Fifty years ago this week, Rome’s very first Medicare card was officially presented to Fire Chief Emeritus WT McKinney. He was chosen by the Rome Social Security district manager to receive the first health insurance identification card given out in the Coosa Valley area because of his 39 years of service in the Rome Fire Department (28 years as chief).
Rome was still a manufacturing town in 1966: Celanese announced plans for a multi-million dollar expansion of their Rome facility, expecting to add another 125 employees to their workforce.
Rome’s weekend cold, snowy weather was followed by a couple of days of extreme cold and freezing rain, creating even more hazardous conditions in Northwest Georgia. And finally, Rome City School students got one day out of school due to weather conditions! Overall, January’s average daily temperature was 6.6 degrees below normal, with a record-setting four degrees below zero on January 31st. For the last two days of January, the temperature never exceeded 30 degrees.
And speaking of bad weather, Georgia’s groundhog saw his shadow and scurried back into his hole, meaning that we were due for six more weeks of winter.
West Rome defeated Berry Academy 64-50 on February 1st, making the Chiefs 10-6 overall for the season. Rusty Oxford scored with a ten-foot jumpsuit that put the Chieftains ahead 5-4 with 4:48 to go in the first quarter, and from that point, West Rome never fell behind. Rusty went on to score 25 points in the game, while Stan Dawson scored 15 points and Mike Souder scored 11 points.
Becky Wood of West Rome High was chosen to represent the Rome-Floyd County Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y clubs at the YMCA World Youth Conference in Norway. Len Wiliingham was chosen as an alternate in case Becky was unable to attend. Becky was chosen to be art of a 224-person United States delegation; each delegate was responsible for working with their local Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y clubs to help raise funds to cover the $895 cost of the trip. (In today’s money adjusting for inflation, that would be about $6750!).
Piggly Wiggly had smoked picnic ham for 49¢ a pound, Swift’s beef stew for 49¢ a can, and Sealtest ice-cream for 49¢ a half-gallon. Big Apple had pork roast for 59¢ a pound, Stokely catsup for a quarter a bottle, and Banquet individual frozen meat pies (no specific kind of meat was specified, which makes me a little nervous) for 17¢ each. Kroger had tomatoes for 19¢ a pound, round steak for 99¢ a pound, and a ten-pound bag of Idaho potatoes for 49¢. A&P had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, Star-Kist tuna for 31¢ a can, and various Campbell’s condensed soups for 18¢ a can. Couch’s had Peach brand bacon for 73¢ a pound, Luzianne coffee for 53¢ a pound, and an 18-ounce jar of Blue Plate peach preserves for 89¢.
The cinematic week began with a double feature of Irma La Douce and Tom Jones at the DeSoto Theater and the James Bond film Thunderball at the First Avenue. The midweek switch out brough a touch of culture to our little town as Shakespeare’s Othello (with Laurence Olivier) premiered at the DeSoto Theater. This wasn’t a standard film adaptation of the Shakespeare play; instead, it was a filmed performance of the play at the National Theater of Great Britain. Apparently, Rome could only take so much culture, though: after two days, Othello was replaced with the spy spoof Our Man Flint (with James Coburn). Meanwhile, James Bond continued his aquatic adventures in Thunderball at the First Avenue, while the West Rome Drive-In brought in yet another spy film, Agent for H.A.R.M, which shared the bill with the surf film Wild Wild Summer.
Petula Clark took the number one slot this week in 1966 with “My Love.” Other top ten hits included “Lightnin’ Strikes” by Lou Christie (#2); “Up Tight” by Stevie Wonder (#3); “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys (#4); “we Can Work It Out” by the Beatles (#5); “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#6); “Crying Time” by Ray Charles (#7); “My World Is Empty Without You” by the Supremes (#8); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#9); and “Don’t Mess with Bill” by the Marvelettes (#10).
It was also a great week for albums, with the release of Gordon Lightfoot’s eponymous first album; Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler’s dramatic Ballad of the Green Berets, featuring the hit title track; The Orbison Way by Roy Orbison; Where the Action Is by the Ventures; and the Spencer Davis Group’s Second Album.
The Viet Nam War was such a part of their lives that ABC retooled its news program ABC Scope to focus exclusively on developments in the war beginning this week in 1966.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/24/1966 to 1/30/1966
Rome got just under an inch of snow on January 26th, but it wasn’t enough to close schools for the day—much to the dismay of students, I’m sure! It was close, though: both Polk County school and Gordon County schools were closed because of the weather. After a couple of warm days, a second snowstorm brought 4” of snow to Rome on Saturday, January 29th, dropping temperatures to 4 degrees. Once again, though, school wasn’t affected, since the snow came in on a Saturday; by Monday morning, roads were fine and school was in session. (Is there anything more disappointing to a student than a weekend snowfall? It’s such a waste of perfectly good snow…) Even more frustrating, Floyd County Schools were closed for two days because of the snow, ice, and cold!
