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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Tag Archives: Kingsport TN
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.
152 Broad Street
This old building (1938 or so) is being renovated. In 1951, the location is shown as Clinchfield Drug Store. By 1957, it was empty, but has been home to various businesses since then. As you can see from the pictures, it may have started as a bank and realty company.
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.
Fun Fest ’84
WJHL’s top show that year was Dallas, just behind ABC’s Dynasty
Dobyns-Bennett Football
I ran across this at an estate sale. It’s 7″ x 10″ with 55 pages and some b&w images. Published in 1987 by Overmountain Press. It contains text, statistics and full index.
U.O. Colson Folding Fan
Back in the 1950s and earlier, these folding fans from the U(sher) O(rlando) Colson Company in Paris, Illinois, were quite the thing. There were dozens of designs, but this one caught the eye of the management of Broadstreet Furniture Company, telephone 150.
Eastman Corp. Fire Dept. Badge
This was lent to me by a buddy whose father worked for Eastman. He didn’t have any idea of the date range.
It’s 1 3/4″ wide and 2 1/2″ tall. It doesn’t carry a sterling mark. There are letters on the reverse but they’re badly worn. I can make out “DEPT”. It has a fairly heavy duty pin on the reverse. It weighs 20 grams.
Need A Comedian?
I can’t remember if this was a feature of the first or second iteration of Kingsport Grocery Company. The owners/managers valiantly tried to make a go of the restaurant, but it just didn’t have legs. I fondly remember Benedictine and brandy on a Saturday afternoon…a long time ago.
No mud, no lotus.
Bob Lawrence's Kingsport 