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.
Friday, January 25, 2019
Friday, January 18, 2019
Fifty Years Ago in West Rome - 1/20/1969 to 1/26/1969
West Rome defeated their down-the-road rivals, the Coosa Eagles, 50-43 on Friday night, with Kenny Stephens the top scorer at 18 points. The girls team also won, 59-33, with Debbie Poarch accounting for 33 of those points (which means that she scored as many points as the entire Coosa team!).
The Rome Jaycees announced plans to collect petition signatures to call for a referendum on the legal sale of alcoholic beverages in Rome and Floyd County. "The Rome Jaycees take no position either for against the legal sale of alcoholic beverages," the group said in its statement of support, "but does feel that the present situation calls for a current statement of public policy by the taxpayers and citizens in the form of a referendum."
Gibson Discount Center announced plans to open a store on Highway 27 north of Rome, near the Georgia State Patrol headquarters. The company said that they envisioned the new store as being 20% bigger than Big K in West Rome, which was at the time the largest store in Rome and Floyd County. The store expected to hire 200 full and part-time employees once it opened.
Fairbanks Manufacturing announced plans to add 20,000 additional square feet to its West Rome plant. Fairbanks was Rome's oldest continuously-operating industry, dating back to 1887. The expansion would also lead to the creation of 60 new jobs.
General Electric also set a hiring record this week in 1969, with 1812 people employed at the plant located just up the road from West Rome High School. Nearly 200 new employees were hired in 1968 and the first week of 1969, making GE the largest single employer in the entire Northwest Georgia area.
Nowadays, if we want to talk to someone anywhere in the country, we just grab our mobile phone and give them a call—but it was entirely different back in the late 1960s, when the person-to-person daytime rate for a call from Rome to New York was more than a dollar a minute! To save on that cost, Southern Bell began pushing their Long Distance Direct service, which meant that you dialed the number rather than asking the operator to connect you to a person. The advantage? It was 40% cheaper. The disadvantage? If someone answered but the person you wanted to talk to wasn't there, you still had to pay for the first minute (with person to person calls, you only paid from the moment you began talking to the specific person you were trying to call). And the rates dropped an additional 25% if you called Long Distance Direct after 7:00 pm, which mean you could talk cross-country for as low as 40¢ a minute (that's almost $3.00 in today's money, adjusted for inflation)!
Piggly Wiggly had chicken breasts for 49¢ a pound, Oreida tater tots for 38¢ a two-pound bag, and a 35-ounce box of Fab detergent for 19¢. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Bailey Supreme coffee for 55¢ a pound, and Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon. Kroger had perch filet for 39¢ a pound, Appian Way frozen pizza for 33¢ each, and tomatoes for 29¢ a pound. A&P had beef liver for 35¢ a pound, Poss Brunswick stew for 49¢ a can, and Amour Treet for 55¢ a can. Couch's had Oscar Mayer wieners for 59¢ a pound, Duncan Hines cake mix for 33¢ a box, and Van Camp's chili with beans for 33¢ a can.
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 a double feature of Thunderball and From Russia With Love (two James Bond films starring Sean Connery) at the West Rome Drive-In. Both The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit and Barbarella hung around for the remainder of the week, but the West Rome Drive-In traded James Bond for The Fox (starring Sandy Dennis).
Tommy James & the Shondells scored a number one hit with "Crimson and Clover" this week in 1969. 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); "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (#5); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations (#6); "I Started a Joke" by the Bee Gees (#7); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#8); "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#9); and "Build Me Up Buttercup" by the Foundations (#10).
Neil Young released his eponymous first solo album this week in 1969... sort of. The album was released for a couple of days in November 1968, but a manufacturing error resulted in an album that sounded so bad that Warner/Reprise records recalled all copies and redid the album for a January release.
The Rome Jaycees announced plans to collect petition signatures to call for a referendum on the legal sale of alcoholic beverages in Rome and Floyd County. "The Rome Jaycees take no position either for against the legal sale of alcoholic beverages," the group said in its statement of support, "but does feel that the present situation calls for a current statement of public policy by the taxpayers and citizens in the form of a referendum."
Gibson Discount Center announced plans to open a store on Highway 27 north of Rome, near the Georgia State Patrol headquarters. The company said that they envisioned the new store as being 20% bigger than Big K in West Rome, which was at the time the largest store in Rome and Floyd County. The store expected to hire 200 full and part-time employees once it opened.
Fairbanks Manufacturing announced plans to add 20,000 additional square feet to its West Rome plant. Fairbanks was Rome's oldest continuously-operating industry, dating back to 1887. The expansion would also lead to the creation of 60 new jobs.
General Electric also set a hiring record this week in 1969, with 1812 people employed at the plant located just up the road from West Rome High School. Nearly 200 new employees were hired in 1968 and the first week of 1969, making GE the largest single employer in the entire Northwest Georgia area.
Nowadays, if we want to talk to someone anywhere in the country, we just grab our mobile phone and give them a call—but it was entirely different back in the late 1960s, when the person-to-person daytime rate for a call from Rome to New York was more than a dollar a minute! To save on that cost, Southern Bell began pushing their Long Distance Direct service, which meant that you dialed the number rather than asking the operator to connect you to a person. The advantage? It was 40% cheaper. The disadvantage? If someone answered but the person you wanted to talk to wasn't there, you still had to pay for the first minute (with person to person calls, you only paid from the moment you began talking to the specific person you were trying to call). And the rates dropped an additional 25% if you called Long Distance Direct after 7:00 pm, which mean you could talk cross-country for as low as 40¢ a minute (that's almost $3.00 in today's money, adjusted for inflation)!
Piggly Wiggly had chicken breasts for 49¢ a pound, Oreida tater tots for 38¢ a two-pound bag, and a 35-ounce box of Fab detergent for 19¢. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Bailey Supreme coffee for 55¢ a pound, and Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon. Kroger had perch filet for 39¢ a pound, Appian Way frozen pizza for 33¢ each, and tomatoes for 29¢ a pound. A&P had beef liver for 35¢ a pound, Poss Brunswick stew for 49¢ a can, and Amour Treet for 55¢ a can. Couch's had Oscar Mayer wieners for 59¢ a pound, Duncan Hines cake mix for 33¢ a box, and Van Camp's chili with beans for 33¢ a can.
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 a double feature of Thunderball and From Russia With Love (two James Bond films starring Sean Connery) at the West Rome Drive-In. Both The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit and Barbarella hung around for the remainder of the week, but the West Rome Drive-In traded James Bond for The Fox (starring Sandy Dennis).
Tommy James & the Shondells scored a number one hit with "Crimson and Clover" this week in 1969. 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); "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (#5); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations (#6); "I Started a Joke" by the Bee Gees (#7); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#8); "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#9); and "Build Me Up Buttercup" by the Foundations (#10).
Neil Young released his eponymous first solo album this week in 1969... sort of. The album was released for a couple of days in November 1968, but a manufacturing error resulted in an album that sounded so bad that Warner/Reprise records recalled all copies and redid the album for a January release.
