Chattanooga’s ‘Hat Guy’ is a throwback to the ’70s
Andrew Buckland said he hit a rough patch in his personal life a few years ago.
Stories by Mark Kennedy
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Kennedy: Quality time with your kids is a blessing
If I want to make myself sad, I can just listen to the 1974 song "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Who remembers these Signal Mountain stores?
Today's residents of Signal Mountain might not recognize this particular cluster of retail stores in the Signal Plaza Shopping Center.
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Kennedy: UTC professor teaches tai chi to military veterans
Zibin Guo, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga anthropology professor, remembers the moment he knew his work teaching tai chi to military veterans was on …
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Kennedy: The case of the imperfect vase
When our 16-year-old son is feeling down, you can tell immediately.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? This famous mid-century ice storm led to mountain black outs
This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of one of the landmark local weather events of the 20th century, the Blizzard of 1993.
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Kennedy: A Hixson mom reveals the secret to good housekeeping
A Hixson mom would like to take the chore out of doing chores.
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Kennedy: Why boomers look older than they feel
I've noticed for a while that my high school classmates are getting old — bless their hearts.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Electric cars were even hot 50 years ago
While Chattanooga is becoming known worldwide for the production of electric vehicles, namely the new Volkswagen ID.4 SUV, electric cars have been a hot topic …
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Mountaintop Wealth founder Roland McIntyre III is passionate about helping people with financial education
When he was at Dalewood Middle School more than 20 years ago, Roland McIntyre III remembers a financial advisor coming to his classroom one day to talk about i…
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First Things First CEO says 10 minutes a day can change a child’s life
Chattanooga families don't have to travel very far to find quality children's activities. The city itself is a wonderland for parents and their little ones.
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Kennedy: UTC women to start College Cleaners housekeeping service
Brooke McFarlin, 18, and Alayna Grover, 19, are unlikely business partners.
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Kennedy: A Tennessee hillbilly’s guide to cheap groceries
I don't usually eat while typing, but today I made an exception.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Dean Clothing Co. was a downtown fixture
In the spring of 1951, the conflict in Korea was dominating newspaper headlines as life went on here at home.
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Kennedy: What would Jesus do? Make “Mercy Mats”
If heaven were designing a knitting mill, it would look like the backroom at St. Alban's Episcopal Church on Hixson Pike.
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Kennedy: What your kids should know about you, but are afraid to ask
In Sunday School class we've been talking about what we learned from our parents — and, in turn, what we owe them back.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Small color TVs in the 1960s cost more than $4,000 in today’s dollars
In 1965, color televisions had just begun to enter the Chattanooga market.
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Kennedy: Have a beloved garment that’s ripped or torn? Sewanee artist has a solution
A few years ago, Sewanee, Tennessee, artist Jessica Wohl had an idea for an art exhibit.
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Kennedy: HVAC installers are nice, neat and necessary
A word to the wise: Don't raise grumpy kids.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? This was North Chattanooga in 1960
This aerial view of the North Chattanooga area in 1960 recalls a time when landmarks there included the Hamilton National Bank, the Town & Country Restaurant a…
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Kennedy: Why are these people smiling? And how you can get in on the fun
Crissy Varnell, a manager at the Chattanooga Public Library, has a notebook she keeps handy for jotting down ideas.
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Kennedy: Get out of my face, Facebook
Facebook has decided I'm most interested in three things: Ford trucks, baby-boomer hospitalizations and high school dances.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? One of these young readers could be your grandparent
Many children of the 20th century remember the traveling libraries known as bookmobiles.
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Most Interesting People: 10 Chattanoogans that prove the many ways to make the most of life
At Chatter Magazine, our archives read like a catalog of interesting people who've helped shape our city's culture. We'd like to shine a spotlight on a few of …
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Co-founder and CEO of Ubiquitous links brands to content creators in TikTok’s ‘wild west’
Jess Flack is the last person who you'd think might suffer from "imposter syndrome," the nagging feeling that you aren't quite up to the job at hand.
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Kennedy: Soddy-Daisy firefighter, 22, finds buried treasures
When he was in elementary school, Jacob Smith carried a railroad spike in his pocket.
