Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/27/1967 to 12/3/1967

Rome manufacturing growth continued with Trend Mills announcing plans to triple their West Rome facility space and add 150 new jobs. The manufacturer planned to spent $3 million to expand the facility; with all work to be completed by mid-1968.

Was Rome a hotbed of crime when I was a kid? it certainly seems that way, although I wasn’t aware of it at the time. In the early morning hours of November 27th, burglars ripped open a walk-in vault at the Berry College comptroller’s office and made off with more than $1150.00 in cash. This came just two months after  a Berry College student stole more than $10,000.00 from the comptroller’s office. Apparently Berry needed a more secure comptroller's office!

Rome’s annual Santa Claus parade took place at 6pm on Monday, November 27th. The parade began at West Third Street and Second Avenue, then turned onto Broad Street and headed up Broad to the City Auditorium, where Santa greeted the crowds. Both the West Rome Band and the West Rome Junior High Band participated in the parade.

And in a brilliant strategic move, Big K at Gala Shopping Center hired the Santa Parade’s Santa to go straight from the parade festivities to Big K, where he would listen to children’s Christmas lists until midnight! Not sure who was keeping their little kids up until midnight on a school night, though…

West Rome’s girls started the basketball season off with a 54-20 win over Lafayette, but the boys performed less effectively in their game, losing 55-43. Both Debbie Poarch and Elaine Underwood scored enough points individually to win the game for West Rome (22 and 21 points respectively). Coach Brendel Cox said that the boys team was “simply outplayed” by LaFayette, although he did note that they played to a tie twice in the first half and were briefly ahead before the game fell apart for the Chiefs in the third quarter.

Roger Weaver was named Back of the Year  by the Rome News-Tribune for his outstanding performance during the 1967 football season. Weaver gained more than a thousand yards during the season and more than 2600 yards during his three years of Chieftains football. He also scored 70 points during the season on 11 touchdowns, an extra point, and a field goal. 

Piggly ‘Wiggly had sirloin steak for 99¢ a pound, Toast’em Pop Ups for 39¢ a box, and blackberries for 39¢ a pint. Kroger had pork roast for 39¢ a pound, Maxwell House coffee for 57¢ a pound, and Kroger doughnuts for 19¢ a dozen (that’s less than 2 cents a doughnut!). Big Apple had perch fillet for 39¢ a pound, red delicious apples for 15¢ a pound, and Sealtest ice cream for 49¢ a half-gallon. A&P had fresh fryers for 25¢ a pound, tomatoes for 29¢ a pound, and five pounds of Dixie Crystals sugar for 61¢. Couch’s had Chuck Wagon bacon for 59¢ a pound, Castleberry’s beef stew for 59¢ a pound, and bananas for a dime a pound. 

The cinematic week began with Clambake (starring Elvis Presley) at the DeSoto Theatre and the West Rome Drive-In and Grand Prix (starring James Garner) at the First Avenue. The midweek switchout brought Point Blank (starring Lee Marvin) to the DeSoto, Jack of Diamonds (starring George Hamilton) to the First Avenue, and Panic in the Year Zero (starring Ray Milland) to the West Rome Drive-In. 

The Beatles released their album Magical Mystery Tour this week in 1967, a soundtrack to the film of the same name. Well, they released the album here in the US, but in the UK, it was an EP. Capitol Records turned it into an album by including songs the band’s 1967 singles on the album’s B side. Other big releases included Steve Wonder’s Someday at Christmas (one of the finest contemporary Christmas albums ever recorded, with a brilliant title song that really deserves a place in more Christmas playlists), Love’s Forever Changes, and the Chambers Brothers’ The Time Has Come.

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/20/1967 to 11/26/1967

Rome City school students celebrated Thanksgiving with a five-day weekend. Students were off Wednesday through Sunday, while teachers used Wednesday as a work day to prepare report cards. 

Governor Lester Maddox began a push to encourage school systems to add Driver’s Training to the curriculum in every high school as a non-fee course. The only school in the Rome area that offered a Driver’s Training class in 1967 was Coosa; the Rome City School System contracted with private instructors (including Don Undsworth, the instructor from whom many of my friends and I took Driver’s Training) to offer fee-based classes after school hours.

