Tag: writing
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Son, Never Forget
Some of my fondest childhood memories revolve around Kingsport’s Independence Day parade. We lived one block from the parade route. I remember the rush of anticipation when the American flags started going up on the light poles. By dawn’s early light on the Fourth of July, I was as excited as a kid on Christmas…
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Sullivan 250 | 1780: When the War Passed Through Sullivan County
Sixth in a 12-part monthly series to commemorate Sullivan County’s role in the 250th birthday of the United States of America June 2026 | 6 of 12 By 1780, the Revolutionary War had reached the frontier in force. For the Overmountain settlements, the struggle shifted from simply holding on to taking action. The implications went far…
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Kingsport Is Not Just a Place to Work. It Is a Place to Live.
For generations, Kingsport has been known as an industrial city. This is a place built by blue-collar workers, managers, supervisors, engineers, executives, and working families — people who changed clothes before and after work, carried lunch boxes, worked rotating shifts, parked at plant gates, punched time clocks, and helped make products that reached far beyond…
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The Children Behind The Numbers
Sometimes we get desensitized to the noise. We are bombarded from every direction with snippets, tweets, posts, shares, headlines, and half-truths. So many people I know have either tuned out or turned it all off at the very time we most need to be paying attention. I understand that. It is a defense mechanism. But…
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Reflections of the Father of the Bride
One thing about my daughter: she does not like being in the spotlight. But I believe moments matter…and if I let this one pass without speaking from my heart, I’d miss the chance to tell her how much she means to me—and to all of us, really. So here goes. Katelyn knows this is one…
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April 15: A Date That Forever Changed My Life
To most people, April 15 is Tax Day, but to me, it’s a day that changed my life forever. Let me explain. I was a candidate to be Kingsport’s next city manager. After 3 ½ months of deliberation, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen was scheduled to make a public announcement that I had been…
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Sevier, Xavier, Javier
Recently, I was talking with a historian from Jonesborough/Washington County about Tennessee’s first governor, John Sevier. I told him that my daughter-in-law is from Sevierville, and her roots go back to the origins of Sevier County. Say what you will, but the word does not exactly flow off the English tongue. Locals pronounce it “Suh-veer-vul.”…
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Centennial of the Dobyns-Bennett High School Band
Kingsport is celebrating a milestone this year: the Centennial of the Dobyns-Bennett High School Band—100 years of music, discipline, school spirit, and community pride. For generations, the band has helped define the Dobyns-Bennett experience: representing Kingsport on a national stage, elevating parades and civic events, and setting the tone on Friday nights at J. Fred—but…
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Zinc Mines in Fall Branch?
A while back, I was asked if I’d ever heard of zinc mines in Fall Branch. I replied that I had seen some mining symbols on a map near Fall Branch, but that’s the extent of what I knew. When researching the Hicks Block Building in Downtown Kingsport, I came across a 1916 article in…
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Hicks Block, Reborn
THE FULL STORY (THERE’S A CONDENSED VERSION, TOO) Perhaps you, like me, have been following the renovation of the Hicks Block Building at the corner of Broad and Market Streets in Downtown Kingsport. If you haven’t, I encourage you to go to Facebook and search “Hicks Block – Kingsport” and browse through the photographs. Architect…
Kingsport Spirit 