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 1962. The items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives by Staff Writer Max Marbut.
• An antique statue was stolen from the Cummer Gallery of Art along Riverside Avenue and police were stumped about how the thieves fled with the 300-pound artwork.
The statue, depicting twins embracing, was purchased in Italy by Ninah M. H. Cummer in 1934 or 1935. It was dismounted from its base in the center of a small pool in the garden.
Despite the weight of the statue, a small hedge surrounding the pool was undisturbed and there was no evidence of the statue being dragged across the ground.
Gallery Director Joseph Jeffers Dodge said the 3-foot-tall statue would be “extremely difficult to sell” without proof of ownership. It was valued at $1,000.
John Donahoo, chairman of the board of trustees of the DeEtte Holden Cummer Museum Foundation, said whatever motives there might be behind the theft were “almost unbelievable.”
He said the statue and the gallery had been a gift from the late Mrs. Cummer to the people of Jacksonville, so the theft, in effect, was from the people of Jacksonville.
Two days later, the statue was found in a ditch next to the home of Mrs. Edward Dorminy at 7580 Melvin Road.
Dorminy said she and her son dragged the statue to their carport, not realizing what it was, and left it there until she realized it was the stolen artwork after seeing news reports of the theft.
After the statue was returned to the gallery, City and County police said they had no leads to the identity of the persons who took the statue, but were of the opinion it was removed by vandals.
• Tom Slade, described as a “26-year-old neophyte politician,” swept to a second Democratic primary victory to win the Duval County Group 1 seat in the Florida House of Representatives.
Slade’s victory over County Budget Commissioner Joseph Kennelly Jr., a veteran public official who had eight years of service on the Jacksonville City Council and six years of service of the budget commission, was indicated from the first ballot reports.
Slade won 59 percent of the 55,495 votes cast for the two candidates.
Slade was assured of automatic selection to the House seat in the Nov. 8 general election, since no Republican candidate had qualified.
“We have to thank a lot of friends who have had the patience and the confidence to stand by us and see this thing through. I have had less and less to do as the campaign progressed,” Slade said.
In other election results, City Council member Ralph Walter, who based his platform on a pledge to preserve the homestead exemption, defeated Frank Osborn for the office of County Tax Assessor.
Since no Republican qualified to run for assessor in the November general election, Walter’s victory was tantamount to election.
Walter would take over as assessor Jan. 8 for two years, the remainder of the original four-year term won by County Assessor Leon Forbes before Forbes died in December 1960. Osborn was appointed by Gov. LeRoy Collins to fill the vacancy created by Forbes’ death.
• A Criminal Court jury deliberated only 23 minutes before it found Ervin Boyd not guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a friend in a bar on Feb. 24.
Boyd, 31, had been accused in the death of William Weeks Jr., 35, in what appeared to be an accidental shooting in Brack’s Bar at 2709 Pearl St.
In his final arguments to the jury, defense attorney Albert Datz said there was no testimony that Boyd had the slightest motive for shooting Weeks with a .22-caliber pistol and that it was apparent Boyd didn’t know the gun was loaded.
Testimony showed Boyd and Weeks were in a group of four or five people joking in the bar around 6 p.m. Feb. 24 and that the two men had been friends for several years.
Witnesses said a woman came into the bar and Boyd jokingly introduced her as his wife. Weeks, equally in jest, remarked that the woman was the fourth or fifth person Boyd ever had introduced as his wife.
Testimony showed Boyd then pulled the pistol from his pocket, pointed it at Weeks and said, “I’ll shoot you.” When the trigger was pulled, the gun fired and a bullet entered Weeks’ brain, killing him instantly.
The prosecution witnesses all testified that Boyd said, “Oh my God, I shot him. I didn’t know it was loaded.”
Datz argued the prosecution had failed to show any intent on Boyd’s part to shoot Weeks.
“It was purely accidental,” Datz said.
Boyd was charged with manslaughter under a definition of the law covering “the killing of a human being by the act, procurement or culpable negligence of another, in cases where such killing shall not be justifiable or excusable homicide nor murder.”
Boyd, superintendent at an electrical contracting company, could have received a sentence of 20 years imprisonment had he been convicted.
The two-day trial was held before Judge William T. Harvey.
• A warehouse at 262 Riverside Ave. became the first building in Duval County to be designated as a fallout shelter.
The building was owned by Delcher Bros. Moving and Storage Co. and had been inspected and certified as suitable by the civil defense fallout shelter program.
A search for buildings capable of serving as shelters for 50 or more people began in 1961 under the supervision of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
W.A. Weatherford, director of the Jacksonville-Duval County Civil Defense Council, said future agreements with business and industrial firms in allowing their buildings to be designated as fallout shelters would enable the council to provide stocks of food, water and other supplies from federal agencies to be used by citizens of Jacksonville in the event of a nuclear attack.
• The Florida headquarters of the Salvation Army and the Jacksonville USO received a new home at 318-28 Ocean St., a 24,000-square-foot, two-story stucco structure, said James O’Reilly, chairman of the Property Committee of the advisory board of the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army acquired the building for $225,000 from the Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. handled the transaction.
The USO in Jacksonville was under the sponsorship of the Salvation Army. The USO headquarters and servicemen’s recreation center was moving from 331 W. Forsyth St.
• Summer jobs for students were not easy to find in 1962 in Jacksonville, but work permits issued through the end of May indicated that youth employment during the school break might be higher than in 1961.
“Last year, we issued 1,200 work permits in June, July and August. Last week alone we issued 57. If that indication runs true, the permits will total higher than last year,” said Ralph Ogden, director of public school attendance.
He estimated that 600 students would be starting to work in June.
A state employment official said jobs might be hard to find without personal connections.
“Estimating jobs available this summer and how many students will get them is pretty much guess work, but most jobs in the past have been gotten through personal relationships,” said Florida State Employment Service Chief Counselor Elizabeth Tamplin.
“Previous job experience is the best qualification for another job. The student who wants to work had better explore every opportunity. I’m sure there are more people seeking employment than there are jobs,” she said.