AG 1993 05 03 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ICABARRUS COUN I NORIH CARSLINA It's October 1973. Richard Nixon is President of the United States and Spiro T. Agnew is Vice President. Skylab, the U. S. space observatory, is big news. The Vietnam War is coming to a close. Here in Cabarrus County the new by-pass, Branchview Drive, has been open about one week. Men's suits cost $59.95. Women's dresses cost $13.95. The average cost of a new home is $35,000.00. Gas costs 35 cents per gallon. Also on October 1, 1973, Cabarrus County Ambulance Service officially began operation. Prior to October, the ambulance service had been privately owned. The new service started with thirteen employees. Joe Shue was the Director. Of those thirteen new attendants, three were former military medics. Training was a top priority then as it is today. In the spring of 1974, Cabarrus Ambulance Service started its first EMT class. We were to become some of the first EMT's in North Carolina. At that time most of the ambulance services were privately owned. The service started out in an old house that sat at the present location on Willowbrook Drive. The house was very small, had no insulation, and was heated only with a space heater in the living room. The bedroom was at the back of the house. One of the windows had a gap around the air conditioner. During winter snowstorms, snow would blow in through the window and pile up on the floor. It was so cold in the bedroom that the snow would remain on the floor long after it had melted outside. The bathroom floor was so unlevel you can imagine what it was like using the toilet. One employee eventually fell through the shower when the floor gave away. That first year we only averaged about three or four calls a day. With all of the time we had we always found a way to entertain ourselves. We cooked some mighty fine meals and told quite a few tall tales. Emergency Medical Services 31 Willowbrook Drive · Con_cord, NC 28027 · (704) 786-9193