Ever wonder what stories made headlines in Jacksonville 50 years ago? It may have been a different era of history, culture and politics, but there are often parallels between the kind of stories that made the news in 1958 and today. As interesting as the similarities may be, so are the vast differences.
The following are some of the top headlines from the Florida-Times Union printed 50 years ago this week. These items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives.
• A record number of people attended the annual Jacksonville Beach Welcome Day that opened the “swimming season.” A crowd estimated at 12,000 lined the streets to view a 100-unit parade before hitting the sand and surf.
• A fire at the Mutual Lumber Company on North Edgewood Avenue destroyed 75,000 board-feet of lumber valued at $30,000.
• The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team, the Blue Angels, performed at the Naval Air Station in their Grumman F11F Tiger jets. A blimp from the Airship Training Group at Naval Air Station Glynco, Ga. also flew in the air show.
• County Commissioner C. Ray Green proposed attempting to sell the old County Courthouse at the corner of Forsyth and Market streets to Jacksonville University. The college was growing rapidly and it was thought a Downtown campus could be the solution.
• Windows rattled and the ground shook all over Jacksonville Beach when the aircraft carriers U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt and U.S.S. Lake Champlain conducted gunnery exercises off the coast.
• Seaboard Airline Railroad President John W. Smith made a speech at the Pulp and Paper Day celebration. He told the audience that the “green gold” of the South’s forests would “Ensure economic stability for generations to come.”
• Insurance executive Robert F. Travis was elected president of the YMCA replacing William Catlin Jr.
• “The Jacksonville Story,” a 36-minute promotional film made as a public service by the Russell-Barton Film Company, was making the rounds. Fifteen copies were distributed to TV stations and movie theaters in New York City, Washington, D.C., Long Beach, Calif. and El Paso, Texas.
• On April 17, members of Riverside Avenue Christian Church awaited the arrival of 200 chimney swifts that flew down the chimney on that day each year at sunset. The birds lived in the chimney until Sept. 15 when they began their annual flight south for the winter.
• A garbage collection fee and a tax on local telephone service went into effect at Jacksonville Beach. The garbage fee was $1.25 per family per month; residents saw their phone bill increase by 10 percent each month.
• At Family Finance Service, $120 could be borrowed for 24 monthly payments of $7 each. “Phone before noon and get your money later the same day.”
• Armand DuFrene, “The Honest Frenchman,” was selling 1957 Volkswagens for $295 down at 1222 N. Main St.
• Walter G. Daniel, who had recently resigned as City Engineer, was hired as a consultant on City improvement and expressway projects totaling $30 million. He was to be paid a $12,000 annual salary.