H is for Hometown Rivers and Huey Lewis

I am participating in the A-to-Z Blog  Challenge this month. My theme is...the music of my life.

In 1983, director Mark Rydell and a movie crew from Universal Pictures moved into Kingsport, Tennessee and the surrounding areas to film the movie, The River, starring Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek. This was a really big deal in a small town like ours, and to have actors, directors, and producers from a big-name film company like Universal made people feel like our town had been put on the map. I auditioned for the role of one of the children even though I was much older than what they were looking for (I was eleven and they were looking for a six-year-old, but I figured it was worth a shot).

Many people’s homes in our area were rented out by members of the crew. I remember trick-or-treating at the home where the director was living. He wasn’t candy-ready, so he gave us fifty-cents a piece. Locals helped coach baseball and showed the actors how the other half lived. We showed up to watch scenes with Mel Gibson being filmed, and Sissy Spacek kept her horses at the same barn as ours. I even got to sing a song for her while sitting in her white BMW with her husband and eighteen-month-old daughter looking on. She was a lovely person. It was a really exciting time.

The River came out in 1984, and a lot of other interesting things were happening for me during that time. I was cast in a small-town production of Annie—nothing too exciting…I played an orphan—and this little foray into theater solidified a desire in me to act and sing (a passion of mine for many years thereafter). My stepmother gave birth to the first of two younger sisters, and Mom, her new husband, and I made plans to move to Washington, DC.

I turned twelve in 1984, and all sorts of wonderful movies were in the theaters like Ghostbusters, Footloose, and Sixteen Candles. The billboard charts were full of classic—80s songs like Huey Lewis and the News, Madonna, Pat Benatar, Night Ranger, and Eurythmics. Actually, there were too many good songs to mention them all. This was one of my favorite times of my life, and one of my favorite times for music.

What were some of your favorite 80s tunes?

Smiles and Southern Hospitality

The D.C. Metro region is a fast-paced, congested area where everyone is either busy, in a hurry, suspicious, or just indifferent. Traffic is terrible, prices are high, and no one visiting this area would ever accuse residents of being overly friendly, welcoming, or accommodating. Not many people stay here after they retire—as a matter of fact, according to Gallup, it’s one of the top areas in the country from which people are trying to escape.

 

When I first moved here, I was 13 years old (probably the worst possible time in my life to move to an area like this), and the culture shock was pretty extreme. I came from a town where I had a close group of friends (and I’d known them my whole life), a tightly knit family, and several pets (including a horse). Moving to this area meant giving up friends, hardly ever seeing family, and selling the horse. It took years to finally meet some friends and settle in.

 

As a matter of fact, my husband and I still talk about how unfriendly people in this area can be. The reasons for this are varied—it’s a transient area and people move in and out constantly; everyone is running around trying to get from one place to another in gridlock traffic; people are overworked and stressed and simply don’t have time for others.

 

Not so in my hometown.

 

Every time we return to Kingsport for a visit, we’re newly surprised at how nice everyone is. People smile, they say hello to each other (even the people they don’t know), and there’s just an overall feeling of hospitality. It’s not at all unusual to strike up conversations with check-out clerks in the grocery store, or even a random group of folks sitting at the next table in a downtown restaurant.

 

There’s a neighborly feeling throughout the community—folks help each other out and pitch in when needed. Over the last few years, downtown renovations have been moving full-speed ahead, including re-purposing some old warehouses that have been shut down for years. Now the old warehouses are a thriving farmer’s market, and this area will soon have its own carousel. A while back when the idea for the carousel was first conceived, volunteers were needed. My mom volunteered to paint one of the characters, and every Tuesday for several months the volunteer painters convened to put the community project together. (http://engagekingsport.com/our-programs/kingsport-carousel/) Mom's part of the project may be seen below.

 

 

There are good reasons why Kingsport is listed as a top town in which to retire and why it attracts so many folks from up North (www.topretirements.com). It’s a friendly place full of people who enjoy being a part of a small community with a big heart and a lot of southern hospitality.

The Hills of Tennessee are Alive with Music!

 

 

Music has always been a huge part of my life. When I was little, I would play Barbra Streisand and Laura Branigan records on our stereo, and belt out “Evergreen” and “Gloria” at the top of my lungs.

 

 

 

I wanted to be a singer for many years, and my undergraduate degree in college was in music with a concentration in vocal performance. Before all of that, however, I played clarinet and bassoon in middle school, and took lessons in downtown Kingsport for both. At one point, I decided I wanted to be a rock singer, and I took guitar lessons on Broad Street at Joseph’s Music Center (now closed, unfortunately), where I fell madly in love with my heavy metal rocker guitar teacher.

 

 

Kingsport always had some sort of musical happening taking place whether it was the Kingsport Symphony Orchestra, the Fun Fest concerts, or even musical theater. Some of the most musical days of my life were spent in my hometown.

Now, I’m happy to say, the Tennessee hills are alive with the sound of music once more, as Kingsport revitalizes the night life of the downtown with “Bluegrass on Broad” (Thursday nights) and “Twilight Alive” (Friday nights).  These concerts take place for 8 weeks in the summer (May-July)right smack in the middle of Broad Street, drawing crowds consisting of music lovers, families, visitors and tourists.

