Leon High School
Tallahassee, Florida
Class of 1959
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January 1958 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Jan 1 - BOAC Britannia flies London to New York in a record 7hours 57minutes
Jan 1 - European Economic Community (Common Market) starts operation
Jan 1 - Sammy Davis Jr marries Loray White
Jan 3 - Edmund Hillary reaches South Pole overland
Jan 4 - Sputnik 1 reenters atmosphere & burns up
Jan 7 - USSR shrinks army to 300,000
Jan 8 - Cuban revolutionary forces capture Havana
Jan 12 - NCAA adds 2 point conversion to football scoring
Jan 13 - US newspaper "Daily Worker" ceases publication
Jan 29 - Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward wed
Jan 30 - 1st 2-way moving sidewalk in service, Dallas TX
Jan 31 - US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 1
COUNTDOWN TO GRADUATION - JAN-JUN 1958
CONGRATS!
Congratulations to all you Seniors, then and now. Becoming a Senior in 1958 was an accomplishment, as is becoming a Senior in 2008. As they say, old age ain't much fun, but when you consider the alternative, it really ain't so bad, eh? Still looking forward to graduation next year (1959) and the 50th reunion next year (2009). It's sounding like a great reunion is being planned and it'll be fantastic to see old friends again.
I don't know when my next entry here will be - I plan to at least put one together for July-December, but may get antsy and do one when "school starts" again in September. We'll see ... if anybody has any contributions of memories or tall tales, send them on!
February 1958 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Feb 1 - 1st US satellite (Explorer I) launched
Feb 1 - Egypt & Syria announce plans to merge into United Arab Republic Feb 5 - Gamel Abdel Nasser nominated 1st President of United Arab Republic
Feb 6 - Ted Williams signs with Red Sox for $135,000, making him highest paid
Feb 7 - Dodgers officially become the Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc
Feb 14 - Arab Federation of Iraq & Jordan forms
Feb 17 - Comic strip "BC" 1st appears
Feb 19 - Carl Perkins leaves Sun Records for Columbia Records
Feb 20 - Jockey Eddie Arcaro rides his 4,000th winner
Top 10 Hits of Jan 1958
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. April Love - Pat Boone
2. At The Hop - Danny & The Juniors
3. Jailhouse Rock/Treat Me Nice - Elvis Presley
4. Raunchy - Bill Justis
5. You Send Me/Summertime - Sam Cooke
6. Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly
7. Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
8. Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - Jimmie Rodgers
9. Chances Are/The Twelfth Of Never - Johnny Mathis
10. Rock And Roll Music - Chuck Berry
US R&B chart toppers this month:
At The Hop - Danny & The Juniors
Raunchy - Ernie Freeman
Raunchy - Bill Justis
I’ll Come Running Back To You - Sam Cooke
US Country chart toppers this month:
The Story Of My Life - Marty Robbins
Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
March 1958 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Mar 2 - 1st surface crossing of Antarctic continent completed in 99 days Mar 2 - Yemen announces it will join the United Arab Republic
Mar 3 - Nuri ash Said becomes premier of Iraq
Mar 5 - Explorer 2 fails to reach Earth orbit
Mar 11 - Charles Van Doren finally loses on TV game show "21"
Mar 14 - RIAA (Recording Industry Association of American)is created and certifies 1st gold record (Perry Como's Catch A Falling Star)
Mar 14 - South Africa government disallows ANC
Mar 14 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Mar 14 - USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
Mar 20 - 50" snow across the Mason-Dixon line
Mar 22 - Liz Taylor's 3rd divorce (Mike Todd)
Mar 24 - Elvis Presley joins the army (serial number 53310761)
Mar 25 - Sugar Ray Robinson is 1st boxing champion to win 5 times
Mar 25 - West German parliament desires German atomic weapons
Mar 26 - 30th Academy Awards-"Bridge on the River Kwai", Alec Guinness & Joanne Woodward win
Mar 26 - US Army launches third successful satellite, "Explorer III"
Mar 27 - CBS Labs announce new stereophonic records
Mar 27 - Havana Hilton opens
Mar 27 - Nikita Khrushchev Soviet premier & 1st Sec'y of Communist Party Mar 31 - USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests, & urges US & Britain to do same
Top 10 Hits of Feb-Mar 1958
(Not Available)
We Are Seniors!
