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.
• In a notice to the public, the Jacksonville Coach Company apologized for the inconvenience of the bus drivers’ strike that had so far lasted for eight weeks. The company said it had made “every effort” to get the drivers back to work, but the drivers refused to lower their demands for higher wages. The notice went on to say that if the higher wages were enacted bus fares would rise to the “exorbitant figure” of 25 cents to 30 cents for each trip. The company was offering the drivers a monthly salary of $380.95.
• The Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric, Railway and Motorcoach Employees of America also published a public notice to put their side of the negotiations on the record. They pointed out Jacksonville’s bus drivers work a six-day, 48-hour week at $1.61 an hour, much less than drivers in Memphis ($2.03) or even Tampa ($1.77). The notice stated all the union members wanted was a “living wage.”
• Putting those numbers in perspective, at Duval Motors at the corner of Lee and Forsyth streets you could buy a new 1958 Ford Six, a 16-foot long, 145-horsepower automobile for $1,895 or $48 a month. Winn-Dixie was selling T-bone steak for 89 cents a pound and if you were on a lower budget $1.59 would buy three pounds of ground beef.
• At the Duval County Commission meeting, a group of Northside residents presented a petition complaining about the condition of Lem Turner Road. County Commissioner C. Ray Greene agreed with the petitioners and declared Lem Turner “the worst road in Duval County.” He said the State Road Department had neglected Lem Turner Road after U.S. 1 was constructed.
• Also at the meeting, the Republican County Committee complained there were not enough Republicans among the pool of poll workers. Assistant Supervisor of Registrations Robert A. Mallard reported that of the 500 poll workers in the county, 21 were Republicans.
• President Dwight Eisenhower signed a military pay raise bill that would increase the Jacksonville area Navy payroll by more than $4 million annually. The combined payrolls at Jacksonville and Cecil Field Naval Air Stations and Mayport Auxiliary Air Station would be close to $60 million after the increase went into effect June 1.
• The Ribault Quadricentennial Committee was considering a plan to build a “large historical park to serve as a permanent tourist attraction.” The group was talking to the company that built Disneyland in California. The firm told the committee the park would “draw a million tourists a year and would pay for itself in seven years.” The committee voted to ask to be included on the agenda at the next Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors meeting to discuss financing a feasibility study.
• Atlantic Coast Line Railroad President W. Thomas Rice was in Jacksonville to present safety awards and noted the accident rate among employees dropped to a 25-year low in 1957 while freight losses were down 6 percent compared to the previous year. In 1957, there were 2.1 chargeable injuries per 1 million man-hours of work, the lowest casualty rate since 1933 and 1.76 injuries better than in 1955 when the ACL won the Harriman Award for the best safety record in the nation among Class 1 railroads.