Tag Archives: Kingsport TN

Huddle Electric Sign

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huddlesign

A sudden re-emergence of an old sign.  Kyle Huddle built this building in 1947, moving from his previous location on Broad Street (he started out on Shelby Street).  I was never introduced to him, but I knew him by sight.  He was short and ageless.

He and Clifford Sanders, a lawyer, started Tennessee Cable Television Corporation, said to be the second-oldest cable TV company in the United States, in 1951.

Side note: the parking lot on which I was standing when I took this picture was, when I was a kid, an empty foundation filled with water.  Mom and I would go by it on our way to the library, then at the corner of Shelby and Center.  There was a fence, but you could look in.  I always wondered if there were fish down there.

 

Bennett & Edwards Insurance

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letter

Carl Swann, who gave this to me <thank you, again!>, said this copper alloy letter opener belonged to his grandfather.  It’s 8 inches long, slightly over 1 inch wide at the handle end, weighs 23 grams and is a little over 1 mm thick (that’s inconsistent, but I didn’t want to go to all the trouble of spelling “millimeter”).

Copper letter openers are still top-drawer specialty items today, but I think this was early B&E, maybe mid-30s.

Broad Street, 1946

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broadstreet

Summer, 1946.  Looking toward Church Circle.  The movie playing at the State Theatre is “The Enchanted Forest” (Maltin gives it 2-1/2 stars), released in December, 1945.

The war had been over for a year.

This is a real photo postcard (RPP).  EKC paper (available from 1939 – 1950).

A Remnant?

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long island

Driving down Jared Drive a couple of weeks ago, I saw this light blue house sitting quietly (and probably nearly invisible in summer) amongst the mass of Eastman.  There used to be a thriving and notorious community on Long Island.  I wonder if this is the last remnant of that neighborhood.

My dad was a taxi driver for a while.  He never liked having to go to Long Island at night.  He did, though, and lived into his seventies with nary a bullet hole visible.

The 50th

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kpt50

I stumbled across this recently in one of the old stuff malls.  This is the 50th anniversary booklet (standard size: 8.5 x 11″)(I’ve reduced it to fit on this page – snicker) issued by the ever mindful Chamber of Commerce.  Eight pages, excluding front and back cover.  It’s quite informative and well written.  Population then was about 33,000.  The mayor was Hugh Rule. C.K. Marsh apparently was the City Manager.

It also shows eight photos from the 1920s.  And plenty from 1966-67, which is, well, hell, 50 years ago.

Notice how a) the car tire tracks are really black and 2) it apparently was normal to go directly from Watauga to Sullivan without slamming into the circle.

 

Roberts & Johnson Lmb’r Co

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tapemeasure

This grubby little number has been around for a while.  Roberts & Johnson Lumber Company, located next to Oakwood on West Sullivan Street, burned in the late 70s.  For some reason, nothing was ever done with the plot of land at 451 West Sullivan.  Except for now, since the land will be subsumed by the development taking place in that area.  Alas, if this were yours and you just had to measure something, you’d be out of luck…it’s rusted closed.