The votes were tallied, and West Rome’s Senior Superlatives were announced this week in 1966. The winners were Regina Swinford, Bill Bishop, & Dennis Souder (most dependable—Bill and Dennis tied); Jane Cox & Tom McMahon (most likely to succeed); Cheryl Lanier & Jerry Wiseman (best looking); Jeannie Maxwell & Mike King (best dressed); Donna Ott & Ronney Hall (wittiest); Marsha Morgan & John Brown (friendliest); Ann Peery & David Garrett (most athletic); Patti Tolbert & Travis Payne (most talented); Pat Barna & Mike Murphy (best all-around); and Connie Love & Arbie Lovell (best personality). Jeannie Maxwell was selected as Miss West Rome, while John Brown was chosen as Mr. West Rome. The class favorites were Charlene Lamb & Mike Murphy.
They weren’t making any progress on a direct I-75 link to Rome, so the Rome-Floyd Chamber of Commerce looked west for a new project: an interstate highway from Memphis, TN to Columbia, SC—and the route would take it right through Rome. Apparently they were no more successful with that proposal than they were with the I-75 proposal… but for what it’s worth, the recently-completed bypass from US 27 near Georgia Highlands College to the Alabama Road was built on some of the land originally purchased for the never-constructed interstate, so something came out of the project… fifty years later!
Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, collards for 19¢ a bunch, and Bama jelly for 23¢ a jar (and these weren’t the usual jelly-glass jars, but the new Bama server jars that were supposed to be so attractive that you’d want to save them forever!). Big Apple had veal cutlets for 99¢ a pound, pears for 15¢ a pound, and Wesson oil for 49¢ a quart. Kroger had fruit cocktail for 12¢ a can, bananas for a dime a pound, and sirloin tip roast for 99¢ a pound. A&P had Campbell’s soup for 18¢ a can, avocados for 19¢ each, and Star-Kist chunk light tuna for 31¢ a can. Couch’s had stew beef for 49¢ a pound, celery for a dime a bunch, and a two-pound jar of JFG peanut butter for 59¢.
That Darn Cat was still hanging around at the DeSoto Theater for the first part of the week, while Thunderball (with the one true James Bond, Sean Connery) was showing at the First Avenue. The midweek switchout brought a bawdy double feature of Tom Jones and Irma La Douce to the DeSoto, while Sean Connery continued to search for a lost nuclear missile in Thunderball at the First Avenue. Apparently theater-owners were convinced that Rome had a real appetite for risqué films: the Tom Jones-Irma La Douce double feature was also showing at the West Rome Drive-In over the weekend, which meant that while kids couldn’t buy tickets, they could see segments of the film if they were riding down Shorter Avenue heading towards West Rome High School at just the right time of night…
Petula Clark took the number one slot this week in 1966 with “My Love.” Other top ten hits included “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys (#2); “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#3); “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles (#4); “Lightnin’ Strikes” by Lou Christie (#5); “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#6); “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#7); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#8); “A Must to Avoid” by Herman’s Hermits (#9); and “Crying Time” by Ray Charles (#10).
The Beatles’ Rubber Soul held on to the top slot on the album charts, but Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass climbed back to the number two slot… and I’m sure that sexy cover photo of a lovely woman covered in whipped cream had a lot to do with it!
The votes were tallied, and West Rome’s Senior Superlatives were announced this week in 1966. The winners were Regina Swinford, Bill Bishop, & Dennis Souder (most dependable—Bill and Dennis tied); Jane Cox & Tom McMahon (most likely to succeed); Cheryl Lanier & Jerry Wiseman (best looking); Jeannie Maxwell & Mike King (best dressed); Donna Ott & Ronney Hall (wittiest); Marsha Morgan & John Brown (friendliest); Ann Peery & David Garrett (most athletic); Patti Tolbert & Travis Payne (most talented); Pat Barna & Mike Murphy (best all-around); and Connie Love & Arbie Lovell (best personality). Jeannie Maxwell was selected as Miss West Rome, while John Brown was chosen as Mr. West Rome. The class favorites were Charlene Lamb & Mike Murphy.
They weren’t making any progress on a direct I-75 link to Rome, so the Rome-Floyd Chamber of Commerce looked west for a new project: an interstate highway from Memphis, TN to Columbia, SC—and the route would take it right through Rome. Apparently they were no more successful with that proposal than they were with the I-75 proposal… but for what it’s worth, the recently-completed bypass from US 27 near Georgia Highlands College to the Alabama Road was built on some of the land originally purchased for the never-constructed interstate, so something came out of the project… fifty years later!
Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, collards for 19¢ a bunch, and Bama jelly for 23¢ a jar (and these weren’t the usual jelly-glass jars, but the new Bama server jars that were supposed to be so attractive that you’d want to save them forever!). Big Apple had veal cutlets for 99¢ a pound, pears for 15¢ a pound, and Wesson oil for 49¢ a quart. Kroger had fruit cocktail for 12¢ a can, bananas for a dime a pound, and sirloin tip roast for 99¢ a pound. A&P had Campbell’s soup for 18¢ a can, avocados for 19¢ each, and Star-Kist chunk light tuna for 31¢ a can. Couch’s had stew beef for 49¢ a pound, celery for a dime a bunch, and a two-pound jar of JFG peanut butter for 59¢.
