Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 4/1/1968 to 4/7/1968

Romans, like the rest of the world, were shocked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 3rd. Local and state leaders pleaded for restraint and peace in the aftermath of the assassination. Even Calvin Craig, the grand dragon of the United Klans of America, condemned the assassination, calling “the worst thing that could have happened to the nation,” adding “I hope that the black citizens and the white citizens of the United States will retain the peace and homrony of their community and this nation"—a surprising moment of tolerance and reason from a group not known for either. Rome police indicated that, while there were a few public gatherings, all of them were solemn and peaceful. Civic and religious leaders in the community deserved a lot of credit for the peaceful response to the assassination.

West Rome had to deal with another rush-hour traffic jam (with an emphasis on jam) when a tractor trailer rig ignored the clearance signs at the Short Avenue underpass and tried to force his way through. He explained that he had made it through as he was heading into West Rome earlier that day—when he had a full load of freight in his trailer), so he figured he could make it through when he was heading back to Atlanta in the afternoon. However, he forgot about the fact that his unloaded trailer would ride a few inches higher—and ended up stuck for an hour or so until the authorities could let the air out of his tires so that he could pass through.

The Chieftains track team racked up 82 points in a three-way track meet on Wednesday, April 3rd, beating both Calhoun (with 62 points) and Pepperell (with 25 points). Xavier Smith set a school high jump  record with 6 foot 1 inch jump, and Johnny Rimes set a triple jump school record with 42 feet 8 inches. 

Former Chieftain Janet Amspoker was the news this week when she made the Dean’s LIst at Georgia Southern College during her freshman year. 

Two Rome men were held for the theft of a couple of hundred pounds of frozen meat from Rome Provision Company. The two men entered the business through a side door and began loading up their car; the police apprehended them on site before they could leave (and no, they did not have a stake out on the business) ; no information as to whether they had a beef with the owner of the business or not, 

Not to be outdone by Sears’ record sale the week prior, Big K announced the biggest album sale in the store’s history, with all single albums on sale for $1.97 each. Even better, the sale went on for the entire month of April. 

Piggly Wiggly had round steak for 79¢ a pound, lemons for a nickel each, and  JFG coffee for 69¢ a pound. Big Apple had ground beef for 39¢ a pound,Poss Brunswick stew for 49¢ a can, and strawberries for a quarter a pint. A&P had baking hens for 35¢ a pound, cabbage for 7¢ a pound, and Ann Page blueberry pancake syrup for 39¢ a bottle. Kroger had pork chops for 49¢ a pound, canned biscuits for 6¢ a can, and Ovaltine for 69¢ a jar. Couch’s had pork steak for 59¢ a pound, Borden’s pimento cheese for 39¢ a pound, and American Beauty tomato soup for a dime a can. 

The cinematic week began with Will Penny (starring Charlton Heston) at the DeSoto Theatre, To Sir With Love (starring Sidney Poitier) at the First Avenue, and Arabesque (starring Gregory Peck & Sophia Loren) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Don’t Just Stand There (starring Robert Wagner & Mary Tyler Moore) to the DeSoto, The Graduate (starring Dustin Hoffman & Ann Bancroft) to the First Avenue, and Wait Until Dark (starring Audrey Hepburn) at the West Rome Drive-In. 

Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” held on at number one for another week. The other top hits included “Young Girl” by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap (#2); “Valleri” by the Monkees (#3); “La-La Means I Love You” by the Delfonics (#4); “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone” by Aretha Franklin (#5); “Cry Like a Baby” by the Box Tops (#6); “Lady Madonna” by the Beatles (#7); “The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde” by Georgie Fame (#8); “Love Is Blue (L’Amour Est Bleu)” by Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra (#9); and “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro (#10). 

Simon & Garfunkel’s album Bookends was released this week in 1968. The album would go on to generate five singles: “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” “At the Zoo,” “Fakin’ It,” “Mrs. Robinson,” and “America.”

The Andy Griffith Show aired its final episode this week in 1968; Grififth wanted to go out while the show was ontop, and he did—the final season was the number one-rated show for the 1967-1968 season. While The Andy Griffith Show ended, Mayberry continued for a while longer in Mayberry RFD, the Ken Berry series that featured many members of the Andy Griffith Show’s supporting cast. Andy would return in the fall of 1968 for the first few episodes of Mayberry RFD, which kicked off its run with the marriage of Andy and Helen--but shortly after the wedding, Andy and Helen moved to Raleigh, which offered a discreet way for Andy Grififth to say goodbye to Mayberry (although he would return a couple of decades later for a reunion special). 

