30 years ago in CCN history
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By Christa Jennings
Senior staff writer
The April 22, 1993, edition of “The Coosa County News” included highlights of various community happenings, such as a Goodwater barbecue, firefighters competition, a spring clean-up day, Rockford Men’s Club poker run, and more.
That edition three decades ago reported on the third annual Coosa County Volunteer Firefighters Appreciation Day, which included competitive events. That year a combined team from Equality and Ray departments won the overall competition.
Six county volunteer fire departments participated in the day’s events, including Goodwater, Rockford, Ray, Equality, Stewartville, and Marble Valley.
Events included the air pack relay, section race, running hose, brush truck competition, and horseshoe competition for the adults. Children’s activities for the day included running hose, paper airplane throw and egg toss.
The cooking skills of area firefighters were also put to the test that day for the chili, stew and cake competition.
That edition also reported on the Fourth Annual Goodwater Barbecue, sponsored by the Goodwater Pride in Action group, being planned for May 8. The proceeds of those annual barbecues went to fund the activities of the Goodwater volunteer emergency services, including the ambulance service and fire department.
The article reviewed how successful the prior barbecue fundraising events had been and noted how they helped the department purchase new equipment and keep other equipment in good working condition. Some such use of the funds included purchasing new radios, repairing old radios, purchasing a portable blood pressure machine, and purchasing a Stokes Basket, with the organization and department considering using funds from the 1993 fourth annual event to purchase a new Hurst Jaws of Life.
At that time it was reported that the Goodwater ambulance had made an average of 136 emergency runs per year over the past three years, from 1990-1993.
The April 22, 1993, edition also covered a poker run hosted by the Rockford Men’s Club to kick off a new season of fundraising activities. More than 270 riders participated in the event, which which covered “approximately 30 miles of trails and woods roads along Hatchet Creek.”
Riders came from as far away as Pensacola, Florida, to participate in the event, hitting the course on motorcycles, three-wheelers and four-wheelers.
The Rockford Men’s Club made a $500 donation from the proceeds of that poker run to the Central High School baseball program. The Men’s Club, which was located two and a half miles north of Rockford on U.S. Highway 231, also had another fundraiser poker run scheduled for May.
See other highlights of 30 years of “The Coosa County News” periodically in future editions throughout the year as we continue to celebrate three decades of dedicated local news coverage, honoring “The Coosa County News” first being published May 20, 1992.