That Darn Cat was still hanging around at the DeSoto Theater for the first part of the week, while Thunderball (with the one true James Bond, Sean Connery) was showing at the First Avenue. The midweek switchout brought a bawdy double feature of Tom Jones and Irma La Douce to the DeSoto, while Sean Connery continued to search for a lost nuclear missile in Thunderball at the First Avenue. Apparently theater-owners were convinced that Rome had a real appetite for risqué films: the Tom Jones-Irma La Douce double feature was also showing at the West Rome Drive-In over the weekend, which meant that while kids couldn’t buy tickets, they could see segments of the film if they were riding down Shorter Avenue heading towards West Rome High School at just the right time of night…
Petula Clark took the number one slot this week in 1966 with “My Love.” Other top ten hits included “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys (#2); “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#3); “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles (#4); “Lightnin’ Strikes” by Lou Christie (#5); “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#6); “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#7); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#8); “A Must to Avoid” by Herman’s Hermits (#9); and “Crying Time” by Ray Charles (#10).
The Beatles’ Rubber Soul held on to the top slot on the album charts, but Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass climbed back to the number two slot… and I’m sure that sexy cover photo of a lovely woman covered in whipped cream had a lot to do with it!
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/17/1966 to 1/23/1966
In early January, the draft board announced that childless married men could be eligible for the draft. That got a lot more definite on January 17th, when the draft board announced that childless married men would definitely be drafted. Sixty young men from Rome who had previously been exempt from the draft were added to the call-up list. The draft board also said that you men classified 1-Y because of “minor physical defects” were now being reclassified as draft-eligible and would also be called up. The escalation of the Vietnam War was the reason for the changes in draft policy, of course, as the Rome News-Tribune headline “America Pouring Reinforcements into Vietnam” made quite clear.
Rome got a light dusting of snow on Tuesday, January 18th, with more flurries that night. Rome didn’t get its first true snow accumulation of 1966 until Wednesday night and Thursday morning, however, when almost an inch of snow fell. Alas, it wasn’t enough to call off school…
All that talk about a possible Rome City Schools/Floyd County Schools merger? It pretty much went away on Tuesday Night, January 18th, after county voters overwhelmingly voted against a school bond for educational improvements. The Rome City System had never faced a rejection of a school bond, so the board of education decided perhaps there was an advantage to keeping the system separate after all.
Justice was very swift in 1966: Donald Eugene Kell, the man who committed an armed robbery on December 23rd at the Shorter Avenue Super Discount store, went before the judge on January 18th and was sentenced to ten years in prison. (He did enter a guilty plea, so no jury trial was necessary.) That’s less than a month from crime to punishment—why can’t the courts operate on that sort of a schedule today?
Piggly Wiggly had Swift’s vienna sausage for 20¢ a can, Fleetwood Butternut coffee for 69¢ a pound, and sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound. Big Apple had baking hens for 33¢ a pound, yellow onions for a nickel a pound, and two pounds of Booth frozen fish sticks for 55¢ (now I know why we had fish sticks for dinner every now and then!). Kroger had ground beef for 39¢ a pound, five pounds of Colonial sugar for 39¢, and large eggs for 47¢ a dozen. A&P had pork loin for 79¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and five cans of Campbell’s soup for 89¢. Couch’s had Coca Cola for 99¢ a case plus deposit, chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, and Royal Sun orange juice for 49¢ a half-gallon.
The cinematic week began with That Darn Cat (with Dean Jones) still hanging around at the DeSoto Theater and The Bedford Incident (with Richard Widmark & Sidney Poitier) at the First Avenue. The midweek switch out brought Never Too Late (with Paul Ford and Connie Stevens) to the First Avenue, while That Darn Cat stayed for yet another week at the DeSoto. The West Rome Drive-In aired very forgettable double feature of Spy In Your Eye (with Dana Andrews) and Secret Agent Fireball (with Richard Harrison).
This was also the week that Rome saw a major change in cinematic schedules: rather than changing out films on Wednesdays, as the Rome theaters had done for many years, new movie day was moving to Friday, where it has stayed pretty much ever since then.
The Beatles reclaimed the number one spot with “We Can Work It Out,” while the prior week’s number one song (“Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel) totally fell out of the top ten. Other top ten hits included “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys (#2); “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#3); “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#4); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#5); “As Tears Go By” by the Rolling Stones (#6); “”The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#7); “A Must to Avoid” by Herman’s Hermits (#8); “My Love” by Petula Clark (#9); and “Jenny Take a Ride” by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels (#10).
Simon & Garfunkel capitalized on their single success with the release of the Sounds of Silence album, which debuted in the Top Ten. (But it didn’t manage to knock the Beatles’ Rubber Soul out of the number one album slot.)