Rome and Floyd County agreed to work together in an effort to secure more than a half million dollars in federal and state funds for major improvements to Russell Field, Rome’s airport. Planned upgrades included a longer runway to handle slightly larger commercial flights, additional taxi aprons, improved lighting, and acquisition of extra land for future expansion. The city and the county were optimistic that, with these improvements, Rome would continue to serve as a northwest Georgia hub for commercial commuter flights to Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Birmingham.

Rome’s burglary spree continued—but this time, it was spectacularly unsuccessful. Burglars broke into Simpson Grocery Company on E. 2nd Avenue in the early hours of Monday morning and attempted to break into the safe—but not only did they fail in that, they ended up leaving behind almost $100 in equipment in their haste to escape. The burglars did manage to punch out the combination lock and drill one hole into the safe—a process that must have taken hours—but that did not enable them to open the safe. So why did they ultimately leave? Because when they finally drilled through the safe door, they also drilled into a tear gas canister located inside the safe just for in case something like this happened. The pressurized canister pumped tear gas into the office, which caused the thieves to make a tearful retreat without their tools.

Two nights later, two men and a woman, all from Alabama, were arrested with burglary tools after they broke into a Rome laundromat. Hundreds of dollars in tools were confiscated, along with the $26 the thieves managed to steal from the laundromat. While the amount of the theft was small, the damage to the laundromat was sufficient to earn the thieves some pretty serious felony charges.

Judging by advertising from Belk’s, Sears, Penney’s, and Big K, avocado was the hot new color of the year for cookware and kitchen accessories. Every store was pushing avocado kitchen items as Christmas gifts, with Sears also offering appliances in the trendy new color.

Piggly Wiggly had roasting hens for 33¢ a pound, oranges for 33¢ a dozen, and Maxwell House coffee for 49¢ a pound. Kroger had turkeys for 26¢ a pound, celery for a dime a bunch, and Morton’s frozen pies for 29¢ each. A&P had smoked hams for 35¢ a pound, a three-pound fruitcake for $2.49, and a twenty-pound bag of russet potatoes for 89¢. Big Apple had pork roast for79¢ a pound, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce for 29¢ a can, and pole beans for 15¢ a pound.  Couch’s had Hormel fully cooked three-pound canned hams for $2.79 (do they still make three-pound canned hams?), Aristocrat ice milk for 39¢ a half gallon, and large coconuts for 19¢ each. (My parents must have carefully hidden these cheap coconuts from me—because if I had known, we would have had a lot of coconuts and hammers scattered across the patio and driveway…)

The cinematic week began with Bonnie & Clyde (starring Warren Beatty & Faye Dunaway) at the DeSoto Theatre and the West Rome Drive-In, and Grand Prix (starring James Garner) at the First Avenue. The midweek switchout brought Clambake (starring Elvis Presley) to the DeSoto Theatre and the West Rome Drive-In, while Grand Prix hung around for another week at the First Avenue. 

The Strawberry Alarm Clock finally knocked Lulu out of first place with their song “Incense and Peppermints,” pushing Lulu’s “To Sir With Love” to second place. Other top ten songs included “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things” by the Cowsills (#3); “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave (#4); “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees (#5); “Please Love Me Forever” by Bobby Vinton (#6); “I Say a Little Prayer” by Dionne Warwick (#7); “It Must Be Him” by Vikki Carr (#8); “I Can See for Miles” by The Who (#9); and “Expressway (To You Heart)” by the Soul Survivors (#10). 

I'm a Muddler

Yes, I confess: I'm a muddler.

I've always loved the bittersweet aspect of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"--and in particular, these lines.

Someday soon, we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, well have to muddle through somehow

That, to me, is the essence of my love for Christmas. It brings us together--we hope. We never know, though, if we will have an opportunity to share another Christmas. Every year, I know that last Christmas could well be my last Christmas, or your last Christmas, or the last Christmas we will be able to see one another. We don't know what the fates will allow. And all we can do is muddle through like we do every day in our lives, trying to let those future joys carry us through our daily existence. It is a sparkling shard of future joy, but we may never get close enough to fully admire its beauty--and we won't fully appreciate how beautiful it was until that time when it exists in our memories only, and then we'll resign ourselves to muddling through with regrets and wistful pangs.

