Welcome back. Glad you're here.

Every year on the Fourth, we line Center Street and watch the same parade march by like it's always been there. But it hasn't. This one has a name on it, and a story behind that name that most of us walk right past on our way to a good spot on the curb. So this week we're digging into where it all started, back before floats and fire trucks, back to a mule and a load of brick.

In today's post:

Kingsport was barely a city when it held its first Fourth of July parade. In 1912, a mule-drawn Kingsport Brick float rolled through town, one of the earliest parade images in the city archives. The Kingsport Union School had a float around 1912 to 1915, and by July 4, 1916, members of the Kingsport Fire Department were marching in the parade too.

Those early Fourths were a snapshot of who we were: brick, textiles, schools, and the volunteers who kept the town running. By 1928 the parade was heading down Broad Street, and through the following decades you'd see everyone from the Citizens Supply Corporation to Borden Mills, whose 1950 float had women modeling products made from Borden fabrics. The Kerbela Temple Shrine Patrol marched. WKIN radio had a float. It was the whole town, showing off.

But here's the thing worth knowing. For all those decades, the Fourth of July parades in Kingsport were rather sporadic. There was no guarantee one would happen year to year. That changed because of one man.

Mr. Fourth of July

In 1955, Mack Riddle organized the first annual Fourth of July parade, and it has been a staple in Kingsport ever since. That's the year the tradition we know today actually began. Before Riddle, it was hit or miss. After him, it became a promise the city kept every single year.

And Mack Riddle was not some buttoned-up committee man. He earned the nickname "Mr. Fourth of July" by spending over forty-five years organizing, planning, and designing the parade as its chairman. Forty-five years. Think about that kind of commitment to one day on the calendar.

Here's the part I love. Riddle was also one half of the locally famous "Frank and Mack Show," a vaudeville-style act featuring comedy skits and musical performances by Frank Taylor and Mack Riddle. The two were classmates at Dobyns-Bennett who competed over who was funnier, a rivalry that turned into a lifelong friendship and a professional act starting in 1932. Their first booking agent and publicist? Another D-B classmate, the late Congressman Jimmy Quillen.

The Frank and Mack Show became a staple at the American Legion Carnival and played events all around Kingsport for decades, right up until Frank Taylor passed away in 1974. So the man who gave us our most enduring patriotic tradition was, at heart, an entertainer. A showman. Somebody who understood that a town needs things to gather around.

Mack Riddle died in 1999, and the parade carries his name as a tribute to the man behind it.

Still going, decades later

This year marks the 72nd annual Mack Riddle American Legion Independence Day Parade. It steps off at 10 a.m. on Center Street at the Renaissance Center and follows the route down toward Fort Henry Drive, ending at the Kingsport Veterans Memorial. Same bones, same spirit, a straight line back to that 1955 start and even further back to a mule pulling a load of brick in 1912.

That's the thing about this parade. It's not just a good morning downtown. It's one of the longest unbroken threads we've got connecting the Kingsport of today to the Kingsport that was.

Your turn

My son Marshall might be the parade's single biggest fan. He's been belting out "YMCA" since Christmas, arms and all, getting himself ready for this weekend like it's the main event of the year. And honestly, who can blame him? Who doesn't love a good parade?

If you make it down to the Red, White and Boom concert this weekend, keep your eyes open. Word is a few historical figures might be making their way through the crowd.

And I'd love to hear yours. What's your Fourth of July memory here in Kingsport? A spot your family always claimed on Center Street? A float you'll never forget? Reply and tell me. The best ones might make it into a future issue..

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A few things worth getting off your couch for:

Red, White and Boom Independence Day Celebration | Saturday, July 4, 5:00 PM | Main Street, Downtown Kingsport
The city's biggest Fourth of July party takes over downtown with live music, food, and a fireworks finale around 9:45 p.m. Bring a chair, stake out Main Street early, and keep an eye out for a few surprise faces in the crowd. Details

Kingsport Speedway Fireworks Race | Saturday, July 4 | Kingsport Speedway
Racing and fireworks in one night out at the Speedway, a Fourth of July tradition all its own. Confirm the green flag time before you head out. Details

Pre-Boom Party at High Voltage | Saturday, July 4 | High Voltage, Downtown Kingsport
Warm up for the fireworks with a pre-Boom party right downtown, steps from the Main Street action. A good spot to land before the show. Details

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This newsletter works best when it's a conversation. If you know a story that needs to be told, a person doing something interesting, or a place in Kingsport that matters to you, send it my way. Every documentary, every feature, every post starts with someone saying "you should look into this."

That's it for this week. Thanks for trusting me with your inbox. Let's tell some stories.

Talk soon,

Ryan