Have you ever wondered what life was like in Jacksonville half a century 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 headlines then and today. As interesting as the differences may be, so are the similarities. These are some of the top stories from this week in 1961. The items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives by Staff Writer Max Marbut.
• The County Commission began efforts to put the stalled Duval County Port and Industrial Authority project back on track.
At the request of Commissioner Bob Harris, who was the new chair of the authority, the commissioners authorized a meeting with City commissioners for the purpose of writing new legislation to bring the City and County together on the project.
The County Budget Commission was asked to release $25,000 to the port authority. Only $1 was appropriated for the authority in the 1961 budget.
Harris said he would prefer to delay public announcement of his plans for new legislation until it was discussed with City representatives.
It appeared, however, the plan would be similar to one put forth several years earlier that would bring the City, which had its own docks and terminals, into a cooperative working arrangement with the County’s proposed harbor development centered around the Blount Island industrial complex.
Commissioner Fletcher Morgan, who moved for the release of the budget funds, noted that in 1957, a bill was written for the legislative delegation that would have consolidated City and County efforts on port development, but which would leave the City’s airports exclusively under the jurisdiction of the City.
Morgan warned that because Florida had so many ports, efforts to obtain state aid to develop Jacksonville’s port would be inadvisable.
“We can’t have the state have anything to do with our port,” said Morgan.
County Engineer John Crosby said one of the primary concerns to the development of the port as a self-paying project would be to get highway and rail traffic to the island.
• Carl Swisher, chair of Jacksonville University’s board of trustees, announced a plan to construct dormitories on the south end of the Arlington campus. He said the living facilities would be ready for occupancy in 1962 or early 1963.
Commenting on the announcement, JU President Franklyn Johnson emphasized the school would continue to be primarily a community school with not more than 10 or 15 percent of the student body housed on campus.
Johnson termed the board’s action a “wise decision.”
“In my opinion, it’s the most significant resolution made at the university since it was determined that we should be a four-year institution and strive for full accreditation,” he said.
The decision to build the dormitories was based on the university receiving more than 1,000 applications in 1960 from potential students who lived outside Duval County. It was noted that at the time, JU was the only major college in Florida without dormitories.
• Trustees of The Bolles School named a new headmaster to succeed Maj. DeWitt E. Hooker, who was retiring at the end of the school year.
The selectee was 40-year-old Winston R. Johnson, who was assistant headmaster at Avon Old Arms School in Avon, Conn. He had been on the Avon faculty for 13 years and assistant headmaster for five years. Johnson taught English and coached athletics.
During World War II, Johnson served four years as a naval officer and was assigned as a naval aide at the organizational meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945.
“Bolles is most fortunate in securing a man of Johnson’s stature and varied experience,” said Herman Ulmer Jr., trustee chair.
• Music lovers and supporters of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra were disappointed when Anna Maria Alberghetti, the opera star scheduled to appear at the symphony’s annual ball at the Municipal Coliseum, was unable to get to Jacksonville.
Alberghetti was supposed to arrive at Imeson Airport from New York, but foul weather forced her flight to Florida to be canceled.
Alberghetti went so far as to take a train to Philadelphia hoping for better weather for flying, but that airport too was closed.
Robert H. Jacobs, one of the co-chairs of the ball, had arranged for a chartered aircraft standing by in Philadelphia to bring the guest star to Jacksonville. Alberghetti decided if the weather was bad enough to ground commercial flights, it was too rough for her to use a chartered plane and went back to New York.
Mrs. William D. Frazier, chair of the publicity committee for the Symphony Association, said net proceeds from the ball would exceed $18,000 and that “indicated the success of the first really big venture of its kind here.”
• The job of studying the engineering and design of the proposed bulkhead and parking lot for the Duval County Courthouse was given to the civil engineering firm of Register and Cummings by the City Commission.
The firm was to take up where the Reynolds, Smith and Hills firm had left off. RS&H made soundings and prepared a preliminary report regarding the possibility of a joint bulkhead for the courthouse and City Hall.
The action to award the study to Register and Cummings came after the commission approved a final bill of $949 presented by RS&H for work done for the County.
• Jeweler Herbert F. Underwood was elected president of the Florida Retail Federation at a meeting of the organization’s board of directors at the Roosevelt Hotel.
Underwood, who had lived in Jacksonville since the mid-1920s, had previously served as president of the Florida Retail Jewelers Association.
He was a member of the board of governors of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce and a director of the National Jewelry Industry Council.
• The fourth Kentucky Fried Chicken takeout dinner restaurant in Jacksonville opened at Sherwood Plaza on Soutel Drive.
The restaurant was owned and operated by Walter Desser, who also operated the KFC in Cedar Hills Shopping Center.
Col. Harlan Sanders, founder of the nationwide franchise operation, was on hand to help cut the ribbon to open the new location.
It was noted that in addition to the fried chicken specialty, KFC also served fish and shrimp dinners and sandwiches, all boxed for takeout.
• Fred Gartrelle of 1712 Beach Blvd. had a vanished cat to thank for saving his life when Gartrelle’s two-room house caught fire.
He told firefighters he was asleep when the cat jumped against a window screen and awakened him to the danger. The front doorway was in flames at the time, he said.
The house was located behind a restaurant, where Gartrelle worked as a waiter. The cause of the blaze, which caused an estimated $4,000 in damage, was not determined.
Gartrelle said he had not seen the cat since the fire.
• Seven Jacksonville citizens were on their way to Washington, D.C., after receiving gold-engraved invitations to attend the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. Invitees included City Commissioner Lou Ritter and Mrs. Lou Ritter.
Ritter was the Northeast Florida campaign manger for the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson ticket.
• The Terry Parker High School band marched behind the Florida float in Kennedy’s inaugural parade. After completing the 2.75-mile snow-lined route, band members were reported to have looked for someplace to get warm.
That was particularly true of majorette Judy Cox, who in her haste to pack for the train trip to the nation’s capital forgot her flesh-colored tights and was forced to lead the band in blue skin and goose bumps.
Four of the band members didn’t make it far in the parade.
The night before the parade, Judy Wheeler stumbled getting off the bus after a sightseeing excursion, injured her back and was unable to participate.
Scarlett Abersolde, Carol Martin and Carlton Higginbotham dropped out of the line of march and were diagnosed as suffering from cold and fatigue.