Arkansas Catholic club's claim to fame? Pastor kicked out Elvis

Published: 2006-11-01

HELENA, Ark. (CNS) -- The story goes that Elvis Presley was kicked out of the Catholic Club in Helena for signing the thigh of a teenage girl after he performed there in 1955. The sisters who ran Sacred Heart Academy banned boarding students from attending Presley's shows, after the rumors of his shocking "hip gyrations" had reached their ears. Stories about the future king of rock 'n' roll vary in Helena as much as the opinions on his unique music style. Though the details of Presley's legendary expulsion have been muddied by 50 years of creative storytelling, most agree on this basic point: the late Father Gregory Keller, former St. Mary Church pastor, told the ambitious musician to leave and never come back. The Catholic Club, as it was known in the 1950s, was a building that was also St. Mary's parish hall and Sacred Heart's school gymnasium. The former Sacred Heart Academy was run by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth until 1962.

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