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| Sunrise Professional Building 1966 State of Florida Archives/Erickson, Roy |
Local and national front-page and section news in 1966 was dominated by the Vietnam conflict. Other news of that year often defined what many of us remember of the decade. Stories from the Fort Lauderdale News include a few national topics that draw parallels to those of 2020-2023. If the headline didn’t offer sufficient details, context or additional information was inserted.
* Social Security taxes rise, but cuts in other areas save about a third
* Fashion watchers predict 1966 will be the year of the “Press Up Bosom” in women’s clothing, i.e., spillage (a few Fort Lauderdale Mai Kai staffers will remember using socks to acquire that look).
* Florida Attorney General Earl Faircloth, a Fort Lauderdale resident, to seek re-election
* High grocery costs blamed on the war (Vietnam). Labor shortages and labor costs also a problem. Beef and bacon prices particularly high.
* Denver-based food chain agrees to lower prices after members of Housewives for Lower Prices (HLFP) threaten boycott. Other stores ramp up grocery specials and discounts to avoid boycotts. (Where are they now?)
* Department of Defense defends not calling the Vietnam conflict a war. To declare it a war would add a new psychological element to the international situation since war in this century’s declarations of war have come to imply dedication to the total destruction of the many.
* 18,000 additional troops to be sent to Vietnam in July, bringing total to about 285,000 men.
* Severe cold temperatures to hit Fort Lauderdale; expect a dip into the 30s as “one of the worst winter onslaughts of the century” hits parts of the nation.
* Winn Dixie Kwik Chek reminds people in an advertisement about their “Man in the Red Coat” who is happy to advise on cooking problems (he’s in the meat section).
* Merger of Mackey Airlines and Eastern Airlines approved (Mackey was based at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport at the time).
* Sing Out 66 comes to War Memorial with a cast of 130. Sponsored by Moral Rearmament (a spiritual group).
* Boy Scout Jamboree brings 1,500 scouts to Holiday Park for two-night sleep over.
* Fort Lauderdale building permits down from previous year
* Pool closed at Swimming Hall of Fame “pier” because of permitting issues related to safety
* Traffic backed up from 17th Street bridge to beach due to electrical problem (bridge switches out)
* Heavy rainstorm (April) causes deluge of traffic accidents; worse around Fiesta Way and E. Las Olas Boulevard where there was a drag race.
* Artificial heart may be ready for use in one month, says surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey from Tulane University in New Orleans.
* Tour plan combining air and see routes to link Port Everglades, New York and Europe.
* Private schools praised; will stay viable if able to rekindle public’s interest
* Broward teacher shortage looms
* Five Florida State Attorney candidates don’t know what the job pays
* Nation’s city riots blamed on wretched life
* Upsurge in U.S. crime puzzles Europeans
* $2 bill to face end alone
* Space chief sees 1968 as year of a moon landing
* National debt reaches nearly $330 billion
* Mickey Rooney takes sixth wife (they lived in Fort Lauderdale for awhile)
* One of largest bookmaking operations ($6000 a day) in Broward shut down in Fort Lauderdale at SW 52 Street.
* Early (Oct 15th) winter storm brings high winds and flooding to U.S. West and Midwest. Temps in Denver 2 degrees below record.
* Loopholes and the land boom: Florida in its second land boom of the century; evolved since the 1950s (first boom 1910-1926)
* Claude Kirk to campaign in Fort Lauderdale (October)
* Three newspapers endorse Robert High for governor, all critical of Kirk (who later served as governor for one term)
* Beautification group forms to improve run down look of Wilton Manors
* 1966 – 5 – 0 year of the Gator (U of F)
* Porky’s Hideaway sues (Wilma Baines, wife of Porky, filed the suit) to restore closing hours to 4 am. Porky’s paid Oakland Park $1000 since its 1957 opening to be able to serve until 4 am.
* Judge Richard M. Sauls replies to Porky’s: “Selling booze is not a right.”
* Old Fort Lauderdale High School property back on the market for $1.95 million
* Plan to build bridge over Middle River in Fort Lauderdale at 19th and 21st streets nixed
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, 1966:
Jan. 2, 1966
Jan.30, 1966
Feb. 6, 1966
March 3, 1966
April 10, 1966
April 17, 1966
May 1, 1966
June 12, 1966
July 10, 1966
Aug. 17, 1966
Sept. 11, 1966
Oct. 16, 1966
Nov. 16, 1966
Dec. 15, 1966
Tags: Fort Lauderdale in the 1960s, Fort Lauderdale history
