The photo for this postcard was taken by somebody atop Fire Station #2 (constructed in 1941).
It’s post WWII, maybe late 40s. There are lots of people frolicking in the pool.
Legion Pool
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The Big Store
This is one of the oldest Kingsport postcards in my collection. It is a real photo card, meaning it was produced by a local photographer sometime early in Kingsport history. This is the Big Store, or J. Fred Johnson & Company, at the corner of Main and Shelby Streets. Note that Main Street isn’t paved yet.
The Big Store had it all. Saying was that “you could go from birth to death” at that store. Even the Post Office was located there.
The mound behind the store appears to be wood for the paper plant.
There is no useful information on the reverse of this card.
Sloan’s
This was at a estate sale in Gate City. It’s 4″ wide. According to an article by Jeffrey Sloan on Facebook, this department store was about 88 years in business when it closed (1891 – 1979).
JBR Buick
This Chinese knockoff of a Victorinox pen knife is 56mm by 15mm and is from the current JBR location on Stone Drive. The original JBR Buick at 513 Lynn Garden Drive (now the Hope Haven Retail Store) was founded in 1978 by Neal Jessee, Leon Bray and Bill Roberts. That location closed in 1988.
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More content at unclebobspix.com and
thetunneldiaries.com (railroad content)
Mason Dixon Tank Lines
This is a 2.25″ pinback promoting Mason Dixon Tank Lines, a division of Mason Dixon Trucking Company, which was in existence until 1984 when the whole company went south after a devastating strike by drivers.
Even the company building on East Stone Drive is gone.
TVA Police
Having never been particularly naughty on the water, I was surprised to learn that there is, indeed, a doughty police force on the lakes. Check ’em out
Photo Paperweight
This is a solid glass paperweight 2.75 x 4.25 x .75. It is recessed on the back so a photo or other flat memorabilia can be pressed in. In this case, it is a black and white photo, taken from the train station clock tower, of a festive, patriotic event in the 1920s in downtown Kingsport. My guess is some July 4th celebration. Btw, these molded glass paperweights may still be purchased. Check Behrenberg Glass website.
Junior Police
This badge, shown as made by Stoffel Seals of Nyack NY, is undated. However, Stoffel Seals moved to Tallapoosa GA sometime in the early 2000’s and was acquired by TydenBrooks in 2010. Check the link for all the gory details.
Interestingly (to me), Stoffel Seals made almost all of the domestic airline “kiddie wings” during the heyday of air travel. I ought to know, since I’ve got a ton of them.
Puppy Tags
In the early 1950s, cities around the country provided two metal identification tags to all school children. Authorities had considered tattooing, but the threat of severe burns cancelled that. Fingerprinting was out, too, as an invasion of personal privacy. So, it was metal tags, which the kids were supposed to wear around their necks on a metal bead chain. These are two that were issued to children in Jackson School. I’ve covered the information because the people are still alive.
And, while researching these tags, I found out that the “tooth notch” found on authentic military dog tags of the time (and later: when I got my dog tags in 1963, the notch was there..) was actually there to properly orient the metal tag in the Model 70 Addressograph Hand Identification Machine.
I never got tags when I was in school, but, then, we moved around a lot.
Bob Lawrence's Kingsport 