Rome City Schools Superintendent Milton S. McDonald confirmed that on Monday, September 22nd, he receive a phone call from a representative of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare confirming that Rome's 1969-1970 desegregation plan had been accepted and the system would get its full federal funding. McDonald pointed out, though, that this news was supposed to have been shared with the school system in late July or early August; when they heard nothing, they began implementing cuts to educational programs and staff due to the expected absence of federal funds. Now that the money was forthcoming (including retroactive funds for August and September), McDonald said that the system would look at the feasibility of restoring programs that had been cut, but he warned that some of the staff who had been let go had already found jobs in other systems, so it might not be possible to restart all cut programs. McDonald also said that the school system's 1970-1971 desegregation plans, which had previously been approved by HEW, were now being designated as problematic and there might be another federal funding issue for the next school year. The plans called for the total elimination of Main High by the 1970-1971 school year, with all students attending either West Rome or East Rome, along with the construction of two new junior high schools large enough to handle a fully desegregated student body. McDonald said that he had no idea what part of the previously-accepted proposal was now seen as problematic.
Georgia Kraft, Georgia Power, Celanese, and Klopman Mills stepped up to sponsor the four Junior Achievement companies set up to teach Rome and Floyd County students the ins and outs of the free enterprise system. Georgia Kraft's student-runs company planned to offer storage containers; Klopman's student-run company, peg games and fire accessories; Georgia Power's, coasters and magnetic bulletin boards; and Klopman's, novelty photograph holders. Student participants were expected to sell stock in their companies to raise operating capital, and then to sell the products once manufacturing was completed.
US Plywood acquired Trend Mills this week in 1969. Trend and US Plywood assured Romans that they had no plans to cut any jobs, and in fact were looking to expand operations in late 1969 and again in 1970.
West Rome's Chatman brothers--Fred, Jimmy, Joseph, and Dennis--were the focus of a feature article on September 24th. Fred and Jimmy played on the varsity football team, while Joseph and Dennis were members of the freshman team. "I don't think we've ever had this many brothers in our program at one time," head coach Nick Hyder said. "They're all really good boys and certainly will help us."
West Rome took on Chattooga in a region game on Friday, September 26th, at Barron Stadium. This would be West Rome's first home game of the season. The Chieftains thrilled the home fans with a 21-0 victory, giving the Chattooga Indians their first loss of the season for the second year in a row. John Sapp scored all three of West Rome's touchdowns, while Henry Studyvent was the Chieftains' top gainer, powering his way to 109 yards rushing. Mark Brewer added three of the team's twenty-one points with a fourth quarter field goal.
Dodge unveiled its 1970 Challenger this week in 1969, promoting it as "the only new entry in the spots compact field... designed to compete with the pony cars." Of course, by today's standard, it doesn't seem very compact at all, but the 60s were a different automotive time...
Piggly Wiggly had fresh whole fryers for 29¢ a pound; four pounds of golden delicious apples for 49¢; and a six pack of Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite in new no-deposit cans for 59¢ (which was almost 20¢ more than the cost of the bottles, so even if you paid the deposit and never took the bottles back, you'd still save 15% over the cost of the cans!). A&P had beef loin for 89¢ a pound, Cool Whip for 59¢ a tub, and Bartlett pears for 19¢ a pound. Kroger had ground beef for 53¢ a pound in chub packs (even the name makes the product sound fatty, doesn't it?), Morton cream pies for 28¢, and bananas fr 15¢ a pound. Big Apple had sirloin steak for 89¢ a pound, Irvindale ice cream for 49¢ a half-gallon, and JFG coffee for 59¢ a pound. Couch's had young hen turkeys for 43¢ a pound, Bama peanut butter for 39¢ a jar, and sweet potatoes for 12¢ a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Maltese Bippy (starring Laugh-In's Dan Rowan and Dick Martin) at the DeSoto Theatre, Inga (an X-rated film with no recognizable stars) at the First Avenue, Young Billy Young (starring Robert Mitchum) at the Village Theatre, and Around the World in 80 Days (an oldie starring David Niven) at the West Rome Drive-In. The weekend switch out brought The Italian Job (starring Michael Caine) to the DeSoto, Midnight Cowboy (another X-rated film, but this one a major Hollywood release starring John Voigt and Dustin Hoffman that would go on to win Academy Awards) to the First Avenue, Pop! (starring Alan Arkin) to the Village, and a double feature of The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly and Hang 'Em High (a pair of spaghetti Westerns starring Clint Eastwood) to the West Rome Drive-In.
