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 4-H Clubs of Duval County held the inaugural countywide dairy show, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Jacksonville and the South Jacksonville Kiwanis Club.
First-place winner in the junior fitting and grooming contest was Jake Schickel. Larry Keen was second and Dallas Douglas, third.
The fitting and grooming senior division’s first-place winner was Jesse Clemons, with Robert Chason, second, and Marvin Keen, third.
Faye Buchanan was the winner in the junior showmanship division. Larry Keen was runner-up.
In the senior showmanship contest, Jimmy Carter won first place with other honors going to Joey Forshee, second, Marvin Keen, third, and Joe Black, fourth.
First-place winners in each division would represent Duval County in the state 4-H dairy show Feb. 26-27 in Orlando.
• The Rotary Club of Jacksonville was preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary at the George Washington Hotel with a banquet and a special program highlighted by an address by Joseph A. Abey, president of Rotary International.
The Jacksonville club was founded Feb. 13, 1912, but the celebration was scheduled Feb. 11 so that Abey could attend.
Club President P.W. Fisher said 500 Rotarians and their wives from the local club and others within a 200-mile radius of Jacksonville were expected to attend.
Among the guests from out of town would be Gov. and Mrs. Farris Bryant. He was a member of the Tallahassee Rotary Club.
Entertainment planned for the evening included a performance by the Jacksonville University Chorus. Rabbi Sidney M. Lefkowitz, a Rotarian, was to offer a five-minute summary of Rotary ideals and a forecast of Rotary’s continued responsibilities to the community, the nation and the world.
• The National Park Service asked Congress to include $35,000, needed to start construction of a replica of Fort Caroline as a national memorial in Arlington, in its fiscal 1963 appropriations bill.
National Parks Director Conrad Worth was working with U.S. Rep. Charles Bennett of Jacksonville on the program.
“We have considered this project feasible and are now requesting this appropriation from the House Interior Subcommittee,” said Worth.
The original site of Fort Caroline, along the St. Johns River, was washed away when the river channel was deepened in the years following 1880.
In 1962, there was a visitor’s center along the river overlooking the lost site, where the replica would be constructed.
• The Mayor’s Traffic Advisory Committee recommended eliminating on-street parking on parts of Main, Adams, Pearl and Monroe streets.
The committee was seeking elimination of all parking on both sides of Main Street from the Main Street Bridge south to Broadcast Place; no parking on the south side of Adams Street between Newnan and Lee streets from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday; no parking any time on the west side of Pearl Street from Bay Street north to Third Street; and no parking any time on the south side of West Monroe Street from Laura Street to Main Street.
The recommendations were sent to Mayor Haydon Burns for review and possible implementation.
The changes affecting Main, Adams and Pearl streets were sought by the Downtown Council of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The Monroe Street recommendation was made at the request of Capt. C.L. Raines of the traffic division of the Jacksonville Police Department.
• The restoration of a painting which was included in the collection at the Cummer Museum of Art revealed that the painting was actually an altered version of a work by English artist James Northcote.
Before the restoration, “Cradle Hymn” depicted only a woman sewing. New York art restorer Baratolo Bracaglia discovered an image underneath of a child sleeping in a cradle with an angel-like child overhead.
“The original is a Northcote, but the repainting wasn’t done by Northcote. What happened, probably, was that some owner of the painting somewhere along the line decided — maybe for sentimental reasons — he didn’t like the painting and had it repainted,” said Thomas Miller, assistant director of the gallery.
“Removal of the newer paint didn’t harm the original painting at all,” he said.
Mrs. Nina M.H. Cummer acquired the painting before 1935 and bequeathed it, along with her art collection and the fund to set up the Cummer Gallery of Art, to the people of Jacksonville.