Several major events occurred in the U. S. in the year 1969. That was the year of the Apollo 11 moon landing and walk.  It was also the year of Woodstock and the first Boeing 747 flight. Richard Nixon was President and the Vietnam War continued. 

Atlanta was changing quite a bit in the year 1969. The opening of I-285 would be followed by many changes. One of those changes was the construction of Perimeter Mall two years later.  Lenox Square was still an open-air shopping center in 1969, featuring Kresge’s, Davison’s, and Rich’s.  Lester Maddox was Governor of Georgia and Ivan Allen was Mayor of Atlanta. 

Northside Hospital was under construction in 1969.  St. Joseph’s Hospital was located downtown and the groundbreaking for the Peachtree Dunwoody Road location was still six years away.  Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital would move to the area in 1976.

The Braves had a great year in 1969, winning the National League West division with players such as Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, Clete Boyer, and Orlando Cepedia.  Atlanta had a professional soccer team-the Atlanta Chiefs. 

I was living in Doraville in 1969.  Since DeKalb County didn’t have middle schools at the time, I was in seventh grade at Pleasantdale Elementary School.  The following year, I would move to Henderson High School.  A major change to the dress code when I was in eighth grade was allowing girls to wear pants to school.  Perhaps not a monumental change, unless you were a thirteen-year old girl.

Like all kids, I thought my 38 and 40 year old parents were old, but I now realize how young they actually were.

The space program was great for DeKalb County students at the time, because any event during the school year meant a black and white television was rolled into our classroom so we could watch it live.  Everyone loved getting to watch television over the usual schoolwork.

In 1969, Bill Todd and his family had lived in Cambridge Estates for two years.  He has great memories from that time.  Dunwoody still had many dirt roads which he enjoyed riding his Honda Z50 Mini Trail Bike on, as well as dirt trails along the side of roads.  On the weekends, he would ride on Georgia State Route 400 while it was still under construction. 

Steve Griffeth remembers the Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Mount Vernon Road intersection, including the Cheek/Spruill Farmhouse, a Sinclair gas station where Dunkin Donuts sits, the remains of the old Cheek mill on the corner that is now home to Peachtree Immediate Care, and an Amoco gas station which replaced the old country store and now is the location of BP.  His family came to Dunwoody in 1961 and built a kit home on Chamblee Dunwoody Road just south of Dunwoody Elementary School.  They went to Sandy Springs to buy groceries until Georgetown Shopping Center, including Big Apple Grocery Store, was constructed in the 1960’s. Steve remembers going to the drive-in theater on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard across from Chamblee Plaza.

If you were in the Atlanta area in 1969, perhaps you remember the first “Great Chattahoochee River Raft Race,” also sometimes referred to as the “Ramblin’ Raft Race,” or “Woodstock on the Water.”  The annual river raft race continued until 1980. For more on the Chattahoochee Raft Race, Atlanta Magazine featured a great article in 2015, complete with several photographs.

Music can take you back to a certain year and the Billboard hit songs of 1969 included Sugar, Sugar by the Archies, Aquarius by the Fifth Dimension and I Can’t Get Next to You, sung by the Temptations.  Dizzy, sung by Tommy Roe came in at number 6 and was produced by Bill Lowery at his recording studio in Brookhaven. 

Rich’s Department Stores in Atlanta advertised eight track stereo tapes for $5.43. The long list of titles available includes Ray Charles Greatest Hits, “Groovin” by The Young Rascals, Righteous Brothers Greatest Hits, “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf, “It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones, and “Promises, Promises” by Dionne Warwick.