The Santa Bowl King and Queen were crowned at the Santa Bowl Mite & Pee Wee game held at Barron Stadium. While the winners weren't Chieftains, two students from West Rome almost made it: Joy Cantrell of West End was the first runner up for Queen and Eddie Alverson of Elm Street was the first runner-up for King.
West Rome's basketball teams won both games against Cave Spring on Wednesday night (yes, they played basketball the night before Thanksgiving!). The girls won 43-40 and the boys won 56-34; Debbie Poarch was the high scorer for the Chieftain girls with 25 points, and Kenny Stephens was the high scorer for the boys with 14 points.
And speaking of Thanksgiving: Rome City Schools students got a three-day holiday, with schools holding classes Monday and Tuesday; teachers had a work day on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
A Floyd County man who had been making obscene phone calls apparently called the wrong person: a woman who received one of his calls told him to come over--and when he did, her husband was waiting for him, gun in hand. The irate husband fired six shots through the windshield of the suspect's pickup truck, but the caller was not injured. He was, however, arrested by county police officers and charged with making obscene phone calls; apparently the shooter was not charged at all.
Three prisoners at the Floyd County Works Camp were released on Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday. All three were only three months away from their normal discharge date and had no demerits for bad behavior during their time at the works camp. Their good behavior discharge meant that all three men got to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with their families. Alas, it didn't go as well as hoped: one of the three was arrested and charged with burglary after he was caught inside a supermarket just before midnight (and this was a time when grocery stores did not stay open much later than 9pm). He said he didn't have enough money to pay for Thanksgiving dinner for his family, so he was trying some after-hours shopping instead.
The Partridge Restaurant on Broad Street had quite a deal on a Thanksgiving Dinner: for only $1.85, they offered roast turkey, cranberry sauce, beverage, and a choice of three vegetables from a list that included potatoes, green peas, candied yams, buttered rice, creamed cauliflower, salad, and pineapple salad with grated cheese and mayonnaise; and dessert from a list that included pumpkin pie, apple cobbler, or mincemeat cobbler. Children six and under could eat for only a dime.
Toshiba televisions are apparently much older than I thought: Camera and Craft in Central Plaza had a 23" Toshiba color tabletop television for $339.95 ($60 less than most other brands) and a 19" table-top color television for $299. Both televisions had all the bells and whistles that 1968 shoppers could expect: VHF and UHF tuners, built-in rabbit-ear antennas (which were useless in Rome, unfortunately, since we were too far away from both Atlanta and Chattanooga), and a fine-tuning knob to allow for tiny adjustments when the click-stop channel changer wasn't quite accurate enough.
The US Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division offered people across the country a grace period to register "super-destructive weapons" as part of the 1968 Gun Control Act--and you'd be surprised at what Romans registered. Bazookas, airplane machine guns, mortars, sawed-off shotguns, a submachine gun, and even a cannon were all registered by residents in Rome. The registration and permitting, which allowed residents to keep the weapons, was conducted on a "no questions asked" basis, so the agency had no idea where the owners acquired these weapons or why they had them.
Piggly Wiggly had Butterball turkeys for 45¢ a point, oranges for 33¢ a dozen, and Coca-Cola/Sprite/Tab for 33¢ a carton plus deposit. Big Apple had hen turkeys for 33¢ a pound, Sunshine pickled peaches for 39¢ a jar, and Chesapeake Bay oyster for $1.69 a pin. Kroger had smoked hams for 39¢ a pound, large eggs for 49¢ a dozen, and Luzianne coffee for 49¢ a can. A&P had salad shrimp for $2.29 a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and celery for 15¢ a bunch. Couch's had baking hens for 39¢ a pound, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce for 23¢ a can, and Aristocrat ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon.