And suddenly the world was experiencing Batmania! ABC debuted the Batman TV show on January 12th, 1966 with a Frank Gorshin Riddler episode, and Adam West & Burt Ward were overnight superstars (but for many of us adolescent male viewers, it was Jill St. John who was the most memorable aspect of that first two-parter). The show aired at 7:30pm on both Wednesday and Thursday nights, and both half-hour episodes were in the Top Ten from the very week.
And in a rare master stroke of timing, DC managed to have the Riddler cover featured Batman #179, which went on sale just days after the Batman TV series debuted!
Rome got a light dusting of snow on Tuesday, January 18th, with more flurries that night. Rome didn’t get its first true snow accumulation of 1966 until Wednesday night and Thursday morning, however, when almost an inch of snow fell. Alas, it wasn’t enough to call off school…
All that talk about a possible Rome City Schools/Floyd County Schools merger? It pretty much went away on Tuesday Night, January 18th, after county voters overwhelmingly voted against a school bond for educational improvements. The Rome City System had never faced a rejection of a school bond, so the board of education decided perhaps there was an advantage to keeping the system separate after all.
Justice was very swift in 1966: Donald Eugene Kell, the man who committed an armed robbery on December 23rd at the Shorter Avenue Super Discount store, went before the judge on January 18th and was sentenced to ten years in prison. (He did enter a guilty plea, so no jury trial was necessary.) That’s less than a month from crime to punishment—why can’t the courts operate on that sort of a schedule today?
Piggly Wiggly had Swift’s vienna sausage for 20¢ a can, Fleetwood Butternut coffee for 69¢ a pound, and sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound. Big Apple had baking hens for 33¢ a pound, yellow onions for a nickel a pound, and two pounds of Booth frozen fish sticks for 55¢ (now I know why we had fish sticks for dinner every now and then!). Kroger had ground beef for 39¢ a pound, five pounds of Colonial sugar for 39¢, and large eggs for 47¢ a dozen. A&P had pork loin for 79¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and five cans of Campbell’s soup for 89¢. Couch’s had Coca Cola for 99¢ a case plus deposit, chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, and Royal Sun orange juice for 49¢ a half-gallon.
The cinematic week began with That Darn Cat (with Dean Jones) still hanging around at the DeSoto Theater and The Bedford Incident (with Richard Widmark & Sidney Poitier) at the First Avenue. The midweek switch out brought Never Too Late (with Paul Ford and Connie Stevens) to the First Avenue, while That Darn Cat stayed for yet another week at the DeSoto. The West Rome Drive-In aired very forgettable double feature of Spy In Your Eye (with Dana Andrews) and Secret Agent Fireball (with Richard Harrison).
This was also the week that Rome saw a major change in cinematic schedules: rather than changing out films on Wednesdays, as the Rome theaters had done for many years, new movie day was moving to Friday, where it has stayed pretty much ever since then.
The Beatles reclaimed the number one spot with “We Can Work It Out,” while the prior week’s number one song (“Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel) totally fell out of the top ten. Other top ten hits included “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys (#2); “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#3); “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#4); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#5); “As Tears Go By” by the Rolling Stones (#6); “”The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#7); “A Must to Avoid” by Herman’s Hermits (#8); “My Love” by Petula Clark (#9); and “Jenny Take a Ride” by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels (#10).
Simon & Garfunkel capitalized on their single success with the release of the Sounds of Silence album, which debuted in the Top Ten. (But it didn’t manage to knock the Beatles’ Rubber Soul out of the number one album slot.)
And suddenly the world was experiencing Batmania! ABC debuted the Batman TV show on January 12th, 1966 with a Frank Gorshin Riddler episode, and Adam West & Burt Ward were overnight superstars (but for many of us adolescent male viewers, it was Jill St. John who was the most memorable aspect of that first two-parter). The show aired at 7:30pm on both Wednesday and Thursday nights, and both half-hour episodes were in the Top Ten from the very week.
And in a rare master stroke of timing, DC managed to have the Riddler cover featured Batman #179, which went on sale just days after the Batman TV series debuted!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Tube Time
It's been many, many years since I had any sort of tube amplifier. I think the last tube amp I had was built into the family stereo system that we used regularly back in the 1960s and early 1970s. I still remember turning on the power and having to wait in silence for a few seconds while the tubes warmed up... something that most people under the age of forty have never experienced.I have always been curious about the Cult of the Tube Amp. I've heard many people praise the warm, resonant sounds of a tube amplifier, but back when we had that stereo console, I knew nothing about sound quality. Mono and stereo was pretty much the limit of my audio knowledge, in fact... well, that and that volume knob...
But when I saw that Monoprice had a tube amp for a good price with free shipping, I decided to give it a try. Not only could I find out why so many people praised the sound of a tube amp, but I could get a neat bluetooth-capable amplifier that would also work with a turntable... and it all had a vaguely steampunk-meets-Soviet-tek look.
