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 1963. The items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives by Staff Writer Max Marbut.
• Increased personnel, higher salaries and organizational changes were approved for the Duval County Patrol by the Duval County Legislative Delegation.
The permissible number of patrolmen would be increased from 141 to 175. Each patrolman would receive a monthly pay increase of $25 and the annual salary of the chief of patrol would be increased from $8,300 to $10,000.
The delegation also agreed to provide a third judge for the Criminal Court of Record, increase the salary of the County solicitor and give the solicitor additional office assistance.
State Sen. John E. Mathews said the request from justices of the peace for a higher maximum salary figure and for increased trial jurisdiction had been denied.
• President John F. Kennedy’s personal yacht, the Honey Fitz, stopped for 45 minutes at Mayport Naval Station so the vessel’s captain, Navy Cmdr. Wallace E. Slye, could be treated for a minor throat infection.
Slye radioed the station as he approached the St. Johns River from the Intracoastal Waterway. He was treated by a physician in the Mayport dispensary.
The yacht was on the way to Washington, D.C., from Palm Beach and did not carry any of the president’s official party, said Mayport Operations Office Cmdr. George Peebles. He said the yacht had made several stops at Mayport, mostly for refueling.
• Attorney Franklin Reinstine was elected chairman of the Duval County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Also chosen to serve for 1963-64 were John H. McCormack Jr., first vice chairman; W.D. Loughridge, second vice chairman; Mrs. Robert H. Paul III, secretary; and Mal Haughton III, treasurer.
Reinstine presented outgoing Chairman Jacob Bryan III with a plaque of appreciation from the chapter.
• A bill designed to take “B-girls” out of bottle clubs was introduced in the Legislature by State Sen. John E. Mathews of Jacksonville.
The legislation was filed at the request of Duval County Sheriff Dale Carson, who told Mathews it would “be of great help” to his department in limiting the activities of bottle clubs and give it some control over “B-girl” activities at establishments that did not hold beverage licenses.
Bottle clubs were late-night venues that were not licensed to sell alcoholic beverages, but which permitted patrons to bring their own alcohol and charge for admission, setups and other services.
The bill would prohibit employment by a bottle club of “any agent, hostess or entertainer commonly known as a B-girl to procure or encourage any customer to purchase for a B-girl any drink, alcoholic or not.”
A fine of up to $1,000, a jail sentence of up to six months, or both, could be applied to any person convicted of violating the law.
A corporation convicted under the law could be fined up to $1,000.
Carson said the legislation would not put any more restriction on operation of a bottle club than it did on licensed premises. He said it would help his office to “try and maintain a healthy moral climate for the entire community” and he said it would be in the best public interest to attempt to close any loopholes in the law.
• Jacksonville Beach again was in the golf business after buying back the 18-hole course it had sold to Holiday Country Club Inc.
After a hearing March 28, Circuit Judge John M. McNatt ordered foreclosure of the mortgage and public sale of the golf course property located off Penman Road.
The City made the only bid – $206,606 – at a mortgage foreclosure sale at the County Courthouse.
McNatt reserved his ruling, upon further hearings, on the status of a separate 43-acre tract deeded in 1960 by the City to Holiday Country Cub Inc. The City wanted title to the tract returned for the failure of the corporation to develop a clubhouse on the property as
agreed.
• Mrs. W.S. Jennings, described as “one of Florida’s best-loved public figures” and “the mother of forestry,” died at her home at 1651 Main St. after a long illness. Her death came two days before her 91st birthday.
Jennings was the first lady of Florida from 1901-05 when her late husband, William Sherman Jennings, served as governor.
Born May Austin Mann, she was the daughter of Austin Shuey Mann, a lawyer who was known as “the father of good roads” in Florida.
• Mrs. Thomas B. Christian was elected president of the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library Inc. at the group’s annual business meeting at the George Washington Hotel. She was to succeed Mrs. F.A. Brink, who had served two one-year terms as president of the organization.
• Jacksonville and Duval County had a total of 954 births and 374 deaths during March.
Births included 839 in Jacksonville and 115 outside the city limits. There were 291 deaths in the city and 83 outside the city. Jacksonville had 19 stillbirths and 20 other stillbirths occurred in the rest of the county.
Of the 30 deaths in March caused by violence or accidents, 10 were recorded in the city and 20 outside the city.
Included among the deaths in the city, were three caused by motor vehicle accidents and there were two suicides. One death each was caused by burns, drowning, asphyxiation, and by an accident of unknown origin. The deaths outside the city included five by airplane crashes, four suicides, seven automobile accidents, two by burns, one drowning and one homicide.
The report was provided by Kathleen Barker, director of vital statistics for the Jacksonville City Health Department.
• The Board of County Commissioners, faced with preparing the 1963-64 budget, was faced with cutting requests for funds that could, if approved, force an increase in the real estate tax of as much as $10 per $1,000 in value.
County Auditor E.P. Barweld and the five commissioners had conducted “marathon meetings” since April 5 to study figures submitted by various departments in the County Commission budget and trying to decide what to cut to hold down the tax bill.
The deadline for presenting the budget to the County Budget Commission was May 1. If the usual procedure was followed, the Budget Commission in turn would study the proposals and further cut appropriation requests if the commissioners didn’t do the job first.