Parades march on

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, January 11, 2017

In 1977, 40 years ago, T.R. Miller Band was getting ready to travel to New Orleans. They were actually going to compete in the “Greatest Bands in Dixie,” but in addition they would get to march in the Mardi Gras Parade.

It’s been a long time since the local bands performed in big parades. I know that they have been in inaugural parades and T.R. Miller went to Mexico back in the 1950s.

Brenda Harold was chosen by the faculty of W.S. Neal High School to receive the Good Citizenship Award.

Jefferson Davis Junior College signs were going up around town. Six signs had been placed at strategic places to give directions to the school.

It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time before we had access to our local college. It has done much for our youth and our community.

There was an announcement in The Brewton Standard that Silver Commemorative USS Alabama coins had been made and were available at the USS Alabama’s Battleship Park on the causeway in Mobile.

It is hard to believe that it has been so long since the ship was taken out of mothballs and towed to its present home. The distance was the longest one that a ship had ever, at least until that time, been  towed. Over the years since then many people, young and old, have climbed around on the ship. It was certainly worth all those small, and large, contributions given by people of Alabama.

For those of you who are interested, there is a good write-up in the newspaper of the time about the community of Foshee.

I can’t help but include some of the items listed on sale all those years ago. Goodyear had an automatic washer priced at $168 and an electric G.E. range for $128. One could also buy and pay by the week.

They had televisions for $2.25 a week, a really fine solid state stereo for $3 a week and other items that the buyer could pay off by the week.