Once I got the amp, I broke out a pair of Infinity RS-425 speakers to give it a try. The results were quite impressive. Even though the amp only outputs 25 watts of power, it was more than enough to drive those Infinity speakers and fill the room with a rich, resonant sound that was more appealing and realistic than the AudioEngine A5 powered speakers I had previously been using. Don't get me wrong--the AudioEngine speakers sounded fine... or at least I thought they did. But once I compared the sound of the AudioEngine powered speakers (which are rated at 50 watts) to the sound of the Monoprice hybrid tube amp, there was no doubt which sounded more appealing. No harshness, strong mellow sound from the rich woofer lows through the full-throated midrange to the crisp tweeter highs... I was sold.
Not only does it do a great job with a turntable, but it also does a very admirable job with Bluetooth sourced material. Sirius XM, Pandora, iTunes, Amazon Music... all of them had more punch and presence when played back through this little Monoprice tube amp.
Are there better amps? Probably so, but they'd cost a lot more than this $150 Monoprice charmer. And you could spend a lot more than that and get something that is less suited for music playback. And that may be the problem: so many amplifiers and receivers today are tailored for video playback as part of a home theater that music reproduction is almost an afterthought. This little amplifier that could dedicates itself to music playback, and does it very well.
If you're looking for an affordable amp to go with a pare of stereo speakers stuck way back in your garage, you couldn't do better for $150.00... and I suspect you couldn't do better for much more than that. As much as I like my Yamaha R-N500BL bluetooth receiver, I don't think it does a as good a job with music than the Monoprice. That's pretty impressive, because until I heard the Monoprice, that Yamaha was my go-to amp for music listening!
Saturday, January 09, 2016
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/10/1966 to 1/16/1966
Another very uneventful week this week in 1966. Most of the news attention was devoted to the Floyd County School System; Floyd was hoping to pass a bond issue to enable them to update their aging schools to offer the same amenities and educational opportunities as the Rome City Schools.
The list of Rome/Floyd County students who qualified to take the state Governor’s Honors eligibility test included three Chieftains: Sherry Canada & Baxter Joy (English) and Anita Smith (social studies).
The Rome City School System discovered that the new school standards adopted by the Georgia Accrediting Commission were going to cost an additional $32,000 for the remainder of the 1965-1966 school year. The new requirements specified a higher number of secretaries and librarians than had previously been required, and they also required that each school library have at least ten books per pupil, up from the prior requirement of 8 books per pupil.
The Rome City School Board also took steps to implement a plan to prevent parents from entering classrooms during the school day. Superintend McDonald reported that they had had incidents in which “irate parents burst into classrooms during school hours to berate teachers because of alleged problems.” While we often remember the 1960s as a time when parents always took the teacher’s side, apparently that wasn’t really the case!
The Rome City School System was also considering a policy requiring married students to take one year off from school before returning to the classroom; the only exception allowed in the proposed regulation would allow high school seniors who married in or after January of their senior year to remain in school until the end of the school year.
West Rome faced off against Calhoun on Friday, January 14th, and the Chiefs were hoping for revenge after their disappointing loss to Calhoun during the Holiday Festival basketball tournament. Alas, victory remained elusive: Calhoun once again defeated West Rome, this time winning 72-61.
C&M Motors held the grand opening for their new facility at 844 Turner McCall Boulevard. C&M was Rome’s Cadillac-Oldsmobile dealer back in the time when Cadillacs were considered the Cadillacs of cars. (Yes, I stole that joke…)
Johnny Reb Food Stores opened their new location on Calhoun Road, but the West Rome location joined in the celebration, offering a dozen Eskimo pies for 59¢, free bags of Fritos to the first 150 customers at each store each day, and a free six pack of Coke or Pepsi to the first 150 customer at each store each day.
Kentucky Fried Chicken celebrated the end of turkey and ham season with a Family Bucket Special—a bucket of chicken, a quart of mashed potatoes, a pint of gravy, a pint of cole slaw, and six biscuits—for $3.75. McDonald’s countered with their All-American Meal (a hamburger, french fries, and a shake) for 52¢. Not to be outdone, Redford's offered their fried chicken dinner (two pieces of chicken, rolls, a vegetable, and iced tea) for 69¢.
Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for 89¢ a pound, medium eggs for 45¢ a dozen, and Swift’s Premium chili for 49¢ a can. Kroger had round steak for 79¢ a pound, Kroger biscuits for a nickel a can, and red grapes for a dime a pound. Big Apple had whole fryers for 27¢ a pound, Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon, and a quart of Mrs. Bell’s mayonnaise for 49¢. A&P had Swiss steak for 69¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and Eight O’Clock coffee for 65¢ a pound. Couch’s had pork steak for 59¢ a pound, Bama apple jelly for 19¢ per jar (and you could use the jar as a drinking glass once you finished the jelly!), and a 24-ounce bottle of Stokely’s catsup for 29¢.
The cinematic week began with That Darn Cat (with Dean Jones & Haylee Mills) at the DeSoto and That Funny Feeling (with Sandra Dee & Bobby Darin) at the First Avenue. That Darn Cat hung around through the weekend at the DeSoto, but the midweek switchout brought Dr. Goldfoot & the Bikini Machine (with Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, & Dwayne Hickman) to the First Avenue. Apparently the theaters had high hopes for Dr. Goldfoot: the film was also showing at the West Rome Drive-In over the weekend!