The cinematic week began with West Side Story (starring Natalie Wood) at the DeSoto Theatre, Prudence and the Pill (starring David Niven) at the First Avenue, and St. Valentine's Day Massacre (starring Jason Robards) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Coogan's Bluff (starring Clint Eastwood) to the DeSoto, Live a Little, Love a Little (starring Elvis Presley) to the First Avenue, and The Boston Strangler (starring Tony Curtis) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Diana Ross and the Supremes held on to the number one slot for a second week with "Love Child." Other top ten hits included "Hey Jude" by the Beatles (#2); "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#3); "I Heard It Through he Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (#4); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#5); "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#6); "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion (#7); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#8); "Stormy" by The Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost (#9); and "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#10).
The supergroup Cream played its final concert this week in 1968. Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker would go on to front a new group, Blind Faith, while Jack Bruce would pursue a solo career. The group would not play together again until 1993, when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Noteworthy new releases for the week included Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, I've Gotta Be Me by Sammy Davis, Jr., Promises, Promises by Dionne Warwick, and The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands by... well, you can figure it out.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/18/1968 to 11/24/1968
West Rome kicked off its basketball season on November 23rd with an away game against Cartersville, and Coach Randall Kent was cautiously optimistic. "I think the boys are tired of losing," Kent said. "The boys are seniors now and they realize that this is the last time for them to prove themselves. "The biggest thing we have going for us is that the boys feel like they've got to win now or never, so they're really hustling." All that hustling paid off with a 56-54 win to kick off the season, with Kenny Stephens scoring 18 of those 56 points on his own.
Rome burglars were back in action... but they were not particularly good at the "craft." On Monday night, burglars broke into the Rome Beauty School on Broad Street, but were unable to find anything that was worth stealing (there was no cash at all in the school). The next night, burglars broke into the Gas Light Restaurant--but once again, they stole nothing because all the cash had been deposited the night before.
The Rome Housing Authority received two loans totaling $4.5 million to finance construction of more than 300 housing units for low income families--some for the elderly and some for families on public assistance. A number of the low-income homes were to be built on a fifty-acre West Rome Site bounded by Fortune Street, Georgia Avenue, and Battey State Hospital.
After having reached an agreement with Southern Railway earlier in November, Rome crews began preliminary work on the removal of the Shorter underpass this week in 1968. The work was expected to take at least a month. "Some blasting will have to be done, and we prefer to do it ourselves," city manager Bruce Hamler said. "We want to be very careful to protect the property owners around the underpass."
Rome got the news that a new fiber plant was scheduled to open in April near the former Anchor Rome Mills property in South Rome. The plant was expected to create 40 new manufacturing jobs once it opened. Romans also learned that ABC Industries was expanding their carpet printing facility on Redmond Court and adding another twenty jobs.
The 1960s--a time when cross-dressing was merely silly entertainment. A "womanless wedding" was held at the West Rome High auditorium on Saturday, November 23rd. The fundraising event was sponsored by the Youth of Trinity Methodist Church; tickets were available at Candler's Drugs and Garden Lakes Pharmacy.
Now here's a toy I remember: Super Discount Stores (known to most of us as "Super D") had Mattel Thingmakers for $6.92 a set. These toys, which could be used alone or in conjunction with Mattel Vac•U•Form machines, enabled kids to make their own plastic toys. Of course, they were more expensive than just buying ready-made toys, but what's fiscal logic to a kid?
TV prices continued to come down, with Rome Radio & TV offering a 23" table-top television for $449 and an RCA 23" console TV for $499--the first time that name-brand consoles had fallen below the $500 mark (if only by a dollar).
Norwood Griffin, Rome's "catalog showroom" store that took orders for merchandise from customers who could then pick up their orders a few days later, expanded its product line for Christmas 1968, adding a larger selection of giftware, tableware, toys, jewelry, musical instruments, television sets, stereos, and cookware. Their ads stressed, "We have no inventory to pay for, so we can sell at dealer cost!" A decade later, stores like Service Merchandise would follow a similar model, putting the locally owned catalog stores out of business.
