September 1967: The last one-room school and GE's Lady of Light make headlines

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Sep. 25—September of 1967 — a groovy time indeed. The "Smothers Brothers" was going head-to-head with "Bonanza" on Sunday nights. Classic shows like "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E," "Get Smart," "The Monkees" and "Star Trek" showed up on people's television sets. Every comedian or entertainer worth their salt was given a variety show: Carol Burnett, Jerry Lewis, Red Skelton, Jonathan Winters, Dean Martin and Ed Sullivan.

But far away from the glitz of Hollywood (or "beautiful downtown Burbank," as the winter-shown "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" was presented from), all was not well. The Vietnam War was growing more and more unpopular at home, and General Robert McNamara's September announcement that a "barrier" — mistaken to be a wall by some media reports — did not turn out to be the project that turned the war around for the U.S.

The barrier, you see, was intended to be a combination of different sensors that would alert a central command center that activity was taking place along areas separating north Vietnam and South Vietnam. That center would send out an order to military aircraft to strike at the invasion, giving them the coordinates to bomb, and making it the first attempt at computer-based security, rather than having actual eyes on the ground watching out for the enemy.

The whole system failed due to problems like using sensors with batteries that had the life of an out-of-contract iPhone (in other words, too short to be useful).

Here at home, the local A&P was selling a one-pound tin of Maxwell House Coffee for $0.75, a pound of grapes for $0.19, a pound of Muenster or cheddar for $0.79, and a raisin pie for $0.39.

Roses advertised ladies shirts for $1.48 (a must for the beach, they said, despite it being September already), and ladies bulky knit sweaters for $4.37 (maybe a little too heavy for early fall, but slightly more appropriate looking towards winter).

Just as with the world outside of television, all was not well everywhere around Pulaski County. A one-room school was on its last legs, a new road caused hardship for a minister, and despite the goodwill of a visit from the "Lady of Light," GE's workers went on strike — again, as they had already gone on strike once that summer.

Here is a roundup of a few of the headlines that could be found within the Commonwealth Journal in September of 1967.

September 8, 1967

Last one-room school: Remnants of a Vanishing Era

By Bill Mardis

"Something that tells something."

A third-grade pupil in Pulaski County's only one-room schoolhouse apparently satisfied his instructor with child-like definition of a sentence.

Mrs. Lelia Price, teacher for the past 15 or 16 years at Burdine No. 2 School, patiently explained in more dignified terms that a sentence is "a group of words that tells a complete thought."

However, the tow-headed youngster was on the right track. He may not have used the proper wording for his definition, but he really knows the composition of a sentence.

The small, one-room school, located in eastern Pulaski County at Price Valley, is a part of the Pulaski County School System. It is a remnant of a vanishing era and may be in its last year of existence.

Supt. Raymond Combs said yesterday that current plans call for closing the school after the 1967-68 term if the reading room and classroom addition to Shopville Elementary School is completed.

Supt. Combs said the contract has not been let for the Shopville addition, but the project is "in the mill." Earlier statements by the superintendent indicate that the contract will be awarded in the near future.

Until such time when the pupils are transported by big, yellow school busses to the modern elementary school at Shopville some five miles away, Mrs. Price will be at her place, five days each week, teaching the farming community children.

"I guess I hang on for the sake of the children," Mr.s Price commented to two reporters from The Commonwealth Journal who visited the school yesterday. "Each year, I say that I won't be back next year, but I always come back."

After driving about 13 miles east on State Highway 80, you reach the small schoolhouse by turning left on a narrow, bumpy gravel road. It seems much farther to the school from the highway than the mile and a half registered on the car's odometer.

Truthfully, the two newspapermen missed the turn-off road to the school on the first try. After driving about a half mile out of the way, the reporter inquired at a farmhouse for directions.

The car's rear wheels slipped on loose gravel as it negotiated the steep lane that leads from the county road to the small building, located on a hillside. Large rocks dragged the bottom of the vehicle.

September 11, 1967

Lady of Light coming tomorrow

General Electric's "Lady of Light" will visit Somerset tomorrow.

The company's goodwill ambassador on behalf of "Better Light for Better Living" will visit GE's local glass lamp plant, meet city officials and some of the homefolk, including representatives of homemaker clubs.

"The Lady of Light" ironically is Miss Kathy Burns, 24, of Cleveland, Ohio. She started a nationwide tour in March, 1965. Since then Kathy has visited more than 144 cities in 46 states including Hawaii. She has travelled nearly 140,000 miles.

In the goodwill tour, Kathy discusses the exciting innovations made in lighting since Thomas A. Edison developed the first practical electric light bulb in 1879 and she passes along helpful hints to homemakers on how they can light their homes attractively and functionally.

