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.
• A port authority for Jacksonville moved a step closer to reality when state Sen. John Mathews introduced and passed a Senate bill creating the authority.
The bill would create a seven-member body to take over the Jacksonville Municipal Docks and Terminals and county-owned Blount Island. The City would be paid $1.5 million for the docks, the amount of outstanding debt on the facility.
The authority would have the power to provide access to Blount Island by building a toll highway, bridges or tunnels. Its purpose would be to develop shipping facilities and it would be authorized to apply for status as a free port for foreign commerce.
• The Jacksonville Junior Chamber of Commerce convened at Beauclerc Country Club for the organization’s 43rd annual installation of officers.
Calvin Roche was installed as president of the Jaycees for 1963-64. Others installed were Don Davis, first vice president; Tony Bates, second vice president; Jake Godbold, third vice president; Leo Adams, fourth vice president; and Charles Crews, treasurer.
• Duval County’s population exceeded the 500,000 mark, making it one of the fastest growing communities in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
U.S. Rep Charles Bennett of Jacksonville predicted the announcement would have “quite an impact on the area.”
Bennett said the growth rate would aid the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce and local officials bring industry into the area to boost the economy and improve the county’s employment rate.
• A number of Jacksonville artists donated paintings to Community Television Inc. in support of the station’s annual fundraising auction.
Artists represented in the auction included Lee Adams, Marcelle Bear, Charles Brown, Ruth Burgess, Gertrude Coble, Kathleen David, Joseph Dodge, Gretchen Ebersol, Joan Hudson, Lucille Martin and Memphis Wood.
• Two Jacksonville physicians were elected to leadership positions in the 4,800-member Florida Medical Association at the organization’s annual meeting at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood.
Dr. Samuel Day of 4444 McGirts Blvd. was named president-elect and Dr. Floyd Hurt of 3305 St. Johns Ave. was elected secretary-treasurer. Both would take office in May 1964.
In a resolution adopted at the closing session, the association called on the public to quit smoking cigarettes.
“The preponderance of evidence indicates that cigarette smoking is strongly implicated in the genesis of lung cancer, chronic bronchitis and emphysema,” the resolution stated.
• J. Frank Dame, president of Jones Business College, announced the business school would move into the Riverton Towers apartment building in Arlington for the fall term starting Sept. 10.
Dame said the ground floor would be used for classrooms and offices and upper floors would be leased for student housing.
He also said a new name, Jones College, would be adopted to reflect the expanded program of business education. Courses for a Bachelor of Arts in business administration had been added to the curriculum.
Majors were offered in management, accounting, medical secretary, legal secretary, secretarial science, machine automation and court reporting.
Jones Business College was founded in Jacksonville in 1918 by Mrs. McDonald Jones. It was chartered as a nonprofit corporation in 1956 by her son, Jack Jones, who was the college’s board chairman in 1963.
In June 1953, a division of the college was established in Orlando. In October 1962, The Walsh School in Miami was acquired and converted to the Miami division. In May 1963, the three divisions had a combined enrollment of more than 1,100 students.
• Sarah Thelma Luckie was held for grand jury action on a charge of homicide stemming from the fatal shooting of a Jacksonville minister with whom Luckie testified she was having a love affair.
She was the final witness called into the April 8 shooting of Rev. George E. Hodges near the bedroom of the Luckie residence.
Justice of the Peace Jesse H. Leigh, with the six-member coroner’s jury concurring, ruled there was probable cause to hold the 40-year-old Luckie.
Luckie’s appearance on the witness stand was the culmination of an examination by State Attorney William Hallowes.
Previous questioning by Hallowes was interrupted when Luckie’s 62-year-old husband collapsed in the hearing room from an apparent heart attack and had to be taken to the hospital.
• U.S. Rep. Charles Bennett of Jacksonville wrote Secretary of the Army Cyrus Vance to submit his resignation as an honorary reserve captain.
Bennett said his action was prompted by agitation over “conflict of interest” reports questioning whether a member of Congress could properly hold a reserve commission in any branch of the armed forces.
The question arose from a resolution offered by U.S. Sens. Barry Goldwater, a Republican from Arizona, and Strom Thurmond, a Democrat from South Carolina, both reserve generals.
Bennett said he was tendering his resignation even though as an honorary reserve officer he did not draw any drill pay and did not have the privilege of advancing in rank nor of receiving any retirement benefits.
• The Luggage Shop Inc. moved into new quarters Downtown at Laura and Monroe streets. The new store had 2,800 square feet of shopping and display areas and eight display windows on the outside. Store owner Leonard Fink had installed wall-to-wall carpet on the inside and cove lighting inside the store.
The store designer was George Wenstra of Memphis, Tenn., and the architects were Kemp, Bunch and Jackson of Jacksonville.
• Former Jacksonville Mayor C. Frank Whitehead, 70, was charged with submitting false statements to the Federal Housing Authority for the purpose of obtaining homebuilding loan insurance.
Whitehead, who served as mayor from 1945-49, was named in a conspiracy indictment returned May 8 by a Miami federal grand jury.
Also named in the indictment were two Jacksonville real estate companies, Best For Less Homes Inc. and House Sales Inc., other present or former employees of both companies and Crosby Dawkins, vice president of both companies.
It was charged that those named deliberately persuaded potential home buyers or homebuilders to misrepresent facts in their applications and claimed to be displaced, when they were not.
All were released after surrendering to U.S. marshals and each posting bonds of $1,000.
• Jerry Garmanian and Inell Brooks successfully defended their singles championships at the annual City Table Tennis Tournament at the Jewish Center.
Garmanian, the defending men’s singles champion, defeated Bob Hassol. After losing the first set 15-21, Garmanian won the next two sets 21-18 and 21-17.
Brooks secured her third consecutive women’s singles championship by defeating the 1963 junior champion, Pat Watson, 21-19, 21-19, 21-19.