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 from The Florida-Times Union printed 50 years ago this week. These items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives.
• City buses were back on the road after a strike by drivers that parked them for more than 80 days. James M. Moore, general manager of the Jacksonville Coach Company, said passenger loads were about half of capacity. The company expected it would be several months before riders would patronize the buses regularly again. Moore also said considering the lost revenue due to the strike and the reduction in ridership, the best the company could hope for in 1958 was “to break even.” Bus fares were 20 cents a ride or a small token which could be purchased at the bulk rate of five for 95 cents. Jacksonville Beach bus passes cost $3.50 and could be used on any line in the city except to the Naval Air Station.
• City Highways Commissioner Louis Ritter announced that Adams Street west of Main Street and Bay Street east of Main Street would be resurfaced in July. He said the improvement would eliminate the cause for growing complaints – soft patches of asphalt that are difficult for pedestrians, particularly women in high heels, to negotiate. The “sticky areas” were particularly bad at intersections on Adams and Bay streets. Ritter attributed the problem to “the lack of an adequate public improvement program in the past which would have included the proper resurfacing and rehabilitation of many of the streets in the immediate downtown area.”
• It was announced that Duval County taxpayers would get “about a three mill reduction in the 1958 tax rate compared with the current rate of 46.12.” The anticipated 43 mill rate was calculated on the estimated mill value for the year of $371,591 which had been announced earlier by County Assessor Leon E. Forbes.
• Jacksonville’s nine drive-in theaters placed an ad that encouraged people to “get more out of life – go out to a movie tonight.” Films advertised included “Showboat,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” “ The Long Hot Summer,” and the “First Showing in North Jax” of “Plunder Road” at the Lake Forest drive-in. The Town and Country Theatre was showing the Jacksonville premier of “Woman of the River” starring Sophia Loren. It was described as “the new Italian film in their tradition of realism” and also noted it was “adult entertainment.”
• The Jacksonville Expressway Authority voted to “experiment” with an automatic toll collection device on the Fuller Warren Bridge. Members of the authority had inspected a similar device while on a trip to New York City and reported the machines “apparently speeded up traffic and were used by motorists without confusion.” If the trial proved a success, automatic toll collection devices were to be added to the Mathews Bridge and the Trout River Bridge, which was under construction. Authority chairman Lucius A. Buck said the machines would not jeopardize the jobs of any of the toll collectors because they would still be needed for the conventional toll lanes.
• A new traffic control system “designed to speed the flow of cars through the resort’s amusement district” went into effect at Jacksonville Beach. Traffic was one-way traveling north on First Street from Beach Boulevard to 15th Street North and one-way traveling south on Second Street between the same streets.
• Twenty-one year-old Sandra Carol Freemen was crowned Miss Jacksonville for 1958. In her answers to five questions posed by the panel of judges, Freeman answered she was not in favor of the new “sack look” nor was she “particularly interested” in how much money her prospective husband might make. “Love is more important than money,” said Freeman.