After being replaced by the Beatles in the number one slot last week, Simon & Garfunkel regained #1 with “Sounds of Silence,” while the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out” fell to #2. Other top ten hits included “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#3); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#4); “Day Tripper” by the Beatles (#5); “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#6); “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#7); “A Must to Avoid” by Herman’s Hermits (#8); “As Tears Go By” by the Rolling Stones (#9); and “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice” by the Lovin’ Spoonful (#10).
Young singer David Jones changed his last name to Bowie this week in 1966, so that he wouldn’t be confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees.
This was also the week that Darrin and Samantha’s witch-baby Tabitha was born on the Bewitched episode “And Then There Were Three.”
Amos & Andy was removed from syndication in most markets beginning this week in 1966 in response to concerns from various civil rights organizations.
That famous dolphin Flipper got his very own comic book this week in 1966. And this was no accident on Gold Key Comics’ part: they did it on porpoise!
The list of Rome/Floyd County students who qualified to take the state Governor’s Honors eligibility test included three Chieftains: Sherry Canada & Baxter Joy (English) and Anita Smith (social studies).
The Rome City School System discovered that the new school standards adopted by the Georgia Accrediting Commission were going to cost an additional $32,000 for the remainder of the 1965-1966 school year. The new requirements specified a higher number of secretaries and librarians than had previously been required, and they also required that each school library have at least ten books per pupil, up from the prior requirement of 8 books per pupil.
The Rome City School Board also took steps to implement a plan to prevent parents from entering classrooms during the school day. Superintend McDonald reported that they had had incidents in which “irate parents burst into classrooms during school hours to berate teachers because of alleged problems.” While we often remember the 1960s as a time when parents always took the teacher’s side, apparently that wasn’t really the case!
The Rome City School System was also considering a policy requiring married students to take one year off from school before returning to the classroom; the only exception allowed in the proposed regulation would allow high school seniors who married in or after January of their senior year to remain in school until the end of the school year.
West Rome faced off against Calhoun on Friday, January 14th, and the Chiefs were hoping for revenge after their disappointing loss to Calhoun during the Holiday Festival basketball tournament. Alas, victory remained elusive: Calhoun once again defeated West Rome, this time winning 72-61.
C&M Motors held the grand opening for their new facility at 844 Turner McCall Boulevard. C&M was Rome’s Cadillac-Oldsmobile dealer back in the time when Cadillacs were considered the Cadillacs of cars. (Yes, I stole that joke…)
Johnny Reb Food Stores opened their new location on Calhoun Road, but the West Rome location joined in the celebration, offering a dozen Eskimo pies for 59¢, free bags of Fritos to the first 150 customers at each store each day, and a free six pack of Coke or Pepsi to the first 150 customer at each store each day.
Kentucky Fried Chicken celebrated the end of turkey and ham season with a Family Bucket Special—a bucket of chicken, a quart of mashed potatoes, a pint of gravy, a pint of cole slaw, and six biscuits—for $3.75. McDonald’s countered with their All-American Meal (a hamburger, french fries, and a shake) for 52¢. Not to be outdone, Redford's offered their fried chicken dinner (two pieces of chicken, rolls, a vegetable, and iced tea) for 69¢.
Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for 89¢ a pound, medium eggs for 45¢ a dozen, and Swift’s Premium chili for 49¢ a can. Kroger had round steak for 79¢ a pound, Kroger biscuits for a nickel a can, and red grapes for a dime a pound. Big Apple had whole fryers for 27¢ a pound, Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon, and a quart of Mrs. Bell’s mayonnaise for 49¢. A&P had Swiss steak for 69¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and Eight O’Clock coffee for 65¢ a pound. Couch’s had pork steak for 59¢ a pound, Bama apple jelly for 19¢ per jar (and you could use the jar as a drinking glass once you finished the jelly!), and a 24-ounce bottle of Stokely’s catsup for 29¢.
The cinematic week began with That Darn Cat (with Dean Jones & Haylee Mills) at the DeSoto and That Funny Feeling (with Sandra Dee & Bobby Darin) at the First Avenue. That Darn Cat hung around through the weekend at the DeSoto, but the midweek switchout brought Dr. Goldfoot & the Bikini Machine (with Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, & Dwayne Hickman) to the First Avenue. Apparently the theaters had high hopes for Dr. Goldfoot: the film was also showing at the West Rome Drive-In over the weekend!
After being replaced by the Beatles in the number one slot last week, Simon & Garfunkel regained #1 with “Sounds of Silence,” while the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out” fell to #2. Other top ten hits included “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#3); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#4); “Day Tripper” by the Beatles (#5); “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#6); “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#7); “A Must to Avoid” by Herman’s Hermits (#8); “As Tears Go By” by the Rolling Stones (#9); and “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice” by the Lovin’ Spoonful (#10).
Young singer David Jones changed his last name to Bowie this week in 1966, so that he wouldn’t be confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees.
This was also the week that Darrin and Samantha’s witch-baby Tabitha was born on the Bewitched episode “And Then There Were Three.”