Piggly Wiggly had Cudahy ham for 39¢ a pound, celery for a dime a bunch, and Borden's ice cream for 69¢ a half-gallon. A&P had cubed steak for 99¢ a pound (a lot of money for touch steak beaten into submission), Ritz crackers for 37¢ a box, and fresh cranberries for 29¢ a pint. Kroger had baking hens for 39¢ a pound, angel food cakes for 39¢ each, and yams for 25¢ a pound. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 89¢ a pound, Dole pineapple for 33¢ a can, and Luzianne coffee (with chicory!) for 55¢ a pound. Couch's had Butterball turkeys for 49¢ a pound, Hormel chili for 33¢ a can, and fresh coconuts for 19¢ each (don't fall for it--I got my parents to buy one once, and it was less tasty and more trouble than I had imagined it would be).
The cinematic week began with The Boston Strangler (starring Tony Curtis) at the DeSoto Theatre, Helga (starring Ruth Gassmann and featuring, "for the first time on the American screen, the complete birth of a baby") at the First Avenue, and The Hell With Heroes (starring Rod Taylor) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switch out brought West Side Story (starring Natalie Wood) to the DeSoto Theatre, Prudence and the Pill (starring David Niven) to the First Avenue, and The Killers Three (starring Robert Walker) at the West Rome Drive-In.
Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Love Child" took number one this week in 1968, ending the Beatles' nine-week hold on the charts as"Hey Jude" fell to #2. Other top ten hits included "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#3); "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#4); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#5); "Who's Making' Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#6); "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#7); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#8); "Hold Me Tight" by Johnny Nash (#9); and "White Room" by Cream (#10).
William Shatner & Nichelle Nichols shared the first interracial kiss on US television on November 22nd; the kiss was part of the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren."
The Beatles, also known as The White Album, was released this week in 1968, and you can be sure it was on a lot of Chieftains' Christmas lists. This was also the week that Elvis, the soundtrack to Elvis Presley's 1968 TV Special, was released (the special wouldn't actually air until early December).
Rome burglars were back in action... but they were not particularly good at the "craft." On Monday night, burglars broke into the Rome Beauty School on Broad Street, but were unable to find anything that was worth stealing (there was no cash at all in the school). The next night, burglars broke into the Gas Light Restaurant--but once again, they stole nothing because all the cash had been deposited the night before.
The Rome Housing Authority received two loans totaling $4.5 million to finance construction of more than 300 housing units for low income families--some for the elderly and some for families on public assistance. A number of the low-income homes were to be built on a fifty-acre West Rome Site bounded by Fortune Street, Georgia Avenue, and Battey State Hospital.
After having reached an agreement with Southern Railway earlier in November, Rome crews began preliminary work on the removal of the Shorter underpass this week in 1968. The work was expected to take at least a month. "Some blasting will have to be done, and we prefer to do it ourselves," city manager Bruce Hamler said. "We want to be very careful to protect the property owners around the underpass."
Rome got the news that a new fiber plant was scheduled to open in April near the former Anchor Rome Mills property in South Rome. The plant was expected to create 40 new manufacturing jobs once it opened. Romans also learned that ABC Industries was expanding their carpet printing facility on Redmond Court and adding another twenty jobs.
The 1960s--a time when cross-dressing was merely silly entertainment. A "womanless wedding" was held at the West Rome High auditorium on Saturday, November 23rd. The fundraising event was sponsored by the Youth of Trinity Methodist Church; tickets were available at Candler's Drugs and Garden Lakes Pharmacy.
Now here's a toy I remember: Super Discount Stores (known to most of us as "Super D") had Mattel Thingmakers for $6.92 a set. These toys, which could be used alone or in conjunction with Mattel Vac•U•Form machines, enabled kids to make their own plastic toys. Of course, they were more expensive than just buying ready-made toys, but what's fiscal logic to a kid?
