FIFTY & 100 YEARS AGO CONTINUED
Monday, June 5, 1972 Former king of Britain buried
WINDSOR, England (AP) — Funeral services were held at Windsor Castle today for the Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII who gave up the British throne to marry the woman he loved.
A private service was held in St. George’s Chapel, within the walls of the ancient royal residence from which the duke made his historic abdication broadcast 36 years ago.
The 75-year-old duchess was accompanied by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip and other members of the royal family.
The Dean of Windsor, the Rt. Rev. Launcelot Fleming, conducted the service. Also officiating where the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Michael Ramsey, and the Archbishop of York, Dr. Donald Coggan.
It was one of Dr. Ramsey’s predecessors, Archbishop Cosmo Lang, who was a main force in rejecting Edward’s proposal for a morganatic marriage by which the twice-divorced Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson could become his wife but not his queen.
The funeral service was not televised, reflecting the low key in which all arrangements since the duke’s death in Paris eight days ago have been pitched. Instead, the funeral was reported by one of the BBC’s radio channels.
The duke’s body was brought to England last Wednesday. The duchess followed on Friday and for the first time since the abdication stayed at Buckingham Palace.
After the funeral the duchess was to fly home to Paris on a special royal plane.
The coffin, of plain English oak, bore the inscription “HRH The Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Duke of Windsor. Born 1894. Died 1972. King Edward VIII 20th January — 11th December 1936.”
Critics of the royal family from both left and right continue to grumble about the treatment of the duke.
Those on the left accused the court and the Church of England of hypocrisy in honoring a man they had shunned for more than 30 years. Those on the right argued that the scale of the rites was less than the exking’s due, and that the royal family should have made him and the duchess welcome in England years ago.
The palace made no official answer to these charges, except to let it be known that the funeral arrangements were what the duke himself had wished.
Tuesday, June 6, 1972
Flag Day events are outlined
Several high-ranking state officials have accepted invitations to participate in the festivities observing Flag Day in Rome on June 14.
Acknowledging that they would attend the event were Tommy Irvin, commissioner of the Agriculture Department; Sam Caldwell, commissioner of labor; Bert Lance, director of the Department of Transportation; Pete Wheeler, state director of the Department of Veteran Services, and George T. Bagby, deputy commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.
The U. S. Army Third Army Band will lead a downtown parade at 4 p.m., and appearing in the parade will be a Navy A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bomber. Other elements of the parade will include the U. S. Marine Corps along with Army and Navy contingents.
Several civic groups will march in the parade, and the teams of the Johnson School Little League are scheduled to participate.
Also featured in the parade will be Gold Star Mothers (mothers of men killed in combat) and mothers and families of prisoners of war. A spokesman asked all Gold Star Mothers wishing to participate in the parade to contact Mrs. Jane Dumphy at 235-9022.
All other groups wanting to march in the parade should contact M. W. (Cap) Hicks at radio station WRGA before June 12. Hicks is the parade marshal.
Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox will speak at 5 p.m. in the Civic Municipal Center, where a barbecue will be served from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The barbeque is sponsored by the coosa chapter of the fellowship of Christian athletes.
All candidates for the U. S. Senate have been invited to make brief remarks at noon in the Civic Center. The Flag Day event is sponsored by members of Rome’s organized labor, civic groups and individuals.
Wednesday, June 7, 1972 Lusk is returning to Callier Springs
Joey Lusk is coming back to the Callier Springs golf course and this time he has help.
The Calhoun youth won the Alvin Everett Memorial tournament title at Callier Springs last month in a final day cakewalk. And yesterday, he and his dad, Paul, filed entry as a team in the Callier Springs invitational lowball tournament, to be held this Saturday and Sunday.
Naturally, they rank as the early favorite in the two-day, 36-hole event. After Joey’s success here earlier no one would dare rank them differently.
However a few other strong teams have signified their intentions of playing. One of them is made up of Ricky Miller and Pres Mann, two of the top young golfers in Rome. Another is composed of Jerry Argo and Grady Wilkerson, two other local amateurs who know their way around the course.
John Pittman and Joe Brown of Ft. Payne, Ala,, also were in the field, as are Bob Nance and C. J. Todd of Calhoun.
Entries will be accepted up to late Friday. Cost is $15 per team and prizes will go to the first three teams in each flight.
The course will be open for practice Thursday and Friday. However, there’s no need to qualify since Saturday’s round will be used to flight the teams.
100 years ago as presented in the June 1922 editions of the Rome TribuneHerald
A double runaway wedding occurred recently at the office of Ordinary Harry Johnson, in which speed seem to be a much-wanted element.
The two couples came from Gadsden on the 5 o’clock train and told the Ordinary that they were to return on the train going back to the Alabama city a half hour afterward. The ordinary therefore obligingly speeded up the ceremony, in spite of possible confusion occasioned by the fact that one of the grooms was named Smith and the girl he married bore the same popular cognomen.
Willard Tessinger married Miss Mae Hosmer and Ross Smith married Miss Alton Smith, and just as soon as the Ordinary had pronounced the couples man and wife, or men and wives, the quartet speeded away for the Southern railroad depot on their return to Gadsden.
Ordinary Johnson, noted for his speed in making two couples just one, exceeded his record and the fact appeared to be much and financially appreciated by the newlyweds. --More than $250 was assessed as fines by Recorder Yancey in police court in one single morning. The usual offenses gave the recorder an opportunity to inflict the fines — drunkenness and disorderly conduct and violation of traffic laws.