Have you ever wondered 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 differences. These are some of the top stories published in the Florida Times-Union 50 years ago this week. The items were compiled by Staff Writer Max Marbut from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives.
• Maritime workers in Jacksonville joined their colleagues in ports around the world in a four-day boycott of ships flying the flags of countries including Panama, Liberia, Honduras and Costa Rica. About 3,000 workers in eight local unions were affected by the “peaceful protest picket” against ships flying the so-called “flags of convenience.” Seven of the vessels were in the Port of Jacksonville. The unions claimed the vessels’ owners had registered their ships in the offending countries “to enjoy tax benefits and lower labor costs.”
• It was announced that U. S. District Judge Bryan Simpson would hear arguments in a claim against the U. S. government for $450,000 in damages as the result of three Mayport fishermen being lost at sea in 1957. The claim was contained in three suits brought by the widows of of Floyd Rhodes Wylie, Melvin Alford Singleton and John Gordon Gavagan. The suits contended the U. S. Coast Guard and U. S. Navy were negligent in their search for the shrimp boat, the “Donald Ray,” and that the negligence resulted in the loss of the vessel and the three men aboard it. It was also contended that a Coast Guard buoy tender that was involved in the search was diverted from its task to take in tow another distressed vessel, the yacht “Windsong.” In its answer to the suit, the government alleged the shrimp boat was not seaworthy, that it stayed out at sea despite broadcast storm warnings, and that it was not equipped with a radio working on a distress frequency. The non-jury trial was scheduled for Dec. 18, one of 21 non-jury trials on the docket for the last month of 1958.
• Five new members were elected to three-year terms on the board of directors of the Jacksonville Beach Chamber of Commerce. They were T. N. Abood, motel operator; W. S. Greiner, variety store manager; R. D. McNamara, department store owner; accountant J. Russ Shaw and restaurateur B. J. Strickland.
• Mayor Haydon Burns was elected to the 13-member executive committee of the American Municipal Association at the group’s 35th annual congress in Boston. Burns was also appointed to the organization’s International Municipal Relations Committee.
• County Solicitor Lacy Mahon, Jr. announced the appointment of Jacksonville Beach attorney Raymond L. Simpson as assistant county solicitor. Mahon also announced the resignation, effective Dec. 31, of second assistant county solicitor Clarence M. Wood. Wood had been on Mahon’s staff since Jan. 1957 and said he resigned “with deep regret” to devote more attention to the private practice of law. Simpson received his law degree from the University of Florida in 1953 and was an FBI agent for two years before opening his practice in Jacksonville.
• A man wanted for larceny and nonsupport in Durham, N. C. picked the wrong place to get out of the rain. He chose the Seminole Hotel, where about 30 law enforcement officers, including three FBI agents, were attending a conference on bombings and Durham was the site of a “hate bombing” several months prior. Asst. Chief H. V. Branch of the Jacksonville Police Department noticed the man in the lobby at noon and again at 2:30 p.m. when the conference was concluded. A desk clerk told Branch the man was “waiting for a room,” so the officer “picked the man up for investigation.” During questioning, Sidney Lanier Proctor Jr. admitted he was wanted for nonsupport and also that he had purloined funds from his employer, North Carolina News Company. A number of checks made out to the company were in Proctor’s possession, but he had no money. He was taken to jail pending further investigation.