TV prices continued to come down, with Rome Radio & TV offering a 23" table-top television for $449 and an RCA 23" console TV for $499--the first time that name-brand consoles had fallen below the $500 mark (if only by a dollar).
Norwood Griffin, Rome's "catalog showroom" store that took orders for merchandise from customers who could then pick up their orders a few days later, expanded its product line for Christmas 1968, adding a larger selection of giftware, tableware, toys, jewelry, musical instruments, television sets, stereos, and cookware. Their ads stressed, "We have no inventory to pay for, so we can sell at dealer cost!" A decade later, stores like Service Merchandise would follow a similar model, putting the locally owned catalog stores out of business.
Piggly Wiggly had Cudahy ham for 39¢ a pound, celery for a dime a bunch, and Borden's ice cream for 69¢ a half-gallon. A&P had cubed steak for 99¢ a pound (a lot of money for touch steak beaten into submission), Ritz crackers for 37¢ a box, and fresh cranberries for 29¢ a pint. Kroger had baking hens for 39¢ a pound, angel food cakes for 39¢ each, and yams for 25¢ a pound. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 89¢ a pound, Dole pineapple for 33¢ a can, and Luzianne coffee (with chicory!) for 55¢ a pound. Couch's had Butterball turkeys for 49¢ a pound, Hormel chili for 33¢ a can, and fresh coconuts for 19¢ each (don't fall for it--I got my parents to buy one once, and it was less tasty and more trouble than I had imagined it would be).
The cinematic week began with The Boston Strangler (starring Tony Curtis) at the DeSoto Theatre, Helga (starring Ruth Gassmann and featuring, "for the first time on the American screen, the complete birth of a baby") at the First Avenue, and The Hell With Heroes (starring Rod Taylor) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switch out brought West Side Story (starring Natalie Wood) to the DeSoto Theatre, Prudence and the Pill (starring David Niven) to the First Avenue, and The Killers Three (starring Robert Walker) at the West Rome Drive-In.
Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Love Child" took number one this week in 1968, ending the Beatles' nine-week hold on the charts as"Hey Jude" fell to #2. Other top ten hits included "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#3); "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#4); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#5); "Who's Making' Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#6); "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#7); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#8); "Hold Me Tight" by Johnny Nash (#9); and "White Room" by Cream (#10).
William Shatner & Nichelle Nichols shared the first interracial kiss on US television on November 22nd; the kiss was part of the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren."
The Beatles, also known as The White Album, was released this week in 1968, and you can be sure it was on a lot of Chieftains' Christmas lists. This was also the week that Elvis, the soundtrack to Elvis Presley's 1968 TV Special, was released (the special wouldn't actually air until early December).
Tuesday, November 06, 2018
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/11/1968 to 11/17/1968
Romans awoke to surprise snow flurries on Monday morning, November 11th, and continued off and on through the day and into the early evening. Minor accumulations of up to 1/2" were reported in some parts of Floyd County, and there were no cancellations or travel advisories--but there were a few minor traffic accidents caused by the light snow on wet pavement, and one Roman slipped and fell while attempting to gather enough snow to make snow cream.
Roger Weaver was once again tapped as the Rome News-Tribune's Player of the Week for his outstanding performance in the East Rome game. The paper referred to this as "Weaver's finest hour... There's no doubt that he was the sparkplug that enabled West Rome to end its season on a winning note." He carried the football 34 times during the game and gained 291 net yards, the best single-game performance by any area back during the season.
Kippy Scarborough and Janice Crider represented West Rome in the Rome Junior Miss Pageant, held on Saturday night at the Rome City Auditorium--and Scarborough was the winner, assuming the title of Floyd County June Miss. Scarborough, a senior at West Rome, was a majorette for four years, a solo twirler for two years, and a member of senior band, Student Council, Tri-Hi-Y, and Drama Club. She was also convention chairman for the Georgia Association of Student Councils.
