Bob Sanders: Times, columnists have changed

Bob Sanders
Columnist
Published: June 2, 2008

In 1949, George Orwell published a book called “1984.” In 1949, 1984 seemed a long time away.

It was a scary book, telling how, by that time, we would all be under an oppressive, totally totalitarian government, and that our every move would be watched by Big Brother.

It has now been a long time since 1984, although to some of us that seems like yesterday, day before yesterday at most, and most of the dire things predicted for that year still haven’t come true ... although with computerization, you can bet Big Brother knows nearly everything about you.

In the year 1984, AT&T split up and millions of people died in a famine in Ethiopia, but, generally speaking, it was just kind of a business as usual year.

By sheer coincidence, one of my main correspondents in the field passed along an old newspaper that he ran across while cleaning out his attic. It’s an Aug. 1, 1984 edition of The Auburn Bulletin/Lee County Eagle. Paul Davis was the editor/publisher, but the legendary former editor/publisher, Neil Davis, still contributed a weekly column, “Of Cabbages and Kings.”

His column covered the top third of the spacious, inviting to be read editorial page. The middle-third was filled with a column called “Esoterica for Everyone.”

The writer was ranting about growth.

Ann Pearson filled the bottom third with her “In Random Order” column. She usually wrote about historical things, but in this one, she was discussing Alfred Hitchcock movies.
There were other columns in the paper, by Ellen Goodman, Lewis Grizzard, James J. Kilpatrick, and others.

The big front-page story was about Midway Plaza shopping center.

It had new owners who were in the process of completely renovating it. Half the front page was devoted to an archetect’s drawing of the expected final look.

At Big 10 Tires, a tune up was $20 plus parts. Oil and filter change, $7.99. Gayfers had a big sale going on. Somebody had sold Mansour’s of LaGrange a full page ad.

You could save $2,731 on a new 1984 Ford LTD Brougham at the Tiger Motor Company, East Alabama’s only authorized Ford-Mercury-Lincoln dealer.

This car had about everything on it a car of today would have … power everything.

Taylor’s had a half page of coupons. With one of them you could get, just for example, the No. 2 hot breakfast — two eggs (any style), grits or hash browns, sausage, bacon or ham, homemade gravy, biscuits or toast — for $1.59.

Taylor’s later became Tyler’s, and people still go there for breakfasts and lunches and many pressing world problems are solved around the coffee table there. I wish George Orwell could stop by.

Bob Sanders is a longtime radio personality with WAUD in Auburn and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.