Friday, January 11, 2019
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/13/19 to 1/19/19
West Rome drum majorette Kippy Scarborough represented Rome and Floyd County in the Georgia Jaycee Junior Miss Pageant on Friday and Saturday, January 17th and January 18th--and she made a great impression on the judges, winning the title at the Georgia Junior Miss Pageant in Cartersville. That meant that Kippy would go on to represent Georgia in May at the National Junior Miss Pageant in Mobile, Alabama.
The Chieftains took on Cass on Friday, January 17th. While West Rome had a better win/loss record that Cass, Coach Randall Kent warned that the Colonels had been particularly strong since mid-December. Turned out he was right to be worried: Cass racked up an 83-55 victory over West Rome's boys. Thankfully, the girls team stopped the evening from being a total disaster, racking up a 58-34 victory; Juanita Williams was the leading scorer for the Chieftains with 24 points.
Rome landed a premier industry this week in 1969 with the announcement that Bekaert Steel Wire Corporation would be constructing a 135,000 square foot building on the US 411 interchange at Furnace Road. The plant was expected to initially employee sixty people, but could eventually expand to employ more than 100. And that wasn't the only bid of good news on the manufacturing front for Rome: Design Homes Corporation announced plans to build a mobile home manufacturing plant on Old Lindale Road, which would ultimately employ 120 people.
Governor Lester Maddox unveiled his proposed two-year state budget of $2.3 billion, which included $18.5 million for new state health facilities (including a tuberculosis treatment center) in Rome. The proposal also included an increase in the state sales tax from 3% to 4%. One state representative said that Governor Maddox was "asking for a Cadillac on a Ford budget."
Rome's state senator, Sm Doss, introduced a bill to repeal legislation passed in 1968 that secured retirement pensions for state legislators. "I feel that legislators are not entitled to a retirement program," Rome state representative Charles Graves said in support of Doss. Graves and Doss said they had already lined up a number of votes to support their efforts to reverse the retirement program for legislators.
Navy Lieutenant William Covington, attached to the Civil Engineer Corps, was announced missing in action after his helicopter was shot down on a mission from Da Nang to Chu Lai, Vietnam. Covington was shot down on January 7th, but the military withheld the announcement until it completed five days of searching for the helicopter crew.
Piggly Wiggly had top round steak for 98¢ a pound, large eggs for 53¢ a dozen, and Bama jelly for 26¢ a jar. Kroger had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, Del Monte fruit cocktail for a quarter a can, and Blue Plate mayonnaise for 38¢ a quart. A&P had smoked ham for 35¢ a pound, Eight O'Clock coffee for 65¢ a pound, and a 1.5 pound can of Poss Brunswick stew for 49¢. Big Apple had pork chops for 89¢ a pound, Banquet frozen cream pies for 29¢ each, and RC or Diet Rite cola for 33¢ a carton (plus deposit). Couch's had chicken breast for 45¢ pound, Van Camp's pork &I beans for 17¢ a can, and bananas for a dime a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Impossible Years (starring David Niven) at the DeSoto Theatre, Don't Raise the Bridge—Lower the River (starring Jerry Lewis) at the First Avenue, and Wild in the Streets (starring Shelley Winters) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (starring Dean Jones) to the DeSoto Theatre, Barbarella (starring Jane Fonda) to the First Avenue, and The Other Side of Bonnie & Clyde (starring Burl Ives) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye held on to the number one slot for the seventh week with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "Crimson & Clover" by Tommy James & The Shondells (#2); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations (#3); "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#4); "Everyday People" by Sly & The Family Stone (#5); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#6); "Touch Me" by The Doors (#6); "Worst That Could Happen" by Brooklyn Bridge (#8); "I Started a Joke" by the Bee Gees (#9); and "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield (#10).
Iron Butterfly followed up their monster hit album In-A-Gadda-da-Vida with their third album, Ball, released this week in 1969. The album was the final one to feature the lineup of Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy, Lee Dorman, and Erik Brann. While critics agreed that the album was more ambitious and more diversified than the group's prior release, it failed to duplicate In-A-Gadda-da-Vida's success.
Dick York, well known as Darrin on the hit series Bewitched, collapsed on the set of the show on January 13th and was subsequently hospitalized. Within days, York's serious health issues led to his abrupt resignation from the series, and York was replaced with Dick Sargent, who played Darrin Stephens for the remainder of the series.
The Chieftains took on Cass on Friday, January 17th. While West Rome had a better win/loss record that Cass, Coach Randall Kent warned that the Colonels had been particularly strong since mid-December. Turned out he was right to be worried: Cass racked up an 83-55 victory over West Rome's boys. Thankfully, the girls team stopped the evening from being a total disaster, racking up a 58-34 victory; Juanita Williams was the leading scorer for the Chieftains with 24 points.
Rome landed a premier industry this week in 1969 with the announcement that Bekaert Steel Wire Corporation would be constructing a 135,000 square foot building on the US 411 interchange at Furnace Road. The plant was expected to initially employee sixty people, but could eventually expand to employ more than 100. And that wasn't the only bid of good news on the manufacturing front for Rome: Design Homes Corporation announced plans to build a mobile home manufacturing plant on Old Lindale Road, which would ultimately employ 120 people.
Governor Lester Maddox unveiled his proposed two-year state budget of $2.3 billion, which included $18.5 million for new state health facilities (including a tuberculosis treatment center) in Rome. The proposal also included an increase in the state sales tax from 3% to 4%. One state representative said that Governor Maddox was "asking for a Cadillac on a Ford budget."
Rome's state senator, Sm Doss, introduced a bill to repeal legislation passed in 1968 that secured retirement pensions for state legislators. "I feel that legislators are not entitled to a retirement program," Rome state representative Charles Graves said in support of Doss. Graves and Doss said they had already lined up a number of votes to support their efforts to reverse the retirement program for legislators.
Navy Lieutenant William Covington, attached to the Civil Engineer Corps, was announced missing in action after his helicopter was shot down on a mission from Da Nang to Chu Lai, Vietnam. Covington was shot down on January 7th, but the military withheld the announcement until it completed five days of searching for the helicopter crew.
Piggly Wiggly had top round steak for 98¢ a pound, large eggs for 53¢ a dozen, and Bama jelly for 26¢ a jar. Kroger had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, Del Monte fruit cocktail for a quarter a can, and Blue Plate mayonnaise for 38¢ a quart. A&P had smoked ham for 35¢ a pound, Eight O'Clock coffee for 65¢ a pound, and a 1.5 pound can of Poss Brunswick stew for 49¢. Big Apple had pork chops for 89¢ a pound, Banquet frozen cream pies for 29¢ each, and RC or Diet Rite cola for 33¢ a carton (plus deposit). Couch's had chicken breast for 45¢ pound, Van Camp's pork &I beans for 17¢ a can, and bananas for a dime a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Impossible Years (starring David Niven) at the DeSoto Theatre, Don't Raise the Bridge—Lower the River (starring Jerry Lewis) at the First Avenue, and Wild in the Streets (starring Shelley Winters) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (starring Dean Jones) to the DeSoto Theatre, Barbarella (starring Jane Fonda) to the First Avenue, and The Other Side of Bonnie & Clyde (starring Burl Ives) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye held on to the number one slot for the seventh week with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "Crimson & Clover" by Tommy James & The Shondells (#2); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations (#3); "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#4); "Everyday People" by Sly & The Family Stone (#5); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#6); "Touch Me" by The Doors (#6); "Worst That Could Happen" by Brooklyn Bridge (#8); "I Started a Joke" by the Bee Gees (#9); and "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield (#10).