If you grew up in West Rome, you became very familiar with the "fragrance" of Georgia Kraft (now Inland Container). Their rotten-egg smell of the paper mill frequently wafted across the area when the winds were right, and pretty much no air filtration could keep it out of West Rome homes and businesses. Georgia Kraft insisted that their four recovery units, designed to minimize emissions from the plant, actually reduced the smoke and stink by at least 80%--and to demonstrate how effective it was, the facility turned off just one of the four recovery units on Thursday, November 14th, for about an hour. The immediate result? The light white smoke emitted from the stacks was replaced with a dark, heavy smoke, and the smell increased dramatically. Apparently "See? We could be even worse" was the closest thing to clean air that West Romans could hope for...
After almost a decade of planning and construction, the final segment of the East Rome Interchange was completed. This link extended from Maple Road to Walker Mountain Road, a distance of 2.9 miles, and it cost almost $1.2 million to construct. The interchange, greatly improved traffic flow from Rome to Cedartown--and to the soon-to-be-constructed Floyd Junior College.
With the bond issue a done deal, the Georgia Board of Regents gave official approval to the contract for the construction of a junior college in the Rome area. Plans called for the school to be finished by the fall of 1969.
Harvest Festival Days took place from Thursday through Saturday, offering an array of shopping bargains from stores across Rome and Floyd County, with a particular emphasis on Christmas season shopping. Every retail store on Broad Street announced special sales to commemorate the event, reminding readers that even with large discount department stores coming to Rome (read "Big K"), Broad Street still offered the best selection and great bargains.
Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, Maxwell House coffee for 50¢ a pound, and Coca-Cola for 33¢ a 6-bottle carton (plus deposit). Kroger had Cudahy Bar-S bacon for 49¢ a pound, bread for 18¢ a loaf, and oranges for 8¢ each. A&P had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Ann Page salad dressing for 49¢ a quart, and large eggs for 49¢ a dozen. Big Apple had ground beef for 49¢ a pound, Duke mayonnaise for 49¢ a quart, and a five-pound bag of Dixie Crystals sugar for 39¢. Couch's had chicken livers for 49¢ a pound, Bama jellies for a quarter a jar (and you could use the jar as a drinking glass when you finished up the jelly!), and bananas for a dime a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Paper Lion (starring Alan Alda) at the DeSoto Theatre, The Fox (starring Sandy Dennis) at the First Avenue and Young Runaways (starring Brooke Bundy) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Boston Strangler (starring Tony Curtis) to the DeSoto Theatre, Helga (an adults-only film starring unknown Ruth Gasseman) to the First Avenue, and Five Card Stud (starring Dean Martin) to the West Rome Drive-In.
The Beatles' "Hey Jude" held the number slot for the ninth week in a row, while Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Love Child climbed to #2 this week in 1968. Other top ten hits included "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#3); "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#4); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#5); "White Room" by Cream (#6); "Hold Me Tight" by Johnny Nash (#7); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#8); "Little Green Apples" by OC Smith (#9); and "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#10).
On Sunday, November 17th, NBC broke away from the Oakland Raiders-New York Jets football game at 7pm, with less than a minute to play in the game, to begin their much-advertised TV movie adaptation of Heidi. Unfortunately for NBC, the Raiders managed to score two touchdowns in that final minute and thus won the game--and none of the TV viewers got to see it. The game became known as "The Heidi Bowl," and as a result, non-sports viewers have had to put up with their TV shows being pushed back by slow-play sporting events ever since...
Roger Weaver was once again tapped as the Rome News-Tribune's Player of the Week for his outstanding performance in the East Rome game. The paper referred to this as "Weaver's finest hour... There's no doubt that he was the sparkplug that enabled West Rome to end its season on a winning note." He carried the football 34 times during the game and gained 291 net yards, the best single-game performance by any area back during the season.
