Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 2/25/63 to 3/3/63

West Rome band members Sid Garwood, Jan Lewis, Nelson Payne, and Derell Brookshire were named to the All-State Band this week in 1963. This was the third consecutive year that members of West Rome's band had eanred a spot on the all-state band and orchestra.

Chieftains got to sleep late on Thursday, February 28th, and Friday, March 1st, as teachers had two days of in-service meetings that were held at West Rome High School.

Not all Chieftains got to sleep late, however: the annual science fair was held on Thursday, February 27th at West Rome High School, with winners scheduled to show their projects at the Chieftains Club meeting on March 11th.

Remember our reports about how cold it was in January and early February 1963? Well, February went out with a chill as well, with temperatures dropping to lows of 10 degrees on February 27th and highs just barely reaching the freezing point. The cold temperatures didn't last long, however, with highs returning to a more seasonable 51 by February 28th.

One of television's biggest hits joined the Rome News-Tribune comics section on March 3rd when The Flintstones were added to the paper's daily and Sunday comics. The modern stone-age family was a popular prime-time show on ABC, winning its Friday night 8:30-9pm timeslot and placing in the Top 30 Nielsen Ratings in early 1963. 

The Shrimp Boat continued their weekly specials with a scallops dinner (including hush puppies, french fries, and tartar sauce) for only $1. Fro those who wanted a choice of seafood or chicken, the White Columns Steak House had a choice of all-you-can-eat catfish or perch filet with french fries and hush puppies or chicken with all the trimmings for $1.25. This was also the week that Randy Brewer's Gaslite Restaurant opened in Rome. Redfords continued their baked ham dinner with vegetables and rolls for only 50¢.

Economy Auto was touting its "space age automatic defrosting" 13 cubic foot Temp-Master refrigerator-freezer at the new low price of $199.99. Hard to believe that a 13 cubic foot refrigerator was considered spacious enough for "even the largest family" in 1963, isn't it?

Piggly Wiggly had bananas for a dime a pound; Fab detergent for 59¢ for a giant box; and a case of 24 regular or king-size Coca Cola for 89¢. Kroger offered a large box of Cheer detergent for a quarter, oranges for 12¢ a pound, and Realfoot brand hot dogs for 49¢ (and if they name told you that they were made from real feet, how could you expect anything more?). A&P had Stokely ketchup for 19¢ a bottle, ground beef for 33¢ a pound, and two pounds of Maxwell House coffee for $1.35. Big Apple offered canned pink salmon for 59¢ a pound, apples for 19¢ a pound, and ham for 29¢ a pound. Couch's offered a two pound bag of crinkle-cut frozen french fries for 39¢, Hormel hot dogs for 39¢ a pound, and Armour Treet luncheon meat for 39¢ per can.

Moviegoers could start out the week with a choice of Diamond Head with Charlton Heston & Yvette Mimieux at the DeSoto; Taras Bulba with Tony Curtis & Yul Brynner at the First Avenue; and a double feature of Bird Man of Alcatraz and North by Northwest at the West Rome Drive-In. The weekend brought Lover Come Back with Rock Hudson & Doris Day to the First Avenue, State Fair with Bobby Darin, Pat Boone, & Ann Margret to the DeSoto, and The Hound Dog Man and The Most Dangerous Man Alive at the West Rome Drive-In.

If you were a comic book reader fifty years ago, you may well have picked up Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos #1, Marvel Comics' then-new war title produced by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby. What makes it particularly interesting is that this is the first appearance of Nick Fury, who many filmgoers got to know more recently for his role in various Marvel films, including last summer's The Avengers.

What were we listening to this week in 1963? Well, the Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man" climbed to first place, followed by "Ruby Baby" by Dion (#2), "Hey Paula" by Paul & Paula (#3); "Rhythm of the Rain" by the Cascades (#4), "Walk Right in" by the Rooftop Singers (#5), "You're the Reason I'm Living" by Bobby Darin (#6), "Blame It On the Bossa Nova" by Eydie gorge (#7), "From a Jack to a King" by Ned Miler (#8), "Wild Weekend" by The Rebels (#9), and "What Will My Mary Say" by Johnny Mathis (#10).