Iron Butterfly followed up their monster hit album In-A-Gadda-da-Vida with their third album, Ball, released this week in 1969. The album was the final one to feature the lineup of Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy, Lee Dorman, and Erik Brann. While critics agreed that the album was more ambitious and more diversified than the group's prior release, it failed to duplicate In-A-Gadda-da-Vida's success.
Dick York, well known as Darrin on the hit series Bewitched, collapsed on the set of the show on January 13th and was subsequently hospitalized. Within days, York's serious health issues led to his abrupt resignation from the series, and York was replaced with Dick Sargent, who played Darrin Stephens for the remainder of the series.
Friday, January 04, 2019
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/6/1969 to 1/12/1969
Romans awoke to a very frigid six degrees on Monday morning, January 6th, with a chance of flurries later on Monday afternoon. The cold front pushed temperatures into the 20s as far south as Gainesville, Florida, while temperatures fell to zero in Hiawassee. The cold weather didn't last for very long, though, with highs warming up to the low fifties and lows in the mid-thirties by the middle of the week.
The Rome City Commission kicked off their first meeting of 1969 on Monday night--and by the time the meeting was over, Romans had a 4 mil tax increase to 38 mills, an almost 12% tax increase that took Rome City taxes up the maximum allowed by Georgia law. In addition, the city announced plans to re-evaluate all city properties, pointing out that a tax re-evaluation had not been done in almost fifteen years. With most values expected to increase significantly, this meant that Rome residents could expect even larger tax increases by the time the new bills came in. The city did say that, if the re-evaluation produced significantly more income than anticipated, they would consider reducing the 4 mill tax increase. (This tax increase included school system funding as well, since there was no separate school tax at this time.)
And no sooner was a tax increase announced than the Rome Board of Education announced plans to purchase classroom television sets for both East Rome and West Rome High School, as well as city elementary schools and junior high schools. Initial plans called for each high school school to receive a half-dozen televisions plus carts that would enable them to be rolled to classrooms when needed; a smaller number of sets would be allotted to each elementary school, but the city anticipated buying 75 sets and carts in total for a cost a $12,000. Savage TV and Electronics won the contract for the TV sets, and it was expected that all sets would be installed and ready for use by the start of the 1969-1970 school year. Superintendent Milton McDonald said that some schools would receive extra televisions because their local PTA groups were supplementing the tax money. Ideally, the city hoped that the PTA funding and the tax revenues would enable them to have one television set for every four teachers, although they admitted that they would probably be shooting for one TV for every five teachers to begin with.
West End and Elm Street both posted victories in Mite League basketball games held at the Boys Club. West End defeated Model 33-17, with Rickey Ramsey the top scorer at 15 points; Elm Street defeated Alto Park 47-12 with Brad Hatch the top scorer at 16 points.
Piggly Wiggly had Cudahy ham for 58¢ a pound, Lady Alice ice milk for 29¢ a half-gallon, and a five-pound bag of Colonial sugar for 38¢. Big Apple had whole fryers for 25¢ a pound, JFG coffee for 49¢ a pound, and bananas for a dime a pound. A&P had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, strawberries for 33¢ a pint, and Jane Parker donuts for 25¢ a dozen. Kroger had center-cut pork chops for 89¢ a pound, large eggs for 55¢ a dozen, and Kroger gelatin for 7¢ a box. Couch's had lamb shoulder roast for 49¢ a pound, Gold Meal mayonnaise for 39¢ a quart, and tomatoes for 25¢ a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Impossible Years (starring David Niven) at the DeSoto Theatre, Bullitt (starring Steve McQueen) at the First Avenue, and Hell Fighters (starring John Wayne) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Lady in Cement (starring Frank Sinatra) to the DeSoto, Don't Raise the Bridge—Lower the River (starring Jerry Lewis) to the First Avenue, and Wild in the Streets (starring Shelley Winters) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye's grip on the number one slot on the Billboard charts continued for a sixth 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 and The Temptations (#2); "Beautiful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#3); "Crimson & Clover" by Tommy James & The Shondells (#4); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#5); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#6): "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#7); "Touch Me" by the Doors (#8); "Worst That Could Happen" by Brooklyn Bridge (#9); and"Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield (#10).
Led Zeppelin changed music history with the release of their first album this week in 1969. The album cemented Jimmy Page's role as one of rock's most influential and innovative guitarists, while Robert Plant's voice (described by Rolling Stone as "goosefart vocals") gave the band a sound quite unlike anything rock fans had heard before.
The Rome City Commission kicked off their first meeting of 1969 on Monday night--and by the time the meeting was over, Romans had a 4 mil tax increase to 38 mills, an almost 12% tax increase that took Rome City taxes up the maximum allowed by Georgia law. In addition, the city announced plans to re-evaluate all city properties, pointing out that a tax re-evaluation had not been done in almost fifteen years. With most values expected to increase significantly, this meant that Rome residents could expect even larger tax increases by the time the new bills came in. The city did say that, if the re-evaluation produced significantly more income than anticipated, they would consider reducing the 4 mill tax increase. (This tax increase included school system funding as well, since there was no separate school tax at this time.)
And no sooner was a tax increase announced than the Rome Board of Education announced plans to purchase classroom television sets for both East Rome and West Rome High School, as well as city elementary schools and junior high schools. Initial plans called for each high school school to receive a half-dozen televisions plus carts that would enable them to be rolled to classrooms when needed; a smaller number of sets would be allotted to each elementary school, but the city anticipated buying 75 sets and carts in total for a cost a $12,000. Savage TV and Electronics won the contract for the TV sets, and it was expected that all sets would be installed and ready for use by the start of the 1969-1970 school year. Superintendent Milton McDonald said that some schools would receive extra televisions because their local PTA groups were supplementing the tax money. Ideally, the city hoped that the PTA funding and the tax revenues would enable them to have one television set for every four teachers, although they admitted that they would probably be shooting for one TV for every five teachers to begin with.
West End and Elm Street both posted victories in Mite League basketball games held at the Boys Club. West End defeated Model 33-17, with Rickey Ramsey the top scorer at 15 points; Elm Street defeated Alto Park 47-12 with Brad Hatch the top scorer at 16 points.
Piggly Wiggly had Cudahy ham for 58¢ a pound, Lady Alice ice milk for 29¢ a half-gallon, and a five-pound bag of Colonial sugar for 38¢. Big Apple had whole fryers for 25¢ a pound, JFG coffee for 49¢ a pound, and bananas for a dime a pound. A&P had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, strawberries for 33¢ a pint, and Jane Parker donuts for 25¢ a dozen. Kroger had center-cut pork chops for 89¢ a pound, large eggs for 55¢ a dozen, and Kroger gelatin for 7¢ a box. Couch's had lamb shoulder roast for 49¢ a pound, Gold Meal mayonnaise for 39¢ a quart, and tomatoes for 25¢ a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Impossible Years (starring David Niven) at the DeSoto Theatre, Bullitt (starring Steve McQueen) at the First Avenue, and Hell Fighters (starring John Wayne) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Lady in Cement (starring Frank Sinatra) to the DeSoto, Don't Raise the Bridge—Lower the River (starring Jerry Lewis) to the First Avenue, and Wild in the Streets (starring Shelley Winters) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye's grip on the number one slot on the Billboard charts continued for a sixth 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 and The Temptations (#2); "Beautiful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#3); "Crimson & Clover" by Tommy James & The Shondells (#4); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#5); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#6): "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#7); "Touch Me" by the Doors (#8); "Worst That Could Happen" by Brooklyn Bridge (#9); and"Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield (#10).
