Category Archives: Bob’s photos

Kingsport Brick Company

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Later, General Shale, of course.  Here’s what the place looked like in the early 20th century:

gsthen
This is a Kingsport Drug Store postcard, printed by Curt Teich (Doubletone) in Chicago, around 1916 (printer’s inventory number/plate number is AD-7661).  I think the picture was taken from the roof of Citizens Supply building, or while dangling from an electrical line, take your pick; although, come to think of it, I’ve seen a reference to some sort of signalling or lighting structure built over the tracks there…I don’t know.) The conical buildings are kilns which were knocked down decades ago. The back buildings served other parts of the brick making process.  They were mostly extant until a few years ago.  The graffitti was dense in and around them.  And the ground was, basically, one big layer of broken bricks.  I took a lot of pictures over there, until, about three years ago, a policeman courteously asked me to leave, since it was private property.
This is what all that looks like as of last month:

gsnow

The Historic Marker Forest

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Not a forest, exactly, but a group of six markers on the right after you pass the red light at Wadlow Gap Road and head toward Gate City . For some reason or other, I never seemed to have the time or the inclination to stop the check them out.  Today, I did.

The first marker you see is this:

marblemon

This marble marker commemorates the first court of Scott County which was held on this site in 1815. The marker was placed here in 1915.  Just a bit back toward Weber City, you can see the remnants of the bridge over Big Moccasin Creek where you would turn to take the road up to Hiltons.

Heading past the over pass trestle, at a sort of rest area, is the next marker (I’m listing them in order east to west)

The first one:

firstmarker

Then this one, which just refers you to the marble marker above.:

markertwo

Next:

markerthree

Next:

markerfour

and, finally, this extremely wordy one:

markerfive

I feel much better now.

Research Lab

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researchlab

This was the Research Lab at General Shale Brick Plant.  I always wondered what they got up to in there.  It’s gone now, but I guess I ran, walked or rode a bike past it a hundred times over the years.  It was on the road through GS that connected Cherokee Street to Industry Drive (there was going to be an extension of Cherokee Street directly to Industry Drive, but it was never really completed. I walked it a couple of times – it came out on Industry Drive beside that abandoned brick power station).  Clever clogs, these research guys.  Look at the designs in the brickwork.  The one on the right does kind of look like the ABC TV logo, doesn’t it?

Ideal Rubber Stamp

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ideal

I never know where my buddy comes up with stuff.  We were swapping out some magazines and he handed me this.  “What do you think of it?”
The first thing to catch my eye was that it was from the fairly short-lived gallery that Raymond Williams had on Market Street.  I shakily believe it was in the ’70s.  I’d drop by now and then.  I knew Ray casually; we were both artists.
But the really interesting thing is that it was made by Ideal Rubber Stamps (later Office Supply) at 222 East Center Street, across (for many years) from Copeland’s Office Supply.  I suspect that as Copeland’s eased out of the humdrum paper-and-pencil trade, Ideal took on more office supply merchandise.
When I was at WKPT-TV, I was forever running over to Ideal with a purchase order to get Prestype transfer lettering for whatever sign or ad I was working on (I bowed down in gratitude when I got my first computer and printer at work)(I hated press type letters…only slightly less than I hated rubber cement).
The company was incorporated in 1975 and is listed, as we well know, as “inactive”.
But for a while, if you had a rubber stamp made, chances are Ideal did the deed.

J.P. Stevens first aid kit

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kit contents

I would guess this is from the 90s.  The plastic case is in pretty good condition, not broken, and everything listed as contents is here.  It’s 3 -5/8 by 2-7/8″.

Of course, that massive 1920s-era factory has been knocked down and hauled away like Mr. Peabody’s coal.  Somewhere, I hope, someone thought ahead and kept the big, black-and-white aerial photo of the plant that hung in the conference room (I think.  I’m a little hazy on exactly where I saw it…it was years ago).

A Little History

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shelbystreet

When I was in my mid-20s, this location on Shelby Street was Spirit, an exotic head shop.  I knew the couple who lived there and ran it. They sold killer incense.

To show how smooth I was back then,  I once blundered into a ladder on that front porch…a ladder that, unfortunately, had an open can of purple paint atop.  I helped clean up some of it, all while blushing at my clumsiness.  They cleaned up the rest…I was told it took a bit to do.

The stained glass window on the second floor was installed by the couple.

Later, it became Country Comfort, a more bluegrassy-style head shop sort of thing.

When I was delivering newspapers in 1957 or so, this row of buildings , à la The Fifties, was more commercial than residential.