West Romans awoke to a light dusting of snow on Monday, January 27th--but it wasn't enough to cover the grass, much less to close schools. That wasn't the case farther north, though, as Dalton and Toccoa both had heavy snowfalls that closed roads. While the weather warmed up quickly and melted any residual snow, the precipitation continued as rain for the remainder of January, pushing the monthly rainfall totals for 7.72 inches.
West Rome's boys basketball team defeated Cedartown 54-41, but the girls didn't fare quite as well, losing a close game 38-37. Kenny Stephens was the top scorer for the boys with 15 points, while Debbie Poarch was once gain the top scorer for the girls with 17 points.
Jimmy Carter paid a visit to Berry College on Wednesday, January 29th, delivering a speech on the future of education. In 1969, Carter was merely a former statue legislator and a failed candidate for governor; his major successes were yet to come.
Governor Lester Maddox began putting financial pressure on Floyd County legislators to support this proposed tax increase. Unless they voted in favor of the increase, Maddox told them that he would remove the proposed $6 million 300-bed regional mental health hospital and the proposed $12.5 million 400-bed tuberculosis treatment center (both of which were planned for the Battey State Hospital facility in Rome) from his budget.
Floyd Hospital announced the opening of its four-bed cardiac care unit this week in 1969. Because of the expense of equipping and maintaining a cardiac care unit, the hospital administrators announced that the patient cost would be $75 per day for the time that the patient spent in the coronary care unit, versus $50 a day for a private hospital room and $38 a day for a semi-private room. (If we adjust it for inflation, that would make the cost for a hospital stay at $550 a day for cardiac care, $375 a day for a private room, and $275 a day for a semi-private room--and that's not a co-pay cost, but the total cost of a hospital stay!)
Rome's industrial expansion continued with the announcement that Inland Container was investing a half-million dollar expansion that would add more than 60 new jobs to the facility. The announcement was made at an employee recognition banquet that Inland held at the Forrest Hotel in Rome.
Two boys riding a motorcycle on Booger Hollow Road hit a cow on Thursday afternoon. The boys were rounding a curve and saw the cow in the middle of the road, but said they didn't have time to avoid the collision. The boys were treated and dismissed from Floyd Hospital; the cow reportedly wandered off (perhaps it sought medical treatment on its own). And I'm very proud that I resisted the urge to comment that the boys should have steered away from the cow. I wasn't there, though, so perhaps there were extenuating circumstances that made the accident udderly unavoidable...
Burglars hit three West Rome businesses in the wee hours of Monday morning. The thieves broke into Tom's Toasted Peanut Warehouse on Hanks Street, stealing four machines valued at $1900.00, along with other merchandise. Rome Poultry, also n Hanks street, was broken into as well, and about $100 in cash was stolen. And finally, burglars entered Metropolitan Life Insurance Company on Shorter Avenue, not too far from Hanks Street, but were unable to open the safe. (I lived in the blithe ignorance of youth, I guess: I had no idea that burglaries and break-ins were so common in Rome, and never imagined that some of them actually occurred within a mile or two of my house!)
Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for $1.08 a pound, Lady Alice ice milk for 33£ a half-gallon, and squash for 19¢ a pound. Kroger had fresh whole fryers for 29¢ a pound, Jello for 9¢ a box, and bananas for a dime a pound. A&P had beef tenderloins for $1.99 a pound, Starkist tuna for 39¢ a can, and a one-pound package of Parkay margarine for 29¢. Big Apple had spare ribs for 59¢ a pound, Bama blackberry jelly for 23¢ a jar, and RC or Diet-Rite Cola for 33¢ a carton plus deposit. Couch's had lamb chops for 89¢ a pound, Castleberry's beef stew for 59¢ a can, and sweet potatoes for a dime a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (starring Dean Jones) at the DeSoto Theatre, Barbarella (starring Jane Fonda) at the First Avenue, and West Side Story (starring Natalie Wood) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Secret Ceremony (starring Elizabeth Taylor) to the DeSoto, If He Hollers, Let Him Go (starring Dana Wynter) to the First Avenue, and Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (starring Rosalind Russell) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Tommy James & the Shondells held on to the number one slot for a second week with "Crimson and Clover." Other top ten hits included "Everyday People" by Sly & the Family Stone (#2); "Worst That Could Happen" by Brooklyn Bridge (#3); "Touch Me" by The Doors (#4); "Build Me Up Buttercup" by the Foundations (#5); "I Started a Joke" by Bee Gees (#6); "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (#7); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations (#8); "Hang 'Em High" by Booker T & the MG's (#9); and "Can I Change My Mind" by Tyrone Davis (#10).
No one knew it at the time, but the Beatles made their last public performance on January 30th. The event was the famous "rooftop concert" that would be documented in the 1970 film Let It Be. The performance was stopped early by the police due to noise complaints from businesses in the vicinity of the Apple Building at 3 Saville Row in London.
That cow should have Mooooved out of the road.
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