyl like material that stood out from the hips.  They were sexy while stylish and so cute!   It was truly an exciting time for this big old mansion.  Every Nashville star who performed there was truly in love with the house and loved entertaining there.  Many of them came back again and again like Bobby Helms who played there a couple times and Johnny Paycheck who was there 3 times.  They, like me, just couldn’t get enough of Mon‘s Opry!

I was there working the night everyone remembers as the night of the Beverly Hills fire.  Beverly Hills was a supper club offering entertainment from Vegas, Nashville, New York and other states.  It was Memorial Day weekend on May 28, 1977 and was the night of the 3rd deadliest nightclub fire in the history of the United States.   That fire was well known in the N. KY and greater Cincinnati area and is still used as a teaching tool for training firemen across the country.  I know that because, as I mentioned earlier, my father had a business and tore out the old bar but, he and my other brother Clarence were Newport Firemen.  They were among many firemen and hundreds of others who worked that fire for several days and weeks following.   Many of our patrons were regular customers at Beverly Hills too.  My family was sure glad I was at Mom’s Opry that night and so was I.  I will always remember the couple who came to Mom’s Opry from the fire.  They came climbing up the steps to the porch where a crowd had gathered looking over the ballroom in the back of Mom’s Opry.  Beverly was less than 2 miles from  us.  Flames and smoke filled the sky over the house and word spread fast that, “Beverly is burning!“  Gale Watson and Kentucky Mornin’ were playing that night and we were packed.  As I looked around stunned the couple walked through the doorway with me and it was evident they were upset.   The strange thing was that they were muddy too!  As I greeted them they said they had just crawled down the hill from Beverly Hills and got a ride into Newport.  Beverly Hills was in Southgate, KY just South of Newport.  The fire had trucks from every surrounding fire department and the 4 lane highway was blocked for the rest of the evening into the next day.  The fire happened so fast that few if any got their cars out of the parking lot.  We would find out later that over a hundred lives were lost.  But, back to the couple.  I never did get their names as I was too busy trying to listen and help them.  At that time everyone didn’t have cell phones in their pockets so I got the phone from behind the bar so they could call their families and report that they were okay.  Over the years I have often wondered why they came to Mom’s Opry after such a tragedy.  I have concluded that they were in shock and not fully aware of the immensity of the tragedy.  They just didn’t know that they were lucky to be alive.   They were just happy to get a ride to somewhere.

I don't know why I was there at that moment in time but I have always felt good about it.  I believe I was supposed to be there because I had some knowledge of the devastation and destruction of a fire and I was there to help them and guide them at that moment in their lives.  I have wondered if they even remembered being there at Mom‘s Opry.   John Davidson was the star at Beverly Hills that weekend and according to the newspapers he took this tragedy very hard.  He lost a band member to the fire.  One hundred and sixty five people died and over two hundred were injured.  This area of the country has never fully recovered from that fire and the site remains undeveloped.

On a lighter note one of the best crowd pleasers was Johnny Paycheck.  He had released a big hit called “Take This Job and Shove It” and we didn’t even have standing room.  Another high energy crowd and what a night for us!  Everyone was singing and dancing and clapping.  It was just crazy fun!  We couldn’t mix and serve drinks fast enough.  The waitresses couldn’t keep their cowgirls hats on they were working so fast and it was so funny.  They were adorable in those red tights with gold vests and wraparound skirts and cowgirl boots.   I don’t think it is possible to have any more fun and work at the same time like we did that night. 

We anticipated the crowd Johnny would bring and had extra people behind the bars and on the floor.  The barroom off the entryway was always handy for the overspill from the ballroom and was a great place to seat those hoping for last minute tickets.  It was situated in such a way that some seats faced down the hallway to the ballroom’s upper level.  Music from there filled the house.  Another Johnny was Johnny Rodrigues who I have a photo of with me by his bus.  He was known for his hit named “Pass Me By”.  He too was a crowd pleaser, not only because of his talent but because he was so darned cute and, like in the picture, he was always smiling.

Another of the more memorable shows was one we thought might not happen at all.  Bobby Lumen was in town and all ready to go on.  He started his show and was in so much pain he couldn’t perform.  It turned out he had a toothache and the tooth was abscessed.  He talked to the audience and asked their forgiveness and promised if they would wait he would be back and give them a great show.  With that he left for the local hospital and the Emergency Room doctor did fix him up and sent him back to us as good as new.  He went on and put on one heck of a show and was so grateful to everyone.  The crowd was crazy for him!  He was a hero!  Our hero for sure.  We were happy they were a really nice audience giving him the time and not leaving or getting irate with us for it.  After all that pain he was in the show was a big hit.  It turned out to be another high energy crowd that just had a blast.

