“Kingsport Revisited”-an exhibition of new and old photographs

 “Kingsport Revisited”

an exhibition of new and old photographs

October 1- November 10, 2011

Renaissance Center

2^nd Floor Atrium

 In celebration of American Archives Month, the Kingsport Public Library & Archives, the Friends of the Archives and the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts will present “Kingsport Revisited”, an exhibition of new photographs from ETSU students based on historic images of Kingsport. The exhibition is the culmination of a summer course taught by ETSU’s Visiting Assistant Professor of Photography Joshua Dudley Greer. Over the 5 week summer course, the students researched photography collections housed in the Kingsport Archives with the goal to meticulously re-photograph dozens of locations around Kingsport, just as they appeared in the original images. The month-long exhibit at the Kingsport Renaissance Center pairs the new photographs with their original counterparts, illustrating significant changes in landscape, architecture and culture in Kingsport.

 The following artist’s work will be included in the exhibition:

- Veronica Addington

- Samantha Adkins

- Alan Beuris

- Angela Freese

- Trish Gibson

- Hannah Hamilton

- John Hathaway

- Megan King

- Amanda Milstead

- Ashley Nease

- Joshua Powers

- Wrightly Reed

- Lauren Roberts

- Andrew Scott

- Cassie Williams

           An opening reception will be held Thursday, October 6 at 5:30 in conjunction with the Friends of the Archives annual meeting.  The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., October 1 – November 10, 2011 in the 2^nd Floor Atrium at the Kingsport Renaissance Center.

Then and Now Photo Project

Spoden Collection-Behind the Scenes

You may have seen the recent articles in the Kingsport Times News about the archives receiving a donation from the Spoden family. The bulk of the donated collection is centered on decades of  research collected by Muriel Spoden. It can not be stated enough how significant the collection is to the archives and to the City of Kingsport.

The research room has been overtaken with boxes!

The intern (Joe), funded by the Friends of the Archives, started yesterday and is already making good headway with the collection. Since the collection won’t be available to the public for several months, I thought it would be a good idea to share the progress from time to time here on the blog.

Temporary holding area for part of the collection.

The Spoden Collection is HUGE! It will more than likely be the largest collection in the archives. It is going to take some time to go through box after box and start to sort and organize the materials. Also, all of the materials will be evaluated and the conservation and preservation status will be accessed. The goals for this collection are to get the materials organized, put in archival quality enclosures (acid free folders and boxes) to preserve the life span of the collection,  and make the collection open to researchers.

Just a few of the many neat items in the collection.

Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month.

The theme for 2011 is  “Our History is Our Strength”

“Our shared history unites families, communities, and nations.  Although women’s history is intertwined with the history shared with men, several factors – social, religious, economic, and biological – have worked to create a unique sphere of women’s history.”

Source: National Women’s History Project

To celebrate Women’s History Month I thought it would be appropriate to spotlight women in Kingsport with images from the archives. Throughout the rest of the month I will be adding more entries, so keep checking back.

Today’s spotlight is on Mrs. J.W. Dobyns.

Mrs. James W. Dobyns (Lula Lee Cooper), 1950.

Mrs. J.W. Dobyns, affectionately known as “Mother Dobyns”,  was born in Old Town, Grayson County, Virginia in 1869. The Dobyns came to Kingsport in the early 1900s.  J.W.  Dobyns became the first Mayor of Kingsport in 1917.

Mr. and Mrs. Dobyns played a significant role in the building and shaping of Kingsport. Mrs. Dobyns worked side by side with her husband and was dedicated to a number of civic affairs in Kingsport. She was a charter member of the Broad Street Methodist Church and served on the Board of Education for many years.

Mrs. J.W. Dobyns standing in front of the "Red Feather" thermometer at Church Circle. The thermometer measured the money received in the Community Chest Drive.

Mother Dobyns died February 14, 1951.