Amos & Andy was removed from syndication in most markets beginning this week in 1966 in response to concerns from various civil rights organizations.
That famous dolphin Flipper got his very own comic book this week in 1966. And this was no accident on Gold Key Comics’ part: they did it on porpoise!
Saturday, January 02, 2016
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 1/3/1966 to 1/9/1966
Coach Paul Kennedy was named State Coach of the Year for 1965 by the Atlanta Touchdown Club in an public announcement made on January 9th. Kennedy said the honor “came as a complete surprise. I received a letter early last week from the Touchdown Club inviting me to attend the meeting. The letter congratulated me on winning the state championship and on being selected as coach of the year. I didn’t realize what it meant for a while… It is an undeserving award made possible by fine assistant coaches, a fine group of boys, and the tremendous school spirit we had out there this past season. No one man does the job.”
West Rome’s basketball teams scored two wins over Dalton on Tuesday, January 4th. The Boys won 57-56 in overtime in a game the Coach Randall Kent described as “our poorest game of the season,” although he did have good things to say about guard David Garrett, who scored 13 key points; Stan Dawson, who scored 16 points; and Rusty Oxford, who scored 14. The girls had an easier time of it, winning 36-29. Ann Peery led the Chiefs with 10 points.
On January 9th, the Chiefs again racked up dual wins, with the boys winning 72-42 over Chattooga, while the girls won 52-14. Coach Kent praised his boys’ performance. Rusty Oxford led the boys with 25 points, while Stan Dawson scored 15 points. Both Diane Bell and Ann Peery scored 17 points for the girls team.
Nelson McGee of Ledbetter-Johnson Company announced that the East Rome Interchange was more than 60% complete, and the whole interchange would be open in the summer of 1966. The East 12th Street bridge was almost totally complete, and was slated to open later in January, offering Romans a faster way to get to Roy’s Little Garden and other Dean Street businesses.
The draft board confirmed that, as of January 1966, childless married men would still face draft exams and could possibly be drafted, ending the married exemption. 118 Floyd County men, including 60 married men without children, were scheduled to report for their pre-induction exam on January 12th (an increase of 43 men over the December numbers). Mrs. Virginia Turpin of the Floyd Selective Service System said that they had to begin drafting childless married men because they had pretty much run out single 19 year olds to call up. She also explained that they would now reconsider men who had been exempted because of minor physical defects or health issues. If the call-up of childless married men between the ages of 19 and 25 didn’t yield enough draftees, the next step would be to call up all eligible men between the ages of 26 and 35, both single and childless married, as well as college students who were in the bottom 25% of their class. Suddenly, those who had presume the draft wouldn’t touch them because of marriage or college had to face the fact that they, too, could become soldiers in Vietnam…
Roman Donald Eugene Kell, who robbed the West Rome Super-Discount Store on Shorter Avenue in mid-December, waived extradition and was returned to Rome from Rhode Island, where he had fled following the robbery. He was held on a bond of $25,000—about 20 times the amount of money he took in the armed robbery. Thankfully, money was all he took—no one was killed or seriously injured.
Piggly Wiggly had eggs for 49¢ a dozen, Swift’s bacon for 69¢, and orange juice for 49¢ a half-gallon. Big Apple had ocean perch for 33¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and a two-pound jar of Lenox Park peanut butter for 69¢. Kroger had Royal Crown or Diet-RC Cola for a quarter a carton plus deposit, chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, and a 20-pound bag of Idaho potatoes for 99¢. A&P had whole flyers for 27¢ a pound, five pounds of Ballard flour for 55¢, and A&P chunk light tuna for 27¢ a can. Couch’s had Southern Maid all-meat wieners for 43¢ a pound, Van Camp’s chili with beans for 29¢ a pound, and vine ripened tomatoes (back when that actually meant something) for 19¢ a pound.
The Rome cinematic week began with Do Not Disturb (with Doris Day & Rod Taylor) at the DeSoto and The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World at the First Avenue. The midweek switch out brought That Darn Cat (with Hayley Mills and Dean Jones) to the DeSoto and Revenge of the Gladiators (with Roger Browne) to the First Avenue. The West Rome Drive-In’s weekend screenings included Bullet for a Bad Man and Under the Yum Yum Tree.
The Beatles took two slots on the top ten this week in 1966: number one with “We Can Work It Out” and number six with “Day Tripper.” Other top ten hits included “Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel (#2); “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#3); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#4); “Ebb Tide” by the Righteous Brothers (#5); “Flowers on the Wall” by the Statler Brothers (#7); “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#8); “As Tears Go By” by the Rolling Stones (#9); and “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#10). The last song began as a musical jingle for an Alka-Seltzer song, and the artists who recorded it weren’t really a group per se—they were Los Angeles session musicians no known as The Wrecking Crew, including Hal Blaine, Carol Caye, and Tommy Tedesco.
The Beatles also claimed the number one album slot with Rubber Soul, giving the Fab Four a very strong start for 1966.
