This is what your bill from J. Fred’s would have looked like in 1954
J. Fred’s
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Category Archives: Kingsport TN ephemera
Central School Building
In 1918, as WWI slowly ground to a halt in Europe and the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic began raging out of the foul trenches of that war, Kingsport was building its first combined school building. The building, much remodeled, still stands at the corner of Watauga Street and East Sevier Avenue.
This post card, probably printed in the early 1920s, is another of the series commissioned by T. J. Stephenson.
Joe Gong Restaurant
I don’t think I ever ate at this restaurant. We always ended up at the Golden Dragon on the corner of North Wilcox Drive and East Sevier Avenue. However, there are many complimentary remarks on the web about this eatery that opened in 1970 and closed sometime before 2010.
Summer, 1946
This Kingsport Intermountain Telephone Directory was issued in July, 1946. These are two of the three pages of restaurant listings compiled probably in late spring or early summer of ’46. The Center Street Grill building became Center Street Restaurant, then the AAA Office and has been vacant for years.
“Chat & Chew Grill”?!?
Just out of curiosity, I wondered who had the lowest number listing in the directory and it turned out to be Hutchwallen Florists at number 1. Hutchwallen (it’s spelled that way in the directory) was located directly in front of the train station, where that patch of flowers is now.
I couldn’t find a listing for number 2, but Huff Funeral Home and Ambulance Service – at Charlemont and Watuaga – had 3, General Shale Sales Office had 4 and Clinchfield Railroad Company Ticket Agent had 5.
The directory is a fascinating glimpse of the business community in Kingsport as the nation came out of WWII.
The Homestead
This post card, printed by Tichnor in the early 1920s, shows the Homestead Hotel about three or four years after it was constructed. This series, as previously noted, was commissioned by Kingsport businessman T. J. Stephenson.
1963 Lynx Football Roster
I attended Lynn View in the 1959 – 1960 school year. I really liked the school and threw a minor (and unsuccessful) tantrum when the parents announced that they were moving the next summer. Over to Sullivan High School for two years and on to the Air Force.
Launch of a Vessel at Belfast
Interesting postcard. Printed in Germany, published in London. It’s pre-WWI. Addressed to a party in Gate City from “Guess Who” in Kingsport, but never mailed.
The “London E.C.” stands for London’s East Central Postal District.
B & D, Pictorial Post Card Pioneers, (Blum & Degan) operated in London from 1885 to 1908, when they went bankrupt.
Rice-O’Neill Shoes
Shoes were rationed during WWII between 1943 and 1945. But J. Fred’s had Rice-O’Neill clogs in stock! The original is 3.5″ x 6″.
Gone Mill
There has been discussion about whether this was Rice or Hord Mill, but, make no mistake, it’s Gone Mill now. My buddy and I carefully walked around this mill in 2014 and were surprised at how well it had survived.
No more. I’ve heard what happened to it, but I can’t verify the story.
Cherokee Post Card Company in Jefferson City appears to have been doing chromes of East Tennessee sometime in the 1960s.
Volunteer State Printing Company, assumed from the monogram, yields no citations.
Tri-City Airport, 1950
This post card was printed in 1950, as shown by the Curt Teich date code. On the apron are DC-3s from American Airlines and Piedmont. American would fly away from the airport two years later, but Piedmont would hang in there for the duration.
Bob Lawrence's Kingsport 