Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 9/12/1966 to 9/18/1966

Georgia primaries were held on Tuesday, September 13th, and the surprise winner in Rome and Floyd County was the relatively unknown Jimmy Carter from Plains, Georgia, who handily trounced former Governor Ellis Arnall, Atlanta businessman Lester Maddox, and Albany publisher James Gray in the local primary. (The election would go on to be a hard-fought one, with Arnall and Maddox the top two vote-getters statewide, thus making it to a runoff primary election which Maddox handily won.)

After a warm summer, the first signs of fall made their presence in Rome this week in 1966, as temperatures slipped to the mid-70s for highs and the mid and upper 50s for lows.

The management of the Coosa Valley Fair announced plans for a special amateur “hullabaloo and discotheque contest” slated for Monday, September 19th—but any interested local bands had to submit their applications this week in 1966. Rome’s fair-runners also announced a number of scheduled guests for the fair, including Atlanta Falcons Randy Johnson & Tommy Nobis, “the world’s strongest man” Paul Anderson, and WSB Popeye Club host Officer Don (Don Kennedy).

The Chieftains took on the Carrollton Trojans at home on Friday, September 16th—and for the second time in the season, they played to a scoreless tie. Because their one win for the season was against their only Region 6-AA opponent they had thus far played, they were still 1-0 in region play. Roger Weaver’s outstanding performance in the first three games made him the number two ranked rusher in the region.

Ready for a retro kitchen flashback? Ads in the Rome News-Tribune this week in 1966 promoted the two “exciting new kitchen colors” for appliances and decor: Harvest Gold and Avocado. These colors joined Coppertone, which was added a few years earlier, as the “in” colors for trendy kitchens.

Piggly Wiggly had t-bone steak for 89¢ a pound, cantaloupes for 39¢ each, and bananas for a dime a pound. Kroger had ground beef for 39¢ a pound; white seedless grapes for 15¢ a pound; and Coca-Cola, Tab, or Sprite for 99¢ a case plus deposit. A&P had smoke ham for 49¢ a pound, potatoes for 12¢ a pound, and Eight O’Clock Coffee for 69¢ a pound. Big Apple had ground beef for 39¢ a pound, peaches for a 19¢ a pound, and Irvindale ice cream for 49¢ a half-gallon.  Couch’s had chicken breasts for 49¢ a pound, Banquet ice cream for 49¢ a half-gallon, and sweet potatoes for a dime a pound.

The cinematic week began with Walk Don’t Run (with Cary Grant & Samantha Eggar) at the DeSoto Theatre, Once a Thief (with Alain Delon & Ann-Margret) at the First Avenue, and The Russians Are Coming (with Carl Reiner & Eva Marie Saint) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switch out brought Butterfield 8 (with Elizabeth Taylor & Laurence Harvey) to the DeSoto, Marco the Magnificent (with Anthony Quinn) to the First Avenue, and a double feature of the Russ Meyer films Motor Psycho (with Haji—whoever he was) and Faster Pussycat Kill Kill (with Tura Satana) to the West Rome Drive-In.

The Association climbed to first place on the Top Ten this week in 1966 with their harmony-laden hit “Cherish.” Other top ten hits included “You Can’t Hurry Love” by the Supremes (#2); “Sunshine Superman” by Donovan (#3); “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles (#4); “Bus Stop” by the Hollies (#5); “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” by The Temptations (#6); “Black Is Black” by Los Bravos” (#7); “96 Tears” by “? & the Mysterians (#8); “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?” by the Beach Boys (#10); and “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by the Four Tops (#10).

This was the week that The Monkees made its premiere on NBC; the half-hour musical comedy, inspired by the Beatles’ A Hard Days Night, would propel the pre-fab four to musical stardom—and impressively, the four (Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork) would go on to become significant musical talents in their own right. (And in case you missed it, they’re still recording: the Monkees released a superb new album, Good Times, earlier this year, featuring contributions from all four original Monkees, including a track by the late Davy Jones.)

Other shows that premiered this week in 1966 included Family Affair (September 12th on CBS), The Rat Patrol (ABC on September 12th); The Girl from UNCLE (NBC on September 13th), and Mission: Impossible (CBS on September 17th).