This photograph from Chattanooga’s Armed Forces Day parade in May 1958 is brimming with mid-century nostalgia.
From the reigning Miss Chattanooga, Melva Jean Lindsey, to the Ford Fairlane 500 convertible – an iconic automobile of the day – the photograph from the EPB archives captures the style and patriotism of post-war Chattanooga.
Many Chattanoogans will remember McLellan’s five-and-dime store in the background. It recalls a time when so-called 5- and 10-cent stores were major downtown retailers. Others included F.W. Woolworth Co., W.T. Grant Co., and S.H. Kress and Co.
The photograph is part of a large collection of vintage photos that can be viewed at ChattanoogaHistory.com, a website curated by Sam Hall, a local history buff.
Newspaper clippings from the period identify Miss Chattanooga 1958 as Lindsey, the future Melva Jean McNice. She was a graduate of Red Bank High School, attended the University of Chattanooga and was presented at the 1958 Cotton Ball, according to the Chattanooga Daily Times.