Happy hump day, all. Welcome to Day Three of Homecoming Week/throwback week at The Post.
My apologies for incorrectly telling you that today’s front page would be from the ’60s. It turns out the ’70s were just too good to pass up.
Let’s get right into it, as former Post Editor (1969-70) and Washington Post Ombudsman Andy Alexander was nice enough to share some stories from the beginning of the decade.
Here are some of his thoughts (via email) on protests in Athens and the Kent State shootings.
“Non-violent demonstrations began to turn violent early in 1970. In January, more than 150 students occupied Cutler Hall to protest a fee increase; there was modest damage.
“On May 4, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on anti-war student demonstrators at Kent State, killing four and wounding nine. There had already been growing protests at Ohio University and they intensified after Kent State.
“A few days later, ROTC supply rooms under Peden Stadium were firebombed. Soon, there were nightly clashes between large crowds of students on the College Green who were prevented by armed police from moving past Court & Union Street and into the town. Some of the students threw bricks. The police responded with tear gas (in one case firing canisters into the outside entrance to The Post in the basement of the old Baker Center).
“Each night brought increased violence until the early hours of May 15 when the university announced it was closing and students were told to leave campus almost immediately. For many of us who opposed the violence and wanted the university to remain open, it was terribly sad. Personally, I agree with the decision. The protests had become too violent.”
Thanks for that, Andy. We’ll have some of his takes on the ’60s, marijuana, “Gangnam Style” and a story or two from the Old Baker Post newsroom in tomorrow’s paper.
Looking back, it became clear the 1969 Convo concert featuring Led Zeppelin and The Who will never be topped (for those curious or those choosing to be kind of sad today, price of admission was $2.50).
However, it seems as though current Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees frequented Athens throughout the ’70s. Nearly every Friday Post seemed to feature ads for artists such as Bob Seger and James Taylor.
If there were ever a question that my 6’8” metalhead roommate Chris belonged in this decade, there is no longer any doubt.
Anyhow, the ads seem to be what keep us flipping through the decades-old issues, and I couldn’t help but smirk when I saw an ad for an HP-25 calculator. In 1976, it cost a cool $165 for a calculator any middle schooler would simply write “hell” or “boobs” upside-down on nowadays.
Lastly, an apology needs to be issued to my dad for that cheap shot I took at his Halloween costumes yesterday — he’s quite good at them. He and my mother Mary’s take on the Blues Brothers in the fall of 1999 absolutely killed at my “Webelo” Cub Scout den meeting.
I hope you’re having a great week and, of course, go Bobcats!
Pat Holmes is the editor-in-chief of The Post.
Email him at ph835608@ohiou.edu.