The Archies held on to number one for a third week with "Sugar, Sugar." Other top ten hits included "Jean" by Oliver (#2); "Little Woman" by Bobby Sherman (#3); "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night (#4); "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations (#5); "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones (#6); "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#7); "Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson (#8); "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly & The Family Stone (#9); and "Oh, What a Night" by the Dells (#10).
The Beatles released their magnum opus, Abbey Road, this week in 1969. You have to feel a little sorry for the Guess Who, Al Stewart, Love, the Vanilla Fudge, Savoy Brown, and the Bob Seger System, all of whom also released albums this week only to be totally overshadowed by the most brilliant album of the Beatles' musical career.
The new TV season continued to roll out this week in 1969, with Marcus Welby MD, Medical Center, and The Brady Bunch all premiering (on ABC, CBS, and ABC respectively).
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome: 9/15/1969 to 9/21/1969
Debbie Beard represented West Rome High School at the Miss Floyd County contest held at the Coosa Valley Fair, which took place this week in 1969. In addition to its many rides and contests, the fair also hosted a concert by the Ink Spots on Tuesday, September 16th; a concert by Marty Robbins on Friday, September 19th; and an appearance by Quacky the Clown (no, I've never heard of him, either) n Thursday, September 18th.. The West Rome Band also performed a concert on Thursday, September 18th in the special events arena.
Paula Lane was chosen as West Rome's semi-finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Lane actually finished high school in three years; while at the school, she was a member of the national Honor Society, the Tri Hi Y, the Drama Club, the Watanyah (yearbook) staff, and the newspaper staff.
West Rome lost to the Carrollton Trojans 14-7 on Friday night, September 19th. The Chieftains nearly tied the game when Henry Studyvent rand the ball to the one yard line as the clock ticked down; West Rome tried to quickly start the next play and throw an incomplete pass to stop the clock, but the official ruled that the clock had run out before the incomplete pass hit the ground.
After the Rome City School System drew up a contingency budget with teacher cuts to compensate for the loss of federal funding, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare reversed course and announced on September 17th that they would allocate funds for the school system after all, since they were convinced that the system was making all necessary progress towards total desegregation of the city schools. "It's just amazing," Superintendent Milton S McDonald said. "It's hard to believe that they could be so adamant, and then just turn everything around.
We think that stores rush the Christmas season nowadays, but this week in 1969 Kress Department Store opened their Christmas Toyland for early shopping and Christmas layaways. Meanwhile, Economy Auto announced that they had received their first shipments of the new 24" Philco color TV for $448 each; this was the largest TV made in the US, 1" larger diagonally than the previous largest TV.
Julian Harrison Ford held a special event on Thursday night, September 18th, to unveil the new 1970 Fords. (The cars must have looked pretty impressive, since Susan--who I had just begun dating in the fall of 1969--ended up ordering a 1970 Mustang Mach I as her first car. Appearances were deceiving, though, as it turned out to be the most unreliable car that either of us would ever own; she kept it until 1973, when she traded it in for a semi-automatic VW Beetle.)
Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 83¢ a pound, honeydew melons for 69¢ each, and Double Cola for 19¢ a carton plus deposit. A&P had Swiss steak for 75¢ a pound, yellow corn for 8¢ an ear, and Eight O'Clock coffee for 59¢ a pound. Kroger had ground chuck for 53¢ a pound, tomatoes for 17¢ a pound, and Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 23¢ a carton plus deposit. Big Apple had center cut pork chops for 79¢ a pound, Dole pineapple for 25¢ a can, and Parkay margarine for 19¢ a pound. Couch's had lamb roast for 49¢ a pound, Bama peanut butter for 39¢ a jar, and Chef Boy-Ar-Di spaghetti & meatballs for 29¢ a can.
The cinematic week began with Chairman (starring Gregory Peck) at the DeSoto Theatre, McKenna's Gold (starring Omar Sharif) at the First Avenue, Shoes of the Fisherman (starring Anthony Quinn) at the Village, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (starring Keir Dullea) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Maltese Bippy (starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin) to the DeSoto Theatre, Inga (an X-rated film, believe it or not!) to the First Avenue, and Bridge at Remagen (starring William Holden) to the West Rome Drive-In, while Shoes of the Fisherman continued to hook theatre-goers at the Village.
The Archies (actually, Ron Dante, who was the voice of the Archies on their recordings) took number one for a second week with "Sugar, Sugar." Other top ten hits included "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2); "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones (#3); "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night (#4); "Little Woman" by Bobby Sherman (#5); "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations (#6); "Jean" by Oliver (#7); "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Tom Jones (#8); "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly & the Family Stone (#9); and "Oh, What a Night" by the Dells (#10).
