Thursday Throwback: 1980 Ice Storm
Winter arrives on Friday with a snowy forecast. But snow isn’t always the worst thing that winter can throw at us. For our Thursday Throwback, we’ll show you what a major…
Thursday Throwback: Credit Card Debt
Forget the change of presidents, the stock market or inflation. The biggest impact on your January budget is probably going to be your holiday spending. And that hasn't changed much over…
Thursday Throwback: 1989 Hurricane Trees
For our Thursday Throwback, we re-visit the invention of “Hurricane Trees.” That’s people from our area helped out victims of Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina. We’ll show you what local organizations…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Knock Off Dolls
Last week, we took you back to the Cabbage Patch Doll frenzy of the 1980s in our Thursday Throwback. This week, we're looking at the dark side of hot toys.…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Cabbage Patch Dolls
Forty years ago, we were in the peak of the Cabbage Patch Doll frenzy. Parents would do just about anything to get their hands on the hottest toy of the…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Marketing Trends
These days, marketers will break down your generation, your politics and your income level when they design a plan to reach you. But marketing strategies do change over the years. For…
Thursday Throwback: 1978 Jaycees Haunted House
Public Haunted House experiences have changed over the years, but they are not new. For our Thursday Throwback, we're taking you back to the kind of fright night your parents…
Thursday Throwback: 1994 Halloween Violence
These days, we have a more sanitized version of Halloween. But in the old days, we had the treats, but we also had the "tricks." For our Thursday Throwback, we take…
Thursday Throwback: Air Show
The Wings Over North Georgia air show is taking this year off in Rome. The annual show brings top air teams from around the word to north Georgia each fall. But construction…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Ugly Couple
This is a beauty pageant you don’t want to win. For our Thursday Throwback, we’ll meet the ugliest college couple in America. They went on the World’s Ugliest Blind Date forty…
Thursday Throwback: Elevator Operator
A lot of jobs that your grandparents had don't exist anymore. We used to have milkmen that delivered milk to your door. We used to have switchboard operators who routed phone calls.…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Weather Radar
News 12's Chief Meteorologist Austin Onek uses a variety of high tech software and tech to track a storm's path. But 40 years ago, it was much more basic. That year,…
Thursday Throwback: 2019 Chester Frost Raccoons
We've seen a lot of stories this year about bears wandering neighborhoods looking for food. But for tonight's Thursday Throwback, we take you back for another animal problem. Five years…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Young Republicans
The political landscape has changed a lot in our area over the last 50 years. Our area was dominated by Democrats back then. But it began to change when Ronald Reagan…
Thursday Throwback: Alabama Football
So Far, so good for Alabama fans. This fall, they have a new head football coach after the legendary Nick Sabean retired. It's been four decades since the school has seen a…
Thursday Throwback: Jaycees
Elvis was a Jaycee. And so was Bill Gates. But in the old days, you wouldn't find any women in their ranks. The organization was founded to bring together men who would be…
Thursday Throwback: 2014 Ice Bucket
Ten years ago, we were in the middle of a social media frenzy. It was called the ice bucket challenge for A-L-S. The idea was simple, If you took the challenge,…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Breakdancing
We just saw how they turned Break Dancing into an Olympic competition. So for our Thursday Throwback, we’ll take you back to when the moves were new in our area. Here…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Synagogue Trial
Unfortunately, violence against Jews continues to make headlines. Forty years ago, Chattanooga was the scene of a high profile hate crime trial. White Supremacist and serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin stood…
Thursday Throwback: 1980 Browns Ferry
T-V-A celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their first and largest nuclear power plant, August 1, 2024. Browns Ferry began commercial operations August 1, 1974. But T-V-A's nuclear program was almost brought…
Thursday Throwback: 2014 Primary
With all the developments lately in the Presidential race, we remind you that there are several races going on right now in Tennessee. In fact, early voting ends this weekend for next…
Thursday Throwback: 1989 Fyffe UFO
How long does 15 minutes of fame really last? 35 years ago, we sent a reporter back to Fyffe, Alabama to see if people were still talking about the event that…
Thursday Throwback: 1988 Drag Racing Granny
A lot of colorful characters have come out of north Alabama. One of the raciest was Cleo Chandler. At an age when most would be content to play with the grandkids, Cleo tried out drag racing. She was a top…
From The Archives - Pops In the Park
Chattanooga, TN (WDEF-TV) - Before there was Pops on the River, we had Pops in the Park. The Chattanooga Symphony would perform a free summertime pops concert at Chickamauga…
From the Archives: 1994 Friday Flicks
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- This weekend, you might sit down with your family and stream a good movie at home. But in years past, it worked a little differently. If you wanted to watch a movie at home, you had to go…
Thursday Throwback: 1984 Break Dancing
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- We’re looking back at a dance craze in tonight’s Thursday Throwback. “Footloose” wasn’t the only dance-themed movie in 1984, but it was the biggest. There was also a flood of break-dancing movies in that time. We saw…
Thursday Throwback: Evi the Bobcat
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - For our Thursday Throwback, we take you back five years. That's when the folks at the Nature Center came to work to find their bobcat was missing.…
Thursday Throwback: 1982 June Jam
FORT PAYNE, Ala. (WDEF) -- Fort Payne is counting the proceeds from another June Jam after last weekend's show. The country music festival saw its second comeback event since taking a 26-year break. So, for our Thursday Throwback, let's take…