Reportedly, the lyrics were changed in 1957 at the behest of the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra, who was completing a Christmas album entitled A Jolly Christmas. He asked lyricist Hugh Martin, "Do you think you could jolly that up for me?" And thus the revised lyrics were created:

Someday soon, we all will be together
If the fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough

But in revising the lyrics, the human longing for a season of joy in a life of turbulence and uncertainty was lost. The song just doesn't work any longer; the lyrics are unfinished, the message itself muddled by the absence of that original line.

(Speaking of original lines--apparently Martin's original original original line was "If the Lord allows." Some might wonder why he took the religious reference out of a song that celebrates a religiously-themed holiday, but I think he had the best reason of all: "allows' doesn't truly rhyme with "somehow" or "bough," and "Lords" or "gods" would have been forced an inappropriate. "Fates" was an inspired change that fully nuanced the song's meaning while allowing for a full rhyme.)

So no matter which version of the song is played, in my mind, we'll all have to muddle through somehow. That's one of the things that make Christmas so wonderful and so solemn at the same time. If you're muddling through right along with me--well, that's pretty much the way life is, isn't it?

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/13/1967 to 11/19/1967

West Rome residents were dealing with traffic frustrations this week in 1967 as the roads department was resurfacing the entirety of Shorter Avenue from the underpass to Redmond Circle. Ledbetter Construction planned to spread 12,200 tons of deep strength asphalt under a $119,559 contract; spokespeople for Ledbetter said that they hoped to complete the work in two weeks, weather permitting.

West Romans finally had access to cable tv as of November 1967: Rome Cable TV Company reported that they had now run cable to all West Rome streets within the city limits. The cable company was offering a total of nine channels (2, 5, and 11 from Atlanta, 3, 9, and 12 from Chattanooga, educational channel 7 from Alabama, educational channel 8 from Athens, and channel 4, a cable channel offering local weather forecasts for Rome and northwest Georgia). Cable was available for $3.95 a month plus a $5 installation fee.

Burglars entered the Rome Seed & Feed Store on Wednesday night, November 145h, and stole $700 in cash. The thieves also stole a 12-gauge shotgun fro the display case. Footprints found on the roof of an adjacent building (which was the means by which the thieves gained access to the Rome Seed & Feed roof, which they entered through an air conditioning vent) indicated that there were two thieves. 

Superintendent MS McDonald said that the Rome school system was doing everything it could to comply with a US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare order that all schools be totally integrated by 1969, but he said it would be a challenge, since Rome still has five all-black schools in 1967: Main High, Main Elementary, Reservoir, Mary T. Banks, and Anna K Davie. Davis said that some of these school shad been deemed inadequate for renovation, requiring that new schools be built before integration could be completed. Rome planned to operate the schools under a “freedom of choice” system that allowed city school students to attend any city school of their choice, but the students and their parents were responsible for arranging transportation if that school was not the one geographically nearest to them.

With the region football season in the books, Roger Weaver was proclaimed a record-setter in two categories: he set a season rushing record with 1001 net yards in 176 carries, and he set a season scoring record with a total of 70 points. His three-year record was 2588 yards, putting him almost three hundred yards ahead of his nearest competitor.

Alas, the football season came to a disappointing end for the Chieftains as the Dalton Catamounts claimed a surprisingly strong 33-0 victory over the Chiefs. Dalton took advantage of a couple of fumbles to jump out to a 13-0 lead early in the game, followed by a pair of interceptions and another fumble recovery for 20 more points in the second half. “We beat ourselves” was all Coach Paul Kennedy had to say.

Big K introduced the newest trend in artificial Christmas trees for the 1967 holiday season: the Bradford Snowmaker. “Plastic snow continually falls on the tree. Snow is recirculated from the tree base to the tree top—a fascinating illusion of softly falling snow It’s safe… clean… no refills needed." The Snowmaker was $29.88 with a 6 foot 91 branch artificial tree, or only $24.95 if you added your own tree. (I have to admit that i have never heard of this, but a subsequent search in various discussion groups reveals that it’s a hard-to-find and much sought after item by Christmas aficionados.)

Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 35¢ a pound, Maxwell House coffee for 59¢ a pound, and bananas for a dime a pound. Kroger had five pounds of sugar for 39¢, whole smoked hams for 49¢ a pound, and Kroger mayonnaise for 39¢ a quart. Big Apple had turkeys for 43¢ a pound, pears for 15¢ a pound, and Land o’ Lakes butter for 69¢ a pound. A&P had rib roast for 85¢ a pound, Castleberry beef stew for 35¢ a can, and a five-pound Jane Parker fruitcake for $3.99. Couch’s had pork chops for 35¢ a pound, White Lily cornbread mix for a dime a package, and large coconuts for 19¢ each. (How did I go through my childhood without ever buying a coconut at Couch’s? Now I’m old enough to know that a whole coconut is an instrument of frustration, but when I was a kid, I thought a whole coconut was bound to be some of the best food that anyone could ask for. My parents held a different opinion…)

The cinematic week began with Rosie (starring Rosalind Russell & Sandra Dee) at the DeSoto Theatre, Grand Prix (starring James Garner) at the First Avenue, and The Trip (starring Peter Fonda) at the West Rome Drive-In.  The midweek switchout brought Bonnie & Clyde (starring Faye Dunaway & Warren Beatty) to the Desoto and the West Rome Drive-In, while Grand Prix kept making the rounds at the First Avenue.

Apparently music fans just couldn’t get enough of Lulu: her song “To Sir With Love” maintained its grip on the number one slot for another week. Other top ten hits included “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave (#2); “Incense & Peppermints” by Strawberry Alarm Clock (#3); “The Rain, The Park, & Other Things” by the Cowsills (#4); “It Must Be Him” by Vikki Carr (#5); “Please Love Me Forever” by Bobby Vinton (#6); “Your Precious Love” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#7); “I Say a Little Prayer” by Dionne Warwick (#8); “Expressway (To Your Heart)” by the Soul Survivors (#9); and “I Can See for Miles” by the Who (#10). 

A Life in Four Colors Part Forty-Four: Four-Color Fantasia (1961)

Ever since I posted a list of what comics I bought new off the spinner racks in West Rome in 1967, I've heard from a number of people asking how I could possibly remember that in such detail.

Apparently, my life in four colors is permanently etched into my memory. As soon as I look at the covers of the books that came out in a given month from my childhood, I can remember which books I bought--and in some cases, where I bought them.

To test my memory, I decided to back up to November 1961, when I was relatively new to comics reading. (I began reading comics in 1959, but did not begin collecting comics until 1961). In my early days of collecting my comics friends included Roy Chockley, David Lynch, Morris Lively, and Jimmy Haynes--all of whom lived near my house in Garden Lakes.

Here are the books I bought in November 1961:

Action Comics #284

Adventures of the Jaguar #4

Amazing Adult Fantasy #9

Aquaman #1

Batman Annual #2

Detective Comics #298

Green Lantern #10

Life With Archie #12

Our Army at War #114

Strange Suspense Stories #57

Strange Tales #93

Superboy #94

Superman #150

Superman Annual #4

Walt Disney's Comics & Stories #255

Walt Disney's Donald Duck Merry Christmas #53

Woody Woodpecker's Christmas Party #53

Wendy the Good Little Witch #10

That's about two and a half bucks worth of comics in one month. My allowance in 1961 was $1.05 a week (15¢ a day), so I was spending more than half of my allowance on comics by the time I was eight years old.

I also see that I was buying more humor/all-ages comics when I was eight, along with several Marvel pre-hero monster/fantasy titles (and even a Charlton here and there). I was not buying DC's mystery/suspense books like My Greatest Adventure or House of Mystery, because they didn't have that "monster feel' that typified the Marvel titles.