A pair of fondly rememberedTV series debuted this week in 1969, including Room 222 (September 17th) and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (September 17th).
Paula Lane was chosen as West Rome's semi-finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Lane actually finished high school in three years; while at the school, she was a member of the national Honor Society, the Tri Hi Y, the Drama Club, the Watanyah (yearbook) staff, and the newspaper staff.
West Rome lost to the Carrollton Trojans 14-7 on Friday night, September 19th. The Chieftains nearly tied the game when Henry Studyvent rand the ball to the one yard line as the clock ticked down; West Rome tried to quickly start the next play and throw an incomplete pass to stop the clock, but the official ruled that the clock had run out before the incomplete pass hit the ground.
After the Rome City School System drew up a contingency budget with teacher cuts to compensate for the loss of federal funding, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare reversed course and announced on September 17th that they would allocate funds for the school system after all, since they were convinced that the system was making all necessary progress towards total desegregation of the city schools. "It's just amazing," Superintendent Milton S McDonald said. "It's hard to believe that they could be so adamant, and then just turn everything around.
We think that stores rush the Christmas season nowadays, but this week in 1969 Kress Department Store opened their Christmas Toyland for early shopping and Christmas layaways. Meanwhile, Economy Auto announced that they had received their first shipments of the new 24" Philco color TV for $448 each; this was the largest TV made in the US, 1" larger diagonally than the previous largest TV.
Julian Harrison Ford held a special event on Thursday night, September 18th, to unveil the new 1970 Fords. (The cars must have looked pretty impressive, since Susan--who I had just begun dating in the fall of 1969--ended up ordering a 1970 Mustang Mach I as her first car. Appearances were deceiving, though, as it turned out to be the most unreliable car that either of us would ever own; she kept it until 1973, when she traded it in for a semi-automatic VW Beetle.)
Piggly Wiggly had chuck roast for 83¢ a pound, honeydew melons for 69¢ each, and Double Cola for 19¢ a carton plus deposit. A&P had Swiss steak for 75¢ a pound, yellow corn for 8¢ an ear, and Eight O'Clock coffee for 59¢ a pound. Kroger had ground chuck for 53¢ a pound, tomatoes for 17¢ a pound, and Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 23¢ a carton plus deposit. Big Apple had center cut pork chops for 79¢ a pound, Dole pineapple for 25¢ a can, and Parkay margarine for 19¢ a pound. Couch's had lamb roast for 49¢ a pound, Bama peanut butter for 39¢ a jar, and Chef Boy-Ar-Di spaghetti & meatballs for 29¢ a can.
The cinematic week began with Chairman (starring Gregory Peck) at the DeSoto Theatre, McKenna's Gold (starring Omar Sharif) at the First Avenue, Shoes of the Fisherman (starring Anthony Quinn) at the Village, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (starring Keir Dullea) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Maltese Bippy (starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin) to the DeSoto Theatre, Inga (an X-rated film, believe it or not!) to the First Avenue, and Bridge at Remagen (starring William Holden) to the West Rome Drive-In, while Shoes of the Fisherman continued to hook theatre-goers at the Village.
The Archies (actually, Ron Dante, who was the voice of the Archies on their recordings) took number one for a second week with "Sugar, Sugar." Other top ten hits included "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2); "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones (#3); "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night (#4); "Little Woman" by Bobby Sherman (#5); "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations (#6); "Jean" by Oliver (#7); "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Tom Jones (#8); "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly & the Family Stone (#9); and "Oh, What a Night" by the Dells (#10).
A pair of fondly rememberedTV series debuted this week in 1969, including Room 222 (September 17th) and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (September 17th).
Friday, September 06, 2019
Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 9/8/1969 to 9/14/1969
(First, a personal note: I have been largely absent from this feature for more than three months due to the illness and subsequent death of my beloved wife Susan. In some ways, I regret not being able to write about the summer of 1969, because this was the summer when Susan and I truly fell in love after knowing each other for a year. By the end of the summer, we were already talking about getting married once I graduated from high school--and we stuck to that plan, marrying exactly seven days after my graduation in 1971. Susan was my best friend and lifelong companion; the stroke on May 20th left her home-bound and I was her only caregiver. Subsequent seizures and strokes stripped away her ability to communicate and devastated her cognitive ability; finally, on July 11th, she began to suffer significant losses of vital bodily functions, and she passed away on July 22nd in hospice, where I remained at her side. I have wonderful memories of that summer and of the time we spend together. Susan enjoyed hearing from me what was going on in 1969 as I wrote this column every Friday night, and it often spurred long conversations about our lives together, and how everything had turned out even better than we ever imagined. I hope to continue to write these columns each week because the period from September 1969 to July 1971 was quite possibly the most important in my life; Susan and I built a plan together during that time, and then we figured out how to make it a reality. I will from time to time add parenthetical comments at the end of each column mentioning what was happening in our lives at the time; Deb may not want to include them in the newsletter, which is fine, but you'll see them on my page each week.)