It was the best of times and the worst of times for teen-focused music shows on TV. Hullabaloo was having a banner year, airing promo videos for “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” on January 3rd. However, Shindig aired its final episode on January 8th after dwindling ratings made it unprofitable; both the Kinks and the Who performed on the finale.
Dell continued to publish its line of TV-based comics, with the first issues of both Get Smart and Hogan’s Heroes debuting this week in 1966.
West Rome’s basketball teams scored two wins over Dalton on Tuesday, January 4th. The Boys won 57-56 in overtime in a game the Coach Randall Kent described as “our poorest game of the season,” although he did have good things to say about guard David Garrett, who scored 13 key points; Stan Dawson, who scored 16 points; and Rusty Oxford, who scored 14. The girls had an easier time of it, winning 36-29. Ann Peery led the Chiefs with 10 points.
On January 9th, the Chiefs again racked up dual wins, with the boys winning 72-42 over Chattooga, while the girls won 52-14. Coach Kent praised his boys’ performance. Rusty Oxford led the boys with 25 points, while Stan Dawson scored 15 points. Both Diane Bell and Ann Peery scored 17 points for the girls team.
Nelson McGee of Ledbetter-Johnson Company announced that the East Rome Interchange was more than 60% complete, and the whole interchange would be open in the summer of 1966. The East 12th Street bridge was almost totally complete, and was slated to open later in January, offering Romans a faster way to get to Roy’s Little Garden and other Dean Street businesses.
The draft board confirmed that, as of January 1966, childless married men would still face draft exams and could possibly be drafted, ending the married exemption. 118 Floyd County men, including 60 married men without children, were scheduled to report for their pre-induction exam on January 12th (an increase of 43 men over the December numbers). Mrs. Virginia Turpin of the Floyd Selective Service System said that they had to begin drafting childless married men because they had pretty much run out single 19 year olds to call up. She also explained that they would now reconsider men who had been exempted because of minor physical defects or health issues. If the call-up of childless married men between the ages of 19 and 25 didn’t yield enough draftees, the next step would be to call up all eligible men between the ages of 26 and 35, both single and childless married, as well as college students who were in the bottom 25% of their class. Suddenly, those who had presume the draft wouldn’t touch them because of marriage or college had to face the fact that they, too, could become soldiers in Vietnam…
Roman Donald Eugene Kell, who robbed the West Rome Super-Discount Store on Shorter Avenue in mid-December, waived extradition and was returned to Rome from Rhode Island, where he had fled following the robbery. He was held on a bond of $25,000—about 20 times the amount of money he took in the armed robbery. Thankfully, money was all he took—no one was killed or seriously injured.
Piggly Wiggly had eggs for 49¢ a dozen, Swift’s bacon for 69¢, and orange juice for 49¢ a half-gallon. Big Apple had ocean perch for 33¢ a pound, bananas for a dime a pound, and a two-pound jar of Lenox Park peanut butter for 69¢. Kroger had Royal Crown or Diet-RC Cola for a quarter a carton plus deposit, chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, and a 20-pound bag of Idaho potatoes for 99¢. A&P had whole flyers for 27¢ a pound, five pounds of Ballard flour for 55¢, and A&P chunk light tuna for 27¢ a can. Couch’s had Southern Maid all-meat wieners for 43¢ a pound, Van Camp’s chili with beans for 29¢ a pound, and vine ripened tomatoes (back when that actually meant something) for 19¢ a pound.
The Rome cinematic week began with Do Not Disturb (with Doris Day & Rod Taylor) at the DeSoto and The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World at the First Avenue. The midweek switch out brought That Darn Cat (with Hayley Mills and Dean Jones) to the DeSoto and Revenge of the Gladiators (with Roger Browne) to the First Avenue. The West Rome Drive-In’s weekend screenings included Bullet for a Bad Man and Under the Yum Yum Tree.
The Beatles took two slots on the top ten this week in 1966: number one with “We Can Work It Out” and number six with “Day Tripper.” Other top ten hits included “Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel (#2); “She’s Just My Style” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (#3); “Five O’Clock World” by the Vogues (#4); “Ebb Tide” by the Righteous Brothers (#5); “Flowers on the Wall” by the Statler Brothers (#7); “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas (#8); “As Tears Go By” by the Rolling Stones (#9); and “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” by the T-Bones (#10). The last song began as a musical jingle for an Alka-Seltzer song, and the artists who recorded it weren’t really a group per se—they were Los Angeles session musicians no known as The Wrecking Crew, including Hal Blaine, Carol Caye, and Tommy Tedesco.
The Beatles also claimed the number one album slot with Rubber Soul, giving the Fab Four a very strong start for 1966.
It was the best of times and the worst of times for teen-focused music shows on TV. Hullabaloo was having a banner year, airing promo videos for “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” on January 3rd. However, Shindig aired its final episode on January 8th after dwindling ratings made it unprofitable; both the Kinks and the Who performed on the finale.
Dell continued to publish its line of TV-based comics, with the first issues of both Get Smart and Hogan’s Heroes debuting this week in 1966.
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