Leon High School
Tallahassee, Florida
Class of 1959
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June 1956 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Jun 2 - Yugoslav president Tito visits Moscow
Jun 4 - Speech by Khrushchev blasting Stalin made public
Jun 5 - Fed court rules racial segregation on Montgomery buses illegal
Jun 5 - "Milton Berle Show," last airs on NBC-TV
Jun 15 - John Lennon (15) & Paul McCartney (13) meet for the 1st time as
Lennon's rock group Quarrymen perform at a church dinner
Jun 16 - 56th US Golf Open: Cary Middlecoff shoots 281 at Oak Hill CC
Jun 17 - Golda Meir begins her term as Israel's foreign minister
Jun 18 - Last of foreign troops leaves Egypt
Jun 19 - Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin end partnership after 16 films
Jun 20 - At Detroit's Briggs Stadium, Mickey Mantle hits 2 Billy Hoeft
pitches into right center field bleachers (no else hits 1 there)
Jun 21 - German DR frees almost 19,000 prisoners
Jun 23 - "Jimmy Durante Show," last airs on NBC-TV
Jun 23 - "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvous peaks at #8
Jun 23 - Gamal Abdel Nasser elected president of Egypt
Jun 24 - "Steve Allen Show," returns on NBC-TV
Jun 29 - Federal interstate highway system act signed
Jun 30 - United DC-7 & TWA collide over Grand Canyon killing 128
COUNTDOWN TO GRADUATION - JUNE/JULY 1956
The only other event that happened in the summer of '56 was the start of the Hungarian Revolution. It got fired up in 1956 and didn't really end until the fall of Communism in 1989. That's a long time to wait for success. I remember how I felt when the Berlin Wall fell, but I'm sure that was nothing compared to these people who had lived for more than 40 years trying to get out from under Communism.
Well, that's the Summer of '56! Hope it reminded you of some fond memories. I'll be back in August (or maybe not until September) with more chatter. If you have ANYTHING to contribute, PLEASE SEND IT ON!
The Summer of '56
Here we are in July, and I haven't done my June Countdown entry yet! What to do? ... How about .... we do a Summer of '56 entry, to include both June and July! What were you doing during your first High-School Summer? Me? ... I was having fun, living from day to day, with no concern about the future beyond what I was going to do this afternoon. Pretty much like retirement ... hahaha :) And, after reading thru the list of headlines above, it seems I wasn't paying much attention to what was going on beyond the end of my nose, either. Suez Crisis? Sinking of the Andrea Doria? Who knew? My biggest concern was keeping a dollar's worth of gas in my car (enough to go a hundred miles or so).
That list of hit songs is a different story - I certainly recognize most of them. It certainly looks like it was a period of transition, with about half of the songs being those like what my parents enjoyed in the 1940s and the other half representing the beginnings of Rock N' Roll. Did you notice who was on the cover of that Song Hits magazine above - Mario Lanza! The big heart throb of the time ... even though Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel was at the top of the charts, he sure didn't rate a magazine cover ... haha.
I think the summer of '56 is when I went to work at a gas station on South Monroe Street for a few months. The owner taught me everything I didn't need to know about how not to run a business, how to cheat your customers, and how to make easy money off of your friends. He was drunk most of the time and only came by now and then to grab some cash out of the register. I stayed around because I was learning a little more about cars, I could fill my tank anytime for free (and sometimes for friends' cars, if the owner stayed away long enough), and he paid me to sit around all day and just pump some gas now and then. I learned how to change oil, lubricate cars, and change tires, so I guess it wasn't completely wasted. Thankfully, I figured out that all that lying and cheating wasn't standard-operating-procedure for all businesses, so I was able to get some good out of the experience and later make use of some of the better things I learned.
Come to think of it, I guess I spent most of my teenage years on South Monroe. Although I'd occasionally wander "up North" to visit Mutt & Jeff's Drive-In or to go skating at the Armory, the majority of my time was spent cruising South Monroe, the Corral Drive-In, the Dixieland, and later, even an occasional trip down to the Wagon Wheel. I remember John Manthey Oldsmobile had a great lot of used cars, where we could wander around and look at all kinds of cars and even drive some now and then. One strong memory of South Monroe was the fantastic hamburgers we got at Thompson's Hamburgers. As I recall, they were 35 cents and you had no options, like medium/well-done, all the way, cheese, or whatever. I think you just ordered the number you wanted and they were all fixed the same. If you wanted extras, you added them yourself. I've tasted a bunch of burgers since then, many that cost a whole lot more, but I don't think I've ever tasted one better.