The Open Door Home held dedication ceremonies for a new dorm on Saturday, September 13th. The new fully air-conditioned wing, which had beds for 32 children, also included a housemother's suite, a library/reading room, a recreation room, and grooming room. This was the largest addition to the Open Door Home since it moved to 5 Leon Street in West Rome in 1936. The addition meant that the Open Door Home could offer shelter and support for up to 125 children.
Sgt. Charles L. Burnes Jr., son of Mr. & Mrs. Charles L. Burnes of 103 Shorter Avenue, was awarded the Silver Star (the Army's third highest award for valor) in a ceremony at For Benning. Burns, who was a 1965 graduate from West Rome, received the award for heroic actions while serving in Vietnam.
Governor Lester Maddox named the West Rome High School Band, directed by Johnny Shook, as the official flag-bearers of the six flags which had flown over Georgia during the state's history. The band's flag-bearers included Jeanne Ellison, Deborah Helms, Marilynn Little, Pam Lundy, Linda Shaw, Jeanne Thompson, Kathy Tolbert, Jane Upshaw, and Mimi Upshaw.
Coach Nick Hyder spoke at the Breakfast Optimist Club of Rome during their Wednesday morning meeting on September 10th. Hyder offered some insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the 1969-1970 football team.
Talking about the week's game against Coosa, Coach Hyder described the 1969 Eagles as "the finest Coosa team we've ever played, judging from what we saw in the spring and in their first game." No matter how good Coosa looked, though, West Rome apparently looked better: the Chieftains won the game 7-6. The Eagles had a shot at a win, but they blew it when the tried for a 2 point conversion after their touchdown; they failed, while Mark Brewer was right on target with his one-point kick after the James Blanton's touchdown.
The Rome City School Board trimmed the 1969-1970 school system budget by $110,000 in anticipation of curtailment of all funding from the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The reduction resulted in the loss of 17 instructors, including two music teachers, one drivers' training instructor, one reading specialist, and thirteen classroom teachers (6 elementary, 3 junior high school, and 4 high school).
Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for $1.29 a pound, Royal Cup Coffee for 49¢ a pound, and Dempsey Dairies milk for $1.18 a gallon. Kroger had fresh whole fryers for 29¢ a pound, Sealtest ice cream for 48¢ a half-gallon, and Campbell soup for 11¢ a can. A&P had hickory smoked hams for 39¢ a pound, iceberg lettuce for 25¢ a head, and Van Camp's pork & beans for 29¢ a can. Big Apple had Cudahy bacon for 79¢ a pound, Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 33¢ a carton plus deposit, and a 20-ounce jar of Bama strawberry preserves for 49¢. Couch's had chicken breast for 59¢ a pound, tomatoes for 19¢ a pound, and Van Camp's chili for 33¢ a can.
The cinematic week began with Goodbye Columbus (starring Richard Benjamin) at the DeSoto Theatre, Smith (starring Glenn Ford) at the First Avenue, Ice Station Zebra (starring Rock Hudson) at the Village Theater (Rome's newest theater addition, which opened on Turner McCall on August 14th), and Gone With the Wind (starring Clark Gable) at the West Rome Drive-In. The end-of-the-week switchout brought Chairman (starring Gregory Peck) to the DeSoto, McKenna's Gold (starring Omar Sharif) to the First Avenue, Shoes of a Fisherman (starring Anthony Quinn) to the Village, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (starring Keir Dullea) to the West Rome Drive-In.
This week in 1969, Janis Joplin released her first solo album (I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!) after leaving Big Brother and the Holding Company. Also this week, John Lennon flew to Toronto to appear in concert without any of the other Beatles. This was also the week that the Rolling Stones released their best-selling Through the Past Darkly (Big Hits Volume 2), a great album visually distinguished by its octagonal record cover.
The Archies took number one this week with the song "Sugar, Sugar." This was the second number one hit of the year for singer Ron Dante, who was the lead singer and instrumentalist on this song as well as "Tracy," ostensibly recorded by the Cuff Links. Other top ten hits included "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones (#2); "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#3); "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash (#4); "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night (#5); "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Tom Jones (#6); "Get Together" by the Youngbloods (#7); "Jean" by OIiver (#8); "Little Woman" by Bobby Sherman (#9); and "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations (#10).