Lots happened in January through June of our Junior year, but the real biggie is the fact that in June we became Seniors! Now some may say that you're not a Senior until you start back in the Fall, but I'd say that as soon as you finish your Junior year, you automatically become a Senior.
Seems like we've been in school our entire lives. Looking forward to being out on our own, able to decide what we want to do and when. Going to work at a full-time job and making some real money. Maybe moving out of our parents' house into a place of our own. My! my! The possibilities are limitless! Also a little bit daunting ... what's ahead? Will we find a good career? Will we get married and have kids? But ... I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now it's vacation, we're heading for our Senior year, and we've got the whole Summer to enjoy!
Looking back on January through June, we can recall a couple of highlights. Read on ...
Top 10 Hits of Apr 1958
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. Tequila - Champs
2. Lollipop - Chordettes
3. Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry
4. It’s Too Soon To Know - Pat Boone
5. Who’s Sorry Now - Connie Francis
6. Don’t/ I Beg Of You - Elvis Presley
7. Sail Along Silvery Moon/Raunchy - Billy Vaughn
8. Dinner With Drac - John Zacherle
9. Catch A Falling Star/Magic Moments - Perry Como
10. Sugartime - McGuire Sisters
US R&B chart toppers this month:
Tequila - Champs
Twilight Time - Platters
US Country chart toppers this month:
Ballad Of A Teenage Queen - Johnny Cash
Oh Lonesome Me - Don Gibson
Barbara Johnson shot a picture of snow falling on her 1954 Kaiser at 319 Meadowbrook Lane.
My Spring Break 1958
So, there's a story I've been itching to retell. I'm not really sure if it happened Spring Break of 1958 or 1959 (did we call it Spring Break or just Easter Holidays? ... I don't recall). Anybody recognize the photos to the right? The top is the cottages and bottom is the pier at Wilson's Cottages at Panacea. Many a day/night we hung out around there, usually with a beer in our hand and sunburn on our back.
Well, I think we'd been down at Wilson's and were headed back up toward the Panacea bridge. The reason I think it was Spring 1958 is because my brother, Dick, was with us and he graduated in '58. Anyway, it was Dick, me, and Don Updegraff, rolling down the road in my 1956 Ford (featured below the Wilson's photos). I had fixed my exhaust pipes so that we could easily yank them out of the mufflers, let the mufflers hang down, and be running with straight pipes. Sounded great and seemed to run faster that way :)
Here we are, blasting down the highway, me driving, when Dick informs me that I'm too drunk to drive. Being the younger brother, I surrendered the wheel to him. So, here we are blasting down the highway, minding our own business, when a 1955 Oldsmobile pulls up next to us. They don't just pass, but ride alongside bouncing their front end. So, what's a guy to do? Dick put the petal to the metal and off we go, side by side.
Do you recall that looong curve that you come around, then there's a right turn out to Alligator Point? Well, right at that intersection, there were about a half-dozen Sheriff and FHP cars sitting around, waiting for some idiots to come roaring by. And we did, at about 120 miles per hour! Made their day!
Before long, we're pulled up by the side of the road (somewhere up near the bridge) and Dick is showing his credentials to the officer. I'm on the right side passenger seat, trying very hard not to lose my lunch ... seems I'd had more beer than I could keep down. Eventually, despite Don's warnings to keep swallowing, I'm over there heaving away, which doesn't do much to impress the officer. Soon, we're heading down to the local jail, where Dick gets on the phone to my Dad to beg for the $150 bail money. I don't recall much after that, but Dad must have come through, because I don't recall Dick going to jail (that time).