Kathy will arrive in Somerset tonight and meet with local GE officials at a dinner meeting at Quality Courts.

Tomorrow she will tour the local GE plant and talk with the employees. She is expected to attend the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce meeting at noon tomorrow.

(Columnist's note — we need more goodwill ambassadors traveling around today. Can you imagine if there was a Kingsford "Lady of Grilling" that travelled around giving tips to people, or if Aldi had a spokesperson that would explain exactly how the coin slots on the shopping carts worked?)

Friday, September 15

Minister Jailed After Blocking Work on 1247

An Elihu minister was jailed late yesterday on a charge of obstructing justice after he blocked a road and stopped a road construction crew from working for an hour and 21 minutes.

The Rev. Clyde F. Simeck was arrested at 5:58 p.m. when he refused to move from between a wrecker and one of the vehicles which he was using to block the road work.

State Troopers George Hall and Paul Dodson took Simeck into custody and placed him in a patrol car. Work on the road started eight minutes later, at 6:06 p.m., after wreckers hurriedly removed to obstructing vehicles. The minister was lodged in Pulaski County Jail.

State Police were called to the scene in front of Simeck's home, located about a mile below Ferguson School on State Highway 1247, after he allegedly stopped the contractor from constructing a new road in front of his property.

Simeck allegedly parked a 1962 International two-ton truck, a Corvair van and a 1957 Cadillac in the path of highway construction equipment being operated by Thomas Daugherty Excavating Company, Oneida, Tenn.

Johnny Acres and Ernest Crabtree, both of Oneida and both job foremen for the excavating company, said their equipment was blocked at 4:45 p.m. Normally, the road crews work around the clock.

State Highway 1247 in the area is being rebuilt by the Sate Highway Department to provide an access road to an industrial complex, located south of Ferguson. The Oneida firm is the contractor for the project.

Simeck, a producer of an organic fertilizer, claims Divine right to his property in the area and has resisted the access road since the project was announced.

Just this week, Simeck was in the process of obtaining a restraining order to halt the work, but has been unable to post the $1,000 bond required for the order to be served on the contractor, according to Circuit Court records.

... During the period prior to his arrest yesterday afternoon when he had successfully blocked the road with three of his vehicles, Simeck commented that "all I'm asking is that the federal law (14th Amendment) be upheld." He said that he was going to "get my bondsman" to validate the restraining order when the work started in front of his house.

He warned officers that they would be in "serious trouble" if they attempted to remove his blockade. Furthermore, he predicted that the "Wrath of God" would descend upon those interfering with his property or his right to stop the work.

Tuesday, September 19

General Electric Plant Workers Out on Strike

Employees at the Somerset General Electric Glass Plant went out on strike yesterday afternoon for the second time this summer.

Picket lines were established at 3 p.m. and will be maintained on a 24-hour basis until the strike is settled, according to Paul Rinaldi, Louisville, international representative for the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (IUE).

Rinaldi attributed the walkout to the company's failure to reveal the results of a community wage survey taken by the company. Local glass plant workers are supposed to be paid wages comparable to the other skilled and semi-skilled workers in the community, the union representative indicated.

Lowell Meece, president of Local 767, said some 93 production and maintenance employees at the plant are affected by the walkout.

However, a spokesman for General Electric said this morning that some of the workers remained on the job after the strike was called yesterday afternoon and that "six or seven" employees are working today.

"The assembly lines are shut down, but some work is going on," the company spokesman said.

Rinaldi, in a statement to the Commonwealth Journal yesterday afternoon, said the union has been negotiating with the company since February in an effort to get the local plant to conduct a wage survey in the community to establish whether workers at the plant are being paid rates equal to other comparable work in the community. The company completed the survey sometime during June, Rinaldi said.

Tuesday, September 26

Local GE Strike Halted Temporarily

Local 767, International Brotherhood of Electrical and Machine workers voted yesterday afternoon to temporarily halt a strike against the Somerset Glass Plant, General Electric Company.

Pickets were removed from the entrance to the plant yesterday afternoon and the strike was temporarily halted as of 11 o'clock last night.

Normal operations got underway at the beginning of the 7 a.m. shift today, Howard Pickrel, plant manager, said.

In making the announcement that the strike had been temporarily halted, Lowell Meece, president of the local, said, "The executive board of the Local 767 has been empowered by the members to go into negotiations with the company at 10 o'clock today and try to resolve our differences. If nothing is resolved in this, or upcoming meetings the executive board is free to continue the strike at any time it sees fit," he said.