Thirty-five years ago, in 1983, The Atmore Advance ran a story about Peggy Bracken, who was the Escambia County Extension Agent for many years.

She was one of 1,500 agents who was selected to attend a national meeting in Atlanta, Ga.

Her column was all about the things the group was doing on their visit to the big city. They were wined and dined in some of the best places. The headline read, “Now I know how Miss Alabama Felt.”

There are few people who do not remember Peggy. She was one of the nicest people I ever met. She always had a smile for everyone and I had the pleasure of being a member of the Sunday school class she taught at First Baptist Church of Brewton.

In other news, Essex Cable announced an expansion of Cable TV offering many extra services, none of which cost a whole lot.

There was an full page announcement about the upcoming Winter quarter schedule at JDJC. Thirty-five years ago it was still Jefferson Davis Junior College and today is Coastal Alabama Community College.

There was a special section of The Atmore Advance devoted to the Eleventh Annual Farm Edition. The section was full of farm stories.

Atmore police charged Russell Oyer’s secretary with his murder. She was arrested and bail was set at $25,000. An audit was planned of the records of the business (Oyer’s Insurance). The secretary had originally stated that she saw a man run away from the agency as she was returning from lunch.

The Atmore Blue Devils were excited about qualifying to play in the Alabama 3A state championship. They played and won the game 23-0.

The Annual Pow Wow Day at Poarch was considered very successful. One of the games played there was the greasy pig contest. The photo looked like they were having lots of fun.

Texaco announced the company had discovered a second major oil strike in the Appleton community.

Atmore Public Library received a gift of $1,000 to add to the children’s book collection. The gift came from a former Atmore resident, Lucile Merriweather Gray of New Mexico.

Gerlach’s Thanksgiving buffet was advertised in the newspaper. The cost was $5.95 and the menu was out of this world. Tommy Gerlach is one of the best cooks I know.