
J. Fred Johnson & Co. was on the corner of Broad and Center Streets in downtown Kingsport. My family didn’t shop there. We tended more toward Belk’s or Penney’s. However, in J. Fred’s, there was a roasted nuts kiosk at the bottom of the escalator that always carried roasted, salted jumbo pecans. A quarter’s worth would do me for an hour or so. For me, that’s a fine memory.