Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 10/14/1968 to 10/20/1968

A study of the Rome City Schools told us what a lot of us already suspected: the schools on the west side of town fared better than schools in other parts of Rome, both in the condition and maintenance of the facilities and in the qualify of the education. Only two schools--Fourth Ward and Elm Street--were reported to be in need of significant renovations; the committee recommended closing Fourth Ward entirely and moving the students to other area schools, while they agreed with the system's plan to largely rebuild Elm Street. West End Elementary earned particularly high praise as "an excellent facility in a growing population center." They also recommended that West Rome High School and West Rome Junior High "be maintained as a permanent educational facility for the community." Oh, if only the school board had remembered this recommendation sixteen years later...

Roger Weaver was tapped as the Rome News-Tribune's Player of the Week for his outstanding performance in the Cedartown game. The newspaper lauded Weaver's 127 net yards on the ground, which helped to put West Rome in scoring position, as well as his game-winning field goal kick and his kickoff returns.

West Rome turned its attention to Marietta for its sixth game. While Marietta's 2-2-1 record was much less impressive than West Rome's 5-0 record, Marietta had proven very capable of holding the line against their opponents on defense (but less good at holding the ball on offense--fumbles had led to both of their losses). Alas, there no Chieftain-friendly fumbles on Friday night, as Marietta scored 24 points to deliver West Rome's first loss of the season--and adding injury to insult, they also took out West Rome quarterback Mike Johnson, who suffered a broken shoulder during the 24-0 loss.

West End Elementary's PTA Fall Festival was held from 5:30 until 9:30 pm at the school. Highlights of the event included a sweet shop, a country store, a fish pond, a dart game, a spook house, a movie, and an auction to raise funds for the school. I remember these fall festivals very well; one of the reasons I attended was to pick up some used comic books for a dime--it seemed like the country store always had used comic books! The sweet shop, featuring baked goods made by parents, was also a highlight of the event.

October heat waves are nothing new: this week in 1968, Rome was dealing with 80°+ temperatures every day, with Tuesday hitting 88°. The warmer temperatures held on through the weekend, which meant (as the Rome News-Tribune noted) "no football weather in the offing yet."

Piggly Wiggly had fresh whole fryers for 29¢ a pound, grapes for 19¢ a pound, and Nabisco Shredded Wheat for 25¢ a box. Kroger had Cudahy Bar  bacon for 49¢ a pound, iceberg lettuce for 19¢ a head, and Kroger brand white bread for 15¢ a loaf. A&P had chuck roast for 49¢ a pound, Eight O'clock Coffee for 49¢ a pound ,and carrots for a dime a bunch. Big Apple had smoked ham for 39 a pound, sweet potatoes for 15¢ a pound, and Poss Brunswick stew for 45¢ a can. Couch's had store-made sausage for 49¢ a pound, Pop Tarts for 35¢ a box, and bananas for a dime a pound.

The cinematic week began with Never a Dull Moment (starring Dick Van Dyke) at the DeSoto Theatre, The Bible (starring Stephen Boyd) at the First Avenue, and The Sweet Ride (staring Tony Franciosca) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Stranger Returns (starring Tony Anthony) to the DeSoto, Rachel, Rachel (starring Joanne Woodward) to the First Avenue, and Twist of Sand (starring Richard Johnson) to the West Rome Drive-In.

Television viewers around the world watched the first live broadcast from a spacecraft in orbit this week in 1968, as the crew of the Apollo 7 mission sent back six short broadcasts during their eleven-day space mission.

The Beatles held on to the number one slot for another week with "Hey Jude." Other top ten hits included "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (#2); "Little Green Apples" by OC Smith (#3); "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin (#4); "Girl Watcher" by the O'Kaysions (#5); "Midnight Confessions" by the Grass Roots (#6); "Over You" by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap (#7); "Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C. Riley (#8); "Elenore" by the Turtles (#9); and "I've Got to Get a Message to You" by the Bee Gees (#10).

The Guardians of the Galaxy made their premiere in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes #18, released this week in 1968. However, it's not the Guardians that film viewers have come to know: while the concept was similar, this comic by Stan Lee & Gene Colan featured a totally different cast of characters, including Major Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Yondu, and Martinex. It would be many more years (and multiple lineup changes) before the team found any measure of success.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience's third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, was released this week in 1968, as was Three Dog Night (also known as One), the debut album by the group that featured Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron on very distinctive lead vocals.