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 3/25/1968 to 3/31/1968

The Rome City School System managed to eke out a “standard” rating from the State Board of Education. However, Most of Rome’s 19 schools actually earned an “unclassified” rating, which means that the visiting committees were unable to make sufficient conclusions about those school to determine if they were truly standard or not. The primary problems were inadequate facilities (too few classrooms, inadequate equipment, etc). West Rome High and West End Elementary both earned standard ratings; West Rome Junior High and Elm Street Elementary were both rated as unclassified. The only other school that earned a standard rating was Anna K. Davie Elementary; every other school in the Rome system, including East Rome High School, was unclassified. The state board had the authority to withhold funds from the unclassified schools if they did not improve by the next evaluation.

Janice Crider, Dianna Hose, and Jenny Fowler won third place in the girls vocal trio at the Region 6AA literary meet held at Berry College. 

Rome’s burglars remained busy: in the early hours of Monday morning, March 25th, burglars broke into the Johnson School gymnasium, where locker rooms were ransacked; Culp’s Upholstery Shop in Shorter Avenue, where tools and some cash were taken; and B&K Block Company, where $75 in cash and some tools were taken.

WROM won awards for excellence in editorial commentary and for sports coverage at the 23rd Annual Georgia Press Broadcasters Association awards ceremony held in Atlanta on March 25th. 

Home Federal Savings and Loan was paying 5.25% interest on 36-month certificates of deposit this week in 1968—an interest rate unheard of today, and a rate that was .25% higher than most other banks in the area. 

Sears kicked off its once-a-year album sale this week in 1966, with all single albums on sale for $2.44 each, and singles on sale for 77¢ each. Of course, $2.44 sounds incredibly cheap, but once you adjust for inflation, that’s the equivalent of $17.46 in today’s dollars (that’s a $7.15 multiplier, for those who like to do your own math). 

Kroger had pork chops for 49¢ a pound, Starkist tuna for 30¢ a can, and cantaloupes for 50¢ each. Piggly Wiggly had Hydrox cookies (the real chocolate sandwich cookie, which predated Oreos) for 31¢ a package, whole fryers for 27¢ a pound, and carrots for a dime a bunch. A&P had rib steaks for 89¢ a pound, strawberries for 33¢ a pint, and store-baked peach pies for 33¢ each. Big Apple had sliced liver for 19¢ a pound, Showboat pork & beans for 15¢ a can, and a large box of Fab for 25¢. Couch’s had ground beef for 39¢ a pound, Blue Plate barbecue sauce for 37¢ a bottle, and turnip greens for 15¢ a pound. 

The cinematic week began with Wait Until Dark (starring Audrey Hepburn) at the DeSoto Theatre, Sol Madrid (starring David McCallum) at the First Avenue, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (starring Clint Eastwood) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Will Penny (starring Charlton Heston) to the DeSoto, To Sir With Love (starring Sidney Poitier) to the First Avenue, and Reflections in a Golden Eye (starring Elizabeth Taylor) to the West Rome Drive-In.

Otis Redding posthumous hit “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” held on to the number one slot for another week. Other top ten hits included “Love Is Blue (L’Amour est Bleu)” by Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra (#2); “Valleri” by the Monkees (#3); “Simon Says” by the 1910 Fruitgum Co. (#4); “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone” by Aretha Franklin (#5); “La-La Means I Love You” by the Delfonics (#6); “Young Girl” by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap (#7); “The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde” by Georgia Fame (#8); “Lady Madonna” by the Beatles (#9); and “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls” by Dionne Warwick (#10). 

“Hey Hey We’ve Been Cancelled.” The final episode of The Monkees aired this week in 1968, although the group would continue to record several more albums.

The first issue of Beware the Creeper, a DC series produced by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko (with the help of scripter Dennis O’Neil), was released this week in 1968. Ditko had played a pivotal role in launching the Marvel Age of Comics; while he had continued to work for Charlton Comics during much of the time he was working at Marvel, this would mark his first Silver Age work for DC. Alas, the series would prove to be less successful than DC hoped, leading to its cancellation after only six issues.

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 3/18/1968 to 3/24/1968

Rome got a dusting of snow on Friday night, March 22nd and early Saturday morning, March 23rd, with accumulations of up to a half an inch reported. Of course, snow on the weekend meant that no one got any extra time off from school... but at least it still looked good!

Rome’s spate of burglaries continued with two Monday morning break-ins: one at Rome Seed and Feed, where burglars broke in the back door and opened the safe but apparently took nothing at all; and the other at Floyd County Lanes, where burglars also broke in the back door and made off with $200 from a cashbox. On Tuesday night, burglars broke into the Southern Railway Depot, but the only thing they could find to steal were three rolls of postage stamps.

