Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 7/20/1964 to 7/26/1964

The series of weeklong summer camps at Glen Holla Boys' Camp came to an end this week in 1964. These weeklong sessions were sponsored by the Rome Boys Club (located in the heart of Chieftain territory); counselors at the camp included Chieftains Jerry Coalson and Ronnie Kennedy. The camp, located off Walker Mountain Road, offered attendees a chance to enjoy a five-day camp experience not too far away from home, under the watchful supervision of camp director Max Bass, four senior counselors, and six junior counselors.

A group of West Rome girls, including Jeanie Maxwell, Jackie Lupo, Patti Tolbert, Donna Mayne, Becky Wood, Yvonne Housch, Nelda Myers, Susan Wade, Jan Nutt, Susan Penn, Barbara Helie, Ann Holbrook, and Gail Rogers, spent their summer volunteering at the hospital and the Floyd County Health Department as a part of the Candy Stripers volunteer program during the summer of '64. The girls worked in pairs for approximately five hours every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; some of the girls indicated that their experience in the program had inspired them to pursue post-high-school careers or courses of study in medicine.

Rome's first Soap Box Derby was held on Saturday, July 25th, with more than two dozen entries from Rome and Floyd County. Almost 4000 people were on hand to watch the event.

Seven years after Rome lost its WROM-TV station to Chattanooga, the State Board of Education approved funding to establish a new educational TV station to Rome. Alas, by the time Channel 18 went on the air, it was located not in Rome but in Chatsworth/Dalton instead... Rome just wasn't destined to have a television station, apparently!

By popular demand, The Shrimp Boat brought back its shrimp and fish combo dinner (with hush puppies, tartar sauce, and french fries) for only 97¢. Why 97¢? Because in 1964, sales tax was still 3%, so that made it exactly a dollar with tax.

McDonald's was attracting people to their relatively new Rome location with their 47¢ All-American Meal, which included a hamburger, french fries, and a milkshake. As a special prize, kids received a Golden Arches bank--and if they filled out a birthday club card, they'd get a postcard good for a free All-American Meal on their birthday.

Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for 79¢ a pound, canned English peas or green beans for 20¢ each, and whole watermelons for 49¢. Kroger had smoked ham for 35¢ a pound, Kroger bread for 8¢ a loaf, and bananas for a dime a pound. A&P had 7 ounce cans of tuna for a quarter each, round roast for 69¢ a pound, and cantaloupes for 33¢ each. Big Apple had spare ribs for 29¢ a pound, baking potatoes for a dime a pound, and bell peppers for 7¢ each. Couch's had T-bone steak for 69¢ a pound, canned peaches for a quarter a can, and Scott bathroom tissue for a dime a roll.

For the first half of the week, moviegoers had a choice of The Three Lives of Thomasina at the DeSoto, Wild & Wonderful at the First Avenue, and a double feature of Last Train from Gun Hill and Walt Disney's Grand Canyon at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switch up brought Zulu to the First Avenue, The Patsy (with Jerry Lewis) to the DeSoto, and Walt Disney's Summer Magic (with Hayley Mills) to the West Rome Drive-In.

The Beatles were back on top as "A Hard Day's Night" took the number one spot on the Top Ten charts. Other top ten songs included "Rag Doll" by the Four Seasons (#2); "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)" by Jan & Dean (#3); "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin (#4); "Where Did Our Love Go?" by the Supremes (#5); "Wishin' & Hopin'" by Dusty Springfield (#6); "Dang Me" by Roger Miller (#7); "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys (#8); "Memphis" by Johnny Rivers (#9); and "The Girl from Ipanema" by Getz/Gilberto (#10).

The number one album? A Hard Day's Night soundtrack by the Beatles (on the United Artists label) of course! The number two album? Something New by the Beatles (on the Capitol label), which included several A Hard Day's Night songs that weren't on the soundtrack album in the US, along with some odds and ends such as German versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You."