Back in the day

Chattanooga-area residents say it’s not always the singers or bands that help spark their memories of previous Riverbend Festivals but also the people and the events. Here are some of their recollections of Riverbends past.

MIME YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Ray Cherry says one year he watched a mime with a painted face and black flower hat dislodge the little finger of a small child the mother was holding and latch his hand into hers.

“He was hunched down in a funny walk and a silly face while holding on to (the) child she thought she was pulling along,” Mr. Cherry said. “Shortly she realized (people) were laughing and pointing in her direction. When she looked back to see what all the fuss was about, she saw the mime and screamed. It was hysterical. I never laughed so hard.”

ALABAMA, POST-STORM

Mike Maroon, 52, was looking forward to attending his first Riverbend Festival in 2000 after retiring from the Air Force. He staked out a spot right in front of the stage at 5 p.m. to hear Alabama, but the band sang only one song before a thunderstorm ensued.

“We resigned ourselves to going home without seeing Alabama, except for the one song they got in before Mother Nature got (in the way),” he said.

“Just as we were starting to walk back to our car (around midnight), someone yelled, ‘Alabama is onstage.’ We found reserved seating, complete with chairs and near the stage, pretty much abandoned. So we got to sit there and enjoy some classic country music as those boys played a good 45 minutes in the rain.”

SPECIAL ACCESS

Clay Ingle, 51, got to experience Riverbend a little differently than most people in its early years of existence. The Hamilton County Special Tactics and Rescue Service, for which he volunteered, served as the rescue unit assigned to the Formula One power boat races then used to close the festival on Sunday.

“It was a great deal for us because we got to park our vehicles at the ramp,” he said. “(It) also gave us a great place to watch the concerts and the people.”

What grew out of that experience, Mr. Clay said, was a unit called the STARS Powerboat Racing Rescue Team that has traveled all over the world to provide rescue service for races involving offshore, unlimited and Formula One boats.

“So,” he said, “by doing a little volunteer work, I was able to have a pretty exciting part-time job.”

NOSTALGIA TRIPS

Fran Robertson, 50, said the band Chicago in the late 1980s and Kenny Loggins in the late 1980s or early 1990s provided her favorite Riverbend memories.

“I can remember being at those concerts and closing my eyes,” she said, “and it took me back to the mid ’70s when I was in high school. It was great.”

MEMORY MAKERS

C.J. Louisell, 69, said he and his wife were planning their 25th wedding anniversary for a Friday night in June 1986 when they learned Benny Goodman had been booked for Riverbend.

“We thought about moving our celebration to Saturday,” he said. “However, as much as we wanted to see Goodman, it just wasn’t possible to make the change.”

The bandleader died a week before he was scheduled to appear at Riverbend, though, and Lionel Hampton was booked to take the place of his close friend.

“At our reception,” Mr. Louisell said, “my mind would wander down to the riverfront where Hamp was paying tribute to the clarinet legend.”