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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The TNT Reports.....Headlines Circa 1986!

The picture of Frank Sinatra above is from a concert he performed in 1986. Did you know that Frank Sinatra came to Tacoma and performed at the Tacoma Dome in the month of April in 1986? I know that he did! Here's why.

My mom and uncle have been going through my late grandma's estate and found some editions of The Tacoma News Tribune. Most of them were around big national events, just the front section only. But we got a treat! Mom found one more recently. It featured Mr. Sinatra's visit to Tacoma in April of 1986. As an eighties kid, I found this front section fascinating. Here's what I found beside Sinatra's visit:

The Tacoma News Tribune masthead was light lavender!

Front page news:

1. Sinatra rekindles days of youth
2. Tort reform signed governor unchanged
3. 19 hurt, others feared dead in San Francisco fire
4. Two underground groups claim they caused Mexican crash

Weather:

Clear with patchy morning fog. Highs from 60-65 degrees.

Some People news:

1. Gregory Peck turns 70 years old.
2. John Cougar Mellencamp was nervous about playing a show in Tempe, Arizona because he got hit in the with a whiskey bottle there four years earlier.

Ads:

1. A full living room set is priced at $599 (sofa, two chairs, coffee table).
2. The Shrine Circus is in town! 
3. An orthopedic mattress that adjusts is priced at $350 for a queen size.
4. Sewing machines were retailing for $199.00.
5. Sonics vs. Dallas this week.
6. $4.39 gets an adult a full dinner buffet at the Kings Table Buffet at four locations in Tacoma.
7. Leather, high end cowboy boots were $39.98.

A sampling of the movies playing:

1. Pretty in Pink
2. Gung Ho
3. The Color Purple


The television stations noted in the paper:

KOMO, KING, KIRO, KCTS, KSTW, KCPQ, KTZZ, CBUT, ESPN, WTBS, USA, CTEN, HBO, SHO, DIS

What was on at 8:00 PM on network stations (Saturday, April 5, 1986)?

ABC: Charlie Hannah
NBC: Gimme a Break
CBS: Crazy Like A Fox

One sample of one of the published letters to the editor:

Daffodil Festival needs help 


(Hmmm....I think we've seen that one before folks!)


Who remembers Percy Ross Thanks a Million


Thanks for time traveling with me! 




 

7 comments:

Stephanie Frieze said...

There is nothing like an old newspaper or magazine to transport us back in time! At junk shops I am always looking for them. Thanks for filling us in our the doings in Tacoma in 1986! I'm sorry I missed Frank!

Kim Thompson said...

I was a junior in high school in 1986. It was fun to see a little bit of my teenage years in this paper! I hope to get a hold of more things like this. My grandpa was a copy editor for the TNT in the 60's and 70's, so my grandparents save this paper the most (around poignant events).

Kim Thompson said...

Btw, I've got a couple of e-mails from folks who remembers Percy Ross (the philanthropist) and wishes we had more of folks like him today. Also, the King's Table seems to be a real hit amongst the Gritizens. Anys a student at Wilson, I spent a lot of social time on 6th Ave. near the school. Denny's was popular. It's still there too!

Anonymous said...

I've just read you piece about your family finding 1866 news stories in your Grandmother's house and there jobs as TNT copy editors does explain it some.

My youngest son is now in his late thirties and would likely consider it her newspapers as hoarding. He recently asked me to watch a show aired on hoarding. The only paper I saved was the special edition of Mt. St. Helen's eruption, which is now 30 years ago.

Often times we still have things really no longer needed, but hold special memories of the past. I guess we can't expect our children to feel the same way about our possessions, but I remember what June Carter Cash said, "These are my Clutterments."

Now I'm giving some more thought to my aging and to the things I buy, keep, give away, use another way or find a new home where they're wanted & appreciated. There is also some nice things for door prizes and gifts.

So, in light of it all, I told him he can sell the solid oak table, two fold up canvas chairs rarely used in traveling, my husband's curved wooden hat rack and there is an original oak school teacher desk, an extra toaster, microwave and sewing machine plus some other nice things.

I've also told him I get seriously angry when he throws my things away without consulting me and later I find out they're gone!!!

Hopefully we can reach a better understanding of what remains useful and doesn't depart in his truck as trash like the leaded lamp shade, two weed eaters, antique Jenny Linn bed frame, a favorite old rocker & such which have have been taken away!

Kim Thompson said...

Hi anon!

Thanks so much for your comment and taking the time to write in. I appreciate that.

I really like the quote you used from June Carter Cash: "my clutterments!" That's really clever.

I too, like you, have been looking and going through my "stuff" to see what holds value and what does not. It's NOT an easy process. My late grandma, I thought at the time, didn't have a lot of stuff at all; but when the time came to go through her things there was a LOT more than I would have ever expected. But I also found it comforting to go through what she thought was a "treasure." Hence, the newspaper discovery!

I also wanted to acknowledge that I am very sorry that your son is proactively cleaning house. I hope that you both can reach a resolution on this issue! I would be angry too if someone did that to me.

Warmly,

Kim

Lorraine Hart said...

ONE newspaper is hoarding? I'm so sorry that some adult children begin to treat their parents like children, without respect for their memories. Imagine how different it would be if items were gone over together, with memories and stories shared, the decision to shed or keep made gently and slowly. This is a chance for generations to share and become closer in our lines.

Anon., you have shared something powerful for us to talk about here. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Lorraine

Kim, when we were cleaning Matt's grandmother's house, back in NY, we found all this 1939 World's Fair stuff!! Oh, the stories she told us about that! They still warm us when we miss her.

Unknown said...

I was at that amazing concert with Sinatra on April 4th 1986. It was my 40th birthday and it was a real treat. He sang beautifully. As he came off stage I went up to greet him and it was as if he was walking on air. There was so much charisma about the man that the crowds just stepped back and let him pass.
I still have my ticets and probram. Too bad we didn't have digital cameras in those days. It was amazing.