Headlines and Musical Charts
So this is about the time I talk about what's in the headlines and charts above. Looking through the charts, I notice several songs that I distinctly recall hearing on our cafeteria jukebox - like Raunchy and Do You Wanna Dance?. And I find that strange, since I don't think I ate in the cafeteria much after I was old enough to drive. Whatever the reason, I definitely recall listening to those, and beating the table to the rhythm of both. And notice that Elvis had songs on the charts every month, even though he went into the Army in March.
One more peculiarity. I see in the headlines of May and June, some announcements about the accomplishments of a singing group called Dicky Doo & The Dont's. I don't recall ever hearing of this group, don't see them on the charts, so can't help wondering why the creator of that headline list thaught they were so important. One of life's mysteries, I guess.
Nuclear Testing, Sputnik, Little Rock
If you read my previous Countdown entry, you'll recognize that title. I noticed that these were all three hot topics in late 1957 -- and here they are again in 1958. Lots of lines about nuclear tests and the banning thereof, Sputnik and the American satellite efforts that followed, Little Rock and it's repurcussions, and a lot of activity in the Middle East. All of this going on and my biggest concerns were getting through the 11th grade, keeping gas in my car, enjoying dating and hanging out with friends, and working enough to support all these habits.
While creating these calendars, I noticed an interesting factoid.
To see what it is, move your mouse over the months of March through June!
April 1958 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Apr 2 - National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA
Apr 2 - Wind speed reaches 450 kph in tornado, Wichita Falls, TX
Apr 3 - Fidel Castro's rebels attacked Havana
Apr 4 - 1st march against nuclear weapons (Aldermaston England)
Apr 6 - Arnold Palmer wins 1st major golf tournament-the Masters
Apr 13 - 12th Tony Awards: Sunrise at Campobello & Music Man win
Apr 14 - Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere
Apr 15 - 10th Emmy Awards: Gunsmoke, Robert Young & Jane Wyatt
Apr 15 - 1st baseball game in Calif, SF Giants beat LA Dodgers, 8-0
Apr 17 - Brussel's (Belgium) World Fair opens
Apr 18 - NL single-game record of 78,682, Giants - Dodgers 6-5, in LA
Apr 19 - Boston Marathon won by Franjo Mihalic of Yugoslavia in 2:25:54 Apr 23 - Gil Hodges hits 300th HR & Pee Wee Reese plays 2,000th game
Apr 28 - Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
Apr 28 - Vice Pres Richard Nixon begins goodwill tour of Latin America
Apr 30 - Ted Williams 10th major league player with 1,000 extra-base hits
May 1958 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
May 3 - 84th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela on Tim Tam wins in 2:05 May 3 - WINS suspends Alan Freed for causing a riot in Boston, he quits May 5 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
May 7 - Major Howard Johnson, USAF, sets aircraft altitude record in F-104 (Lockheed Starfighter), 27,810 meters
May 8 - Pres Eisenhower orders National Guard out of Central HS, Little Rock
May 8 - VP Nixon is shoved, stoned, booed & spat on by protesters in Peru May 12 - "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" by Dicky Doo & The Dont's #40 May 13 - Jordan & Iraq form the Arab Federation
May 13 - Rioters attack US Vice President Nixon in Venezuala
May 13 - Stan Musial, is 8th to get 3,000 hits
May 15 - USSR launches Sputnik III
May 16 - Walter Irwin flies 2,259 KPH in F-104A Starfighter
May 17 - 84th Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela on Tim Tam wins in 1:57.2
May 19 - US & Canada form North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)
May 23 - Mao Tse Tung starts "Great leap forward" movement in China
May 24 - Pres Batista opens offensive against Fidel Castro's rebellion
May 27 - Ernest Green & 600 whites graduate at Little Rock Central HS
May 31 - Dick Dale invents "surf music" with "Let's Go Trippin"
