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.
• A public hearing was scheduled Oct. 25 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the application of the Jacksonville Expressway Authority to construct a bridge across the St. Johns River at Commodore’s Point.
According to the application, the proposed span would be 2,900 feet long between Commodore’s Point near the Gator Bowl to Highlands Avenue on the Southside. It would have a vertical clearance of 142 feet above mean high tide, 10 feet less than that of the Mathews Bridge. The four-lane span would have a horizontal clearance of 950 feet.
The application for permission to construct a similar bridge in the vicinity of 21st Street was rejected in 1960 by the Corps of Engineers after shipping interests lodged a protest. The shipping companies contended that a bridge there would cause a serious hazard to navigation, particularly to the movement of the “supertankers” that were using Jacksonville’s port.
• A national longshoremen’s strike shut down operations on Jacksonville’s Downtown waterfront, but not before all cargo ships had completed loading or unloading.
The strike directly affected 1,000 cargo handlers, clerks, checkers and white-collar dock workers.
National union officials said the work stoppage was not a strike as such but a policy of “no contract, no work,” citing the expiration of the International Longshoremen’s Association contracts.
Local shipping company executive D.A. Watts represented Jacksonville employers of longshoremen in the unsuccessful contract negotiations. He said it did not appear the federal government would allow the stoppage to continue without invoking the Taft-Hartley Act, which would require an 80-day cooling-off period for continued negotiation while work resumed.
“It’s anybody’s guess how long it will be before the law is invoked, but with the situation as it is – trying to build up import and export business – I don’t think they will sit by and let it last too long,” Watts said.
• Ben Cohen, chairman of the Fire Prevention Committee of the Jacksonville Insurors Association, outlined plans for the countywide fire prevention program.
Cohen, who also was general chairman for Fire Prevention Week Oct. 7-13, discussed the plans at the kickoff meeting for the event at the George Washington Hotel.
He said there would be a parade through Downtown featuring 88 units from the City and volunteer fire departments.
“This will be the biggest fire prevention parade Jacksonville has ever had,” Cohen said.
The association also would sponsor a professional football game between the Jacksonville Bears and the Orlando Broncos.
Cohen was presented a plaque won by the local organization recognizing it as having the best local fire prevention program in a city of Jacksonville’s size in the nation. The award had been announced at the National Association of Insurance Agents convention in Washington, D.C.
• Hugh B. Wilcox, a member of the Duval County Board of School Trustees, objected to school principals officiating at athletic contests.
He said the administrators often subjected themselves and their schools to criticism when they officiated at games and were sometimes forced to make unpopular rulings.
“Whether they are or not, principals can be accused of prejudice under particularly trying circumstances. I think when a person is promoted to a principalship, it is time for him to give up some activities which might tend to discredit him in the eyes of some people,” said Wilcox.
• Jacksonville Zoo Director N.P. Baldwin returned from a zookeepers’ convention in Kansas City, Mo., and visits to several zoos, announcing new additions to the local collection.
Thirteen animals were purchased at a cost of more than $5,000; four animals were acquired without cost; and two animals were ordered but still running wild.
Dallas Thomas, City commissioner in charge of zoos, said it was the single largest purchase ever by the zoo.
The most expensive animal was a $1,500 Siberian tiger purchased from the Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, Minn.
Three reindeer were purchased from the Miami Bird Farm for $600 each and a pair of water buffalo was purchased from the Garden City Zoo in Kansas City for $1,000.
Baldwin said he made arrangements with officials of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Oklahoma City to capture a pair of Kodiak bears for the Jacksonville Zoo. He said he expected the animals to be delivered within a year.
Also on the shopping list were two male wild sheep ($85 each), a female Russian brown bear ($200), a peccary hog ($75) and a pair of longhorn steers ($175).
The Cincinnati Zoo didn’t have room for three lions and gave them to Baldwin. The Fort Worth Zoo threw in a male woolly monkey with the peccary hog purchase.
Baldwin said he didn’t have any animals for sale, but was attempting to negotiate a trade for a surplus antelope he had at the zoo.
“In the zoo business, you never run out of things to do, you only run out of money to do them,” Baldwin said.
• State Beverage Director Tom Lee Jr. handed down several local license suspensions in a series of hearings at the Bertha Street headquarters of the state agency.
