Deeper than a dress
Farragut family shares full-circle Independence Day
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Twenty-nine years to the day before this photo was taken, Freed (then Casey Whitson) wore the same dress her daughter is wearing here. She was featured in the July 8, 1998, edition of farragutpress - 1998 photo by Dan Ping
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Casey Freed and her daughter, 5-year-old Malia Freed, experienced a full-circle moment last Saturday, July 4. - 1998 photo by Dan Ping
Craning her tiny neck for a better view, 5-year-old Casey Whitson leaned forward on Kingston Pike on July 4, 1998.
Her American flag dress marked the occasion, billowing in the wind during Farragut’s annual Independence Day parade.
Former farragutpress editor Dan Ping captured the moment in a sweet photo, which landed on the front page of the next week’s newspaper.
Fast-forward 29 years to the day that photo was taken, Whitson, now Casey Freed, stood near the same spot last Saturday.
Her parade attendance stood the test of time.
But so had the dress, which had been purchased by Freed’s mother, Kathy Barger.
Except now, that same material rested on the shoulders of Freed’s own 5-year-old daughter, Malia Freed — making this 250th anniversary of America’s independence even more memorable.
“It’s coming back full-circle 29 years later,” said Casey Freed, a 2011 Hardin Valley Academy graduate. “That makes me feel really old. But it means a lot to my mom. Malia actually tried on the dress for the first time last Wednesday because I brought it with me, and of course my mom cried. It was really cool.”
For Freed, the flag-themed dress represents far more than a simple cotton clothing item.
It is the passing of tradition, which is all the more important considering her move to Missouri six years ago.
These days, when Freed brings her family back to her hometown, she does not return to the same house she grew up in on Maple Tree Drive.
Yet the arrival feels the same every time.
“Farragut has always been deep in my roots,” she said. “Friends, family, soccer, school. It’s almost like a sense of relief coming here because this is always going to be home.”
Now, this small dress will forever be tied to that homecoming — and to the family bonds that have been built through the years.
“It means everything,” Freed said. “It is now going to be a generational heirloom, which is pretty cool because we
don’t have a lot of that stuff. And in a couple years, my 3-year-old Raelynn will get to wear it, too. We have come back every year since I moved away six years ago, and they’ve gotten to pick up candy on the street just like I did. So it’s pretty cool.”
