After some delay, in the summer of 1976, the Atmore City Council was expected to send out bids on the new library. There was also a lot of discussion after someone brought up the fact that there was only one black person on the council and he was appointed.

This was 40 years ago and the race subject was a dicey one. I would like to hope that it has changed a good bit over those years. I am sure there is still a way to go, but as the saying goes, “we’ve come a long way.”

Emergency crews were put to the test when a school bus “accident” occurred on Highway 27. It was a drill coordinated by the Flomaton Rescue Squad between Greenlawn Hospital in Atmore and Abernathy Hospital in Flomaton. It was done to judge the response of emergency crews if a real accident such as this took place. The readiness of the system to be able to respond and handle the situation was tested without the prior knowledge of most of those involved and most people were unaware that it was indeed a drill.

There was a Peggy Bracken column in The Atmore Advance about her recent trip to Williamsburg, Va.

Most of you will remember Peggy, as she was still working until just a few years ago. All who knew her, loved her. She worked with the extension service and seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

This particular event captured my attention. As you may or may not know, I am a real history buff. I had the opportunity, a long time ago, to visit Williamsburg and I have never forgotten it. It was fascinating to walk around the village and see how people once lived in the early days of our country. I always wanted to return, but never have been able to. It would be even more interesting today because in the years since, I have learned that I had an ancestor who was actually a member of the House of Burgesses and would have walked those streets.

A man was caught bouncing checks as he tried to cash a check in The Bank of Atmore. Now this might not have been so unusual, except for the fact that he had been at it all over the United States and for a long period of time.

By late in July, the direction of sales changed and much space was devoted to the summer clearance sales. It has always aggravated me that one needs to prepare so far in advance for the coming season. There aren’t a lot of summer fashions left except sale items. Some people are much better than I am about sales. I hate shopping and am not good at it.

Even so, there were some good sales at the various stores. Big Bear had 32 ounce Coca-Cola for 19 cents each and one place had charcoal for 97 cents for a 10 pound bag.

One advertisement caught my eye. West Brothers was having a “Christmas in July” sale. I have noticed that the shopping channels on television are also having Christmas sales. On the Hallmark channel, they are showing Christmas movies. I remember when Christmas sales took place after Thanksgiving, but no more. Everybody needs to make their list and check it twice, time is wasting. All the good stuff will be gone.