The SoHo Inn at Dinsmore, licensed to R.L. Oxley, would be closed for six months following Oxley’s conviction on six charges of various phases of prostitution. The suspension would go into effect Nov. 2, thus permitting Oxley to dispose of his liquor inventory.
The Blue Bird Restaurant on North Myrtle Avenue was closed for 60 days when license-holder Kitt Williams was convicted on two charges involving lottery tickets.
G.B. MacDonald, operator of the Mermaid Bar in Jacksonville Beach, was fined $100 for serving beer to a minor. Another charge of disorderly conduct was dismissed.
Sally Williams, operator of Sally’s Beer Parlor in Starke, was placed on six months’ probation when she was found guilty of possessing moonshine whiskey.
The Fleet Reserve Club at 8551 Roosevelt Blvd. was placed on six months’ probation for allowing gambling for money at the club’s bar, permitting a minor to drink beer on the premises and allowing the business to be controlled and operated under a lease agreement.
In other action, Lee withheld sentence for six months after Wesley A. Monds, who held the license for the Pine Top restaurant on U.S. Route 90, was found guilty of selling beer outside of legal hours and during the time the polls were open in a recent election.
• Proceeds from the Rotary Club of Jacksonville’s 11th Annual Charity Ball on Oct. 26 would be used to provide surgical equipment for the open heart surgery program at Duval Medical Center. The announcement was made by H.R. Bingham, club president, at the group’s meeting at the Mayflower Hotel.
Crawford Solomon, chairman of the club’s screening committee, said the equipment would be purchased by the club and donated to the Northeast Florida Heart Association, which would own the equipment.
• A first-degree murder charge against Rufus W. Honeycutt in the Sept. 16 slaying of his wife was reduced to manslaughter by Circuit Judge Frank H. Elmore.
After a habeas corpus hearing, Elmore, found evidence in the case was insufficient to warrant the premeditated murder charge. Elmore, however, ruled there was probable cause for
a manslaughter charge. Honeycutt was held on that charge, pending posting of a $2,500 bond to ensure his appearance in court on a date to be set.
Honeycutt had been held on the original charge since a Sept. 19 coroner’s inquest before Justice of the Peace Robert E. Roberts.
The victim, Lottie Lou Honeycutt, was shot in the chest about 2 a.m. Sept. 15 in the couple’s bedroom in the rear of the Wayside Inn, a tavern she operated at 3711 Kings Road.
The defendant told investigators he had accidentally shot his wife when he picked up her .45-calibre revolver to clean it and the gun discharged.
• Displays by member groups of the Jacksonville Council of the Arts filled the exhibit hall at the Civic Auditorium for Arts Festival Five.
Each of the 46 member organizations set up a booth with displays of posters and literature related to their activities. The booths were staffed by representatives who could answer questions about each association’s interests and contribution to the community.
The Jacksonville Chapter of the American Institute of Architects presented a display of environmental design techniques utilized in buildings designed by local architects. Chairman for the AIA display was George Fisher.
A display of books and library materials available was presented by the Jacksonville Public Library in cooperation with the Friends of the Jacksonville Library Inc. The exhibit was chaired by Harry Brinton, library director.
Jacksonville Historical Society President Harold Clark was chair of an exhibit that displayed a decorated Indian pottery bowl that was found in the Arlington area.
Community television was set up for demonstration at a booth chaired by Fred Rebman. The showing was entitled “See Yourself on Live Television.”
The Junior League of Jacksonville Inc. presented a showing of “Circus Skits” under chairwoman Marjorie Miller. Participants were Betty Jean Baughman, Julia Olive Brooke, Susan Brown, Patsy Ruth Burns, Arden Elarbee, Kate Gibbs, Jean Hadlow, Jane Loomis and Glo Williams.
The works of 16 local artists were exhibited under the joint sponsorship of the Jacksonville Art Museum and the Cummer Gallery of Art.
The artists were Lee Adams, Helen Baker, Charles Brown, Christine Bailey, Marcelle Bear, Mary Ann Bryan, Ruth Burgess, Kathleen David, Joan Hutson, Gail Mead, William E. Parker, Mun Quan, Margaret Rothschild, Virginia Whitner, Ann Williams and Memphis Wood.