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.
• Seventy-five Duval County citizens were called for grand jury and petit jury duty as the fall term of court opened. Court Clerk Leonard Thomas said the first item on the agenda would be the selection of 23 of the venire men by Judge William Maness for grand jury duty. The new grand jury would be called on by State Attorney William Hallowes to consider the question of criminal activities stemming from the State Insurance Commission’s investigation of Jacksonville bail bondsmen, who allegedly conspired to “fix drunken driving cases.”
• It was also noted that the selection of the grand jury by Maness would be an “anniversary event” since he was sworn in as a judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit on Oct. 31, 1957 and began his duties on the bench Nov. 4.
• Jacksonville was part of an investigation conducted by the State Fire Marshall into finding a solution to the problem of minors obtaining explosive chemicals. The materials were being used for experimentation by “loosely supervised rocket societies.” The idea was to prohibit people who had access to such materials from operating outside municipal, county or state regulation. Unsupervised experimentation had led to home workshop explosions that had maimed or killed several young amateur rocket scientists.
• City building permits issued in October totaled $11,844,013, the largest figure for any month since March, 1954. Hugh Mainey, acting supervisor of building, said the total was boosted by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad’s new headquarters project that was valued at $9.25 million. The 1954 total of $13 million was due to the Prudential Insurance Company’s headquarters building project on the south side of the St. Johns River.
• Millions of fish washed up on several miles of shoreline from Atlantic Beach to south of Ponte Vedra. While some theories as to the cause blamed shrimp boats dumping the fish out of nets, it was eventually attributed to a rare east coast outbreak of red tide.
• Construction began on the Massell Building on West Church Street. The eight-story, $4 million structure would be occupied by the Southern Bell Telephone Company under a 10-year lease. Mayor Haydon Burns complimented the developers on their project which was the first time a Downtown building’s design included off-street parking facilities. “This is a challenge to other builders to look ahead and plan for the future, showing consideration to all,” said Burns. (The building is now the site of the Metropolitan Lofts.)
• Duval County voters went to the polls in record numbers for an off-year election. More than 42,000 people cast ballots on Election Day (there was no such thing as early voting in 1958) which amounted to a 32 percent participation. In terms of registration, there were 124,996 Democrats and 7,109 Republicans, but it was pointed out that, “In general elections voters can cast ballots for whomever they wish regardless of party.” All incumbent Democrats remained in office but the official figures from the Canvassing Board showed most Republican candidates received more votes than the total Republican registration in the county.
• After a month-long investigation by federal, state, county and city law enforcement, two youths were arrested for selling narcotics including marijuana cigarettes at several high schools. They were charged with possession of narcotics and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and were held on bonds of $1,000 and $750.
• Two men from Jacksonville, George Williams and Charles Williams, were part of a group of 20 U.S. Weather Bureau employees and Air Force personnel who were rescued from a crumbling ice floe near the North Pole. They were airlifted to a military base in Alaska before returning home.