I guess I might lose the jukebox soon. During the summer, there of course wasn't any singing around the jukebox in the Leon cafeteria. Then, when we return to our Sophomore year in the Fall, I'll be spending all my lunch hours out in my car, so I don't think I'll have much more to say about the Leon jukebox anymore.
If anyone wants to send me any words about the jukebox in the future, I'll be glad to insert them.
BTW, speaking of contributions from others, I actually got one last month -- from Bob Smith, Class of '56. He sent me an email from his sister, Theresa Smith, Class of '61, where she talks about that "nice Bob Hoffman" and a rather funny experience we had. That didn't happen until my Senior year however, so I'll postpone the discussion on it until then. Think I'll remember that long? ... time will tell ...
To me, one of the biggies this summer was when Eisenhower signed the Interstate Highway System Act (June 29th). You can read the official transcript at Transcript of National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956). Did you know the government allocated about $2 billion per year for 13 years? Wow! Lots of money in those days. I recall my first real cross-country trip in 1962, when the only really big highways I saw were in California and Texas. Not many Interstate Highways were obvious at that time. Where would we be in the current day, if we didn't have those interstates? I guess we'd be moving alot slower ... haha. I've left that 1956 Corvette rolling across the bottom of this textbox, as a reminder of the king of the highways, Route 66! Remember Buzz and Tod zooming across the country in their '56 Corvette? Now, there was a real TV show - wonder why we don't ever see any reruns of it? Click the route 66 Corvette on the left to read more about the TV show, or the ROUTE 66 sign for some great photos.
July 1956 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Jul 1 - Elvis Presley wearing a tuxedo appears on The Steve Allen Show
Jul 2 - Elvis Presley records "Hound Dog" & "Don't Be Cruel"
Jul 4 - US most intense rain fall (1.23" in 1 minute) at Unionville Maryland
Jul 6 - Indians' Jim Busby hits a grand slam in two consecutive at bats
Jul 9 - Dick Clark's 1st appearance as host of American Bandstand
Jul 16 - Detroit Tigers & Briggs Stadium sold for then record $5.5 million
Jul 16 - Last Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus under a canvas tent
Jul 16 - King Faisal of Iraq begins visit to England
Jul 19 - US refuse to lend Egypt money to build Aswan Dam
Jul 20 - Great Britain refuses to lend Egypt money to build Aswan Dam
Jul 23 - Bell X-2 sets world aircraft speed record of 3,050 kph
Jul 25 - Italian liner Andrea Doria sank after colliding with Stockholm
Jul 25 - Jordan attacks UN Palestine force
Jul 26 - Egypt seizes Suez Canal
Jul 29 - Jacques Cousteau's Calypso anchors in 7,500 m (record)
Jul 30 - US motto "In God We Trust" authorized
Top 10 Hits of June 1956
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. Heartbreak Hotel/I Was The One - Elvis Presley
2. Moonglow And Theme From "Picnic" - Morris Stoloff
3. Hot Diggety/Juke Box Baby - Perry Como
4. Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
5. Moonglow And Theme From "Picnic" - George Cates
6. I'm In Love Again/My Blue Heaven - Fats Domino
7. Ivory Tower - Cathy Carr
8. Standing On The Corner/My Little Angel - Four Lads
9. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
10. The Magic Touch - Platters
US R&B chart toppers this month:
I'm In Love Again - Fats Domino
US Country chart toppers this month:
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
Crazy Arms - Ray Price
Top 10 Hits of July 1956
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
2. Moonglow And Theme From "Picnic" - Morris Stoloff
3. I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
4. Standing On The Corner/My Little Angel - Four Lads
5. I'm In Love Again/My Blue Heaven - Fats Domino
6. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You/My Baby Left Me - Elvis Presley
7. More/Glendora - Perry Como
8. Heartbreak Hotel/I Was The One - Elvis Presley
9. Ivory Tower - Cathy Carr
10. On The Street Where You Live - Vic Damone
US R&B chart toppers this month:
I'm In Love Again - Fats Domino
Fever - Little Willie John
Treasure Of Love - Clyde McPhatter
US Country chart toppers this month:
Crazy Arms - Ray Price
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - Elvis Presley
I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash
Click any photo for details on the 1956 Suez Crisis or the sinking of the Andrea Doria
While perusing the search results on "June 1956", I bumped into some interesting websites of Class of '56 people having their 50th reunion. I thought some of their ideas might be worthwhile to consider, so I've included links to their sites behind those photos on the left and right.
One thing that seems to be popular is a tour of the old school. We came up with that idea on our own, but seems like everyone is doing it. I certainly hope that can be arranged - I'd really be interested in seeing how the old school looks. Assuming, that it, that I'm still able to climb stairs in 2009 -- haha.
