Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/26/1970 to 2/1/1970

A strong thunderstorm brought severe winds and a possible tornado to West Rome in the early morning hours of Monday, January 26th. A prefabricated metal shed was lifted off the ground and thrown against a tree on Echota Circle; a sales banner at John  Wood Service Station on Shorter Avenue was destroyed; and roof damage was reported to several homes along Burnett Ferry Road.

West Rome's basketball team posted its second victory of the season with a 62-52 win over the Darlington Tigers. Floyd Miller was the lead scorer for the Chiefs, racking up 36 points.

West Rome linebacker David Watkins was tagged for honorable mention on the All-America grid squad, which was selected by Coach and Athlete magazine. He was one of only 20 Georgia high-school players so honored.

Ronnie Gravely, a senior at West Rome, was selected as male student of the year by the Rome Chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America. Gravley advanced to the Northwest Georgia District level, where he would compete with students of twelve other schools for the title of District student of the year; at that point, he would advance to state competition.

The West Rome band performed in a band festival held at the City Auditorium to benefit the March of Dimes; assistant school superintendent Jesse Lasseter was the co-chairman of the event along with Floyd County assistant superintendent Tim Watkins.

The Johnny Reb convenience store on Shorter Avenue was robbed at gunpoint on Thursday, January 29th. The two armed robbers took cash from the store and took a wallet from the store employee.

Floyd County Hospital announced a rate increase this week in 1970: a private hospital room increased $5 to $39 a day, while a semi-private room increased to $30 a day. The charge for  an emergency room visit increased to $35, while a $5 fee was added for emergency room patients who were then admitted to the hospital (but the emergency room cost would be be applied to the first day's stay at the hospital). (The inflation multiplier from 1970 to 2020 is 6.62, which means that in today's dollars, a private room would cost $258, a semi-private room would cost $199, and an emergency room visit would cost $231. It's staggering to see how much more than the cost of inflation hospital costs have increased in fifty years--and it's also interesting to know that in 1970 the hospital shared the cost of all hospital costs and procedures in advance with anyone who wanted to know.)

National City Bank increased the interest rate it was paying on certificates of deposit (then called "saving certificates") to 5.5% for a one-year certificate and 5.75% for a two-year certificate. But First National Bank trounced that rate with a 7.5% 30-month saving certificate, the highest rate ever offered for an insured CD on Rome history at that time.

Piggly Wiggly had round steak for 89¢ a pound, Maxwell House coffee for 66¢ a pound, and potatoes for 6¢ a pound. Kroger had chuck steak for 69¢ a pound, orange juice for 66¢ a half-gallon, and tomatoes for 29¢ a pound. A&P had fresh whole fryers for 27¢ a pound, spam for 39¢ a can, and lettuce for 25¢ a head. Big Apple had spare ribs for 79¢ a pound, Kinnett's ice cream for 79¢ a half-gallon, and pears for 13¢ each. Couch's had ground beef for 55¢ a pound, Libby's spaghetti & meatballs for 49¢ a can, and Bama grape jelly for 29¢ a jar.

The cinematic week began with Krakatoa, East of Java (starring Brian Keith) at the DeSoto Theatre, Christmas Tree (starring William Holden) at the First Avenue, Viva Max (starring Peter Ustinov) at the Village, and Alice's Restaurant (starring Arlo Guthrie) at the West Rome Drive-In. The weekend switch out brought 101 Dalmations to the DeSoto, Easy Rider (starring Peter Fonda (to the First Avenue, The Reivers (starring Steve McQueen) to the Village, and Medium Cool (starring Robert Forster) to the West Rome Drive-In.

"Venus" by the Shocking Blue took the top honors on the music charts this week in 1970. Other top ten hits included "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5 (#2); "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by BJ Thomas (#3); "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin/Everybody Is a Star" by Sly & The Family Stone (#4); "Without Love (There Is Nothing)" by Tom Jones (#5); "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Dionne Warwick (#6); "Hey There Lonely Girl" by Eddie Holman (#7); "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin (#8); "No Time" by the Guess Who (#9); and "Jingle Jangle" by the Archies (#10).

James Taylor's second album (But the first one that most people ever heard of) Sweet Baby James was released this week in 1970. The album, driven by the hit song "Fire and Rain," would make James Taylor a folk-rock superstar.