Have you ever wondered what life was like in Jacksonville half a century ago? It was 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.
• Downtown development in Jacksonville came under the scrutiny of 24 civic officials and business leaders from Orlando and was given a stamp of approval.
Mayor-Commissioner Haydon Burns led the group on a tour of public buildings and the sports complex after a slide presentation, “The Jacksonville Story.”
The presentation on urban renewal inaction was narrated by Franklin, chair of the Downtown Council. He told the visitors that the council was spending $50,000 on promotions to “preserve the public image of the Downtown shopping area.”
Burns said one of the gravest problems facing municipalities in 1961 was the decay of their downtown sections.
The Orlando group then had lunch as the guests of Hugh Abernethy, second vice president of the Prudential Insurance Co., in the firm’s executive dining room.
“There has never been one Prudential official who has looked back over his shoulder and said we made a mistake in locating in Jacksonville,” Abernethy told his guests.
The tour concluded with a visit to the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce and a reception at Burns’ home.
“Jacksonville looks like a very robust, healthy city. I am particularly impressed with the new buildings along the waterfront and the Expressway system,” said George Shearouse, past president of Orlando’s Junior Chamber of Commerce.
• State Sen. Wayne Ripley killed legislation proposing the creation of a port authority for Jacksonville, asserting it was a “Frankenstein monster” that would ultimately harm taxpayers.
When the bill arrived in the senate after being approved in the House, Ripley moved that it be placed on the local calendar “and in deep freeze.”
Ripley said the bill was not good for the taxpayers because “it would create at most a new taxing district that was authorized by law to force the county commissioners, who are authorized by the Constitution to fix the budget, to put funds in the budget to take care of their expenses, and I cannot be a party to letting such a Frankenstein monster become born.”
Ripley also said the proposals for port author bills had changed “like chameleons” during the legislative session and the original version presented at a hearing in Jacksonville before the session began was a “Chamber of Commerce blue plate special.”
William S. Johnson, executive vice president of the chamber, said the chamber had never sponsored such a bill.
• Ten-year-old Elaine Williams received a set of dolls from Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev.
Several months earlier, Williams had begun corresponding with heads of state discussing her version of politics and asking the international figures to exchange dolls with her.
In her letter to Khruschev, Williams reminded him of his duty to maintain peace in the world and admonished the communist leader to “behave yourself the next time you come to our country.”
The doll that arrived by mail from the Kremlin was made of wood and was a representation of a peasant woman. Eleven facsimiles of the large doll were contained inside. Williams said she would return the favor by sending a doll to Khruschev’s niece in Moscow.
Williams also had written to former President Dwight Eisenhower, former Vice President Richard Nixon, England’s Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne and other international leaders. She had so far received answers from Eisenhower and the queen in addition to the Russian premier.
It was noted that Williams had a collection of more than 100 dolls, many from foreign lands, and was “the envy of her fourth-grade classmates at West Riverside Elementary.”
• County Judge McKenney J. Davis reported that based on population, Duval County was entitled to an additional county judge and one could be appointed in July by Gov. Farris Bryant.
In a discussion of the County Court’s budget for 1961-62, Davis mentioned the increase in court membership. At the time, he was the only county judge in Duval, while Dade County had three judges.
Davis said under the 1951 population act, an additional judgeship was allowed in counties with populations of 325,000 or more. Duval County’s official population became 455,411 when the 1960 census figures were released.
“I feel sure that Gov. Bryant will appoint a high-type individual who will be a credit to the office and one interested in improving the service of the County judge’s court in Duval County and in assisting in relieving the overburdened workload here,” said Davis.
In 1961, County judges did not have to be members of The Bar. When asked about that, Davis, an attorney, said in a county as large as Duval, the appointment of a person trained in the law was “virtually a necessity.”
It was noted that County judges received the same pay as judges in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, $18,500 annually.
• A dedication program and open house were scheduled June 1 for the new Beaches Hospital in Jacksonville Beach.
The 25-bed facility was located just off South 16th Avenue and was complete, except for making a few corrections mandated by inspections by state and federal officials, said Harry W. Smith, hospital administrator.
Costing more than $500,000, it was the only hospital in the Beaches area.
• Tragedy struck the 3rd annual “Rebel Rally,” an all-day model airplane meet at Imeson Airport.
Douglas Coursey of Miami was injured when he was struck in the head by a small flying plane. He was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, where his condition was listed as good.
More than 150 contestants from five states participated in the meet, vying for 51 trophies in 17 categories. The Eddy Rickenbacker Trophy for the high point winner went to Johnny Pierce of Tampa.
The event was conducted by the local Flying Rebels model airplane club and sponsored by the Exchange Club of Jacksonville, the City Recreation Department and the Florida Air National Guard.
• The City Pardon Board rejected applications from two prisoners and approved the application of a man charged with poultry theft.
Council members W.O. Mattox and John Lanahan rejected the applications of two men who escaped after their petitions were filed and were still at large.
The board approved the application of a 19-year-old man who was sentenced to 90 days April 24 for larceny of chickens. His employer, a poultry supplier, did not enter an objection.
The board approved three other pardon applications, including that of a former player for the Jacksonville Jets baseball team, who had been sentenced May 20 to 90 days and fined $500 for his fourth conviction for indecent exposure. The sentence was suspended and the fine paid by a friend who said the man would join another baseball team outside the area.
• Acting Postmaster James Workman Jr. said Jacksonville would get 40 new electric-powered mail delivery vehicles, expected to arrive by summer. He said allocation of the vehicles was made after a survey of need by U.S. postal officials. Workman said the new three-wheeled “mailsters” would relieve delivery conditions considerably.
“We will be able to have more mounted routes and possibly combine some routes,” he said.
At the time, the post office had 149 vehicles in service, 39 of them gasoline-powered mailsters.
Workman said the new vehicles were powered by batteries similar to those used in automobiles and were built of stress skin aluminum, similar to aircraft. The electric vehicles were expected to rescue overall maintenance cost by 50 percent compared to the gasoline-powered version and had 62 percent more carrying space. The nightly battery charge would cost less than the cost of one gallon of gasoline, said Workman. (In 1961, the price of a gallon of regular gasoline was 31 cents.)