Saturday, January 18, 2020

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/12/1970 to 1/18/1970

Rome was recovering from a surprise snowfall that began on Sunday, January 11th, and continued into January 12th. Snow, sleet, and freezing rain made travel treacherous, which resulted in city schools being closed. Officer Harper McDaniel said that main roads in Rome were drivable, but side streets that were shaded were still icy and they advised residents not to get out unless absolutely necessary. Monday morning started out in the teens, but temperatures rose to just above freezing by Monday afternoon. Things were close enough to normal by Tuesday morning that students returned to school.

West Rome's wrestlers defeated Cedartown (36-18) Calhoun (28-24), and Cherokee (26-21), pushing their record to 3-2. Winning wrestlers included Howard Braziel, Randy Kennedy, Tommy Shaw, Johnny Williams, Steve Shaw, Sam Tucker, Henry Studyvent, Chuck Kinnebrew, Edward Sellers, and Ivan Rutherford.

The Chieftains' boysbasketball team was not having a great year. They lost to Cedartown 72-51 on Friday, January 17th, continuing a totally winless season. It was up to the girls to salvage the night for West Rome, and they did that with a 37-29 victory over the Bulldogs.

Merle Haggard appeared in concert at the Rome City Auditorium on January 17th, accompanied by Bonnie Owens, Johnny Duncan, and the Osborne Brothers. (Yes, there was a time when Rome actually got concerts!)

Piggly Wiggly had fresh whole fryers for 29¢ a pound, Oscar Mayer bologna for 49¢ a package, and sweet potatoes for 12¢ a pound. Kroger had round steak for 98¢ a pound, Starkist tuna for 33¢ a can, and fresh strawberries for 29¢ a pint. A&P had sirloin steak for $1.09 a pound, Bush beans for a dime a can, and tomatoes for 39¢ a pound.  Big Apple had jiffy steak for $1.29 a pound, Campbell's tomato soup for a dime a can, and bananas for a dime a pound. Couch's had spare ribs for 59¢ a pound, Saltine crackers for 39¢ a box, and temple oranges for a dime a pound.

The cinematic week began with On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the only James Bond film to star George Lazenby, who turned out to the one of the best Bonds ever) at the DeSoto Theatre, Alfred the Great (starring David Hemmings) at the First Avenue, The Riot (starring Jim Brown) at the Village, and Parent Trap (starring Hayley Mills) at the West Rome Drive-In. The weekend switch out brought Undefeated (starring John Wayne) to the DeSoto, Take the Money and Run (starring Woody Allen) to the First Avenue, Alaskan Safari (a documentary starring no one you've heard of) to the Village Theatre, and Midnight Cowboy (starring Dustin Hoffman) to the West Rome Drive-In.

BJ Thomas took the number one slot this week with "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," a song written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the film Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. Other top ten hits included "Venus" by the Shocking Blue (#2); "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5 (#3); "Someday We'll be Together" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (#4); "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin (#5); "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul, & Mary (#6); "Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin'" by Elvis Presley (#7); "Without Love (There Is Nothing)" by Tom Jones (#8); "Jam Up & Jelly Tight" by Tommy Roe (#9); and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Dionne Warwick (#10).

What a week it was for great album: the top five LPs this week in 1970 were Abbey Road by the Beatles (#1); Led Zeppelin II (#2); Willy and the Poorboys by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#3); Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas (#4); and Let It Bleed by the Rolling Stones (#5), with Three Dog Night, Engelbert Humperdinck, Blood Sweat & Tears, Santana, and the Easy Rider Soundtrack taking the next five chart positions.

The end of an era: Diana Ross and the Supremes performed together for the last time this week in 1970. The week's most prominent album release was Magic Christian Music by Badfinger, which featured the hit single "Come and Get It," a song written by Paul McCartney, who produced that track and two other songs; another track was produced by Beatles producer George Martin.

The  glory days of the Warren horror comics magazine Creepy were coming to an end, but they had one final moment of brilliance this week in 1970 with the release of Creepy #32, which featured a Frank Frazetta cover painting and a lead story, "Rock God," written by Harlan Ellison and illustrated by Neal Adams. Both Frazetta and Adams would soon leave Warren entirely, unfortunately.

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