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.
• The Kaiser Gypsum Co. announced it would begin before Oct. 1 construction of a gypsum products plant in Jacksonville.
The new facility would be located on the east side of Dames Point across the St. Johns River from Blount Island.
Planned to serve the building industry in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and parts of North Carolina and Tennessee, the plant would have a rated annual capacity of 186 million square feet of gypsum board products and 40,000 tons of plaster, said Claude Harper, vice president and general manager of the Oakland, Calif.-based firm.
“The construction here of a Kaiser Gypsum facility is the successful culmination of efforts on the part of Jacksonville business leaders to attract this industry and the work of Kaiser executives who appreciate the industrial potential of the Southeastern portion of the Atlantic seaboard,” said Robert Feagin, chairman of the Committee of 100 of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Harper made note of the cooperation extended to Kaiser by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Co., the Florida National Bank of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Port Authority, the Duval Board of County Commissioners and the City of Jacksonville.
The cost of the new plant and the exact size of the workforce it would require were not announced, but Harper said initially 100 workers would be needed to operate the plant.
• There were 1,600 parking meters Downtown, with the majority offering 30 minutes of parking for a nickel. Some gave an hour for a nickel and some in peripheral areas offered two hours.
During the first six months of 1963, $61,447 was deposited in the meters. Fines paid at the Traffic Meter Department over the same period totaled $48,878.
Tickets for meter violations were issued by four roving inspectors who worked for the department and also by City police officers. It was noted “the inspectors do nothing but stroll through the downtown area and ticket meter offenders.”
The inspectors had no authority over other parking violations.
Between January and June, 47,338 tickets were reported by the department. The police officers led the inspectors 32,860 to 14,478.
• The Duval County tax assessor was urged to initiate a tax reassessment program as the only solution to the public school financial crisis.
Tax Assessor Ralph Walter was asked for the action in a resolution adopted by the Duval County Board of Public Instruction. The resolution also asked the Duval County Commission to “take all action necessary within the powers granted that body by Florida statutes” to appropriate the funds needed for the reassessment effort.
“State action will not remedy the local troubles. Only when a sound tax structure is provided to render adequate local financial support will Duval’s schools improve. There is no other solution,” said School Board Chairman Charles Johnson Jr.
• A man was charged with robbing a Western Union office that netted him only $6, but could lead to a sentence of life in prison.
Assistant County Solicitor Donald Nichols said the man held up the Western Union office at 510 Hogan St. As it was 1:50 a.m., 10 minutes before the office closed, only one employee, night manager David Warner, was in the office. Nichols said the robber had been in the office several times saying he was expecting a money order. The last time he entered, Nichols said, the man pointed a pistol designed for blanks only at Warner and then scooped the cash out of a drawer.
Warner was on the telephone at the time and told a customer on the line he was being robbed. The customer hung up and called police.
The bandit fled on foot with six $1 bills, said Nichols.
City Police Lt. G.R. Branch arrived at the scene a few minutes after the robbery and had the gunman’s description broadcast on the police radio.
Patrolmen L.C. Chavez and R.B. Lauramore stopped the suspect, who was wearing a flowered sport shirt, at the corner of Broad and Beaver streets.
They said they found a revolver in one of the man’s pockets and six $1 bills in another pocket. They also said Warner picked the suspect out of a lineup at 2:45 a.m.
The man was held in the County jail pending trial in Municipal Court. The maximum penalty for armed robbery was life imprisonment.
• The Rotary Club of Jacksonville invited Charles Yates, vice president of finance for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co. and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Co., to come to Jacksonville from Atlanta to address the group at the Mayflower Hotel.
Yates won the British Amateur Championship in 1938 and was a member of the U.S. Walker Cup Team from 1936-38. His remarks were a combination of anecdotes about golf and golfers and his opinion that two factors determined success in sports and in life: concentration and timing.
He also offered some advice to the Rotarians. “Don’t do it the hard way and don’t run roughshod over folks. Have confidence, but realize you aren’t unbeatable,” Yates said.