Then there was Boots Randolph and Yakety Sax.  He was always a crowd pleaser too as was Little David Wilkins, Kitty Wells and Joe Stampley.  The house bands weren’t too shabby either.  They were really good musicians.  All local talent and good entertainers.  We had great crowds when we didn’t have national entertainment.  Bands like Ron Spivey & Country Lovin’, Gale Watson & Kentucky Mornin’ and Kathy Woods and the Kentuckians were all good draws playing some of the best country music in the area.  The barroom at the entrance had a lively jukebox and live music, certain nights of the week, with good followings.  There was also an Open Mic Night when anyone could sit in and/or “jam” with the band.  To say the least there was a lot going on at Mom’s Opry and lots of great music.  At that time Country Western music was going through a great surge and there was good music and talent in country music.  Then there was the, what some called “50s shows.

that kind of energy was contagious.   The audiences loved it!  So did the house and employees.  Any good show whether it be country, 50s, blues or whatever,  always meant good tips for us and that meant a good night!  If we were having a good night then the house was having a good night so needless to say, everyone was happy!

The Mr. Chris Show was 2 brothers & a band who put on a Blues Brothers show and they were very good entertainers.  They had a reputation and a following that packed the house every time they were there.  They were athletic too and all over the stage and dance floor, even doing cart wheels and every kind of flip.  They brought the house down and that was a great thing!  They had an extremely high energy show and we saw lots more good nights when KDLee opened.  KDLee is the name of a production company created by Armina’s son Kirt Lee.  He is an actor and dancer and all around great entertainer.  He went to college and studied the business until he brought his talents to his home town and what was then called the Southgate House (SH) for John Thompson’s great grandfather Richard Southgate.  Like I said the “house” has been invented and reinvented by the family and this was another generation busy in “the big old house on 3^rd St.”   Country Western made room for KDLee which brought national and Broadway talent to Newport to star in his productions.  One particularly interesting to me was “A Chorus Line”.   My daughter was about 12 years old and had been in dance classes since she was 3.  She was invited to be an extra and literally turned cart wheels over it.  I was scared to pieces and proud at the same time.  We had been involved in large productions as part of the local dance studio.  We had never been involved with talent of this caliber.  It was an opportunity of a lifetime for a young girl from Newport with no expectations of performing with Broadway stars.  Or, national talent from anywhere.  It was wonderful for everyone and the whole area!  The ballroom was easily transformed from a country western showplace to a Broadway theater with huge spot lights and monster soundboards.  It was a great opportunity for everyone in the area to have access to this kind of entertainment and talent.  The “big old house on 3^rd St.” was always alive with music. 

Earlier I mentioned the huge stairway that led to the upper floors of the estate.  There has been another bar and an art gallery on the third level of the house.  Above that is the Widow’s Watch.  The big old house has been draped in talent of every kind from everywhere.  A huge part of it’s history is the fact that it has always been a source of income and talent.  Even when Newport was thought of as a dying river town “the big old house on 3^rd St.” was alive and drawing people in.  The S H followed the lead and influence of Mom’s Opry.  It  became home to alternative styles of music with local talent and musicians from other states, and has offered Grammy Award winning bands and individual artists who have been hailed as “great” in their fields.  Independent music magazine Paste called the S H one of America’s 40 best music clubs in it’s May 2007 issue.  The S H has been cited as one of the area’s top venues for live entertainment.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Bill “Uncle Bill” Phillips who worked there for many years.  He took care of the house and customers and anything that needed taken care of from changing a light bulb to banking.    When there was live entertainment he was there to carry ice, get change and work personal relations with the patrons.  Anyone who needed anything knew to go to Uncle Bill.  He was known as “Uncle Bill” because he was my uncle and everyone heard me call him Uncle Bill and it just stuck.   He would make a funny face once in a while when certain people would call out, “Uncle Bill!“  but I knew he loved it.  I introduced him to the owners when he was looking for work.  They hired him to take care of the house from the beginning of Mom’s Opry.  He knew and loved visiting and talking to Mom Raleigh and Armina Lee.   They relied on Uncle Bill to take care of things in the house and he was proud of that.  He was a huge fan of country music and played the guitar all of his life.  He knew the business and catered to the customers.  He was ever present and got to know all of the customers.  He always had a story about his growing up in Newport in it’s gambling days or about playing music with famous musicians.  People just loved talking to him.  I thought he would just fit right in but he did more than that.  He became a fixture and made many good friends who thought a lot of him.  He was there when it was known as Mom’s Opry and Southgate House for about 12 years when he retired.  People still ask me about Uncle Bill and I am sad to report he passed a few years ago.  “Uncle Bill” like many others had a special relationship with “the big old house on 3^rd St.”

I have many more exciting things I would love to write about however there are time constraints now for getting it on the webpage.  However if permitted I would love to visit again with more of what I know about it and the fun times to come in Thompson House.   Check back for more fun history!

I was lucky as a lifelong friend to “go along for the ride”, if you will, and to enjoy watching several decades and a few generations pass from the eyes of the historic Thompson House.  I feel honored and proud to have been asked to write what I know about the magnificent mansion.  I am also proud to offer history another view of the “big old house on 3^rd St.”  What I want most of all is for my history, and all of the years in the house since 1976, to be included, documented and remembered forever for it’s talent, entertainment and fun.

It’s been my pleasure!

Patty Everson

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as: last revision and/or addition 05/02/2012