When I was eight, I was willing to trade some of my comics to friends for other books. Over the next couple of months, I traded several books with friends and acquired copies of these books:

Adventure Comics #292

Adventures of the Fly #17

Out Fighting Forces #65

Rawhide kid #26

Rip Hunter, Time Master #6

Sea Devils #3

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #30

Sueprman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #58

Tales of Suspense #26

Tales to Astonish #28

That's eighteen books I bought outright (two of which were eighty-page annuals), and ten more titles that i traded for. So I read twenty-eight November 1961 releases in the first two or three months after their publication—and I did it all for an investment of about $2.50.

As I said, that was more than 60% of my monthly income at the time. While I have much more disposable income nowadays, I can't imagine spending 60% of my current gross income on comics.

Sometimes we don't realize how good we had it when we were kids...

A Life in Four Colors Part Forty-Three: Four Color Fantasia (November 1967)

By late 1967, I had found a way to balance my insatiable desire for comics with my interest in pulp adventure (Doc Savage, Conan, and the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs in particular) and my growing interest in science fiction (which would not become a full addiction until 1968). I bought these comics new off the spinner racks in November 1967:

Action Comics #358
Adventure Comics #364
Amazing Spider_Man #57
Aquaman #37
Avengers #48
Batman #198
Captain Savage & His Leatherneck Raiders #1
Creepy #19
Daredevil #36
Detective Comics #371
Fantastic Four #71
Flash Gordon #10
Green Lantern #48
Marvel Collector's Items Classics #13
Marvel Tales #13
Metamorpho #16
Not Brand Echh #6
Peacemaker #5
Phantom #27
Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos #50 & 51 (one came out the first week of the month, the other the last week of the month)
Spectre #2
Strange Adventures #208
Strange Tales #165 & 166 (same as Sgt. Fury)
Superboy #144
Superman #203
Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #80
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #108
Tales of Suspense #98 & 99
Tales to Astonish #100
Teen Titans #13
Thor #148 & 149
Two-Gun Kid #92
X-Men #40

Looking back at it now, I'm a bit intrigued by the books I didn't buy. I passed on Bomba the Jungle Boy #3, even though I liked Tarzan tales and jungle adventures in general; I suspect it was the Jack Sparling artwork that moved it off my buy list. I passed on House of Mystery #172 because I thought Dial H for Hero was dopey; later on, I'd find those same stories fascinating. Inferior five #6, Kid Cold Outlaw #139, Magnus Robot Fighter #21, Man from UNCLE #16, Mandrake the Magician #10, Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #5, Mighty SAmson #13, Monkees #9, Our Army at War #188, Our Fighting Forces #111, Plastic Man #8 (I blame Jack Sparling again), Rawhide Kid #62, Tomahawk #114, Wonder Woman #174... I passed  on all of them. Many of those titles were "fill in" purchases--that is, they were books that I'd buy if I couldn't find enough of my "must-read" titles to satisfy me. As a result, I was buying random issues of mos tof those titles--probably no more than one out of every four issues, in fact.

I believe that money had to be the primary factor. At cover price, I bought about $5 worth of comics that month; my allowance at the time was $2,50 a week plus I got extra money for extra chores such as raking the yard, sweeping the driveway and patio, etc. I also got to keep the deposit money when I took empty Coke bottles back to Couch's Grocery store, and that added up to an extra buck or so a month. Add it up, and it seems like I could have afforded all the comics I passed on plus some extra.

By late 1967, though, I was already ordering a few fanzines (Rocket's Blast•Comicollector was my gateway into the world of fanzines, and I usually ordered a half-dozen or so fanzines advertised in each issue), buying a few paperbacks (usually used copies at Coosa Valley Book Shop, where I could get a book for a dime or so), and occasionally buying a 45 RPM single here and there.

I was also buying an airplane model or an Aurora model it now and then, although the glory days of my model collecting had already passed by this time.

And of course, there were the nickel and dime ice cream cones (one scoop or two, pointed cone or flat-bottomed, respectively) at Candler's Drugs, which I bought year round regardless of the weather.

