Moving Along

A local issue discussed around this time 50 years ago was the possible development of rapid transit in Dallas. There had already been early plans made for the acquisition of the Cotton Belt rail right-of-way by the Texas Turnpike Authority for a tollway from North Dallas to downtown. Mayor Pro-Tem Elgin B. Robertson suggested that a rapid transit line be considered along with auto traffic lanes in the such a toll road. This was successful in other cities such as Chicago and St. Louis where freeways were built that included rapid transit or commuter rail lines in the medians.

I recall we had a class discussion about this topic in 4202 broached by none other than the redoubtable Father Julius May. While our esteemed teacher opined that Dallas should plan for mass transit, the student consensus seemed to be that rapid transit was not going to be in Dallas’s future because the city too spread out and people here wanted the freedom that comes with driving their cars, and would not use mass transportation. There were a few that believed there would be an eventual need for some kind of mass transportation facility other than the current Dallas Transit bus system, formerly privately owned but by then run by the city.

It is well known that the Dallas North Tollway was completed from just north of downtown to what became LBJ Freeway by the end of the 1960s with no rapid transit included, or planned for the future. This was partly foreseeable in 1962 because the Cotton Belt right-of-way was considerably narrower than those acquired combination freeway-mass transit corridors in the other cities.

Rapid (more or less) transit has come to Dallas nevertheless. By the end of this year it will be possible to ride a light rail train from Rowlett (whose existence few of us were aware of back then) almost to DFW Airport (which was on no one’s radar at the time, though the FAA had expressed its wish that Dallas-Fort Worth should have a regional airport). When you add in the commuter rail projects in Denton County and the Trinity Railway Express it is now s possible to travel to downtown Denton and downtown Fort Worth by steel wheels all the way from many points in Dallas.

We still cherish our automobiles, however, in spite of the traffic jams and gas prices, I for one do not expect that to change, at least during our lifetime. On the latter note regular gasoline in 1962 fluctuated between $0.25 and $0.30 per gallon (it could go lower a price war). According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis inflation calculator, that is between $1.90 and $2.00 in today’s money.

On Saturday, a half-century ago, the Rangers managed to edge Lawton, Oklahoma 18 – 16. Class of ‘63 standouts were Caesar Ricci, catching a 25 yard scoring pass, Richard Jackson, with a run in from the 3 yard line set up by another long completion to Ricci, and a pass to Bill Mokry in the 4^th quarter.

This year Jesuit rolled up 491 yards of offense for a 68 – 6 rout of Sunset. Wow!

NOTE TO READERS:  I may not post next week.  Will be out of the country for a brief vacation.  Will catch up later, if so.

Coming Back

Coach Milt Gaudet only said that the Rangers had no excuses for the 47 - 0 debacle in Corpus Christi.

The next week was different. Coming back from last week’s loss, on Saturday night at Highlander Stadium, Jesuit romped over Mt. Carmel 30 -14. The game was marked by stellar performances from Class of 1963 team members. Bill Mokry caught 5 passes for a total 95 yards and 2 TDs; Richard Jackson rushed for 63 yards scoring once. Bob Neuhoff kicked, ran, and once passed to Mokry, for 3 conversions worth five points.

Fifty years later last Friday, the Rangers cam back from a close loss to Lake Highlands to win over Richardson Pearce 45 - 7. The comeback tradition continues.

As an off- year election was looming, politics, almost as much of an obsession as football in Texas, was much in the news. Republicans, with John Tower having captured Vice-President Lyndon Johnson’s Senate seat the previous year, were hopeful that Jack Cox could beat John Connally for the open gubernatorial seat. Texas was to prove it was still a Democratic Party state, however. The GOP would have to wait for a few more elections.

In 1962, we still elected governors for 2 years at a time. In 2012, Rick Perry is in the middle of a 4 year terms, but an open Senate seat is up, and, of course, the President is seeking re-election. Unlike the ‘60s, the national campaign is ignoring Texas as a foregone conclusion. The news reports today indicate that 7 crucial states are 50 - 50 in the polls with 10 days to go. (Don’t usually write so many numbers in a paragraph, but sports are sports.)

Weather in Dallas was cloudy, but a little warmer than the present. Highs in the low 70s, lows in the 50s.

President Kennedy announced a deal with Khrushchev over the Cuban missiles. Many of the behind the scenes details would not be made public until later, but those in the know breathed easier. The country came back from the brink.

Life went on about the same for most of us.

How about this high-tech weather map?

 

 

Not a Good Weekend.

Well, this weekend wasn’t good for the Jesuit Rangers, now or 50 years ago. Friday, Lake Highlands won 20 - 17 with a record breaking 42 yard field goal with four (4) seconds left in the game. The winning kick came after Jesuit missed a 51 yard FG with 17 seconds on the clock, and Lake Highlands set up the game winner with a 40 yard pass. All in all, it seems to have been a thrilling game.

