Thursday, February 19, 2015

Knoxville Radio Schedule - 75 years ago today

Back in 1940 the radio dial wasn't as full as it is today. Here's a listing of the programs one could hear back then.

Knoxville News-Sentinel - February 19, 1940


images from GenealogyBank.com

Monday, February 9, 2015

Ken Hammock, Knoxville area music guy

I came across Ken Hammock in Billboard magazine while doing some research on Goldrush Junction in Pigeon Forge.  I didn't know anything about him, but there's a nice write up on him at Mellow's Log Cabin blog.

A look on ancestry.com shows a Ken Hammock, age 18 in the 1940 US Census.  His family is living on Dameron Avenue in Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee.  His father, Otey, was a stationery engineer in a dairy.  His mom, Thenie was not working outside the home.  His older brother, James, was a filler rubber at a furniture manufacturer.

Ten years before, in the 1930 US Census, the family was living at Dameron Avenue as well.  Otey was a laborer at a cotton mill.  Thenia was a laundress.  James, 18 then, was a clerk at a grocery store.

Aside from being a musician, Ken Hammock was also a veteran.  He served in the army during WWII and is buried at the Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Knoxville.


Billboard - January 15, 1949

Billboard - October 22, 1955

Billboard - March 17, 1958

Billboard - May 20, 1972