Sunday, December 30, 2018

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 12/30/1968 to 1/5/1969

The Christmas/New Year's holiday break came to an end for West Rome students as school resumed on Thursday, January 2nd. While there were snow flurries on December 31st, all the snow was gone by mid-day on New Year's Day, eliminating any hopes that students might have had of an extra snow-day holiday. It was a cold return to school, though, with a Thursday morning low of 13 degrees.

The Chieftains  boys basketball team defeated Model for the second time this season, 71-49, while the girls team won 47-38. William Shelton was the high scorer for West Rome with 16 points, while both Charles Smith and Mike Day scored in double digits. Debbie Poarch was the leading scorer for the girls with 24 points.

The Rome City Commission kicked off the New Year with warnings that a tax increase was inevitable. One reason: the city school system said that it would need more than $100,000 in extra funds to finance teacher's raises and pensions, as well as covering the cost of new clerical staff as school enrollment increased. The schools were asking for a 6% pay raise for staff. In addition, the Rome City Commission was considering a 10% pay raise for non-school employees, but nothing was finalized at the first monthly meeting of 1969.

The flu was still a major problem in Rome and Floyd Count, so Floyd and McCall Hospitals issued a joint advisory asking that hospital visits be curtailed. The request said that only immediate family members should attempt to visit patients at either hospital, and only a maximum of two people at a time would be allowed to visit. Anyone with any sort of respiratory infection symptoms would be barred from visiting.

Romans got a new choice for pizza this week with the opening of Hal & Val's Pizzeria on Martha Berry Highway.  Among other things, they offered a large House Special (with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, and green pepper) for $3.49.

Kentucky Fried Chicken celebrated the New Year with a $4.15 special that included a bucket of chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, cole slaw, and rolls. They also offered their fish or shrimp dinners for 99¢ each, slightly more than a 20% discount. (I never remember eating seafood at Kentucky Fried Chicken, but apparently it was a big part of their menu back in the 1960s.)

Piggly Wiggly had chicken livers for 59¢ a pound, eggs for 53¢ a dozen, and five pounds of oranges for 48¢. Kroger had round steak for 88¢ a pound, Chase & Sanborn coffee for 49¢ a can, and dried black-eyed peas for 9¢ a pound. A&P had country style ham for 88¢ a pound, Super Suds detergent for a quarter a box, and yellow onions for a dime a pound. Big Apple had pork chops for 69¢ a pound, cabbage for a dime a head, and Van Camp's Vienna sausages for 20¢ a can. Couch's had  sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Shurfresh biscuits for 7¢ a can, and Double Cola for 99¢ a case plus deposit.

The cinematic week began with Hellfighters (starring John Wayne) at the DeSoto Theatre, Bullitt (starring Steve McQueen) at the First Avenue, and a double feature of Coogan's Bluff (starring Clint Eastwood) and The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (starring Bob Hope) at the West Rome Drive-In.  The midweek switch out brought The Impossible Years (starring David Niven) to the DeSoto and a John Wayne double feature of Hellfighters and The Desperate Ones to the West Rome Drive-In, while Steve McQueen continued to drive his Mustang around San Francisco in Bullitt, which remained at the First Avenue for another week.

Marvin Gaye held on to the number one slot for the fifth week with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & The Supremes (#2); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#3); "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#4); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#5); "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations (#6): "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#7); "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James & the Shondells (#8); "Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (#9); and "I Love How You Love Me" by Bobby Vinton (#10). 

NBC became the first network to expand its evening newscast to Saturdays with the addition of a Huntley-Brinkley Report at 6:30 on Saturday nights. The name was misleading, though, as both newscasters did not appear on each weekly newscast; instead, Chet Huntley would anchor one week, and David Brinkley would anchor the next. 

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