East Tennessee History Center

09/01/2026

Early recording of Dolly Parton on the Hayloft Jamboree, circa 1960-62

As we continue to mourn the considerable loss of Dolly Parton, we reflect on how vital it is to preserve our region's history. When our friends, neighbors, heroes, and legends are no longer with us, the responsibility of recounting their stories falls entirely on what was left behind.

On this rare reel to reel recording at the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS), hear a young Dolly on Tommy Covington's Hayloft Jamboree radio show on WGAP-AM in Maryville. Dolly performed and made some of her earliest radio recordings on the show when she was just a teenager.

Even then, following her performance of "Another Just Like Me," the host proclaims: "Well I don't think Dolly Parton's got anything to worry about because they'll never be another like her."

Dolly Parton on Tommy Covington's radio show the Hayloft Jamboree circa 1960-1962.

08/31/2026

Group portrait of members of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) wCo. 3465 SP-8 Camp Lynn W. Hoskins in Rutledge, Tennessee. If someone you knew worked there, zoom in and you might see their name or face.

From the Clyde K. Gorman Collection (MSC 0424) at McClung, also viewable on our digital collection: https://cmdc.knoxlib.org/digital/collection/p265301coll9/id/1908/rec/4

08/26/2026

We at the East Tennessee History Center are mourning the loss of Dolly Parton, a woman who never stopped telling—and sharing—her East Tennessee story.

In May 2024, Dolly visited the Museum to see the feature exhibition on Carl and Pearl Butler, the Knoxville couple who championed her early career and helped guide her transition to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry stage. She was also filming for a forthcoming documentary on the Parton family's musical roots. Hosting individuals of her regard can be intense; that day never felt that way. It was all about family and family stories.

For Dolly, everything came back to story, from the Imagination Library to the songs she wrote, and she never told hers without making room for others in it. Late in Carl Butler's life, when things weren't looking great, it was Dolly who remembered what he'd done for her and returned the favor, allowing him to sing a little longer.

Beyond the joy she gave us through her music and her spirit, maybe that's Dolly’s lasting gift: the reminder that we are all part of one story, and it’s a story worth sharing and preserving.

08/25/2026

Vestal streetcar on Gay Street near Clinch Avenue, circa 1920s.

Photo by Thompson Brothers from the McClung Historical Collection

08/20/2026

New to the McClung Digital Collection, Pictorial Review of District C Company 5427 Tenn. NP-11 (Cades Cove, Tenn.) of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

According to the National Park Service website: "As part of the New Deal Program, to help lift the United States out of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. The CCC or C’s as it was sometimes known, allowed single men between the ages of 18 and 25 to enlist in work programs to improve America’s public lands, forests, and parks.

For many, just the prospect of three meals and a bed were enough to get young men to enroll. As jobs and income were incredibly scarce, the CCC for a lot of these young men was their first job. Enlisters would make $30 a month, $25 of which would be sent straight to their families, while the other five was for the worker to keep. Meals and lodging were provided in military camp fashion.

Education opportunities were an added bonus of joining the C’s. In fact, many completed their high school education while serving. Leadership advancement positions with an increase in pay were also offered to hard-workers."

The program ended in 1942, one year earlier than planned, due to the United States' entry into World War II. This booklet, from the Clyde K. Gorman Collection at McClung, was assembled for the Cades Cove division of the CCC.

View the booklet in its entirety at https://cmdc.knoxlib.org/digital/collection/p15136coll4/id/11977/rec/29

08/20/2026

On we salute Stuart Adcock, seen here operating amateur ham radio equipment.

While still a teenager, Stuart (S.E.) Adcock launched WNAV (later changed to WNOX), in 1921, the first major radio station in Knoxville. After selling the station to the Sterchi Brothers, Adcock created rival station WROL-Radio, which eventually became WATE-TV.

This photo of Adcock from 1949 was taken by Joe Parrott, and is one of the thousands of photographs in the Joe Parrott Collection at the Calvin McClung Collection, many of which document Knoxville radio and music history in the 1940s and 1950s.

https://cmdc.knoxlib.org/digital/collection/p16311coll11 See less

08/19/2026

This summer, filmmakers were invited to reimagine our history through film. With licensed access to selected TAMIS archival footage, entrants remixed, altered, and augmented to create short films that captured the theme of, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Submissions screened during the East Tennessee History Fair on August 15, 2026 at the Tennessee Theatre. Check out how our contestants did here:

https://www.knoxcountylibrary.org/remixing-past

Remix the Past Film Contest was made possible through the generous support of Friends of the Knox County Public Library.

08/18/2026

"Community Shower" outside Fire Station Number 5 at Arthur St. and McGhee Ave in Mechanicsville, Knoxville, TN.

This photo was taken by Thompson Brothers Photography on August 19, 1925, a day when temperatures reached 94 degrees Fahrenheit.

From the McClung Historical Collection

08/18/2026

New to the McClung online digital collection, the Jacob Hartsell Memora.

Jacob Hartsell (1786-1843) of Washington County served as tax assessor, squire of the county court, and captain of Washington County militia. He formed a company of “volunteers” in Washington County in October, 1813. Hartsell kept a handwritten journal of his wartime experiences from October 12, 1813 -- November 28, 1813. He titled his 70 page journal the “J. Hartsell Memora.”

The Memora is currently on display in the East Tennessee History Museum's "Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee" permanent exhibit. It was transcribed and published in the East Tennessee Historical Society’s Publications, vol. 11 (1939) pp. 93-115. This is the first time photographic images of the Memora itself have been made publicly available online.

https://cmdc.knoxlib.org/digital/collection/p15136coll4/id/11903/rec/1

08/17/2026

📜 Have you ever wanted to be a historian?

The East Tennessee History Center is calling on Knox Countians to become our inaugural class of Citizen Historians—trained and deputized collectors of the letters, photos, recordings, and objects that capture life in our community today.

✅ Attend a free training at the East Tennessee History Center
✅ Pick up your grant-funded collection kit
✅ Spend the next few months gathering your's or your community's story
✅ Return your kit on December 14, 2026

Your Citizen Historian collection becomes part of the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection—available to researchers and historians for generations to come.

Ready to document Knox County's story? Registration is now open. Reserve your spot today. 🔗 [https://www.knoxcountylibrary.org/event/workshop-become-citizen-historian-42325]