Rome and Floyd County, determined to establish a uniform closing hour for all beer establishments in Floyd County, changed the rules to allow beer sales until 1:30 am on weekdays. Previously, the rules had specified a 12:30 am closing time for the county, while the city already had a 1:30 am closing time. This change put the city and the county on the same page as far as beer sales were concerned. Of course, high school students had no interest in such things...

Piggly Wiggly had smoked ham for 49¢ a pound, corn for 6¢ an ear, and Oscar Mayer bologna for 39¢ a pound. Big Apple had chuck roast for 37¢ a pound, grapefruit for a dime each, and  Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon. A&P had fresh whole fryers for 27¢ a pound, Florida oranges for 15¢ a pound, and StarKist tuna for 27¢ a can.  Kroger had sirloin steak for 89¢ a pound, large eggs for 38¢ a dozen, and Maxwell House coffee for 49¢ a pound. Couch’s had chicken breast for 49¢ a pound, Van Camp’s chili for 33¢ a can, and bananas for a dime a pound.

The cinematic week began with Wait Until Dark (starring Audrey Hepburn) at the DeSoto Theatre, The Jokers (starring Michael Crawford) at the First Avenue, and The Ambushers (starring Dean Martin) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Sol Madrid (starring David McCallum) to the First Avenue and The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly (starring Clint Eastwood) at the West Rome Drive-In, while the DeSoto stayed in the Dark (Wait Until Dark, that is) for another week. 

Otis Redding took the number one slot this week in 1968 with “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” Other top ten hits included “Love Is Blue (L’Amour Est Bleu)” by Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra (#2); “(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls” by Dionne Warwick (#3); “Simon Says” by the 1910 Fruitgum Co. (#4); “Just Dropped in (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” by The First Edition with Kenny Rogers (#5); “La-La Means I Love You” by the Delfonics (#6); “Valleri” by the Monkees (#7); “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone” by Aretha Franklin (#8); “I Thank You” by Sam & Dave (#2); and “The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde”by Georgia Fame (#10). (And that's a surprisingly high number of songs with parenthetical segments in their titles, isn't it?...)

The Electric Flag released their first album, A Long Time Comin’, this week in 1968. In spite of the album’s overwhelmingly positive critical reception, sales were weaker than band frontman Mike Bloomfield expected; he was particularly disappointed that the hastily prepared Boomfield-Kooper-Stills Super Session album (which also featured Bloomfield), which was recorded in less than two days, actually charted higher than the Electric Flag album. Joni Mitchell also released her first album, Song to a Seagull (also known as Joni Mitchell) this week in 1968; produced by her good friend David Crosby; while the album generated no hit songs, it did establish Mitchell as a rising star in the folk rock movement.

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 3/11/1968 to 3/17/1968

West Rome’s girls’ basketball team made it to the Georgia Class AA playoffs, in spite of a challenging season. The girls only managed to win 10 of 22 games, but there were enough region wins to get them into the Region 6-AA playoffs, which they won, and that took them to the Georgia AA meet. Crosstown rivals East Rome also made it to the Class AA meet, where they were favored over West Rome. Alas, the championship was not destined to be theirs, as they did not advance beyond the first round.

West Rome principal Dick McPhee was elected president of the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals at the Georgia Education Association Convention held on Friday, March 15th. 

Girl Scouts began their annual cookie sales on March 15th, 1968; cookie offerings included Chocolate Mint Wafer (which we now know as the Thin Mint), Peanut Butter Sandwich, Butter Shortie, and assorted sandwich cookies. Cookies sold for 50¢ a box, and the sales period lasted until March 31st. 

The King’s Inn Restaurant on Shorter Avenue suffered considerable damage after a fire swept through the building in the early morning hours of March 11th—and before the day was out, Rome realtor (and owner of the building) Dwyatt Dempsey was under arrest for setting the fire. Three five-gallon gasoline cans were found in his car, and officers saw him leaving the building as the fire began. Police said that Dempsey would not tell them why he had started the fire, but they suspected it may have been insurance related.

Daniel Thomas King, the gunman responsible for the March 9th armed robbery at the Thrift Store on Broad Street, was apprehended in Virginia on March 11th. King’s two female accomplices, who were arrested in Rome within hours of the robbery, offered police information about his travel plans that led to his arrest. 

Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 37¢ a pound, Maxwell House coffee for 49¢ a pound, and eggs for 39¢ a dozen. A&P had picnic hams for 39¢ a pound, apples fo a quarter a pound, and a 16 ounce jar of Pickle Patch sliced hamburger dills for 31¢. Big Apple had chicken breast for 47¢ a pound, Sealtest ice cream for 49¢ a pound, and Welch’s grape jelly for 39¢ a jar. Kroger had pork roast for 39¢ a pound, a five-pound bag of Dixie Crystal sugar for 37¢, and carrots for 15¢ a bunch. Couch’s had 3 pounds of stew beef for 89¢, cabbage for a nickel a pound, and Van Camp’s pork & beans for 17¢ a can. 

The cinematic week began with Walt Disney’s Happiest Milliionaire (starring Fred MacMurray) at the DeSoto Theatre, High Wild & Free (starring Gordon Eastman) at the First Avenue, and Hell’s Chosen Few (starring Jody Daniels) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Wait Until Dark (starring Audrey Hepburn) to the DeSoto, Reflection in a Golden Eye (starring Elizabeth Taylor) to the First Avenue, and The Ambushers (starring Dean Martin) at the West Rome Drive-In.

Two beloved television series ended their runs this week in 1968: The Lucy Show (Lucille Ball's second comedy series) aired its last episode on March 11th and Batman’s last episode followed three days later.

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 3/4/1968 to 3/10/1968

Chieftains Tony Grass and Meg Grant became city commissioners for a day as  part of Rome-Floyd County Civic Youth Day (sponsored by the Rome-Floyd County Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y), where students shadows and—for a brief time—replaced various city and county officials. 

West Rome’s first week of spring football practice under new coach Nick Hyder took place this week in 1968. Hyder said that he had 15 lettermen returning to the 1968-1969 Chieftains team. Roger Weaver, Mike Johnson, and David Watkins were selected by team members to serve as tri-captains for the upcoming season.

The Thrift Store on Broad Street was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday, March 9th, right in the middle of the shopping day. The gun-wielding robber, Daniel T. King of Dublin, Virginia, was on the loose, but his two accomplices (Carole Maynard Akers, 27, and her sister-in-law Marilyn Rigney Akers, 21, also from Dublin) were caught less than two hours after the robbery and provided police with the identity of the robber.

Rome City Schools announced that they would keep their “school freedom of choice” plan for the next school year. The plan, which was first implemented int he 1968-1969 school year, allowed every student to choose the school that he or she would like to attend; no choices would be denied for reasons other than overcrowding. Students’ families remained responsible for transportation to the chosen school if it wasn’t the school in whose geographic district the student resided.

A&P made their big move to Gala Shopping Center this week in 1968. some of the grand re-opening specials included chuck steak for 49¢ a pound, Sealtest ice milk for 29¢ a half-gallon, and Campbell’s tomato soup for 15¢ a can. Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Poss Brunswick stew for 49¢ a can, and lettuce for 16¢ a head. Kroger had five pounds of sugar for 39¢, whole smoked hams for 49¢ a pound, and Bama apple jelly for 25¢ a jar.. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 89¢ pound,   pears for 15¢ a pound, and Land o’ Lakes butter for 69¢ a pound. Couch’s had Hormel bacon for 69¢ a pound, Bama jelly for a quarter a jar (and you could use the jar for a drinking glass once all the jelly was gone), and Maxwell House coffee for 69¢ a pound. 

The cinematic week began with The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly (starring Clint Eastwood) at the DeSoto Theatre, Bonnie & Clyde (starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty) at the First Avenue, and Up the Down Staircase (starring Sandy Dennis) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Walt Disney’s Happiest Millionaire (starring Fred MacMurray) to the DeSoto Theatre; High, Wild, & Free (starring Gordom Freeman) to the First Avenue; and Hell’s Chosen Few (starring Jody Daniels) teo the West Rome Drive-In.  

Once again, Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra took the number one slot with “Love Is Blue (L’amour Est Bleu).” Other top ten hits included “Theme From) Valley of the Dolls” by Dionne Warwick (#2); “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding (#3); “Simon Says” by the 1910 Fruitgum Company (#4); “I Wish It Would Rain” by the Temptations (#5); “Just Dropped In (To See Waht Condition My Condition Was In” by the First Edition (#6); “Spooky” by the Classics IV (#7); “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (#8); “La - La - Means I Love  You” by the Delfonics (#9); and “Everything That Touches You” by the Association (#10). 

The final episode of Lost in Space aired on Wednesday, March 6th; after three years, the Robinsons and Dr Smith were destined to remain lost in space forever, apparently!