No so a half-century ago when the Rangers had their derrieres kicked and their collective head handed to them by Corpus Christi Miller: 47 - 0. I recall one of our players then remarking that there is a different brand of football played in Corpus. ‘Nuff said about that.

Today, like the same day was in 1962, is the last day of the State Fair. Big Tex was 10, back then. He made it to 60, and then burnt up, with 2 days to go. Not to worry; he’ll be back – just as big. (Those interested might see the story on my other blog www.bobreagan13.com).

Beneath the surface, the news reported a great deal of activity in Washington was taking place under tight security. "Lights Burn Late in Capital Offices" was the lead headline. The next day, of course, was President Kennedy’s announcement of a naval quarantine of Cuba, citing the presence of Soviet offensive missiles on the island. The Cuban Missile Crisis was under way. Many of the cognoscenti have claimed this was the closest we came to nuclear way with the USSR. I reserve judgment on that, but Secretary of State Dean Rusk’s statement that we were "eyeball to eyeball and the other guy blinked" certain gave a popularity boost to JFK when it was all over.

An interesting recent revelation: It seems like former President Eisenhower told Kennedy that Ike didn’t believe the Soviets would start a nuclear war over a U. S. Invasion of Cuba. That conversation is in a recently released recording of a telephone conversation between the two Presidents. For those interested it is in Listening In: The Secret White House Recordings of John F. Kennedy published 9/25/2012 and includes two audio discs. Ike and JFK’s transcript is on p. 158.

There are some op-ed pieces in today’s (Sunday) Dallas Morning News rehashing theories about what the facts and the spin were regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis from a half-century perspective.

Most of us, me included, were uninterested in politics and foreign affairs at the time. Getting through our senior year, football, and girls, not necessarily in that order, were our concerns. We let leaders in far off capitals ensure we had a senior year to get through.

Red River rivalry still kicking (and passing, and running)

Today is the annual and storied Texas vs. Oklahoma football game at the Cotton Bowl. Rode my bike this morning down the Katy Trail to the American Airlines Center. Even at 7:00 a.m. the Victory Plaza was already being set up for the big screen showing of the game, which as usual was sold out. Lost count of the DART buses poised along the streets supplementing the light rail trains to take fans to Fair Park from the expansive parking lots near the Victory Station. Along the trail, the open-air beer gardens near Routh Street were likewise anticipating a busier than usual Saturday. On my way back while crossing Mockingbird Lane, I had a moment of trepidation when I saw an SUV adorned with red and white flags bearing down on me – wearing an orange shirt! It stopped with considerable room to spare; fortunately my orange wasn’t sufficiently burnt. One event was missing: the raucous "pep rally" that used to be held on Commerce Street the evening before the game in the days of yore has petered out over last several decades and what’s left of it has moved to the West End and Victory areas.

Fifty years ago today, the number one rated Texas Longhorns met the Oklahoma Sooners in the same venue. The men in burnt orange prevailed 9 - 6 for the fifth straight over the Big Red. Off the field, things got somewhat raucous, to wit:

 

In 1962 the Katy Trail was the MKT Railroad’s right-of-way. There was a passenger station just north of Knox Street. My mom tells me that when our family came to Dallas from Ohio in 1951, we arrived by a train that rolled over those tracks. The locations of the American Airlines Center and West End were warehouse and industrial areas. One familiar enterprise from those days located there was the Neuhoff Brothers packing plant. The Baker Hotel (across the street from the Adolphus) was the focal point of the informal "pep rally" mentioned above.
　

While the Longhorns were managing a close victory over OU in Dallas, the Jesuit Rangers were in Tulsa skunking Cascia Hall 14 - 0 for their 6^th win. The first TD came when Richard Jackson recovered a fumble at the Cascia 37 to set up a drive that ended with a 21 yard pass to Don Erler. Bob Neuhoff kicked the extra point. Jesuit ran for a second touchdown in the 4^th quarter.

In other football news, the AFL Dallas Texans beat the Boston Patriots 27 - 7 in Boston. The Cowboys bested the Philadelphia Eagles 41 - 19 on the overworked turf (natural, not astro-) of the Cotton Bowl.

In other news, tense relations with Castro’s Cuba and the Soviet Union continued.

Today, most only know R. L. Thornton as the name of a freeway.  He was the mayor from 1953 - 1961. The Dallas Morning News editorial page 50 years ago praised him for sticking up for Love Field in the face of FAA Administrator Halaby’s call for a regional airport.

　

Love Field is still here, as busy as ever.