From the Archives: 1989 Wrangler's Gator
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- It sounded like a good idea at the time. 35 years ago, a new country rock bar was opening. The owner from the gulf coast wanted to make a live alligator his mascot. In this edition…
Thursday Throwback: Entertainment of 1984
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Forty years ago, there was no social media, no smartphones in pockets and only four channels on TV. So, how did our parents' generation entertain themselves? We're going to find out in this edition of our Thursday…
From the Archives: 1979 Trucker Strike
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Gas prices have been a rollercoaster ride for us in the last few months. But the good news is, experts say the worst is behind us. They are predicting a relatively calm summer season for prices. That…
Thursday Throwback: Harry Thornton
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- We've seen a lot of characters come through our doors over the last 70 years. But none could grab your attention more than Harry Thornton. He was a radio DJ, turned wrestling announcer, who eventually invented local…
Thursday Throwback: News 12's 25th anniversary in 1979
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- We continue our look back at the early days of WDEF television tonight in our Thursday Throwback as we approach our 70th anniversary. We want to share three profiles from our 25th anniversary. Andy Jones, Emory Williamson…
From the Archives: Mort Lloyd
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- WDEF News 12 is celebrating its 70th anniversary on the air at the end of April. WDEF was Chattanooga's first TV station, which went on the on officially on April 25, 1954. For generations, viewers only knew…
From the Archives: Blizzard of '93
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- The weather was beautiful on Thursday, but that wasn't the case 31 years ago. We were in the middle of the biggest snowfall of our lifetimes. The records show 18 and a half inches fell in Chattanooga,…
Thursday Throwback: 1978 Campaign Ad
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- With Super Tuesday just passed and Georgia voting next week, politics are certainly on the minds of many. So, here is a favorite political story for this Thursday Throwback. It comes from the governor's race in…
Thursday Throwback: 1994 Female Pastors
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- For this week's Thursday Throwback, we continue to look at a series from 30 years ago about churches in our area. A topic they were struggling with in 1994 is still being debated in 2024: Can…
Thursday Throwback: 1994 'I Still Believe'
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- We think matters of religion and faith never change. But in tonight's Thursday Throwback, we see that the rules around our local churches certainly have. We're going back 30 years to our reports in the "I…
Thursday Throwback: 1994 Flooding
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Just last weekend, rescuers had to pull a couple of men out of a swollen creek in Trion. This is the time of year the area gets flooding problems. Tonight, in our Thursday Throwback, we take you…
From the Archives: Giant 1983 Sinkhole
EAST RIDGE, Tenn. (WDEF) -- People in Brainerd Hills spent the week coping with a sinkhole that opened up in a neighborhood over the weekend. That reminded us of another big sinkhole that appeared out of nowhere 41 years ago. This…
From the Archives: Ice Storm of 1994
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- For our Thursday Throwback, we're going to re-visit another difficult week of winter weather that played out a lot like the current one. Thirty years ago, we suffered through an ice storm coupled with extreme cold. But…
From the Archives: 1994 Tales of the City
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Thirty years ago this week, we experienced a huge controversy over a TV show. The show was a mini-series scheduled to run on public television called "Tales of the City." It told the story of sex and…
From the Archives: 1980s Ice Storm
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- We remember the big snowfalls from the past. But sometimes a thin layer of ice can be even more trouble. 40 years ago, we survived a tough week of weather. It started with a Christmas morning low…
From the Archives: 1994 Citrus Bowl
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WDEF) -- The Vols take on Iowa at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Day. Our Brian Armstrong is in Florida to preview the matchup. But we thought we'd take you back 30 years in our…
From The Archives: 1993 Last Weekend Shopping
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - If you were/are out doing last minute Christmas shopping this weekend, you're not alone. In fact, it seems it has always been this way. Before…
From The Archives: 1993 Letters to Santa
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Do children still write actual letters to Santa? They sure did 30 years ago. In 1993, we talked to Santa's helpers around our area that made sure the letters made it to the north pole. And we…
Thursday Throwback: 1983 Popular Dolls
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Barbie may be the doll of 2023, but 40 years ago she took a back seat to some homelier looking critters from the Georgia Mountains. For our Thursday Throwback, we look at the doll market for Christmas…
From the Archives: 1984 Gordon Lee Mansion Tours
CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. (WDEF) -- The annual candlelight tours return over the next two weekends at the Gordon Lee Mansion in Chickamauga. Supporters dress up the historic building in natural greenery and handmade ornaments. There is a lot of history at…
From the Archives: 1983 Black Friday
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Could the Black Friday tradition be coming to an end? It's been talked about for years. But tonight, we want to take you back to the beginning. 40 years ago, Eastgate was the big mall in…
Throwback Thursday: Korean Air Lines Flight 007
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Forty years ago, another international incident created major controversy here in the Tennessee Valley. Russia shot down a Korean jetliner that had strayed into their airspace. Of the 269 people killed on the plane, one was…