Saturday, September 06, 2014

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 9/7/1964 to 9/13/1964

At long last, the city took action to minimize the flooding problems that had plagued houses along Conn Street in West Rome. City officials purchased a machine they referred to as the "Hopto," a dredging machine that could clear out the creek bed (I guess whatever the dredging job was, it could hop to it!...). The entire creek bed from Burnett Ferry Road to Williamson Road was cleared out in the first week; eventually, the city planned to clear the entire creek bed all the way to Horseleg Creek Road. Not only were the Evans, the Hatches, the Skeltons, and everyone else who lived along Conn Street and Paris Drive happy with the news, but those of us who were frequently cut off from most of West Rome due to flooded roads were pretty darned pleased, too! (Even better, it made it easier for us to wade the creek without getting stuck in the muck; now, if they only could have done something about the ever-present leeches in that creek...)

West Rome's third football game of the season took them up to Summerville to take on the Chattooga County Indians. The JV team did their part, defeating Chattooga 40-6 on Thursday, September 10th. The varsity team did even better, trouncing Chattooga 41-0 on the Indians' home turf. As a result of his outstanding performance in the game, Richard Camp was named the Rome area's back of the week after an outstanding performance that saw him score two touchdowns, one of them on a 67-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.

Krystal celebrated their 32nd anniversary with a half-price special over the weekend, offering five Krystal hamburgers for a quarter. (Yes, you could actually get a hamburger for a nickel!)

Economy Auto Stores announced a shipment of new 82-channel 19" televisions for only $148. Of course, the addition of a UHF dial didn't do much for us in Rome, since it would be a few years since anyone in our broadcast area began offering UHF channels; wonder how many people bought a new TV figuring they'd have more channels to choose from?

Piggly Wiggly had first cut pork chops for 49¢ a pound, New Plymouth ice cream for 39¢ a half-gallon, and fresh turnip greens for a dime a pound. Kroger had baking hens for 29¢ a pound, peaches for 15¢ a pound, and Maxwell House coffee for 58¢ a pound. Big Apple had five pounds of Dixie Crystals sugar for 39¢, veal chops for 69¢ a pound, and beef liver for 19¢ a pound. A&P had rib steaks for 89¢ a pound, lettuce for 19¢ a head, and grapes for 17¢ a pound. Couch's had chuck steak for 59¢ a pound, Bama Jelly in a reusable glass for 33¢, and ocean perch for 29¢ a pound.

The cinematic week began with Marnie (with Tippi Hedren & Sean Connery) at the DeSoto, South Pacific at the First Avenue, and Lawrence of Arabia at the West Rome Drive-In. The mid-week switch brought Robin & the Seven Hoods (with the Rat Pack— Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.), Lady In a Cage (with OIlivia de Havilland) at the First Avenue, and a forgettable double feature of The Jayhawkers and Walk a Tightrope at the West Rome Drive-In.

The Animals landed their first number one song this week in 1964 with "House of the Rising Sun." Other top ten hits included "Bread and Butter" by the Newbeats (#2); "Where Did Our Love Go?" by the Supremes (#3); "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison (#4); "GTO" by Ronny & the Daytonas (#5); "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin (#6); "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" by the Shangri-Las (#7); "Because" by the Dave Clark Five (#8); "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" by Manfred Mann (#9); and "Dancing in the Street" by Martha & the Vandellas (#10).

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