Led Zeppelin changed music history with the release of their first album this week in 1969. The album cemented Jimmy Page's role as one of rock's most influential and innovative guitarists, while Robert Plant's voice (described by Rolling Stone as "goosefart vocals") gave the band a sound quite unlike anything rock fans had heard before.
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.
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.
Friday, December 21, 2018
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 12/23/1968 to 12/29/1968
Rome and Floyd County students celebrated a long holiday break. Both school systems were closed the week of Christmas and the week of New Years, giving students 16 days in a row out of school. Floyd County non-school employees got all day Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a holiday. Rome city non-school employees got the shortest break of all; they had to work until noon on Christmas Eve and then got Christmas Day off.
Rome didn't get a white Christmas, but it did get a cold Christmas, with a low of 15 degrees on Christmas Eve night and a high of 35 on Christmas day. Temperatures warmed into the upper forties later in the week.
West Rome defeated Cedartown 74-56 on December 23rd to advance to the semifinals of the Rome News-Tribune Holiday Festival basketball tournament. William Shelton was the Chieftains' high scorer with 18 points. West Rome then defeated Pepperell 60-51 on December 26th to advance to the finals; Kenny Stephens was the high scorer with 18 points. Alas, West Rome lost 75-49 to the Calhoun Yellow Jackets in the final round of play.
Rome and Floyd County released nine prisoners so that they could enjoy Christmas with their families--but two of them returned to jail on Christmas day because they didn't want to miss the Christmas meal for prisoners, which included baked ham, turkey, dressing, lima beans, Waldorf salad, cranberry sauce, fresh biscuits, fruitcake, coffee, and tea, along with an assortment of candy, fruit, and nuts. Warden Bill Scoggins said it wasn't unusual for prisoners to voluntarily return to jail. "Most of them can't get a meal this good anywhere else," he said.
Vandals damaged almost every gravestone at the West Seventh Avenue Cemetery in the early hours of Monday morning, December 23rd. According to the Rome Police, the vandals climbed over a fence and entered the cemetery at about 2am, where they used sledgehammers to shatter tombstones and used other implements to tear up the grass on numerous graves. They also scattered all flower arrangements around the cemetery. The vandals were gone by the time the police arrived.
Christmas thieves went looking for their own gifts in the early morning hours of Christmas Day, and found them at Quality Produce Company (where they broke into a safe and stole $400 in cash, $1000 worth of stock certificates, and a bag of old coins), at Hill Truck & Tractor Company (where they stole almost $7000 worth of tools), and at S&S Supermarket (where they stole two hams, a turkey, some cigarettes, and about $100 in cash). Burglary attempts at Big K and the Singer Sewing Center at Gala Shopping Center proved unsuccessful.
Three adolescents (all East Rome students, of course) were found under the Second Avenue Bridge on the night of December 27th, all highly intoxicated. Their beverage of choice? Vanilla extract, which had an alcohol base; they had all drunk several bottles before passing out. The 13 and 16 year olds were released to their parents, but the 12 year old drank so much that he had to be hospitalized.
Piggly Wiggly had hog jowl for 16¢ a pound, Heinz tomato soup for a dime a can, and Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 33¢ a carton (plus deposit). Kroger had five pounds of Dixie Crystals sugar for 39¢, tom turkeys for 28¢ a pound, and oranges for 33¢ a dozen. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Southern Maid black-eyed peas for a dime a can, and bananas for a dime a pound. A&P had jiffy steak for 89¢ a pound, Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon, and golden delicious apples for 12¢ a pound. Couch's had pork roast for 59¢ a pound, collard greens for 25¢ a bunch, and ten pounds of potatoes for 49¢.
Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders celebrated Christmas 1968 very far away from home—farther than any human being had ever been before, in fact. Shortly before Christmas, they became the first humans to orbit the moon (and the first humans to see the dark side of the moon, as well as the first humans to witness Earthrise over the surface of the moon. On Christmas Eve night, while in orbit around the moon, the crew assured those of us who were still earthbound that there is a Santa Claus, after which they read a passage from the book of Genesis. They left lunar orbit on Christmas Day and returned to Earth on December 27th.
The cinematic week began with The Split (starring Julie Harris) at the DeSoto Theatre, Far From the Madding Crowd (starring Julie Christie) at the First Avenue, and Salt & Pepper (starring Peter Lawford) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Hellfighters (starring John Wayne) to the DeSoto Theatre, Bullitt (starring Steve McQueen) to the First Avenue, and Coogan's Bluff (starring Clint Eastwood) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye climbed to the number one slot this week in 1968 with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#2); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (#3); "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#4); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#5); "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations (#6); "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes (#7); "Stormy" by the Classics IV Featuring Dennis Yost (#8); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#9); and "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#10).
Rome didn't get a white Christmas, but it did get a cold Christmas, with a low of 15 degrees on Christmas Eve night and a high of 35 on Christmas day. Temperatures warmed into the upper forties later in the week.
West Rome defeated Cedartown 74-56 on December 23rd to advance to the semifinals of the Rome News-Tribune Holiday Festival basketball tournament. William Shelton was the Chieftains' high scorer with 18 points. West Rome then defeated Pepperell 60-51 on December 26th to advance to the finals; Kenny Stephens was the high scorer with 18 points. Alas, West Rome lost 75-49 to the Calhoun Yellow Jackets in the final round of play.
Rome and Floyd County released nine prisoners so that they could enjoy Christmas with their families--but two of them returned to jail on Christmas day because they didn't want to miss the Christmas meal for prisoners, which included baked ham, turkey, dressing, lima beans, Waldorf salad, cranberry sauce, fresh biscuits, fruitcake, coffee, and tea, along with an assortment of candy, fruit, and nuts. Warden Bill Scoggins said it wasn't unusual for prisoners to voluntarily return to jail. "Most of them can't get a meal this good anywhere else," he said.
Vandals damaged almost every gravestone at the West Seventh Avenue Cemetery in the early hours of Monday morning, December 23rd. According to the Rome Police, the vandals climbed over a fence and entered the cemetery at about 2am, where they used sledgehammers to shatter tombstones and used other implements to tear up the grass on numerous graves. They also scattered all flower arrangements around the cemetery. The vandals were gone by the time the police arrived.
Christmas thieves went looking for their own gifts in the early morning hours of Christmas Day, and found them at Quality Produce Company (where they broke into a safe and stole $400 in cash, $1000 worth of stock certificates, and a bag of old coins), at Hill Truck & Tractor Company (where they stole almost $7000 worth of tools), and at S&S Supermarket (where they stole two hams, a turkey, some cigarettes, and about $100 in cash). Burglary attempts at Big K and the Singer Sewing Center at Gala Shopping Center proved unsuccessful.