This was the week for cartoons: Scooby-Doo Where Are You? and The Archie Comedy Hour both joined the CBS Saturday morning line-up on September 13th.
The Open Door Home held dedication ceremonies for a new dorm on Saturday, September 13th. The new fully air-conditioned wing, which had beds for 32 children, also included a housemother's suite, a library/reading room, a recreation room, and grooming room. This was the largest addition to the Open Door Home since it moved to 5 Leon Street in West Rome in 1936. The addition meant that the Open Door Home could offer shelter and support for up to 125 children.
Sgt. Charles L. Burnes Jr., son of Mr. & Mrs. Charles L. Burnes of 103 Shorter Avenue, was awarded the Silver Star (the Army's third highest award for valor) in a ceremony at For Benning. Burns, who was a 1965 graduate from West Rome, received the award for heroic actions while serving in Vietnam.
Governor Lester Maddox named the West Rome High School Band, directed by Johnny Shook, as the official flag-bearers of the six flags which had flown over Georgia during the state's history. The band's flag-bearers included Jeanne Ellison, Deborah Helms, Marilynn Little, Pam Lundy, Linda Shaw, Jeanne Thompson, Kathy Tolbert, Jane Upshaw, and Mimi Upshaw.
Coach Nick Hyder spoke at the Breakfast Optimist Club of Rome during their Wednesday morning meeting on September 10th. Hyder offered some insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the 1969-1970 football team.
Talking about the week's game against Coosa, Coach Hyder described the 1969 Eagles as "the finest Coosa team we've ever played, judging from what we saw in the spring and in their first game." No matter how good Coosa looked, though, West Rome apparently looked better: the Chieftains won the game 7-6. The Eagles had a shot at a win, but they blew it when the tried for a 2 point conversion after their touchdown; they failed, while Mark Brewer was right on target with his one-point kick after the James Blanton's touchdown.
The Rome City School Board trimmed the 1969-1970 school system budget by $110,000 in anticipation of curtailment of all funding from the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The reduction resulted in the loss of 17 instructors, including two music teachers, one drivers' training instructor, one reading specialist, and thirteen classroom teachers (6 elementary, 3 junior high school, and 4 high school).
Piggly Wiggly had sirloin steak for $1.29 a pound, Royal Cup Coffee for 49¢ a pound, and Dempsey Dairies milk for $1.18 a gallon. Kroger had fresh whole fryers for 29¢ a pound, Sealtest ice cream for 48¢ a half-gallon, and Campbell soup for 11¢ a can. A&P had hickory smoked hams for 39¢ a pound, iceberg lettuce for 25¢ a head, and Van Camp's pork & beans for 29¢ a can. Big Apple had Cudahy bacon for 79¢ a pound, Coca-Cola/Tab/Sprite for 33¢ a carton plus deposit, and a 20-ounce jar of Bama strawberry preserves for 49¢. Couch's had chicken breast for 59¢ a pound, tomatoes for 19¢ a pound, and Van Camp's chili for 33¢ a can.
The cinematic week began with Goodbye Columbus (starring Richard Benjamin) at the DeSoto Theatre, Smith (starring Glenn Ford) at the First Avenue, Ice Station Zebra (starring Rock Hudson) at the Village Theater (Rome's newest theater addition, which opened on Turner McCall on August 14th), and Gone With the Wind (starring Clark Gable) at the West Rome Drive-In. The end-of-the-week switchout brought Chairman (starring Gregory Peck) to the DeSoto, McKenna's Gold (starring Omar Sharif) to the First Avenue, Shoes of a Fisherman (starring Anthony Quinn) to the Village, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (starring Keir Dullea) to the West Rome Drive-In.
This week in 1969, Janis Joplin released her first solo album (I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!) after leaving Big Brother and the Holding Company. Also this week, John Lennon flew to Toronto to appear in concert without any of the other Beatles. This was also the week that the Rolling Stones released their best-selling Through the Past Darkly (Big Hits Volume 2), a great album visually distinguished by its octagonal record cover.
The Archies took number one this week with the song "Sugar, Sugar." This was the second number one hit of the year for singer Ron Dante, who was the lead singer and instrumentalist on this song as well as "Tracy," ostensibly recorded by the Cuff Links. Other top ten hits included "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones (#2); "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#3); "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash (#4); "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night (#5); "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Tom Jones (#6); "Get Together" by the Youngbloods (#7); "Jean" by OIiver (#8); "Little Woman" by Bobby Sherman (#9); and "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations (#10).
This was the week for cartoons: Scooby-Doo Where Are You? and The Archie Comedy Hour both joined the CBS Saturday morning line-up on September 13th.
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