Nancy Hall Jubilee Preceded Mule Day and Fish Fry

Who knew that the second Nancy Hall Jubilee in 1939 was a spectacular affair? Nancy Hall was the favorite sweet potato variety grown here and this festival celebrated that crop. The picture below shows the cover of the program for the event. Miss Ann Abernathy reigned as Queen Nancy II for the 3 day celebration. The climax was the Coronation Ball at the brand new City Auditorium. It was to begin at 10 p.m. with music by Don Bestor, Jack Benny’s radio orchestra, followed by a grand march and beauty review to select the Queen for 1940. Tennessee Governor Prentice Cooper would crown the Queen. Dancing was to continue until 2:00 a.m. The Nancy Hall Jubilee was later replaced by Mule Day (which also began in 1938) and then by the World’s Biggest Fish Fry in 1953. Source – Nancy Hall Jubilee Program for 1939, and The PI Post Mortems column by Bryant Williams April 22, 1991. Submitted by Ray Harding.