Three adolescents (all East Rome students, of course) were found under the Second Avenue Bridge on the night of December 27th, all highly intoxicated. Their beverage of choice? Vanilla extract, which had an alcohol base; they had all drunk several bottles before passing out. The 13 and 16 year olds were released to their parents, but the 12 year old drank so much that he had to be hospitalized.
Piggly Wiggly had hog jowl for 16¢ a pound, Heinz tomato soup for a dime a can, and Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 33¢ a carton (plus deposit). Kroger had five pounds of Dixie Crystals sugar for 39¢, tom turkeys for 28¢ a pound, and oranges for 33¢ a dozen. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Southern Maid black-eyed peas for a dime a can, and bananas for a dime a pound. A&P had jiffy steak for 89¢ a pound, Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon, and golden delicious apples for 12¢ a pound. Couch's had pork roast for 59¢ a pound, collard greens for 25¢ a bunch, and ten pounds of potatoes for 49¢.
Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders celebrated Christmas 1968 very far away from home—farther than any human being had ever been before, in fact. Shortly before Christmas, they became the first humans to orbit the moon (and the first humans to see the dark side of the moon, as well as the first humans to witness Earthrise over the surface of the moon. On Christmas Eve night, while in orbit around the moon, the crew assured those of us who were still earthbound that there is a Santa Claus, after which they read a passage from the book of Genesis. They left lunar orbit on Christmas Day and returned to Earth on December 27th.
The cinematic week began with The Split (starring Julie Harris) at the DeSoto Theatre, Far From the Madding Crowd (starring Julie Christie) at the First Avenue, and Salt & Pepper (starring Peter Lawford) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Hellfighters (starring John Wayne) to the DeSoto Theatre, Bullitt (starring Steve McQueen) to the First Avenue, and Coogan's Bluff (starring Clint Eastwood) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye climbed to the number one slot this week in 1968 with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#2); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (#3); "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#4); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#5); "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations (#6); "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes (#7); "Stormy" by the Classics IV Featuring Dennis Yost (#8); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#9); and "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#10).
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 12/16/1968 to 12/22/1968
Christmas was approaching fast, but West Rome students were still hard at work, since school was in session the entire week of December 15th through the 20th. And while the weather was seasonably cold, there wasn't even a chance for frozen precipitation delivering a pre-Christmas snow day.
Some students got to stay home, but it's doubtful that they were enjoying the time off. Rome was struggling with a Hong Kong flu outbreak this week in 1968. While the outbreak wasn't bad enough to be classified as an epidemic, city and county schools reported almost double the absentee rate. Six drug manufacturers were working overtime to produce a Hong Kong flu vaccine, but health officials worried that the early onset would run its course before sufficient quantities of the vaccine could be made available to local residents.
West Rome's boys basketball team defeated Model 63-45 in the first round of play of the 15th annual Rome News-Tribune Holiday Basketball Festival. Richard Wood was the top scorer for the Chieftains with 19 points, while Kenny Stephens scored 15 points and William Shelton scored 12 points.
Floyd County detectives and police arrested three men who were running a burglary ring focusing on residential break-ins in North Georgia and Alabama. Floyd County officers recovered cash, firearms, stereo equipment, hunting supplies, radios, and more; they believed that the burglary ring was responsible for more than two dozen break-ins in the past six months.
That wasn't the end to crime in Rome, however: the day after the burglary ring was broken, other burglars broke into Phelps Produce Company and stole produce, office equipment, a cash register with about $25 in cash, and four Christmas trees. That evening, three more men forced their way into a Floyd County home, pistol-whipped one of the residents, and left with $400 in cash.
Governor Lester Maddox came to Rome on Thursday to push his plan to increase Georgia's sales tax from 3% to 4% and to add a 1.5¢ per gallon increase to the gasoline tax.
And speaking of taxes, the social security ta rate was set to increase from 4.76% to 4.8% at the first of the year, and the federal government was warning taxpayers not to be surprised at the new rate. Social security taxes were still only payable on the first $7800 of earnings.
The political editor of the Jacksonville, Florida newspaper wrote a column describing Rome as "the prettiest town in the entire Southeast" and "worthy of a visit." He praised the beauty of the downtown area, the charm of the area's hilly terrain, the impressiveness of Berry and Shorter College, and the thriving economy of Rome as reasons why it was such a standout community.
RCA began rolling out its color televisions with Automatic Fine Tuning (AFT), which locked in stations automatically and eliminated the need for viewers to play with the fine tuning knob. The feature added about $100 onto the price of a color television, but Rome Radio Company assured potential buyers that it was worth the extra expense. "Just turn to the channel you want, sit down, and enjoy--no more fiddling with the fine tuning knob," the ad stressed.
Big K pushed shopping to new extremes when they announced plans to stay open until 11pm from December 15th through December 23rd (except for Saturday night, when they would stay open until midnight, and Sunday night, when they would close at 7pm). This made Big K the first Rome area business to push the season shopping hours past 9pm. Today, we're accustomed to stores staying open late (and in some cases, staying open 24 hours a day), but in the 1970s, the idea of staying open later that 9pm was a novelty--and many businesses still closed at 6pm or 7pm. In response, Sears announced plans to stay open until 10pm on Friday, December 20th, and until 11pm on Monday, December 23rd.
Piggly Wiggly had hen turkeys for 37¢ a pound, pumpkin pies for 27¢ each, and tangerines for 33¢ a dozen. A&P had chuck roast for 37¢ a pound, strawberries for 35¢ a pint, and Brach's cream drops for 39¢ a pound. Kroger had rib roast for 89¢ a pound, five pounds of sugar for 39¢, and oranges for 29¢ a dozen. Big Apple had tom turkeys for 33¢ a pound, shredded coconut for 59¢ a pound, and golden delicious apples for 19¢ a pound. Couch's had smoked hams for 59¢ a pound, Blue Plate mayonnaise for 49¢ a quart, and sweet potatoes for a 12¢ a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Big Gundown (starring Lee Van Cleef) at the DeSoto Theatre, Monkeys Go Home (starring Dean Jones) at the First Avenue, and The Ugly Ones (starring Richard Wyler) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Split (starring Julie Harris) to the DeSoto, Far from the Madding Crowd. (starring Julie Christie) to the First Avenue, and Deadfall (starring Michael Caine) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye held on to the number one slot on the Top Ten with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#2); "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes (#3); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#4); "Stormy" by the Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost (#5); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#6); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & The Supremes and the Temptations (#7); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#8); "I Love How You Love Me" by Bobby Vinton (#9); and "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations (#10).
Peter Tork announced his plans to leave the Monkees this week in 1968.
Some students got to stay home, but it's doubtful that they were enjoying the time off. Rome was struggling with a Hong Kong flu outbreak this week in 1968. While the outbreak wasn't bad enough to be classified as an epidemic, city and county schools reported almost double the absentee rate. Six drug manufacturers were working overtime to produce a Hong Kong flu vaccine, but health officials worried that the early onset would run its course before sufficient quantities of the vaccine could be made available to local residents.
