Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 4/7/1969 to 4/13/1969

Showtime '69, which was subtitled "A Chieftainacts Presentation," drew audiences to the Rome City Auditorium on Friday, April 11th and Saturday, April 12th. The show, whose theme was "America the Beautiful," was produced and directed by Clara Ellison. All proceeds from the event were used to sponsor activities of the academic, athletic, and music departments at West Rome. Mr. and Miss West Rome High School and West Rome Junior High School were announced at the event: Mike Johnson and Janice Lee were chosen Mr. & Miss West Rome High School, while Mike Tolbert and Toni Freeman were chosen Mr. & Miss West Rome Junior High.

Martin Rollinson won the Zone 1 Optimist International Oratorical Contest on April 7th; his speech focused on "Respect for the Law—Cornerstone for Citizenship." Rollinson was invited to take part in the oratorical contest after winning a local competition in March that was sponsored by the Rome Breakfast Optimist Club. As a result of his win, Rollinson was invited to take part in statewide competition in Atlanta on May 15th.

The Chieftains defeated Darlington and Calhoun in a three-way track meet on April 9th, led by Charles Smith, who posted an amazing triple jump of 44 feet 7.5 inches, giving him the first of three first-place finishes during the track meet. West Rome ended the competition with 63.5 points to Darlington's 55 points and Calhoun's 51.5 points.

Leland Veal of the Highway Department Planning Division said that plans had been finalized and approved for construction of a four-lane road from Shorter Avenue along Lavender Drive and Redmond Circle to the Alabama Road in front of West Rome High School. Veal said that the project had been moved to a  top priority for the state because of the rapid growth in West Rome.

Floyd Junior College plans were coming together, with designs and plans finalized and construction set to begin in May or June. The Board of Regents was confident that construction could be finished in time for classes to begin in the fall of 1970. (Considering how long it takes to finish any sort of construction project nowadays, it's amazing that they could go from blueprints to finished construction of a major junior college facility in a year--but that's just what they did!)

The Rome News-Tribune announced that the cost of a Sunday paper was increasing from 15¢ to 20¢ beginning Sunday, April 13th. The increase was necessitated by rising paper costs, distribution expenses, and the larger paper size due to the growing number of ads in each Sunday paper. The cost for a weekday paper was unchanged at 10¢.

Rome announced the expansion of the surplus food distribution program, with every resident of Floyd County eligible to receive at least nineteen items every month, including lard, peanut butter, cheese, and two cans of evaporated milk per person. There were no income requirements or prequalifications necessary to to receive a surplus food distribution allotment--residents simply had to show up at the distribution center on the appropriate day.

Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 45¢ a pound, pole beans for 19¢ a pound, and Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 33¢ a carton plus deposit. A&P had pork chops for 65¢ a pound, cantaloupes for 33¢ each, and Ann Page donuts for 25¢ a dozen. Big Apple had fresh whole fryers for 25¢ a pound, grapefruit for 7¢ each, and RC or Diet-Rite cola for 28¢ a carton plus deposit. Kroger had T-bone steak for $1.08 a pound, corn for 7¢ an ear, and Kroger frozen pot pies for 12¢ each. Couch's had fresh-sliced bacon for 69¢ a pound, Van Camp's chili for 33¢ a can, and bananas for a dime a pound.

The cinematic week began with Support Your Local Sheriff (starring James Garner) at the DeSoto Theatre, Where Eagles Dare (starring Clint Eastwood) at the First Avenue, and Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (starring Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits) at the West Rome Drive-In. The weekend switchout brought Charro (starring Elvis Presley) to the DeSoto and Planet of the Apes (starring Charlton Heston) to the West Rome Drive-In, while those eagles dared to stay at the First Avenue for another week.

The 5th Dimension held on to the number one slot with "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." Other top ten hits included "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Blood, Sweat, & Tears (#2); "It's Your Thing" by the Isley Brothers (#3); "Only the Strong Survive" by Jerry Butler (#4); "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe (#5); "Galveston" by Glen Campbell (#6); "Hair" by the Cowsills (#7); "Twenty-Five Miles" by Edwin Starr (#8); "Time of the Season" by the Zombies (#9); and "Rock Me" by Steppenwolf (#10).

Bob Dylan totally changed is sound for the album Nashville Skyline, released this week in 1969. Not only was the album's country-influenced tone a departure for Dylan, but his throaty, more glottal vocal on songs like "Lay Lady Lay" was unlike anything Dylan had recorded previously.  One of the highlights was "Girl from the North Country," a duet with Johnny Cash.

Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore united for a one-hour CBS Special, Dick Van Dyke & The Other Woman, on Sunday, April 13th. This was the first time the two had appeared on television together since their series ended in May of 1966. The program included the two actors in a previously unseen alternate take from an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show.