Thursday, Dec. 27, 1962

Bold bandit robs market of $437

A neatly-dressed bandit, driving a new automobile and offering a $20 bill to pay for a pack of cigarettes, this morning forced a Floyd County merchant into a food cooler at gunpoint and made off with $437 in cash – plus his own $20.

The daring holdup occurred shortly after 7 a.m. today at the Martha Berry Highway Fruit Stand as William E. Scoggin, an employee of the stand, was opening for business.

Police immediately posted a lookout for the bandit, who was described as wearing a gray overcoat and a dark suit. It was reported that a second man was involved in the robbery but remained in the car and no description was available. Scoggin told investigating officers that the bandit drove up as he was opening for business and asked for a pack of

cigarettes. He gave Scoggin a $20 bill to pay for the purchase and as Scoggin reached under the counter for change, the man wielded a small, nickel-plated revolver.

Scoggin said the bandit then handed him a paper sack and said, “Put the greenbacks in the sack.” After doing as the bandit ordered, Scoggin was forced at gunpoint into a nearby food cooler. Scoggin told officers he remained in the locker for about two minutes and by the time he emerged, the holdup man had fled. Scoggin then notified sheriff’s officers, who alerted other law enforcement agents. The search was continuing around noon today.

Sheriff’s Investigator Bill Hart investigated the robbery.

Monday, Dec. 24, 1962

Dragons’ Den Yule Ball is colorful and gay

A stately, colorfully-decorated Yule tree centered the ballroom of the Dragons’ Den in the Lindale Auditorium Saturday evening for the young people’s annual Christmas ball.

Red and green were the predominant colors used in decorating. Simulated columns were covered with pine branches at the entrance to the ballroom, and red and green twisted candles were on individual tables, spaced around the floor. Christmas wreaths with red ribbon bows were in each window.

Crepe paper streamers of red and green formed a backdrop for the dancers. Punch, cookies, mints and nuts were served.

Eugene Covington chaperoned at the pretty affair for these young people:

Ruth Price, Benny Forrester, Pat Howard, Johnny Shamblin, Donna McChargue, Billy Mathis, Joan White, Roger Goss, June Bradshaw, Dan Bohannon, Gloria Pengh, Tony Taylor, Ann Howell, Roy Sealock, Janice McBurnett, Franklin Martin, Barbara Shiflett, Glenn Studdard, Peggy Couch, Jerry Turner, Patricia Kimery, Wayne Broadaway, Jeanne Sutton, Mike Erwin, Sheila Knight, Jimmy Brumbelow, Jane Covington, Ralph Stansell, Carol Tidwell, Larry Gresham, Ellen Tillery, Johnny Savage, Marilyn Holcomb, Bob Sewell, Nancy Mingea, Ned Beard, Martha Tidmore, George Hughes, Beth Simmons, Wallace Shiflett, Louise Jordan, David Erwin, Dolores Spearman, Grant Stinson; Ann Garrett, Archie Vaughn, Janette Knowles, Kenneth Scoggins, Carolyn Sheppard, Steve Barnett, Shirley Ingram, William Bohannon, Joan Green, Eddie Knowles, Diane Henderson, Jimmy Cooper, Judy Gilreath, Charles Henderson, Jo Ann Hyatt, Harry Foss, Nancy head, Ronne Hopkins, Donna Wells, Jim Jordan, Kay Melton, Jerry Henderson, Judy Sutton, Brennon Hardy, Elaine Worthington, Jimmy Hinton, Diane Poole, Jimmy Holcomb; Joy Goss, Carol Boatner, Pat Boatner, Tina Ellison, Mary Bruce, Butch Pilcher, Jimmy Mathis, Rodney Sartin,

Charles Brock, Ronald Bowling, Johnny Kelly, Ronnie Corntassel, Clayton Byars, Elmer Dillingham Jr., Jimmy Locklear, Robin Harris, Joe Knight Jr., Charles Bruce, Wayne Maxwell, Jimmy Watson, Buddy Wright, Johnny Mathis, Lester Bragg, Douglas Meers, Randy Broadaway and Danny Melton.

Sunday, Dec. 16, 1962

Girls’ squads tapering off for annual cage tournament

Eight area sextets begin tapering-off drills Monday afternoon in preparation for the Third Annual Cave Spring Invitational Girls’ Basketball Tournament, scheduled to being Thursday night – and all will be shooting for a chance to unseat defending champion East Rome.