West Rome's boys basketball team defeated Model 63-45 in the first round of play of the 15th annual Rome News-Tribune Holiday Basketball Festival. Richard Wood was the top scorer for the Chieftains with 19 points, while Kenny Stephens scored 15 points and William Shelton scored 12 points.
Floyd County detectives and police arrested three men who were running a burglary ring focusing on residential break-ins in North Georgia and Alabama. Floyd County officers recovered cash, firearms, stereo equipment, hunting supplies, radios, and more; they believed that the burglary ring was responsible for more than two dozen break-ins in the past six months.
That wasn't the end to crime in Rome, however: the day after the burglary ring was broken, other burglars broke into Phelps Produce Company and stole produce, office equipment, a cash register with about $25 in cash, and four Christmas trees. That evening, three more men forced their way into a Floyd County home, pistol-whipped one of the residents, and left with $400 in cash.
Governor Lester Maddox came to Rome on Thursday to push his plan to increase Georgia's sales tax from 3% to 4% and to add a 1.5¢ per gallon increase to the gasoline tax.
And speaking of taxes, the social security ta rate was set to increase from 4.76% to 4.8% at the first of the year, and the federal government was warning taxpayers not to be surprised at the new rate. Social security taxes were still only payable on the first $7800 of earnings.
The political editor of the Jacksonville, Florida newspaper wrote a column describing Rome as "the prettiest town in the entire Southeast" and "worthy of a visit." He praised the beauty of the downtown area, the charm of the area's hilly terrain, the impressiveness of Berry and Shorter College, and the thriving economy of Rome as reasons why it was such a standout community.
RCA began rolling out its color televisions with Automatic Fine Tuning (AFT), which locked in stations automatically and eliminated the need for viewers to play with the fine tuning knob. The feature added about $100 onto the price of a color television, but Rome Radio Company assured potential buyers that it was worth the extra expense. "Just turn to the channel you want, sit down, and enjoy--no more fiddling with the fine tuning knob," the ad stressed.
Big K pushed shopping to new extremes when they announced plans to stay open until 11pm from December 15th through December 23rd (except for Saturday night, when they would stay open until midnight, and Sunday night, when they would close at 7pm). This made Big K the first Rome area business to push the season shopping hours past 9pm. Today, we're accustomed to stores staying open late (and in some cases, staying open 24 hours a day), but in the 1970s, the idea of staying open later that 9pm was a novelty--and many businesses still closed at 6pm or 7pm. In response, Sears announced plans to stay open until 10pm on Friday, December 20th, and until 11pm on Monday, December 23rd.
Piggly Wiggly had hen turkeys for 37¢ a pound, pumpkin pies for 27¢ each, and tangerines for 33¢ a dozen. A&P had chuck roast for 37¢ a pound, strawberries for 35¢ a pint, and Brach's cream drops for 39¢ a pound. Kroger had rib roast for 89¢ a pound, five pounds of sugar for 39¢, and oranges for 29¢ a dozen. Big Apple had tom turkeys for 33¢ a pound, shredded coconut for 59¢ a pound, and golden delicious apples for 19¢ a pound. Couch's had smoked hams for 59¢ a pound, Blue Plate mayonnaise for 49¢ a quart, and sweet potatoes for a 12¢ a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Big Gundown (starring Lee Van Cleef) at the DeSoto Theatre, Monkeys Go Home (starring Dean Jones) at the First Avenue, and The Ugly Ones (starring Richard Wyler) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Split (starring Julie Harris) to the DeSoto, Far from the Madding Crowd. (starring Julie Christie) to the First Avenue, and Deadfall (starring Michael Caine) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye held on to the number one slot on the Top Ten with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#2); "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes (#3); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#4); "Stormy" by the Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost (#5); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#6); "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & The Supremes and the Temptations (#7); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#8); "I Love How You Love Me" by Bobby Vinton (#9); and "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations (#10).
Peter Tork announced his plans to leave the Monkees this week in 1968.
Thursday, December 06, 2018
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 12/9/1968 to 12/15/1968
After months of discussions about consolidating Rome's high schools into one inconveniently-located-for-everyone Rome High, the School Board unanimously rejected the plan on Monday evening, December 9th, voting instead to continue to use the existing West Rome and East Rome High Schools and the construct two new junior high schools. The board cited easier transportation, smaller class sizes with better student-teacher ratios, more individualized attention, more community involvement, more neighborhood unity, and a sense of local pride. Rome Superintendent M.S. MacDonald spoke out against the two-school plan stating his preference for one central school, but admitted that neither the board nor the citizens of Rome were in favor of the plan. The superintendent and the board did caution citizens that the decision would most likely mean a small school tax increase for 1969.
While West Rome's absentee rates were running about average this week in 1968, our crosstown rivals weren't doing so well; an outbreak of flue cases pushed East Rome High's absentee rate to about double the normal, and even 15% of the teachers were out sick by the end of the week.
Coosa headed very slightly east for the Coosa-West Rome basketball game; normally, the game was played at the Memorial Gym, but schedule conflicts forced them to move to one of the high school gyms, and West Rome won the coin toss. West Rome's boys also won the game 56-51, while the girls won 53-32. William Shelton was the high scorer for the boys team with 18 points, while Debbie Poarch was the high scorer for the girls with 37 points.
Georgians learned this week in 1968 that their average ulitity bills would be increasing almost 2% beginning in 1969. Just how much did that amount to? Well, according to Georgia Power, that would be an average increase of 19¢, meaning the average electric bill was $9.50 a month; gas bills would increase 17¢ a month on average, meaning the average gas bill was $8.50 a month. Adjusted for inflation, that would equal about $66 and $59 respectively--and I think every one of us would be thrilled to have average utility bills that ran that low!
Rome began pushing once again for funding assistance to construct a four-lane highway from Shorter Avenue along Lavender Drive and Redmond Circle to the Alabama Road; while the Appalachian Regional Commission and the state committed almost $416,000 to the project, the federal government's freeze on highway funds left the project on hold. As far as we know, the state money is still there," City Manager Bruce Hamler said. If the money were to come through, the city was ready to begin construction immediately and had all right of way agreements in place.
Romans dealt with a very cold December as temperatures fell to 15 degrees in the early morning hours of December 9th, setting a new low-temperature record.
Rome's rash of burglaries continued as people were apparently looking for extra Christmas cash. On Monday, burglars broke into a soft drink machine at Taylor's Food Store and made off with about $9 in change; they broke into a soft drink machine at Garden Lakes Service Station and stole about $22; and they broke a window at Interstate Life Insurance Company and raided the vending machines, making off with about $30. On Tuesday, police got a lead in the case, and by Wednesday they had three East Rome teenagers under arrest and were searching for a fourth.
