Category: People
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Who was Glen Bruce?
With all of the beautiful decorations in Downtown Kingsport at Glen Bruce Park, someone asked me how the park got its name. When I first heard, “Glen Bruce”, it sounded like the name of a Scottish manor house from Braveheart or Outlander, but in reality, it’s a first and last name. A 1968 Times-News article…
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Unraveling Appalachian Ancestry: The Untold Legacy of Dr. Brent Kennedy
In 1996 I read a book by Dr. Brent Kennedy about Melungeons, a mysterious, dark-skinned people living in the remote Appalachian Mountains on the edge of Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky & West Virginia. In summary, Dr. Kennedy developed a mysterious, life-threatening illness while living in Atlanta. Emory University gave him a diagnosis that it was related…
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Social Media’s Surprising Boost: How One Comment Reinforces the Value of Home
The use of technology and social media is a two-edged sword. Sometimes we become disheartened by the seemingly perpetual barrage of negative comments on just about everything. On the bad days, it’s enough to make you want to stop trying. Then out of the blue something happens that restores your faith. Lately, I’ve been sharing…
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Kingsport’s First War Hero: Rogan Showalter
Every now and then you come across a story that needs to be told. I’ve lived here my whole life–an avid Kingsport history buff–and never knew. As I was preparing for the upcoming Betty Gibson Memorial Lecture at the Kingsport Archives and decided I wanted to know more about her. It turns out I’m very…
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Postcards – A Window to the Soul
A longtime childhood friend was going through a box of her late grandfather’s things and found several linen postcards of scenes from Kingsport in the early 1940s. She generously sent them to me. Long before text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Zoom, or FaceTime, postcards were the shortest, simplest way to check-in, say hello, and express feelings…
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Of Vols & Gators
The University of Tennessee Volunteers & University of Florida Gators are bitter enemies in the Southeastern Conference. Many know that legendary Gator coach Steve Spurrier hails from Johnson City, Tennessee, but did you know that Gainesville, Florida–home of the Gators–is named after General Edmund Pendleton Gaines of Kingsport, Tennessee? The name “Volunteers” stems from the…
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Sobel, Valk, and the American Dream.
By Jeff Fleming, KingsportSpirit.comas published in the Kingsport Times-NewsMarch 26, 2023 Kingsport lost two iconic names last month–Norman Sobel and Sarah Valk. With so many trying to divide us these days, it’s important to remember that Kingsport was founded as a melting pot of people from around the region and around the globe. It was…
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Local Swimmer Holds 16 National Records
I had an opportunity to catch-up with my fellow city retiree, Dave Taylor, the other day. Generations of residents would recognize Dave as one of the iconic ‘faces’ of Bays Mountain Park. As we were talking, I asked what he’d been up to in retirement. He told me that he’s an avid swimmer these days…
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The little girl of Rotherwood Mansion
Virgelia “Jill” Ellis was a Kingsport treasure. I was blessed to be asked to deliver her eulogy in 2021. She freely shared her life stories of growing up in times that are hard for us to imagine and uncomfortable to discuss. A time of segregation and the struggle for civil rights. She was kind, optimistic,…
Kingsport Spirit 