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.
• The Cummer Gallery of Art, termed “the jewel of museums,” was dedicated in front of 1,000 guests of trustees of the DeEtte Holden Cummer Museum Foundation.
The dedication was the culmination of two years of construction and preparation of the brick and marble gallery at the site of the Cummer home at 829 Riverside Ave.
Before and after the presentation, guests toured the $1 million gallery.
John W. Donahoo, chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees, conducted the opening program with Gov. Farris Bryant representing Florida and Mayor Haydon Burns representing the City.
Bryant said he was “moved to walk on tiptoes and whisper when confronting the magnificence of the museum.” He commended the bequest of Ninah M.H. Cummer as an inspiration to the entire state.
“It is impossible to add to the luster, romance or magnificence displayed here. I know of no elevation of spirit in the history of Florida greater than that demonstrated here,” Bryant said.
Burns said the people of Jacksonville had never received a gift comparable in generosity or beauty to the museum.
“When I look upon this museum, I will be reflecting on the pioneers of this city and on the torch of community spirit exemplified by this family. This is a jewel in the crown of what we think is a wonderful city. We will show it proudly,” said Burns.
The foundation was established soon after Ninah Cummer’s death in 1958 to honor her and husband Arthur Gerrish Cummer’s only child, who was born Oct. 13, 1907, and died Oct. 31, 1907.
In her will, Cummer said: “This foundation is created in the full knowledge the bequest and endowment will make only a small beginning toward a large vision, but it is created also in the hope that others will share this vision and by their interest and contributions will help to establish a center of beauty and culture worthy of this community.”
• J.E. Davis, chairman of the board of Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., was announced as the outstanding wildlife conservationist in Duval County for 1961.
The selection was made by the board of supervisors of the Duval County Soil and Water Conservation District. Davis was the first person to receive the honor, which was to be bestowed annually thereafter.
Soil conservationist Reid Powell said Davis had maintained a vigorous conservation program for all types of wildlife on acreage he owned in southeast Duval County.
“This includes selection and planting of feed crops for quail, turkey, deer and ducks. Cover is provided where needed. Game protection is also maintained. These three factors – food, cover and protection – are fundamental to a good wildlife program,” Powell said.
He said the award also was based on the fact that Davis had prepared and donated a wildlife exhibit to the Jacksonville Children’s Museum.
The award would be presented Nov. 20 to Davis at a meeting of the Kiwanis Club during the observance of National Farm-City Week.
• The Greater Jacksonville Agricultural and Industrial Fair wrapped up its 11-day run after setting an attendance record.
A total of 146,204 patrons passed through the fair gates, surpassing the previous record of 139,688 set in 1960.
James Watson, president of the Greater Jacksonville Fair Association, credited the weather and increased family attendance for the record.
“It couldn’t have been nicer,” he said of the weather.
“I saw more families, folks bringing the children, than in the previous two years. That’s what we like. It makes a better fair,” he said.
Watson said most of the exhibitors of livestock and swine indicated they would return to the fair in 1962.
“That’s a good sign of an excellent fair,” he said.
• Four determined University of Florida freshmen traveled the 68 miles from Gainesville to Jacksonville for the Florida vs. Georgia football game. What made their journey noteworthy was that they covered the distance on their bicycles.
Bob Levitt led the way, arriving in Jacksonville Friday night, and then doubling back Saturday morning to meet his colleagues near Maxville.
The others, George Mersereau, Charles Catalina and Jesse Kent, left UF’s Weaver Hall at 6 a.m. and arrived at the stadium shortly before noon.
“It started as a joke. The other guys said we’d never do it, but we did,” said Mersereau.
“But we have to take a picture back or they’ll say we ditched the bikes and hitchhiked up,” said Catalina.
Florida defeated Georgia 21-14 when junior quarterback Tom Batten, who had never before thrown a touchdown pass in his collegiate career, threw three of them. The last one came with 4:54 left in the game.
It was noted that “47,000 sun-splashed spectators” witnessed the game.
• The Atlanta architectural firm of Tomberlin & Sheetz was engaged by the Jacksonville Beach City Council to design a new municipal building with a budget of at least $250,000. It was to be the first phase of a plan to create a municipal complex and new entertainment area.
Council also approved a contract with Dennis, Parsons & Cook Inc., a Jacksonville advertising agency, to manage the resort’s public relation at a total fee of $10,000 per year.
The council was planning a freeholder’s referendum before the Christmas holidays on issuing $1 million in general revenue bonds to pay for the project.
Mayor William Wilson said the loan could be amortized over a 30-year period with no increase in taxes.
The architects, who would also supervise construction, proposed to design the combined city hall, police station and jail for a fee of 6 percent of the total cost of the structure.
The contract with the agency was for a new advertising and public relations campaign. Wilson said the new program would be intended to improve the city’s image and encourage people to open new businesses and relocate to the beach.
“After this program is in progress, we will wonder how we ever got along without it. But then, there is no need for further comment on this – we know how we got along without it,” he said.
Architect Frank Sheetz, a former Beaches resident, said he was familiar with Jacksonville Beach’s “problems and potentialities.”
He said his design would “upgrade the heart of the city in both appearance and moral climate.”
• The streets Downtown were decorated for the annual three-day retail sales promotion, “Million Dollar Days.”
A project of the Downtown Council of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce, retailers had installed special banners and signs, said Homer G. Brunkhorst, chair of the event subcommittee.
He said there also would be banners on utility poles and in store windows and employees would be wearing special “Million Dollar Days” badges.
The committee arranged for free bus transportation to the Downtown shopping area and two free shuttle buses carried shoppers from store to store.
Many of the stores offered entry blanks and deposit boxes for a “Know your Downtown” contest.
Those who could correctly identify the location of six Downtown public buildings were entered in a drawing for a new 1962 automobile.
• At the meeting of the Southern Medical Association in Dallas, Jacksonville optometrist Dr. Thomas Edwards said that contact lenses had become a multimillion-dollar business “accompanied by hucksters” who also offered danger to the public.
“With this huckstering, many poorly trained and improperly motivated technicians have entered the field, some of them on a nationwide, chain-store type scale,” he said.
Edwards told the group that improper eye solutions and equipment, poor lenses or poor fitting lenses could lead to many complications.