Strawberry Festival Queen Cape

The historic cape that is shown above was on display in a downtown business window during the 2022 Strawberry Festival. The cape was made by Maude Thomison (1891-1975), daughter of Dr. Walter Fairfield and Ella Darwin Thomison, and the great-aunt of Pat Hawkins Guffey. Maude was asked by the Strawberry Festival Committee to make this

Strawberry Festival Carries on Tradition

It All Began In May 1947 The 2022 Strawberry Festival will mark the 75th time Dayton has celebrated the arrival of springtime and of course the strawberry crops. The festival was originally sponsored by the Dayton Lions Club, in corporation with the Junior Chamber of Commerce, on May 24, 1947, to give the community a

Strawberry Week Proclaimed 1960

The 1959 Strawberry Queen Miss. Janice Brown, is shown with Dr. J.J.Rodgers, mayor of Dayton, as he proclaimed the week of May 16-21 as East Tennessee Strawberry Festival Week. The festival was under the general supervision of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce with all civic clubs and organizations having a part in the affair. The

1969 Tennessee Strawberry Queen- Janice Sproles

Shown in the photo above, Miss Janice Sprole, age 19 of Kingsport, Tennessee, the elected queen in the 1968 Tennessee Strawberry Festival Pageant at the May 1969 Tennessee Strawberry Festival Parade in Dayton, Tennessee.  She had been invited back to the 1969 festival as the reigning queen, where she appeared in the parade and afterwards

Strawberry Production May 1965

In May of 1965, it was Strawberry harvest time on the Crocket Farm, on top of the mountain above Evensville. Shown in the feature photo above, from left to right are Frank Tankersley, farm manager and Mrs. Lee Hayes, one of the strawberry pickers. Mr. Tankersley reported that they had 20 acres of Strawberries in

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