May 31 - US performs nuclear test at Bikini Island (atmospheric tests)
June 1958 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Jun 1 - Charles de Gaulle becomes premier of France
Jun 2 - Alan Freed joins WABC (NYC) radio
Jun 6 - Premier Charles de Gaulle says Algeria will always be French
Jun 7 - 90th Belmont: Pete Anderson aboard Cavan wins in 2:30.2
Jun 9 - "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley hits #1
Jun 11 - UN Security council sends observers to Lebanon
Jun 12 - "Make Me Laugh," TV Game Show; last airs on ABC-TV
Jun 13 - Frank Zappa graduates from Antelope Valley HS in Lancaster Ca Jun 14 - Nelson Mandela weds Winnie Madikizela
Jun 16 - "Flip Top Box" by Dicky Doo & The Don'ts hits #46
Jun 23 - Dutch Reformed Church accepts women ministers
Jun 23 - Fed judge rules race separation to end in 2 years in Little Rock
Jun 26 - Vanguard SLV-2 launched for Earth orbit (failed)
Jun 27 - Harry Burrell flies KC-135 record (5:27:42.8) NY to London
Jun 29 - Brazil beats Sweden 5-2 in soccer's 6th World Cup at Stockholm
Top 10 Hits of May 1958
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. Witch Doctor - David Seville
2. Wear My Ring Around your Neck - Elvis Presley
3. Twilight Time - Platters
4. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Laurie London
5. Tequila - Champs
6. Book Of Love - Monotones
7. Believe What You Say/My Bucket's Got A Hole In It - Ricky Nelson
8. A Wonderful Time Up There/It's Too Soon To Know - Pat Boone
9. All I Have To Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers
10. Lollipop - Chordettes
US R&B chart toppers this month:
Wear My Ring Around your Neck - Elvis Presley
All I Have To Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers
Witch Doctor - David Seville
US Country chart toppers this month:
Oh Lonesome Me - Don Gibson
Just Married - Marty Robbins
Top 10 Hits of Jun 1958
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. All I Have To Do Is Dream/Claudette - Everly Brothers
2. Witch Doctor - David Seville
3. Wear My Ring Around Your Neck - Elvis Presley
4. Twilight Time - Platters
5. Looking Back/Do I Like It? - Nat King Cole
6. Big Man - Four Preps
7. Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
8. Secretly/Make Me A Miracle - Jimmie Rodgers
9. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Laurie London
10. Do You Want To Dance - Bobby Freeman
US R&B chart toppers this month:
Witch Doctor - David Seville
Yakety Yak - Coasters
What Am I Living For? - Chuck Willis
US Country chart toppers this month:
All I Have To Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers
Guess Things Happen That Way - Johnny Cash
Big Snowstorm of 1958
I, personally, don't remember the big snowstorm of 1958, but apparently some do, as it's 50th anniversary was highlighted in the Tallahassee Democrat on Feb 7, 2008. According to the article, the night of February 12, 1958, snow began falling in Tallahassee and by the morning of Feb. 13th, a total of 2.8 inches had fallen - the most snow to ever fall in Tallahassee. Check out the photos below. CLICK ANY TO ENLARGE Click the Democrat link above for more details on these photos, and a few more photos of other Tallahassee snowstorms.
Children build a snowman at the former Tallahassee Fire Department Station on East Sixth Avenue.
Mary Call Collins (Proctor) and her sister Darby build a snowman on the lawn of the Governor's Mansion.
State workers have a snowball fight outside the capitol.
Linda Gormley reacts to beating Faye Dunaway in the run-off election for May Queen. The run-off was held the morning of Feb. 12, 1958.
Nighttime shot of the corner of Adams Street and Park Avenue, in front of then-City Hall (now the Doubletree Hotel), looking toward the NW corner toward the First Presbyterian Church.
FSU students improvise a sled from palm fronds in front of Bryant Hall.
The Florida Governor's Mansion lawn is covered in snow.
FSU students build a snowman.
Snow covers the lawn of Jean Thompson's home at 777 Miccosukee Road, next door to Artistic Flowers.
Snow covers the grounds of FSU's Westcott Hall.
FSU students stroll in front of the library.
