Nashville Then: 50 years ago in November 1973

Members of the Tennessee Association of Elks and their spouses board a Boeing 747 jumbo jet at Metro Airport in Nashville on Nov. 2, 1973, for a flight to Hawaii.

Effia Jackson displays some of the 63 gourds from a single vine at her home on Elkins Avenue in Nashville on Nov. 2, 1973.

William Hunter, 73, of Willow Street in Nashville walks in the rain with his plastic-wrapped dog Brownie on Nov. 4, 1973.

Actress and antiwar activist Jane Fonda, left, speaks to the media on Nov. 9, 1973, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She called for the release of an estimated 200,000 political prisoners in South Vietnam.

A long line of motorists wait to cross the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge on Clarksville Highway in Nashville on Nov. 9, 1973. Traffic backups have been occurring daily at the bridge, which workers have been sandblasting and repainting.

Singer and actress Liza Minnelli performs for an audience of 7,187 on Nov. 9, 1973, at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. Minnelli said she loves Nashville and has been here many times to visit friends.

Police and media gather near a red cottage, center, on Nov. 11, 1973, where Grand Ole Opry star David “Stringbean” Akeman, 57, and his wife, Estelle, 59, were found slain. The nearby white house, which was once owned by close friend Grandpa Jones, is vacant since Jones moved to another farm.

Country music star Grandpa Jones, center, helps carry the casket of his friend David “Stringbean” Akeman to a hearse for the journey to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Nashville on Nov. 13, 1973. Jones discovered Akeman and his wife, Estelle, dead at their small home on Nov. 11.

Workers erect a large Christmas tree outside the Metro Courthouse in Nashville on Nov. 13, 1973.

Austin Peay sophomore Fly Williams (No. 34) battles for a rebound during the Governors' intrasquad game at Overton High School in Nashville on Nov. 13, 1973. About 350 fans watched the Red team, led by 29 points from Williams, beat the White team 123-109.

Country Music Hall of Fame members, from left, Bill Monroe, Jimmie Davis and Roy Acuff read the plaques honoring the hall's two newest members, the late Patsy Cline and Chet Atkins, in Nashville on Nov. 15, 1973. Cline was killed in a plane crash along with three other Grand Ole Opry personalities in March 1963.

An ad in The Tennessean on Nov. 15, 1973, for Sunflower store on Highway 70S touts "The Lowest Priced Turkeys In Nashville" for the holidays.

Roy Acuff, left, looks on as Pete “Bashful Brother Oswald” Kirby tries to collect himself during the Grand Ole Opry tribute to David “Stringbean” Akeman and his wife, Estelle, on Nov. 16, 1973. Acuff left most of his performance to members of his band as he mourned his slain country music colleague.

Tennessee State head football coach John Merritt, right, watches alongside assistant head coach Joe Gilliam on the sideline during the team's 35-7 victory over Alabama State in their last game of the season on Nov. 17, 1973.

Tennessee State defensive lineman Ed “Too Tall” Jones (No. 80) waits with his teammates to line up for the next play against Alabama State on Nov. 17, 1973. The Tigers won a 35-7 at W.J. Hale Stadium in Nashville.

Arkansas Gov. Dale Bumpers, left, greets Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman James Sasser at the party “round-up” held at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds on Nov. 17, 1973.

Tennessee House Speaker Ned McWherter of Dresden, right, greets former Tennessee Gov. Gordon Browning during a celebration for Browning's 84th birthday on Nov. 20, 1973. The party was held at the Carroll Lake Country Club near Huntingdon. Browning served as governor from 1937-39 and 1949-53.

Bill Logan, left, and Everett Steadman, right, co-owners of Lobsters Unlimited at 2608 Franklin Road, show off crustaceans on Nov. 20, 1973, in front of their lobster pound as Rick Hall, assistant manager of the retail market, unloads the shipment. “We built our own lobster pound that holds 3,000 pounds of lobster and is the only type that we know of that has been successful in keeping the lobsters alive,” Steadman says.

Traffic is bumper-to-bumper on Church Street in Nashville as Thanksgiving Day shoppers headed downtown in search of Christmas bargains on Nov. 23, 1973.

Charles Spears, left, director of Metro Parks and Recreation, and Frank Atchley, parks administrator, inspect the water level at Wautauga Lake in Centennial Park in Nashville on Nov. 23, 1973. The level has been falling because of a leak.

Charlie Gearheart of the Goose Creek Symphony performs before a crowd of about 4,000 people who braved high winds at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville on Nov. 24, 1973. Five bands played at the show, which ran about eight hours.

Bassist Greg Lake performs onstage during the Emerson, Lake and Palmer concert that drew 7,340 fans to the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville on Nov. 25, 1973.

Traffic backs up downtown on a rainy Nov. 26, 1973, as marchers protested the death of Tennessee State University student Ronald Joyce. Joyce, 19, was killed on Nov. 22 by one of three shots fired after Metro patrolmen arrived at a house where a burglary had been reported.

Workers at the Big Star Market at 1308 Buchanan St. in Nashville clean up after a predawn fire on Nov. 26, 1973, caused an estimated $145,000 worth of damage. Firefighters fought the blaze for more than an hour before bringing it under control.

Porter Wagoner, right, shares a moment with Dolly Parton in his Music Row office on Nov. 27, 1973. Wagoner says he believes Parton has been ignored by their record company, RCA, and industry members who vote for the CMA Awards.

A car is swept away by floodwaters on the Harpeth River at Old Harding Road near Bellevue on Nov. 28, 1973. Heavy rains left four people dead in Tennessee.

Robert Reeves, assistant director of the food and drug division of the State Department of Agriculture, holds a rattle and plastic shoelace tie on Nov. 28, 1973, that were pulled from Nashville store shelves because they pose a hazard to children, according to the department. Inspectors spotted the items during a pre-Christmas check for unsafe toys.

Bill Greenwood, left, vice chairman of First American National Bank, presents awards during a luncheon honoring the four Nashville Interscholastic League divisional football players of the year on Nov. 28, 1973. From Greenwood's left are McGavock’s Steve McDonald, Goodlettsville’s Tim Corn, Overton’s Ralph Carnahan and Joelton’s Wendell Stamps.

Acting Metro Police Chief Joe Casey, center right, shakes hands during a rally supporting police in front of the Metro Courthouse in Nashville on Nov. 29, 1973.

Mrs. and Mr. Paul Vendenbergh stand in the carry-out window of their nautical-themed restaurant, Captain Paulo’s, on 1601 Riverside Drive in East Nashville on Nov. 30, 1973. During a recent concert, Singer Liza Minnelli said on stage that it is her favorite Nashville restaurant.