Friday, December 30, 2016

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/2/1967 to 1/8/1967

Four teenagers were arrested on Horseleg Road, just off Shorter Avenue,  and charged with destruction of private property as well as violation of Federal Code 1705 relating to the destruction of federal property (which was punishable by up to 3 years in prison) after they used fireworks to explode more than four dozen mailboxes in the West Rome area. One of the four teens was also charged with driving while intoxicated. The police indicated that they expected the judge to require the boys and their parents to pay the replacement cost for all the damaged mailboxes. The situation got more sever, though, when the federal government stepped in to make an example of the boys by prosecuting them on the federal charges as well. Each of the four was placed under a $500 appearance bond while the various prosecutors decided what to do next.

West Rome’s basketball season continued to disappoint as both the boys and the girls lost to Cass on Friday night, January 6th. Both Coach Randall Kent and Coach June Hyder said that their teams were simply “outplayed,” offering no excuses for the losses.

Mr. & Miss West Rome High School and West Rome’s class favorites were announced this week in 1967. Jerry Hill and Susan Sprayberry were elected as Mr. and Miss West Rome High School. The class favorites included Debbie Shannon and David McGuinness (seniors); Juan Aguilar & Jean Smiderski (juniors); Janice Lee & Roger Weaver (sophomores); and Kay Duffy & Lloyd Frazier (freshmen).

Governor Carl Sanders dedicated Georgia’s first three-level traffic interchange at a ceremony on the east side of town. The interchange at the intersection of US 411, US 27, and Georgia 101, was the most ambitious non-interstate interchange to date in Georgia, and was seen as a sign of Rome’s growing financial importance to Northwest Georgia. The governor said that he was optimistic that the interchange would soon serve increased traffic due to a forthcoming direct link between Rome and I-75 via Hwy 411. (Alas, thanks to the Rollins family, that direct link remains unconstructed fifty years later…)

Piggly Wiggly had cube steak for 99¢ a pound, bell peppers for a dime each, and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup for 15¢ a can. Big Apple had tall cans of Bumble Bee salmon for 69¢, calf liver for 29¢ a pound, and bananas for a dime a pound. Kroger had pork loin roast for 49¢ a pound, Cudahy sliced bacon for 59¢ a pound, and a twenty-pound bag of potatoes for 89¢. A&P had chuck roast for 37¢ a pound, lettuce for 15¢ a head, and sliced bologna for 27¢ a pound. Couch’s had fresh whole fryers for 23¢ a pound, a one-pound can of Maxwell House coffee for 89¢, and a case of Double Cola for 99¢ plus deposit.

The cinematic week began with The Professionals (with Burt Lancaster) at the DeSoto Thatre, The Sound of Music (with Julie Andrews) at the First Avenue, and Assault on a Queen (with Frank Sinatra) at the West Rome Drive-In. Both The Professionals and The Sound of Music hung around for another week, while the West Rome Drive-In brought in a double feature of Tarzan & the Valley of Gold (with Mike Henry) and Frankenstein Conquers the World (with Nick Adams). (I loved Tarzan and I loved monster movies, but I was too young to drive and my parents were not swayed by my pleas that we go to this double feature...)

The Monkees took the top slot this week in 1967 with “I”m a Believer.” Other top ten hits included “Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron” by the Royal Guardsmen (#2); “Tell It Like It Is” by Aaron Neville (#3); “Winchester Cathedral” by the New Vaudeville Band (#4); “Sugar Town” by Nancy Sinatra (#5); “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra (#6); “Good Thing” by Paul Revere & the Raiders (#7); “Words of Love” by The Mamas & The Papas (#8); “Standing in the Shadows of Love” by the Four Tops (#9): and “Mellow Yellow” by Donovan (#10).

This week in 1967, the sometimes risqué but always strangely amusing Newlywed Game made the jump to prime-time television on ABC as a part of the Friday night TV lineup. complete with host Bob Eubanks, who did double duty on both the daytime and the primetime series.

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