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 stories published in the Florida Times-Union 50 years ago this week. These items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives.
• The Leah G. Swisher Science Building at Jacksonville University was dedicated at a ceremony presided over by William S. Johnson, executive vice president and general manager of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce. The two-story, light brick building was presented to Dr. Franklyn Johns, president of the university, by Carl S. Swisher. Johnson cautioned that the teaching of science and technologies should be balanced with instruction in the field of political science “for the protection of the individual.”
• For the fifth time in a year, the Spur service station at 158 Park St. was robbed. The attendant was attacked and forced into a restroom. The assailant then stole $21 from the cash register. Another robbery occurred at the J.H. Churchwell Company at 301 E. East Bay St. Burglars entered the building and broke open a safe. J.H. Churchwell Jr. said the exact amount of money stolen wouldn’t be known until an inventory could be made, but estimated the loss at “several hundred dollars.” Safecrackers also hit the Springfield Drug Company at 353 E. 3rd St. and removed $101.70 in cash. Police said entry was gained through the rear door of the business next door and a hole was cut in the wall to gain entrance to the drugstore.
• Justice of the Peace D. Harley Giddens of Jacksonville Beach filed suit asking the Circuit Court to rule Duval County’s traffic fine collection system unconstitutional. Both judges of the Criminal Court of Record, William T. Harvey and A. Lloyd Layton, County Solicitor Lacy Mahon Jr. and Sheriff Dale Carson were named as defendants. In 1957, a law was enacted providing that fines could be collected by the sheriff if violators entered a guilty plea. Frank Cannon, the attorney who filed the suit for Giddens, said it was the “first case he had ever heard of” in which Criminal Court judges we named as defendants. The law had been in effect since May 21, 1957 and in that time the sheriff’s office had collected more than $135,000 in fines which went to the county’s fine and forfeitures fund with the exception of a 5 percent fee to the sheriff’s office. Prior to the inauguration of the traffic court law, most violations went to the justice of the peace courts where the alleged violators were either discharged by the JP or bound over to the Criminal Court of record for trial. The JPs received a $7.50 fee for each warrant they issued.
• Jacksonville’s “new educational television station,” Ch. 7, went on the air with a “successful telecast” of a test pattern. Station manager Dr. William Cumming said audio tests would also be performed, probably within a week.
• It was announced that individuals described as “prominent local executives in representative areas of endeavor will spend the next week pondering over what Jacksonville needs most.” At the end of the week, they would submit opinions on the subject to Frederick H. Schultz, chairman of the projects and planning committee of the Downtown Council. A committee meeting was scheduled for Aug. 26 at which time “Schultz and the eight men, all members of the committee, would sit down and consider “immediate and long-range aims based on the city’s major deficiencies.” The discussion was to exclude parking, traffic and public transportation, issues that were already under consideration by other committees.
• Duval County’s list of eligible voters numbered 133,001 according to County Supervisor of Registration Fleming H. Bowden. There were 124,996 Democrats registered, 7,109 Republicans and 896 listed as “other parties.” There were 62 Democratic candidates for state and county offices and four Republican candidates on the Duval County ballot.