Five of the teams entered in the three-day affair “could go all the way,” according to tourney officials. They include the defending champ Gladiators, Cave Spring, Cedartown, West Rome and Johnson.

Four contests are on the first-round agenda Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m. The semifinals are set Friday, and the consolation and championship tilts Saturday night.

The tournament is sanctioned by the Georgia High School Association and is sponsored by Cave Spring High School. Officials handling the meet will be from the Northwest Georgia Association.

Trophies will be presented to the top three teams, while the squad finishing in fourth place will received the tournament ball.

An agreement, agreed on earlier in the season by participating schools, had the teams seeded according to their records of games played through Saturday, Dec 15. Under this pact, Cave Spring was top-seeded with their won-loss records of 11-1. East Rome’s defending champs were seeded in the No. 2 spot, with a 5-1 mark. Their only loss came on Dec. 15 to Rockmart. Third and fourth seeds in order were Johnson (5-3) and Cedartown (3-2). Cave Spring’s lone setback was Taylorsville.

Sextets making up the top bracket are Cave Spring, Pepperell, Cedartown and Coosa. In the lower bracket are East Rome, Model, West Rome and Johnson.

In the two previous tournaments, Cave Spring won the crown in 1960 with Coosa in the runner-up spot. Last year, the host Springer squad was runner-up to the Gladiator lassies. The Romans of Coach Ann McCarson Davidson went on to win the 3-AA title, but lost in the state AA finals.

Tourney officials duplicated their forecast of last year when they said the “luck of the draw” has established East Rome as the team most likely to cop the championship in a repeat performance. The Glads meet Model in the second game Thursday at 7:15 p.m. following the opener at 6 p.m. between Coosa and Cedartown. Rounding out the first night, 8:30 p.m. – Cave Spring vs. Pepperell, and at 9:45 p.m. – West Rome faces Johnson.

Should East Rome top Model and West Rome (3-4) win over Johnson, the Gladiators and Chieftains will meet in one of Friday’s semi-final games. In the upper bracket, the winners of the Cave Spring Pepperell and Cedartown-Coosa contests will occupy the other semi-final slot.

Cedartown’s Bulldogettes are the only new tourney member, having replaced the Calhoun High sextet. East Rome captured the championship last year, scoring a 30-15 win over the Springers. West Rome grabbed the No. 3 spot in the 1961 meet win a 53-30 decision over Johnson.

Overflow crowds have been on hand for all sessions in the two previous tournaments and officials are forecasting

more of the same for the upcoming event.

Wednesday, Dec. 26, 1962

Reds broadcast best wishes during Yule observance

(AP) Christmas 1962 lived up to the seasonal traditions of good will, good cheer, merry making, Christmas religious observance and peace. There was a minimum of international discord to disturb the lull in what the world calls the cold war.

Moscow radio broadcast best wishes to the United States and urged good will between the two nations; the Soviets set off another in their series of nuclear tests. The blast was the 24th of the current test series recorded by Sweden’s seismological observatory in Uppsala.

Among the happiest celebrations anywhere were those of the L113 Cuban invasion captives delivered from Fidel Castro’s prisons earlier in the week. They had the additional joyous word that 1,000 members of their families would be allowed to leave Cuba tonight and join them in the United States.

There was much over which the world could shudder and shiver — the continued jungle war in Viet Nam, the conflict between monarchists and republicans in the deserts of Yemen, the perennial prospect of trouble in the Congo, the wall in Berlin.

But the undeclared India-China border war remained quiet, and in most nations political leaders in Christmas greetings to their people spoke of peace with more assurance.

The message of Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker was an example: “Despite sorrow and hope unfulfilled

— the message of the manger still comes to us across the centuries to sustain our faith – the message of good will for all men and brotherhood for all creeds and races.”

After the weeks of the Cuban crisis, Pope John XXIII in his Christmas message described the year as one of “fear and trembling” but declared wisdom and prudence had avoided a war. He said this was a “sign for the year that is coming.”

Churches in many lands were crowded as Christians paid homage to the Christ child and gave thanks for another year of what passes for peace in the nuclear age. In the Holy Land pilgrims jammed the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

President Kennedy spent Christmas at Palm Beach, Fla. After presents under a tree for Caroline and John Jr., the President and Mrs. Kennedy attended Mass at St. Edward’s Roman Catholic Church, cruised in the 80-degree afternoon aboard the presidential yacht, entertained friends for egg nog and had a quiet Christmas dinner at their borrowed oceanfront residence.

It was a day of feasting and gift exchanges at the fireside in the United States where snow and rain spread over much of the country.