Kippy Scarborough and Janice Crider represented West Rome in the Rome Junior Miss Pageant, held on Saturday night at the Rome City Auditorium--and Scarborough was the winner, assuming the title of Floyd County June Miss. Scarborough, a senior at West Rome, was a majorette for four years, a solo twirler for two years, and a member of senior band, Student Council, Tri-Hi-Y, and Drama Club. She was also convention chairman for the Georgia Association of Student Councils.
If you grew up in West Rome, you became very familiar with the "fragrance" of Georgia Kraft (now Inland Container). Their rotten-egg smell of the paper mill frequently wafted across the area when the winds were right, and pretty much no air filtration could keep it out of West Rome homes and businesses. Georgia Kraft insisted that their four recovery units, designed to minimize emissions from the plant, actually reduced the smoke and stink by at least 80%--and to demonstrate how effective it was, the facility turned off just one of the four recovery units on Thursday, November 14th, for about an hour. The immediate result? The light white smoke emitted from the stacks was replaced with a dark, heavy smoke, and the smell increased dramatically. Apparently "See? We could be even worse" was the closest thing to clean air that West Romans could hope for...
After almost a decade of planning and construction, the final segment of the East Rome Interchange was completed. This link extended from Maple Road to Walker Mountain Road, a distance of 2.9 miles, and it cost almost $1.2 million to construct. The interchange, greatly improved traffic flow from Rome to Cedartown--and to the soon-to-be-constructed Floyd Junior College.
With the bond issue a done deal, the Georgia Board of Regents gave official approval to the contract for the construction of a junior college in the Rome area. Plans called for the school to be finished by the fall of 1969.
Harvest Festival Days took place from Thursday through Saturday, offering an array of shopping bargains from stores across Rome and Floyd County, with a particular emphasis on Christmas season shopping. Every retail store on Broad Street announced special sales to commemorate the event, reminding readers that even with large discount department stores coming to Rome (read "Big K"), Broad Street still offered the best selection and great bargains.
Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, Maxwell House coffee for 50¢ a pound, and Coca-Cola for 33¢ a 6-bottle carton (plus deposit). Kroger had Cudahy Bar-S bacon for 49¢ a pound, bread for 18¢ a loaf, and oranges for 8¢ each. A&P had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Ann Page salad dressing for 49¢ a quart, and large eggs for 49¢ a dozen. Big Apple had ground beef for 49¢ a pound, Duke mayonnaise for 49¢ a quart, and a five-pound bag of Dixie Crystals sugar for 39¢. Couch's had chicken livers for 49¢ a pound, Bama jellies for a quarter a jar (and you could use the jar as a drinking glass when you finished up the jelly!), and bananas for a dime a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Paper Lion (starring Alan Alda) at the DeSoto Theatre, The Fox (starring Sandy Dennis) at the First Avenue and Young Runaways (starring Brooke Bundy) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Boston Strangler (starring Tony Curtis) to the DeSoto Theatre, Helga (an adults-only film starring unknown Ruth Gasseman) to the First Avenue, and Five Card Stud (starring Dean Martin) to the West Rome Drive-In.
The Beatles' "Hey Jude" held the number slot for the ninth week in a row, while Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Love Child climbed to #2 this week in 1968. Other top ten hits included "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#3); "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#4); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#5); "White Room" by Cream (#6); "Hold Me Tight" by Johnny Nash (#7); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#8); "Little Green Apples" by OC Smith (#9); and "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#10).
On Sunday, November 17th, NBC broke away from the Oakland Raiders-New York Jets football game at 7pm, with less than a minute to play in the game, to begin their much-advertised TV movie adaptation of Heidi. Unfortunately for NBC, the Raiders managed to score two touchdowns in that final minute and thus won the game--and none of the TV viewers got to see it. The game became known as "The Heidi Bowl," and as a result, non-sports viewers have had to put up with their TV shows being pushed back by slow-play sporting events ever since...