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Kennedy: Why near-retirees are terrified to look at their investments
If there is anything we oldsters can agree on, it's that we are in a season of 401(chaos).
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Remember When, Chattanooga? You’ll never guess when this 'modern' house was built
Billed as the first "modern house" built in Chattanooga, the Rivermont abode in the accompanying advertisement was the talk of the town.
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Chattanooga State student taps own experiences for novel about teen coping
The cover of 19-year-old Hannah Lowe's self-published novel shows the silhouette of a young woman walking alone toward a red sunset.
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Kennedy: That feeling when your kids start earning a paycheck
My father was my first boss. Or perhaps more aptly, he was my sergeant and I was his private.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Florida woman finds rare piece of Chattanooga history
Carolyn (Gant) Towles, a retired Florida elementary school principal, was clearing out files at her home recently when she stumbled upon a piece of Chattanooga…
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Kennedy: World-ranked lifter might be Chattanooga’s best hope for 2024 Olympics
Most college kids would settle for a trip to Florida for spring break.
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Kennedy: Want to talk to Zoomers? Ask them, ‘What’s your sign?’
Do you have a child or a grandchild who is part of Generation Z (born 1997-2012, according to Pew Research)?
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Can you name this well-known Chattanooga family?
Solving the mystery of this photograph required enlarging the image and reading the name tags.
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East Brainerd man turns heads with adorable fire truck that speaks Japanese
Commercial airline pilot Barry Twitchell told his wife and daughter in October he was going to Seattle to retrieve a vehicle he purchased online.
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Kennedy: A bed made from pallet wood and brotherly love
"Careful!" I called out as our two sons locked up in a tangle of arms and legs while wrestling in the family room.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Pistol-packing collector pictured at Hotel Patten
The year was 1964, and more than 100 exhibitors had packed the Hotel Patten in downtown Chattanooga for one of the city's biggest gun shows.
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From computer science to cultural artifacts: UTC student’s internship at Bessie Smith Cultural Center yields unexpected insights
Maxwell King, a 20-year-old computer science student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was hanging out in the department's commons area one day la…
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Chattanooga’s Cherie Martinez, a retired United Airlines pilot reflects on life and loss
Cherie Martinez, a retired United Airlines pilot, turned 65 (the mandatory retirement age) in March 2020, just as COVID-19 hit the United States. The virus spr…
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Can you guess this Chattanooga street?
The image is from the files of the former Chattanooga News-Free Press and was taken by photographer Bob Sherrill.
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Kennedy: Why soccer beats football
Let me just spit this out: At age 64, I enjoy watching soccer more than I enjoy watching NFL football.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? The Townhouse Hotel welcomed visitors on Georgia Avenue
In the 1960s, the Town House Hotel and Restaurant on Georgia Avenue in downtown Chattanooga was an inviting destination for visitors to the city.
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Kennedy: Skyuka Hall raises holiday cards to an act of love
Southern Living magazine recently asked its readers if sending Christmas cards is a dying art.
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Kennedy: Son home from college is the best gift
Something the character John Dutton said in a recent episode of the TV series "Yellowstone" struck me.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Perms at The Elite beauty salon were just $7.50
For a stretch of years from the mid-1940s until at least the early 1960s, The Elite beauty salon flourished in the lobby of Chattanooga's James Building at Eig…
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Kennedy: Etowah father, son, hike Appalachian Trail 27 years apart
On the Appalachian Trail, hikers sort foods into either of two categories: "friend" or "foe."
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Kennedy: Why baby boomers should ignore Twitter and love Facebook
On the first floor of the Times Free Press building on East 11th Street there's an old teletype machine.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? City’s original Jeep dealership was on East Main Street
In 1946, thousands of American GIs were just back from the fighting in World War II, and what better way to welcome them home than by offering them rugged, bat…
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What happened when some Gordon Lee High School students surrendered their cellphones
Todd Cassell, a teacher and coach at Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga, Georgia, has seen the numbing effect mobile phones have on students.
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Remember When, Chattanooga? Why was there an open coffin on Dayton Boulevard?
It took some effort, but we tracked down this photo in the archives of the Chattanooga News-Free Press.