Tag: bands of america

• John Cook—A Life Lived in America’s Best Idea

  Several years ago, I was watching Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan’s PBS documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, when I saw a reference to John Cook. I immediately texted my friend Lafe Cook, longtime director of the Dobyns-Bennett High School Band. “Is that your dad?” When Lafe answered yes, I was smitten, but I had…

  Jeff Fleming

  July 3, 2026

  History, People

  Alaska, bands of america, Big Bend, Bill Clinton, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Canyon de Chelly, Carlsbad Caverns, Casa Grande Ruins, Chaco Canyon, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Death Valley, Denali, Department of the Interior, Dobyns-Bennett, El Mapais and El Morro, Flagstaff, Fort McHenry, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, hiking, History, Hubbell Trading Post, Jimmy Carter, kingsport, Mesa Verde, Montezuma Castle, National Park Service, nature, Saguaro, Sunset Crater, travel, Walnut Canyon, writing, Wupatki

• From Old Kingsport to Dobyns-Bennett: An Intuitive Chronology for the D-B Band Centennial

  The Dobyns-Bennett High School Band centennial is best understood as the story of how Kingsport’s school identity moved from scattered rural and county schools to a modern city school system. The band was formed in 1926, the same year Kingsport’s high school moved to Wateree Street, took the name Dobyns-Bennett High School, and began a…

  Jeff Fleming

  June 30, 2026

  History, Move To Kingsport, People

  americana, architecture, art, bands of america, books, centennial, Dobyns-Bennett, genealogy, History, marching band, music