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January 1978
It was reported that Rushden’s United Counties bus garage in Newton Road would close in March
A Royal Warrant was issued to John Whites boot and shoe company. The warrant shows that the firm provides footwear “By Appointment”, to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to the department of the Master of the Household.
Workers were evacuated from Norris Industries in Wellingborough Road when fire broke out after surplus paint on a spraying machine was ignited by a spark from grinding equipment.
Buses operating from Rushden stopped running for a time while crews met to discuss the closure of the town’s United Counties bus garage.
It was announced that a new 245-place Primary School was being planned. It would cost about £200,000.
The former shoe factory of Charles Horrell Ltd in Fitzwilliam Street was getting a new lease of life. Smaller businesses were moving in and a neighbouring firm was expanding into the building which had been put up for sale by the Receiver in 1976 at £150,000.
The 50-strong Rushden & District Lions Club distributed nearly £2,200 to local charitable causes.
A Higham Ferrers firm, John Orme (Machinery Division) won a £500,000 contract for moulding machinery for Yugoslavia.
February 1978
Rushden was due to be one of the first towns in the county to go over to the latest computerised telephone exchange, at a cost of £350,000.
Local schools closed due to the shortage of heating fuel.
Rushden Managing Director, Mr George Marriott, went to Buckingham Palace for his investiture as Commander of the British Empire.
Town councillors said that people in Rushden were throwing money down the drain by not reporting vandalism often enough. Vandals turned the “Superloo” at Duck Street car park into a slum.
The possibility of a new bypass for Higham Ferrers moved one step nearer as tenders were invited for survey work for the proposed road.
March 1978
Skateboarders were allowed to use Rushden Sports Centre for the first time for their current craze. Boards could be hired or brought from home – but those wheels had to be clean and grit-free.
Rushden leather processors, Strong & Fisher, won a prize from the British Safety Council, and were presented with a flag to prove it.
Three Rushden girls received the Queen’s Guide Award. Hilary Nice, Julia Crisp and Gillian Gwynne were all members of the 2nd St.Mary’s group.
400 Rushden schoolboys went on strike in a protest at teachers’ sanctions which were said to be causing hardship by taking their school meals away and keeping them off school premises during lunch breaks.
County Hall approved a site in Queensway, Higham Ferrers, for a new £900,000 Comprehensive School.
The Ward White Group won a contract worth £1.5 million from the Ministry of Defence for the supply of boots for the Army.
The Children’s Home at Eastfields in Victoria Road was about to move all of its children and most of its staff to a new centre in Northampton.
April 1978
Three red rose bushes from Lancaster were planted in the grounds of Chichele College in Higham Ferrers to commemorate the Borough’s links with the Ducky of Lancaster.
Rushden Carnival Queen, Helen Burgess, joined hundreds of guests at a special ball that raised more than £500 for charity. The cash raised was split to help Diabetic Research, the Mentally Handicapped Association and Toc H funds.
Tilley’s Bakers in Wellingborough Road was badly damaged by fire but re-opened selling bread brought from another bakery.
May 1978
White Arches Caravans, in Wellingborough Road, opened a new showroom, services and office complex.
The Eastfields Home, which had recently been closed, was up for sale. The Education Department applied for planning permission to convert it into a hotel.
June 1978
Derelict houses in Duck Street, Rushden, were providing a lair for stray cats. Residents in nearby Wellingborough Road wanted something done about it.
Shoppers in Rushden were faced with the prospect of adding the cost of car parking to their budget. A report on the County Council’s transport policy suggested 5p or 10p per day for parking in the town.
People living in Masefield Drive and Melloway Road were concerned about speeding traffic and the risk to children.
The remains of Higham Ferrers’ 15th century Chichele College was given a clean up.
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July 1978
Rushden headmaster, Mr Bert Catlin earned the title of Over-Age Champion, and several bruises, after his first serious attempt at skateboarding at the annual parents vs. boys sports night.
Part of the old railway embankment was removed to make way for a sewerage system to relieve the flooding in Duck Street.
Former England cricketer, Godfrey Evans, smashed open a bottle of cash collected for charity at the Railway Inn which realised a total of £226.
August 1978
Business was booming at Rushden’s Skew Bridge Country Club. “The sky’s the limit,” said general manager, Mr Martin Hyde.
Specialists visited Higham Ferrers Parish Church to examine the sculptures on the west porch which were flaking away.
September 1978
The shoe factory of Fox Shoes Ltd was put up for sale following reorganisation. Employees were transferred to the company’s main works at Bedford Road.
Rushden Job Centre was a big success in its first month of operation.
A professional painter and decorator decided to give the doors and windows of his council house in Osborne Close, Rushden, a bright new coat of paint. The ENC said it would have to be done again – orange instead of blue. Eventually a variation order was made exempting the property from the contract.
Three friends fell asleep in the grass at the Hall Park and woke up in a police cell. They were surrounded by beer cans, when discovered, and were carried unconscious to an awaiting police van.
October 1978
Mr Len Parkinson was made an honorary life member of East Northants Trade Council after 28 years as their secretary.
The new president of Rushden Operatic Society was Mr Bert Catlin
Two schoolboys studying the night sky for meteorites saw a wedge shaped UFO with red, green and white lights. Several other people in Rushden reported seeing the strange object.
November 1978
Higham Councillors threatened to fight Smith’s Containers plan to expand the former Barrow Hepburn tannery in Northampton Road.
Fearing a possible bread strike, local baker, Mr Arthur Keech, said he would make small loaves to make sure as many people as possible got some bread.
Mr Peter Fry MP and Councillor Jim Wild were among 300 people who attended Rushden’s Remembrance Service.
December 1978
The price of the MOT test rose from £4.10 to £4.50.
Steel girders were erected on the site of Rushden’s latest supermarket. Kwiksave had bought the 0.82 acre site adjacent to the Railway Inn for £42,500 in 1977.
PC Mark Ward, 20, dived into the freezing River Nene to save a Higham Ferrers’ housewife.
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