Friday, November 02, 2018
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/4/1968 to 11/10/1968
Just as is the case this year, the election of 1968 also drew a record turnout of voters in Floyd County and in Georgia. Of course, the 1968 election was also a Presidential election pitting Democrat Hubert Humphrey against Republican Richard Nixon, and the dichotomy of the two candidates motivated voters on both sides to come out and cast a ballot. That was good news for the Floyd Junior College initiative, since the strong voter turnout led to the bond issue passing with an overwhelming 74% majority.--and that meant that Floyd Junior College was officially a GO!
Roman felt a minor earth tremor near noon on Saturday, November 9th. The quake, which registered 5.5 on the Richter scale, was actually centered near New Madrid, Missouri, but the tremors were felt in Rome, Lafayette, Gainesville, and Macon. WRGA reported receiving 35 calls within the first five minutes after the tremor; while there were no injuries, there were some reports of broken dishes and one report of a broken window caused by the tremors.
At long last, Rome reached an agreement with Southern Railway to remove the railroad underpass on Shorter Avenue, clearing out a traffic bottleneck that had existed as long as there was a West Rome. The agreement meant that Rome no longer had to pursue the expensive legal action against Southern Railway that had been threatened. The city agreed to pay the cost of warning signals at two other intersections in exchange for the removal of the underpass; Rome also agreed to cover the cost of any re-grading of the road bed that might be necessary after the underpass was removed and the site was leveled.
The Sunday paper carried the news of the engagement of Chieftains Barry Hunter and Kathy Christian; the wedding was planned for December, when Barry was set to return home from Fort Lee, Virginia, where he was stationed in the Army.
A late note for last week's Fifty Years Ago... column: Claudia Williams was crowned West Rome Homecoming Queen during a halftime ceremony at the West Rome-Pepperell football game on Friday, November 1st, receiving the crown from the prior year's Homecoming Queen, Penny Slaughter. (As we noted last week, however, unfortunately the Chieftains were unable to deliver a win to commemorate the homecoming event.)
The season-ending football game was an ever-popular match of crosstown rivals as West Rome took on East Rome. East Rome, with fewer injuries and a better season record, was tapped to win the game, "it's tough to continue after winni8ng six and then losing three hard battles," Coach Nick Hyder said, "but our boys have been working as hard as ever. They've shown a lot of character under the present conditions." The hard work paid off as West Rome proved the prognosticators wrong with a 14-6 victory to close out their season. In spite of the win, West Rome was already statistically eliminated from advancing to region playoffs; in spite of the loss, East Rome was guaranteed a region playoff spot the next wek. Still, it was an inspiring end to a turbulent season for the Chieftains.
Piggly Wiggly had fresh whole fryers for 22¢ a pound, sweet potatoes for a dime a pound, and a three-pound can of Crisco for 49¢. Kroger had ocean perch filets for 49¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and glazed doughnuts for 19¢ a half-dozen. A&P had pork loin roast for 49¢ a pound, Poss chili for 29¢ a can, and a 16-ounce can of Dole sliced pineapple for 25¢. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 98¢ a pound, Parkay margarine for 19¢ a tub, and Banquet frozen dinners for 35¢ each. Couch's had ground beef for 43¢ a pound, corn for 7¢ an ear, and Heinz tomato soup for a dime a can.
The cinematic week began with The Ugly Ones (starring Richard Wyler) at the DeSoto Theatre, a double feature of From Russia With Love and Thunderball (starring Sean Connery as James Bond) at the First Avenue Theatre, and Petulia (starring Julie Christie) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switch out brought The Paper Lion (starring Alan Alda) to the DeSoto Theatre, The Fox (starring Sandy Dennis) two the First Avenue, and The Dirty Dozen (starring Lee Marvin) to the West Rome Drive-In.
