Fifty Years Ago This Week in West Rome - 5/18/1970 to 5/24/1970

What had once been a regional dream became a reality this week in 1970 as Floyd Junior College began processing registration for the fall quarter. After more than a half a decade of back and forth discussions about building a junior college to serve Northwest Georgia, construction was nearing completion, faculty had been contracted, and the school began accepting applications from any students who had (or would have) a high school diploma and had taken (or would take prior to July 31st) the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Of course, any major construction project has unanticipated side effects, and the junior college construction was no exception. Due to the new demands on the water system, the city approved a $900,000 water and sewer expansion from Rome to the Silver Creek and junior college area. The new expansion plan came just a week after Rome finally completed the expansion into the West Rome/Alabama Road area, boosting pressure for homes that complained that very little water was reaching their "end of the line" homes.

West Rome's John Sapp represented the school at the Georgia Class AA meet on Friday and Saturday at Tara Stadium in Clayton County, where he would compete in the hurdles. Sapp held the Rome area 1970 track season record with 14.9 seconds in the high hurdles and 20.2 in the low hurdles.  Xavier Smith competed in the high jump and Chuck Kinnebrew competed in the discus--and while neither held a 1970 track season record, both were in the top three for the region. (Did Sapp, Smith, or Kinnebrew win at the region meet? Alas, I do not know, because the Rome News-Tribune is missing the paper that would have that news. If any of you reading this know how the three did, please share the info!)

City manager Bruce Hamler and Rome Recreation Department director Grady McCalmon said that they were investigating a new round of vandalism problems at Rome city parks. In the prior month, vandals had ripped out toilets and sinks, kicked in the doors to the restrooms, and shattered soft drink bottles on the tennis courts. Residents reported seeing teenagers in the area where the vandalism occurred, but no suspects had been identified. In response, the city said that they were going to pay for extra security in the city's 116 acres of parks, and intended to prosecute any vandals.

The Rome Boys Club Choir held their 13th annual concert on Thursday, May 21st, and Friday, May 22nd, at the City Auditorium. The concert was a mix of sacred music and popular songs, followed by a selection of "old time favorites." In addition to the whole choir, a barber shot quartet of boys also performed.

Apparently I had no idea how expensive Kentucky Fried Chicken was in 1970: the restaurant was offering a special nine-piece "thrift box" of Chicken for $1.89, with two pints of sides for 55¢ (buy one, get one free, since 55¢ was the regular price for one side). With an inflation multiplier of $6.61, that's the equivalent of paying $12.49 for the chicken and $3.65 for the two sides. And I remember how small and oddly cut KFC chicken was back then. Compare that to what you'd pay at Publix for eight very large pieces of chicken and two sides today and you can see that KFC's sale wasn't much of a sale at all!

Piggly Wiggly had ground beef for 49¢ a pound, Van Camp's chili for 29¢ a can, and strawberries for 49¢ a pint¢. Kroger had chuck roast for 59¢ a pound, sweet potatoes for 12¢ a pound, and Sealtest ice cream for 55¢ a half-gallon. Big Apple had rib roast for 89¢ a pound, apples for 16¢ a pound, and a five-pound bag of frozen french fries for 69¢. A&P had T-bone steak for $1.09 a pound, Hormel Vienna sausages for a dime a can, and carrots for a dime a bag. Couch's had chicken breast for 53¢ a pound, Nabisco vanilla wafers for 39¢ a box, and Van Camp's pork & beans for 15¢ a can.

The cinematic week began with The Magic Christian (starring Peter Sellers & Ringo Starr, with music by Badfinger and others) to the DeSoto Theatre, Vixen (an X-rated Russ Meyer film starring Erica Gavin) to the First Avenue, The Molly Maguires (starring Richard Harris & Sean Connery) to the Village, and Invasion of the Animal People (with John Carradine) West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switch out brought Funny Girl (starring Barbra Streisand) to the DeSoto Theatre, A Man Called Horse (starring Richard Harris) at the Village, and Shame (an X-rated film starring no one you've ever heard of) to the West Rome Drive-In, while the X-rated Russ Meyer film Vixen hung around for another week at th eFirst Avenue.. And am I the only one who thinks that a drive-in isn't the best place to show an X-rated film, since anyone driving by on Shorter Avenue would have a very clear view of the on-screen action? (And it ain't like you've got to hear an X-rated film to get the gist of things...)

Ray Stevens took the number one slot this week in 1970 with his optimistic "Everything Is Beautiful." Other top ten its included "American Woman" by the Guess Who (#2); "Love On a Two-Way Street" by the Moments (#3); "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel (#4); "Up Around the Bend/Run Through the Jungle" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#5); "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" by the Poppy Family (#6); "The Letter" by Joe Cocker (#7); "Turn Back the Hands of Time"by Tyrone Davis (#8); "Vehicle" by the Ides of March (#9); and "Let It Be" by the Beatles (#10).

The sometimes grim and generally grainy film Let It Be, chronicling the Beatles' recording sessions for their final album release (although it wasn't the final album they recorded—Abbey Road was). The rather joyless documentary makes it appear that the Beatles had no fun at all in these sessions—but filmmaker Peter Jackson is assembling an all-new documentary from the same footage that will show a much more amiable, enthusiastic Fab Four as they assemble this "back to the basics" album. Jackson's film is scheduled for fall 2020 release.