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.
• The new Garden Center of Jacksonville at 1005 Riverside Ave. was dedicated. Mayor Haydon Burns marked the occasion as “an historic day for the future of the city.” Mrs. Ward N. Seawright was president of the Garden Club and 500 members and guests attended the ceremony “sitting on new chairs and enjoying the air-conditioned atmosphere.” Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield attended the proceedings and commented, “Things like this make a place worth living in” and added, “I wish I had something like this in Atlanta.” It was noted that “The Garden Club of Jacksonville is acknowledged as the largest in the world, with a membership of 3,450 divided into 142 circles.”
• The Board of Library Trustees recommended building a new Downtown library before 1964. Cecil C. Bailey, president of the Board of Library Trustees, said the recommendation was based on a survey conducted by John Hall Jacobs, who was the City Librarian in New Orleans. Bailey said there should be a $2.5 million central library building “to replace the undersized and outmoded structure at the corner of Adams and Ocean streets.” Mayor Haydon Burns (after whom the proposed library would later be named) said City officials were aware of library needs but added no provision had been made for financing new library construction.
• Eleven of the 12 employees of the East Duval County Mosquito Control District were either laid off or put on vacation status because the board of commissioners didn’t have enough members to sign checks. District Director S.D. Snyder reported he was notified by Pleasant H. Gay Jr., the only remaining member of the board, to shut down operations until further notice. The two other members of the board had resigned and regulations required two signatures on checks. Gay said the shutdown would continue until Gov. LeRoy Collins appointed at least one new member to the board. One bulldozer operator was kept on duty to “handle the Beaches sanitary landfill garbage disposal work.”
• Lemuel Sharp succeeded Ralph N. Walter as president of the City Council. He immediately reappointed all the incumbent members of the Council’s standing committees to serve another year.
• Four “Negroes” were refused permission Tuesday to play golf on the two City-owned links when they attempted to purchase greens tickets. City Commissioner Dallas Thomas said employees refused to sell the tickets since play by “Negroes” on municipal links was restricted to Monday at the Brentwood course and Friday at Hyde Park. One of the golfers refused a ticket was Frank Hampton, a patrolman on the police force. The other golfers were not identified. (A week later an attorney representing the men filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking to open the City’s courses to all people. Hampton is regarded as one of Jacksonville’s civil rights leaders due to his efforts to integrate the City’s golf courses and later served on City Council from 1972-75.)
• A restraining order issued by a judge in New York could not be served on businessman Louis E. Wolfson because both he and his attorney, Joseph M. Glickstein, were out of the city. It was alleged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Wolfson was “manipulating” the stock of American Motors Corporation. The SEC alleged that Wolfson or his agents “caused statements to be published which depressed the stock of the motor company which he then sold ‘short’ as the stock dipped in value.”