WAR EAGLE '70s with MISTER HERB ON WEGL 91.1, AUBURN UNIVERSITY

1975 marked two separate beauty pageants in the W.E.G.L. 91.1 listening area.  Ms. Sabrina Neal was crowned Miss Lee County Black Teenage during ceremonies at V.F.W. Post 5732.  Meanwhile at the Foy Union Ballroom on campus, Ms. Rhonda Ann Haley was crowned Miss Lee County, the third straight winner from Atmore.  That's right- racially segregated pageants in the 1970s.  .  .  The U.S. Postal Service issued a new 10 cent commemorative stamp honoring the great poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the Dayton OH native and son of former slaves.  They first went on sale in Dayton.  Stamps are now 41 cents each.  .  .  1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War with the fall of Saigon, South Vietnam.  The North Vietnamese Communist takeover resulted in mass evacuations of Americans and South Vietnamese.  South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally.  .  . The Rolling Stones performed their 1971 #1 single "Brown Sugar" on a flatbed truck on New York City's 5th Avenue.  The performance marked guitarist Ronnie Wood's debut with the Stones. 

1976-The City of Auburn closed the deal on Saugahatchee Country Club with a check for $319,200.  It would partner with the City of Opelika.  The club still had to pay the City of Auburn $1,750 for delay in the country club's opening.  .  . In aviation news, a Pan Am Boeing 747SP made a record flight around the world in 1 day and 22 hours.  And American Airlines Flight 625, a Boeing 727, crashed on approach to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, killing 37.  Who knows whether or not American Airlines will stay in business?.  .  . Australian Labor Party member Neville Wran became Premier of New South Wales.  Nitty Nev (as he was called by the Australian press) was in power in that province for ten years.  Mr. Wran is now with the Australian Republican Movement.  .  . In music news, Paul McCartney and Wings began their Wings over America tour in Fort Worth, and Paul Simon put together a benefit show at New York's Madison Square Garden; it raised $30 thousand for the New York Public Library.

1977- A voltage regulator failure at Alabama Power's North Auburn substation caused power outages in east and south Auburn and some parts of Opelika during the noon hour.  West Point Pepperell, Opelika Manufacturing and radio stations WAUD and WJHO all lost power during the outage.  .  . Security forces conducted a massacre at Istanbul, Turkey's Taksim Square, killing 34 and injuring hundreds of others.  People had gathered to celebrate the international labor movement.  .  . A court in Stuttgart, Germany sentenced three Red Army Faction members to life in prison.  The three were involved with terrorism; they all were murdered while in prison.  .  . A passenger flight crashed near Guatemala City.  All 28 on board died. 

1978-The City of Auburn offered to lease or sell its motel building on College Street.  The motel operated at the time as the Sportsman's Inn.  It was previously known as the All American Inn, the JoVann Inn and the Parliament House.  We now have the Hotel at Auburn University/Dixon Conference Center.  .  . The U.N. put troops in southern Lebanon on red alert after Muslim extremists conducted ambush and mortar attacks.  Two French paratroopers, a Senegalese soldier and a Palestinian died.  As you know, the White House did not want former President Carter talking with Hamas.  .  .In Afghanistan, President Daoud Khan was murdered during a military coup. Nur Muhammad Taraki took over as President and proclaimed Afghanistan a democratic republic.  He was overthrown and killed the following year.  As you know, President Bush is worried that the Taliban might come back to retake control.  .  . 1978 also marked the debut of Beijing Television.  It is now known as China Central Television with 16 channels.

And now, fellow Auburn University people, here are the last set of notes that the aspiring Doctor Denmark gave you spring semester.  Here were the headlines for the first weekend of May 1979.  (background sound of audience cheering)  Alright, the host will remember that in the future.  One of these days, the host/producer will go on campus in red and black (and it won't be from Opelika High; it will be from the University of Georgia).  If you challenge him, he will bring up gymnastics, baseball and even men's basketball and will say something good about Nick Saban, Tuscaloser football and Tuscaloser athletics. So keep your paws off and your lips zipped!!!  Thank you in advance.

Opelika City Commissioners in May 1979 passed a resolution asking for Attorney General Bill Baxley's opinion on using city funds for Robert G. Pitts/Auburn-Opelika Airport.  City Attorney Guy Gunter asked for the opinion because AU owned the airport.  The airport had requested funding for capital improvements and general operation costs.  .  . The Iron Lady, then Conservative Party Leader Margaret Thatcher, was elected the first lady Prime Minister of Great Britain.  She also is the only lady in British political history to hold all major state offices.  She was in power for 11 years.  .  . Greenland officially began home rule.  The law went into effect a year after the Danish Parliament granted it to the country.  It will have a referendum for further self-rule just before Thanksgiving.  I wonder if any new Alabama Constitution is going to have a provision for home rule.  .  . In music news, the Who performed their first concert with drummer Kenny Jones, who replaced the late Keith Moon.  And Elton John became the first pop music artist to perform in Israel.  The country will celebrate its 60th anniversary on May 14th.  Has it been that long since Israel became a state?

And that's what happened This Week in the 1970s.  We will bring you the magic of the '70s again summer semester- War Eagle '70s Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. and Friday night at 7 p.m. returning May 14th on W.E.G.L. 91.