Piggly Wiggly had chicken livers for 59¢ a pound, Chuck Wagon bacon for 53¢ a pound, and grapefruit for a dime each.A&P had sirloin steak for 88¢ a pound, Poss Brunswick Stew for 49¢ a can, and strawberries for 35¢ a pint. Big Apple had picnic hams for 37¢ a pound, Bailey's Supreme coffee for 55¢ a pound, and Kraft cheese for 59¢ a pound. Kroger had pork roast for 29¢ a pound, three pounds of Hungry Jack pancake mix for 59¢, and yellow corn for a dime an ear. Couch's had store-ground sausage for 39¢ a pound, JFG mayonnaise for 49¢ a quart, and a 13-ounce box of Brach's chocolate-covered cherries for 49¢.
The cinematic week began with The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (starring Alan Arkin) at the DeSoto Theatre, For the Love of Ivy (starring Sidney Poitier) at the First Avenue, and Live a Little, Love a Little (starring Elvis Presley) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Big Gundown (starring Lee Van Cleef) to the DeSoto, The Family Band (starring Walter Brennan) to the First Avenue, and Villa Rides (starring Yul Brynner) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye held on to the number one slot this week with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes (#2); "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#3); "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion (#4); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#5); "Stormy" by the Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost (#6): "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#7); "Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins (#8); "I Love How You Love Me" by Bobby Vinton (#9); and "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#10).
NBC made music-television history this week in 1968 when they aired TCB, a Motown musical review produced by the Laugh-In production team of George Schlatter-Ed Friendly. The variety special was the first musical show aired on American television to feature an entirely African-American cast; performers included Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations.
This was also the week when The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus was filmed on a makeshift circus stage in England. The idea was to sell the concert as a television special, and it would have been well received considering its lineup, which included the Stones, John Lennon, the Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful, and others. The special marked Lennon's first non-Beatles performance; he, Yoko Ono, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Mitch Mitchell performed as The Dirty Mac, doing (among other things) Lennon's "Yer Blues' from The White Album. The whole thing ended up getting shelved after filming, and the footage wasn't officially released for almost twenty years.
Blood, Sweat & Tears released their second album, the eponymous Blood Sweat, & Tears, this week in 1968. The second album was actually more successful than their first album, producing four big hits—"And When I Die," "Good Bless the Child," "Spinning Wheel," and "You've Made Me So Very Happy."
While West Rome's absentee rates were running about average this week in 1968, our crosstown rivals weren't doing so well; an outbreak of flue cases pushed East Rome High's absentee rate to about double the normal, and even 15% of the teachers were out sick by the end of the week.
Coosa headed very slightly east for the Coosa-West Rome basketball game; normally, the game was played at the Memorial Gym, but schedule conflicts forced them to move to one of the high school gyms, and West Rome won the coin toss. West Rome's boys also won the game 56-51, while the girls won 53-32. William Shelton was the high scorer for the boys team with 18 points, while Debbie Poarch was the high scorer for the girls with 37 points.
Georgians learned this week in 1968 that their average ulitity bills would be increasing almost 2% beginning in 1969. Just how much did that amount to? Well, according to Georgia Power, that would be an average increase of 19¢, meaning the average electric bill was $9.50 a month; gas bills would increase 17¢ a month on average, meaning the average gas bill was $8.50 a month. Adjusted for inflation, that would equal about $66 and $59 respectively--and I think every one of us would be thrilled to have average utility bills that ran that low!
Rome began pushing once again for funding assistance to construct a four-lane highway from Shorter Avenue along Lavender Drive and Redmond Circle to the Alabama Road; while the Appalachian Regional Commission and the state committed almost $416,000 to the project, the federal government's freeze on highway funds left the project on hold. As far as we know, the state money is still there," City Manager Bruce Hamler said. If the money were to come through, the city was ready to begin construction immediately and had all right of way agreements in place.
Romans dealt with a very cold December as temperatures fell to 15 degrees in the early morning hours of December 9th, setting a new low-temperature record.
Rome's rash of burglaries continued as people were apparently looking for extra Christmas cash. On Monday, burglars broke into a soft drink machine at Taylor's Food Store and made off with about $9 in change; they broke into a soft drink machine at Garden Lakes Service Station and stole about $22; and they broke a window at Interstate Life Insurance Company and raided the vending machines, making off with about $30. On Tuesday, police got a lead in the case, and by Wednesday they had three East Rome teenagers under arrest and were searching for a fourth.
Piggly Wiggly had chicken livers for 59¢ a pound, Chuck Wagon bacon for 53¢ a pound, and grapefruit for a dime each.A&P had sirloin steak for 88¢ a pound, Poss Brunswick Stew for 49¢ a can, and strawberries for 35¢ a pint. Big Apple had picnic hams for 37¢ a pound, Bailey's Supreme coffee for 55¢ a pound, and Kraft cheese for 59¢ a pound. Kroger had pork roast for 29¢ a pound, three pounds of Hungry Jack pancake mix for 59¢, and yellow corn for a dime an ear. Couch's had store-ground sausage for 39¢ a pound, JFG mayonnaise for 49¢ a quart, and a 13-ounce box of Brach's chocolate-covered cherries for 49¢.
The cinematic week began with The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (starring Alan Arkin) at the DeSoto Theatre, For the Love of Ivy (starring Sidney Poitier) at the First Avenue, and Live a Little, Love a Little (starring Elvis Presley) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Big Gundown (starring Lee Van Cleef) to the DeSoto, The Family Band (starring Walter Brennan) to the First Avenue, and Villa Rides (starring Yul Brynner) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye held on to the number one slot this week with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes (#2); "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#3); "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion (#4); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#5); "Stormy" by the Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost (#6): "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#7); "Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins (#8); "I Love How You Love Me" by Bobby Vinton (#9); and "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#10).
NBC made music-television history this week in 1968 when they aired TCB, a Motown musical review produced by the Laugh-In production team of George Schlatter-Ed Friendly. The variety special was the first musical show aired on American television to feature an entirely African-American cast; performers included Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations.
This was also the week when The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus was filmed on a makeshift circus stage in England. The idea was to sell the concert as a television special, and it would have been well received considering its lineup, which included the Stones, John Lennon, the Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful, and others. The special marked Lennon's first non-Beatles performance; he, Yoko Ono, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Mitch Mitchell performed as The Dirty Mac, doing (among other things) Lennon's "Yer Blues' from The White Album. The whole thing ended up getting shelved after filming, and the footage wasn't officially released for almost twenty years.
Blood, Sweat & Tears released their second album, the eponymous Blood Sweat, & Tears, this week in 1968. The second album was actually more successful than their first album, producing four big hits—"And When I Die," "Good Bless the Child," "Spinning Wheel," and "You've Made Me So Very Happy."
Saturday, December 01, 2018
Fifty Years Ag This Week in West Rome - 12/2/1968 to 12/8/1968
Santa paid a visit to Rome on Monday night, December 2nd, to lead the annual Christmas Parade. The parade, which began at 6pm, started at Barron Stadium, headed down Second Avenue, then up Broad Street. More than 20,000 people showed up for the parade,
Workers began moving the overpass structure near the Marine Corps Armory this week in 1968. Plans called for the removal and lane widening to take approximately three months. When completed, lanes would be widened from 9 feet per lane to 12 feet per lane, and a third lane would be added for traffic heading into town from West Rome; this lane would channel traffic onto North Second Avenue, past Barron Stadium, and into the downtown area.
West Rome had another bout of snow flurries on December 3rd, the second of the year. Once again, though, the little bit of snow wasn't enough have any impact on local travel, and school remained in session.