(See video below to give you a little flavor of Downtown Kingsport and the concert series as Blue Highway plays)

 

 

Obviously, as the names suggest—Thursday nights are geared towards those who love the good old sound of the south—fiddles and banjos and bluegrass harmonies. Friday nights feature cover and tribute bands. So there’s something for everyone and all ages!

 

 

Sadly, the concert series has now finished for the summer, but fear not—it will start up again in May of next year!

 

Just a little more evidence to show that Kingsport has it going on!  

 

Kingsport Fun Fest: An Example of "Community Unity"

In a country that is so divided right now, examples of unity are few and far between. It seems to me, that all of the politicians and contentious groups of people out there could take a lesson from my hometown. (I'm being partly facetious, of course, but I do think Kingsport has the right idea).

Fun Fest is an annual town festival consisting of week-long activities for all age groups.
Personally, my favorite memories of Fun Fest consist of the hot air balloon races, the town-wide scavenger hunts, and the concerts and fireworks serving as the culminating entertainment at the end of the week. All of these events still take place, as well as various cultural, culinary, crafty, and sports-oriented activities.

The "Taste of the Tri-Cities" event remains a town favorite--hosting around twenty different restaurants and eateries. Everything from seafood and barbeque to fastfood and ice cream are on offer, and the food festivities span over four nights. You can bring a blanket or fold-out chairs, find a place in the park to veg out, and just enjoy the sights, smells, and eats.

The concerts always take place at Dobyns-Bennett High School in the J. Fred Johnson Stadium. Boasting a variety of musical performers to fit all tastes, the entertainment fare is never shabby. This year's concert performers include Train, Martina McBride, and Mercy Me.

While researching the history of this festival, I learned some interesting facts. The first Kingsport Fun Fest was held August 8-15, 1981. The beginnings of this regional program are rooted in the idea of unifying a town divided by socio-economics, politics, and religious convictions. Staff and board members from the Chamber of Commerce discussed plans for bringing people together across their many divides to promote "a more positive attitude about the Kingsport community and a more friendly nature among its residents" ("The History of Fun Fest"*). What I especially like about this idea is that unity was the main goal, not tourism or economic gain (which, incidentally, was an indirect result of the annual festivals).

When I look at the Fun Fest website, I see a vast array of businesses, restaurants, hospitals, churches, universities, car dealerships, insurance companies, banks, and individuals all sponsoring, hosting, and helping with the organization of this annual festival. I know this cannot be easy or cheap to host, and many, if not most, of the events and activities are free to attendees. I think this truly vouches for Kingsport's love for and commitment to its inhabitants, and it makes me truly proud to call it my hometown.

FunFest has been taking place all this week and wraps up tomorrow night with its concert series.

Kingsport FunFest website: http://www.funfest.net/


*"The History of Fun Fest" retrieveed from FunFest website: http://www.funfest.net/

Memories of Kingsport: Pal's Hotdogs

For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to do a mini-series on the highlights of my hometown. Since Song From the Ashes is set in Kingsport, I thought it might be nice to give everyone a little glimpse into the town and the many amenities it has to offer.

 

I'm really proud to call Kingsport, Tennessee my hometown, as it's a beautiful and charming small town (population around 50,000) positioned along the Holston River.

For those who aren't sure where Kingsport is located, it's in the Northeast corner of the state bordering Virginia (The Tri-Cities area containing Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City).

http://www.visitkingsport.com/

Kingsport was my home until I was twelve or thirteen, and I remember the years I lived there as some of the happiest of my life. Summers were the best! Horsebackriding, swimming, and bike riding with friends are some of my fondest memories, but right alongside those fun activities, eating Pal's hotdogs ranks near the top of the list.

Pal's is a local Tri-Cities area chain that started up in 1956 by Pal Barger--a brilliant businessman who had an innovative idea about "sudden service" restaurants. (Interestingly, before opening Pal's, he'd met with McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who had a similar idea about fast food service). Pal Barger also owned a fine-dining steak restaurant, and he used the same source of meat for his burgers, and later his hotdog chili.

Pal's was, and continues to be a huge success in the Tri-Cities area. Although asked to nationalize the chain, Mr. Barger preferred to keep the chain restricted to this little corner of Tennessee/Virginia, where it spread from one tiny operation in the center of Kingsport into twenty-six locations around the area.

In my humble opinion, no other hotdog touches the Almighty Pal's dog. They also serve wonderful hamburgers, sauceburgers, chicken sandwiches, and milkshakes, but I always get the same thing: two hotdogs, one Frenchie Fry, and an unsweetened ice tea (and the tea is so large you can sip on it all day long). My aunt and uncle have friends who visit from out of town occasionally, and when they do, they bring a large Igloo cooler and fill it up with Pal's hotdogs. Then they take them home and freeze them. They're that good.

So if you're passing through Northeast Tennessee, be sure you stop off at Pal's for a meal. I highly recommend visiting the original location on Revere Street if you can; otherwise, there are twenty-five other locations to choose from.

Check out their website!  http://www.palsweb.com/#home

Any other hotdog fans out there?