Friday, April 22, 2016

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 4/25/1966 to 5/1/1966

West Rome’s track team placed second in the West Georgia Relays, racking up 55 points and three first places (Richard Camp in the broad jump, Arbie Lovell in High hurdles, and the team of Lane Warner, Arbie Lovell, Benny Padgett, and Dale Prater in sprint relay).

The Rome Teen Club sponsored a “Scholarship Dance” on Saturday, April 30th, at the Rome Civic Center. The “admission cost” was a donation to a scholarship fund intended to enable a teenager majoring in recreation to attend college. The Stereophonics provided music for the dance.

A major auto theft ring operating out of Rome was shut down by the Rome City Police and the Floyd County Police on Thursday, April 28th, after a months-long joint investigation. The theft ring operated in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, selling stolen cars and operating a chop shop to supply auto parts to unscrupulous dealers. It was estimated that the ring had stolen more than 100 automobiles in the months leading up to the arrest. Three Rome men were arrested at the junkyard from which the chop shop operated; authorities suspected that there were others involved as well.

Julian Harrison Ford celebrated Ford’s sale of its millionth Mustang with a week-long Mustang sale. All Mustangs were discounted an additional $200 off list price, with Mustang trade-ins also earning an additional $200 above normal trade-in value. Bonnie Davis responded with a $200 discount on ANY new Chevrolet and an additional $200 trade-in on ANY Chevrolet. Chrysler responded with an ad saying “Please Buy Chrysler.”

Piggly Wiggly had cube steak for 99¢ a pound, 14-ounce bottles of Heinz ketchup for 23¢, and fresh strawberries for 33¢ a pint. Kroger had pork steaks for 59¢ a pound, navel oranges for 59¢ a dozen, and Maxwell House coffee for 59¢ a pound. A&P had round steak for 79¢ a pound, 24-ounce cans of Poss beef stew for 49¢, and a 12-ounce package of Sunnyland olive loaf for 45¢. Big Apple had ground chuck for 77¢ a pound, cucumbers for a dime each, and Diet Rite or RC Cola for 29¢ a carton plus deposit. Couch’s had Wilson’s CrispRite bacon for 59¢ a pound, lettuce for 15¢ a head, and a one-pound bag of dried pinto beans for a dime.

The cinematic week began with Harper (with Paul Newman) at the DeSoto Theater and Hold On! (with Herman’s Hermits) at the First Avenue. The midweek switch out brought  Oscar (with Elke Sommer, Milton Berle, & Joseph Cotten) to the DeSoto and The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (with Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, & Oskar Werner) to both the First Avenue Theater and the West Rome Drive-In. However, the DeSoto was only open through Friday, April 29th; the theater was closed from April 30th through May 26th for repairs, remodeling, and seat replacement and reupholstering, leaving Rome with only one indoor theater choice for almost a month. And this was in a time before VCRs or DVRs, when our only TV viewing options involved an antenna, a TV set, and six channels (because we didn’t even have cable TV in Rome yet!). How did we survive?

The Mamas & the Papas took the number one slot this week in 1966 with “Monday Monday.” Other top ten hits included “Good Lovin’” by the Young Rascals (#2); “Sloop John B” by the Beach Boys (#3); “You’re My Soul and Inspiration” by the Righteous Brothers (#4); “Kicks” by Paul Revere & the Raiders (#5); “Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers (#6); “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” by Bob Dylan (#7); “Bang Bang” by Cher (#8); “Leaning on a Lamp Post” by Herman’s Hermits (#9); and “Gloria” by Shadows of Night (#10).

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