Local election runoffs made history for Rome as three Republicans won positions on the City Council for the first time in history. The Republican wins took place in North, South, and East Rome; West Rome remained solidly Democrat into the 70s.
Burglars did their Christmas shopping early on Monday night. First, they broke into the Central Plaza Super Discount store, where they stole about $130 worth of merchandise. Then thieves broke into Blanton Plow Company, but they found nothing they wanted, so they left empty-handed. The same night, thieves broke into the Holiday Laundromat, where they stole some change and a few packs of crackers from a cracker machine. On Tuesday night, armed men tried to carry out an armed robbery at Hogan's Service Station, but the station owner turned on the robbers and pummeled them until one of them hit the owner in the head with the butt of his pistol, then fled. On Thursday night, burglars broke into Glidden Paint company and stole $163 in cash; Dari-Chief, where they were unsuccessful their attempts to open the safe; Horton's Laundry, where a small amount of change was stolen; and East Rome High School, where a snack machine was ransacked and the offices were trashed.
Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for $1.09 a pound, Maxwell House instant coffee for 79¢ a jar, and Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 33¢ a carton plus deposit. Kroger had chuck roast for 35¢ a pound, Del Monte pickles for 29¢ a quart, and Double Cola for 99¢ a case plus deposit. A&P had pork roast for 55¢ a pound, d'Anjou pears for 19¢ a pound, and a two-pound fruitcake for $1.79. Big Apple had fresh whole fryers for 25¢ pound, Chicken of the Sea tuna for 33¢ a can, and bananas for a dime a pound. Couch's had lamb shoulder roast for 49¢ a pound, Van Camp's chili for 33¢ a can, and tangerines for 49¢ a dozen.
The cinematic week began with Coogan's Bluff (starring Clint Eastwood) at the DeSoto Theatre, Live a Little, Love a Little (starring Elvis Presley) at the First Avenue, and The Boston Strangler (starring Tony Curtis) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (starring Alan Arkin) to the DeSoto Theatre, For Love of Ivy (starring Sidney Poitier) to the First Avenue, and The Boba (starring Peter Sellers) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" climbed to number one this week in 1968. Other top ten hits included "Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (32); "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#3); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#4); "Hey Jude" by the Beatles (#5); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#6); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#7); "Stormy" by the Classic IV Featuring Dennis Yost (#8); "I Love How You Love Me" by Bobby Vinton (#9); and "Magic Capet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#10).
A big week for album releases, with the Monkees' quirky LP Head, the Rolling Stones' powerful Beggar's Banquet, James Taylor's eponymous Apple debut album, and Stevie Wonder's For Once in My Life all released during this week in 1968. Big album releases like these, so late in the year, made it a bit easier for many of us to put together Christmas lists for our parents...
Elvis Presley's career-remaking television special Elvis (known to many as the 1968 Comeback Special) aired on NBC on December 3rd; it marked Elvis's return to live performances after seven years of stressing movies over music. The special was so popular that it launched the second wave of Elvis's music career.
Dark Shadows made its jump from television soap opera to comic books this week in 1968 with the release of Gold Key's Dark Shadows #1. This was also the week that Jim Steranko's final Captain America story arc began in Captain America #111; Steranko's bold graphic design sense and fast-paced storytelling made him a fan favorite.
Workers began moving the overpass structure near the Marine Corps Armory this week in 1968. Plans called for the removal and lane widening to take approximately three months. When completed, lanes would be widened from 9 feet per lane to 12 feet per lane, and a third lane would be added for traffic heading into town from West Rome; this lane would channel traffic onto North Second Avenue, past Barron Stadium, and into the downtown area.
West Rome had another bout of snow flurries on December 3rd, the second of the year. Once again, though, the little bit of snow wasn't enough have any impact on local travel, and school remained in session.
Local election runoffs made history for Rome as three Republicans won positions on the City Council for the first time in history. The Republican wins took place in North, South, and East Rome; West Rome remained solidly Democrat into the 70s.
Burglars did their Christmas shopping early on Monday night. First, they broke into the Central Plaza Super Discount store, where they stole about $130 worth of merchandise. Then thieves broke into Blanton Plow Company, but they found nothing they wanted, so they left empty-handed. The same night, thieves broke into the Holiday Laundromat, where they stole some change and a few packs of crackers from a cracker machine. On Tuesday night, armed men tried to carry out an armed robbery at Hogan's Service Station, but the station owner turned on the robbers and pummeled them until one of them hit the owner in the head with the butt of his pistol, then fled. On Thursday night, burglars broke into Glidden Paint company and stole $163 in cash; Dari-Chief, where they were unsuccessful their attempts to open the safe; Horton's Laundry, where a small amount of change was stolen; and East Rome High School, where a snack machine was ransacked and the offices were trashed.
Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for $1.09 a pound, Maxwell House instant coffee for 79¢ a jar, and Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 33¢ a carton plus deposit. Kroger had chuck roast for 35¢ a pound, Del Monte pickles for 29¢ a quart, and Double Cola for 99¢ a case plus deposit. A&P had pork roast for 55¢ a pound, d'Anjou pears for 19¢ a pound, and a two-pound fruitcake for $1.79. Big Apple had fresh whole fryers for 25¢ pound, Chicken of the Sea tuna for 33¢ a can, and bananas for a dime a pound. Couch's had lamb shoulder roast for 49¢ a pound, Van Camp's chili for 33¢ a can, and tangerines for 49¢ a dozen.
The cinematic week began with Coogan's Bluff (starring Clint Eastwood) at the DeSoto Theatre, Live a Little, Love a Little (starring Elvis Presley) at the First Avenue, and The Boston Strangler (starring Tony Curtis) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (starring Alan Arkin) to the DeSoto Theatre, For Love of Ivy (starring Sidney Poitier) to the First Avenue, and The Boba (starring Peter Sellers) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" climbed to number one this week in 1968. Other top ten hits included "Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (32); "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#3); "Abraham, Martin, & John" by Dion (#4); "Hey Jude" by the Beatles (#5); "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor (#6); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#7); "Stormy" by the Classic IV Featuring Dennis Yost (#8); "I Love How You Love Me" by Bobby Vinton (#9); and "Magic Capet Ride" by Steppenwolf (#10).
A big week for album releases, with the Monkees' quirky LP Head, the Rolling Stones' powerful Beggar's Banquet, James Taylor's eponymous Apple debut album, and Stevie Wonder's For Once in My Life all released during this week in 1968. Big album releases like these, so late in the year, made it a bit easier for many of us to put together Christmas lists for our parents...
Elvis Presley's career-remaking television special Elvis (known to many as the 1968 Comeback Special) aired on NBC on December 3rd; it marked Elvis's return to live performances after seven years of stressing movies over music. The special was so popular that it launched the second wave of Elvis's music career.
Dark Shadows made its jump from television soap opera to comic books this week in 1968 with the release of Gold Key's Dark Shadows #1. This was also the week that Jim Steranko's final Captain America story arc began in Captain America #111; Steranko's bold graphic design sense and fast-paced storytelling made him a fan favorite.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/25/1968 to 12/1/1968
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.
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.
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