Does anyone know what nation Halaby’s daughter became queen of by marriage? I’ll donate an extra $100 to Jesuit’s current Annual Fund if a ‘63 alum tells me by 6:00 p.m. (CDT) October 14, 2012. (Only one extra donation, I haven’t gotten rich yet.)

State Fair 1962

Fifty years ago yesterday, the State Fair of Texas opened for a two week run. 1962 was Big Tex’s, and according to my mom, my 10^th Fair. Martha and I went again in Friday, it was not my 60^th Fair, as I missed the rest of the ‘60s except for 1967 and early ‘70s when away at college and in the military service, and one or two other times.

Many of the details are different. In 1962, it opened on Saturday morning rather than Friday, and remain open for two, not three, weeks. The Comet roller coaster was still there. So was the monorail that ran between automobile building and the Midway – that was supposed to be the transportation of the future. The last proponent of that mode was the late Mad Max Goldblatt, Pleasant Grove hardware store owner and City Councilman in the late 1970s - 1980s.

Nearly all of the cars exhibited were American made. The only foreign cars of note on the streets were of German, British, and occasional Italian and French, make. I believe the Datsun (which I understand Nissan Motors is re-introducing soon) made its debut in ‘62.

The movie State Fair with Pat Boone, Ann-Margret, and Bobby Darin that was based on our State Fair of Texas had its debut in 1962.

One major detail difference: I recall in ‘62 nearly all women of any age wore dresses. This year, I only noticed one (and there was not much to it).

The essence of the Fair is the same. Hope to make it many more years to come..
        

On Friday in Waco, the Rangers won 14 -12 over University High. The big play was when Don Erler caught a 23 yard pass to score in the second quarter. The big defensive players were Gilbert Trevino, Steve Seward, and Richard Jackson.

 

Fast forward 50 years, Jesuit beat Richardson Berkner 52 - 7 at home.

Here’s the weather for the ‘62 Fair.

Wins and Losses

The Dallas Morning News, Saturday, September 29, 1962: Jesuit wins 13 - 0 over the Seagoville Dragons for the Rangers’ third straight shutout victory for the 1962 season. The Dragons held the Rangers scoreless for almost first three quarters before Don Erler scored on a 37 yard pass and run play and then Richard Jackson ran a touchdown from the one yard line, both later in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Seagoville made six of their nine first downs, but the Rangers held the line and the Dragons scoreless.

Fast forward 50 years, the Rangers did not do so well last night, losing to Skyline 56 -24.

Back to 1962, the lead national story was the desegregation crisis at the University of Mississippi where the governor tried to block the admission of James Meredith in the face of a court order that Meredith be allowed to register. Ultimately, the force of several hundred U.S. marshals backed by National Guard and regular army troops forced the governor to back down. A Dallas connection was that our own Edwin Walker, a U.S. Army general who retired after being relieved of command in Europe for political indoctrination of soldiers under his command, showed up in support of the segregationists. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and ordered to undergo psychiatric examination. Looking backward, there were quite a few who could have benefited from psychiatric treatment in that regard.

Weather was much as it is today. Highs in the upper 80s; lows in the upper 60s. Mostly fair.

Playing at the Delman theater was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with John Wayne, James Stewart, and Lee Marvin. Favorite quote from that flick: "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." For more movies from that year, click here.  

Note:  As I stated in the first post on this blog, I welcome contributions and comments.  Many will think that my editorial choices of stories from the past need expansion, or otherwise editing.  I notice from the number of hits that the posts are being passed on to other classmates. To my readers, please keep it up.  I e-mail notice of posts to about 10, which is all I have right now. Thanks.



The Class of 1963: Legendary, indeed.

Dream On

The lead story in the September 22, 1962 Dallas Morning News: "Trinity River Navigation Receives Tremendous Boost" The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers report favors the development of a navigation channel from Galveston to Fort Worth to serve the "largest population in the world without access to navigation." "The idea of a navigable river tying the area into the vast network of waterways along the Gulf Coast and inland United States has been a North Texas dream for years."

Dream on, I suppose. More to the point, the economics apparently have not been there.

Air navigation was to be the future, but Love Field would be our main airport for another 12 years. Inter-city passenger trains still arrived and departed from Union Station daily. Interstate 35 was recently completed from downtown to Northwest Highway.

Friday evening, Jesuit scored its third straight shut-out win 26-0 over Fort Worth’s Our Lady of Victory. Don Erler and Sherman LaBarba were standouts. Sherman intercepted two OLV passes.

The game was played at the old Highlander Stadium, Jesuit’s home venue until? Does anyone recall?

The Cowboys and the Texans played home games in the Cotton Bowl this season.  The next year, the Texans would move to another city and change their name. 

More in the News: Weather was fair and warm. Upper 60s to upper 80s.

There were 12 pages of classified ads in that edition. Today there are two. The Internet was not even science fiction.