OK, I'm a guy and it really is a 1967 Ford Fairlane to get this thing started. Every year I receive a publication from the folks that take care of my 401K around the time of my birthday with sort of before and now facts to ponder. This year it goes back to 1967.
Lets start off with some news. In Atlanta, Martin Luther King, Jr. calls the Viet Nam War the largest obstacle to the civil rights movement. Interjection, what in the sam hill did one have to do with the other? President Johnson appoints Ellsworth Bunker to replace Henry Cabot Lodge as U.S. Ambassador to South Viet Nam. President Johnson also announces plans to establish a draft lottery.
OK Shady will switch over to music. According to this page the popular songs were: "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees; "Happy Together" by the Turtles; "Light My Fire" by the Doors; "Never My Love" by The Association; "Penny Lane" by The Beatles; "Respect" by Aretha Franklin; The Happening" by the Supremes and "The Letter" by the Box Tops.
Also in entertainment news Aretha Franklin hits the top of the charts with "Respect" and "I Never Loved A Man". The musical "Hair" arrives off broadway. The Beatles continue to top the charts with "All You Need Is Love" and "Penny Lane". The Monkees are on the charts with "Daydream Believer" and "I'm A Believer".
Economics is always important. A gallon of milk was $1.15 vs $3.79 today. A loaf of bread was $.22 vs $1.45 today. A new automobile was $2,425 vs $25,555 today. A gallon of gasoline was $.28 vs $3.90 today. A new home was $40,000 vs $169,500 today (don't know about this cause I bought a brand new home in 1971 for $17,500). The average income was $7,305 vs $34,104 today.
For you sports enthusiast baseball great Micky Mantle hits his 500th home run. St. Louis wins baseball's World Series in the seventh game against Boston. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Super Bowl I held in the Los Angeles Coliseum. In basketball Philadelphia defeats San Francisco for the NBA title. Billie Jean King and John Newcombe each win the U.S. National tennis title. Frenchman Robert Pingeon wins the Tour de France. A horse named Proud Clarion wins the Kentucky Derby.
And that was the way it was back in 1967. I finished at Carolina College of Commerce that year with a diploma in Senior Accounting and entered the Army on October 17th.