Basically, I had all the money I needed to buy the stuff I wanted with a little left over for splurge items. My parents were supportive enough of my interests that they'd give me a little extra now and then, or they'd buy a book for me, or they'd overpay me for one of extra chores--they were remarkably generous, even though they knew how I was spending the money. They never tried to talk me out of my purchases, they never belittled my interests--I was much better off than many of my friends in that regard.

It's no wonder I recall my childhood so fondly. My parents gave me the sort of childhood that most fans of my era could only dream of. (The only person who got even more than me was my friend Gary, who's mother could never bring herself to say no to his requests. She seemed to think that if she gave Gary what he wanted, he'd show her the love and kindness she hoped for. Alas, it never worked that way...)

Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 11/6/1967 to 11/12/1967

This was a quiet mid-November week in Rome. The Chieftains football team had an off week after their region win a week earlier, so there was no football game. For the most part, it was a “business as usual” week.

Rome set a record low on Tuesday morning, November 7th. Temperatures fell to twenty degrees, five degrees colder than the previous record; lows were expected to remain below freezing for the next three days, at least.

Rome City Schools unveiled a plan to expand vocational training into junior high. The expanded program would  allow all students to participate in vocational education beginning in the 7th grade. The new junior high program would involve teaching children about occupational opportunities and the training needed for various careers.

The Open Door Home launched a drive to raise funds to build a new dormitory that would provide space for 40 more children. The Open Door Home building committee asked the city of Rome and the county to contribute $30,000 each, which would be added to the $26,000 that the facility had raised through private donations. The Open Door Home, which was open to boys between the ages of 6 and 13 and girls between the ages of 6 and 14, was already operating beyond capacity. The dorms were already overcrowded because the program had been expanded to allow preschool children to stay on a temporary basis. (All Open Door Home residents attended school at Elm Street Elementary and West Rome Junior High, so these children were also our fellow Chieftains.)

Elm Street won the Mite League Football Championship with an 18-6 victory over Coosa on Tuesday, November 7th.. Clayton Lundy ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third, propelling the team to victory, 

Roger Weaver was named co-captain of the 1967 Rome Area All-Star football team. Weaver was selected by unanimous vote of the 22-player squad, which consisted of the finest players in the Northwest Georgia area..

Piggly Wiggly had pork loins for 59¢ a pound, Fleetwood coffee for 69¢ a pound, and Blue Plate mayonnaise for 39¢ a quart. Big Apple had whole fryers for 19¢ a pound, Spam for 49¢ a can, and Irvindale ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon. Kroger had pork chops for 39¢ a pound, Campbell’s tomato soup for 19¢ a can, and lettuce for 12¢ a head. A&P had ground chuck for 69¢ a pound, bananas for 13¢ a pound, and Lipton tea bags for 49¢ a box. Couch’s had pork roast for 49¢ a pound, Van Camp’s chili with beans for 29¢ a can, and Winesap apples for 12¢ a pound.

The cinematic week began with Waterhole No. 3 (starring James Coburn) at the DeSoto Theatre and the West Rome Drive-In, and Sand Pebbles (starring Steve McQueen) at the First Avenue Theatre. The midweek switch out brought Rosie (starring Rosalind Russell & Sandra Dee) to the DeSoto Theatre, Grand Prix (starring James Garner) to the First Avenue, and The Trip (starring Peter Fonda) to the West Rome Drive-In.

Lulu held on to the number position for another week with “To Sir With Love.” Other top ten hits included “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave (#2); “It Must Be Him” by Vikki Carr (#3); “Incense and Peppermints” by the Strawberry Alarm Clock (#4); “Your Precious Love” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#5); “The Rain, The Park, & Other Things” by the Cowsills (#6); “Please Love Me Forever” by Bobby Vinton (#7); “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin (#8); “Expressway (To Your Heart) by the Soul Survivors (#9); and “Never My Love” by the Association (#10). 

Three great albums premiered this week in 1967. First was Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones Ltd. by the Monkees, their fourth album and the second album on which the group performed most of their own instruments. Then there was the Moody Blues’ masterpiece Days of Future Passed, best known for the iconic track “Nights in White Satin.” Finally, Cream released the brilliant Disraeli Gears, which featured both “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Strange Brew,”