The Beatles' "Hey Jude" held on to the number one position for the eighth week in a row. Other top ten hits included "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#2); "Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (#3); "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#4); "Hold Me Tight" by Johnny Nash (#5); "White Room" by Cream (#i6); "Little Green Apples" by OC Smith (#7); "Who's Making Love" by Johnny Taylor (#8); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#9); and "Elenore" by the Turtles (#10).
Roman felt a minor earth tremor near noon on Saturday, November 9th. The quake, which registered 5.5 on the Richter scale, was actually centered near New Madrid, Missouri, but the tremors were felt in Rome, Lafayette, Gainesville, and Macon. WRGA reported receiving 35 calls within the first five minutes after the tremor; while there were no injuries, there were some reports of broken dishes and one report of a broken window caused by the tremors.
At long last, Rome reached an agreement with Southern Railway to remove the railroad underpass on Shorter Avenue, clearing out a traffic bottleneck that had existed as long as there was a West Rome. The agreement meant that Rome no longer had to pursue the expensive legal action against Southern Railway that had been threatened. The city agreed to pay the cost of warning signals at two other intersections in exchange for the removal of the underpass; Rome also agreed to cover the cost of any re-grading of the road bed that might be necessary after the underpass was removed and the site was leveled.
The Sunday paper carried the news of the engagement of Chieftains Barry Hunter and Kathy Christian; the wedding was planned for December, when Barry was set to return home from Fort Lee, Virginia, where he was stationed in the Army.
A late note for last week's Fifty Years Ago... column: Claudia Williams was crowned West Rome Homecoming Queen during a halftime ceremony at the West Rome-Pepperell football game on Friday, November 1st, receiving the crown from the prior year's Homecoming Queen, Penny Slaughter. (As we noted last week, however, unfortunately the Chieftains were unable to deliver a win to commemorate the homecoming event.)
The season-ending football game was an ever-popular match of crosstown rivals as West Rome took on East Rome. East Rome, with fewer injuries and a better season record, was tapped to win the game, "it's tough to continue after winni8ng six and then losing three hard battles," Coach Nick Hyder said, "but our boys have been working as hard as ever. They've shown a lot of character under the present conditions." The hard work paid off as West Rome proved the prognosticators wrong with a 14-6 victory to close out their season. In spite of the win, West Rome was already statistically eliminated from advancing to region playoffs; in spite of the loss, East Rome was guaranteed a region playoff spot the next wek. Still, it was an inspiring end to a turbulent season for the Chieftains.
Piggly Wiggly had fresh whole fryers for 22¢ a pound, sweet potatoes for a dime a pound, and a three-pound can of Crisco for 49¢. Kroger had ocean perch filets for 49¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and glazed doughnuts for 19¢ a half-dozen. A&P had pork loin roast for 49¢ a pound, Poss chili for 29¢ a can, and a 16-ounce can of Dole sliced pineapple for 25¢. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 98¢ a pound, Parkay margarine for 19¢ a tub, and Banquet frozen dinners for 35¢ each. Couch's had ground beef for 43¢ a pound, corn for 7¢ an ear, and Heinz tomato soup for a dime a can.
The cinematic week began with The Ugly Ones (starring Richard Wyler) at the DeSoto Theatre, a double feature of From Russia With Love and Thunderball (starring Sean Connery as James Bond) at the First Avenue Theatre, and Petulia (starring Julie Christie) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switch out brought The Paper Lion (starring Alan Alda) to the DeSoto Theatre, The Fox (starring Sandy Dennis) two the First Avenue, and The Dirty Dozen (starring Lee Marvin) to the West Rome Drive-In.
The Beatles' "Hey Jude" held on to the number one position for the eighth week in a row. Other top ten hits included "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#2); "Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (#3); "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#4); "Hold Me Tight" by Johnny Nash (#5); "White Room" by Cream (#i6); "Little Green Apples" by OC Smith (#7); "Who's Making Love" by Johnny Taylor (#8); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#9); and "Elenore" by the Turtles (#10).
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