I enjoy history. Earlier this year (2024,) I bought a Time Magazine issue from January 17, 1964 – 60 years ago. I read it cover to cover. In doing so, I discovered what history was like when it was actually happening (e.g. cigarettes are unhealthy) and how we perceived things in a different era (e.g. wanting spacious cars). In my effort to remind myself and others the value of learning from history, I thought I would share some of these things I discovered in one reading of a Time 1964 issue.
In the feature article on Texas: Where Myth & Reality Merge...
At the time, Texas had the world’s largest vegetable farm in Edinburg, the deepest hole in Pecos County, and the largest factory for medical school skeletons in Gatesville.
- Texas produced 1/2 the nation’s rubber, 1/3 of the U.S.’s oil, and 20% of the world’s cotton.
- The Blacklands ran from northern Texas (above Dallas) to Waco and was considered the aristocratic cotton-plantation society. It was named for the gooey black clay that attracted early settlers but has was no longer as fertile in 1964.
- San Antonio has landscaped the banks of its downtown river where shoppers can rest and stroll (not yet called the River Walk).
- Houston topped 1 million residents and was the 6th largest city in the nation. It also was home to a new NASA Manned Spacecraft Center focused on moon-bound astronauts.
- Dallas was frantic to keep up with Houston and was building 2 50-story office buildings. Dallas Cabana Motel was the fanciest place to stay with 5 jet water fountains shooting 50 feet in the air under different color lights.
Smoking
A major U.S. Government study finally declared that “cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the U.S. to warrant appropriate remedial action.” (I wonder what “appropriate” meant?) Evidently, the dangers of smoking had been known for years but the government kept shying away from the problem (so glad they quickly addressed it in 1964! 😉 Ten men of unquestionable repute, three of whom smoked, were selected to examine 8,000 research studies on the topic. The Surgeon General, Luther L. Terry, switched from cigarettes to pipe smoking halfway through the committee’s work. “Cigarette smoking contributes to mortality in direct proportion to the number of cigarettes smoked and the number of years the habit persists.” Pipe smoking was found to be harmless other than a slight increase in cancer of the lip. Smoking up to 5 cigars a day is safe. The report was shared on a Saturday morning in time to make the Sunday papers since all stock exchanges were closed (and would not drop precipitously due to the announcement.) The Surgeon General said there would be “no foot dragging” – action was imminent. The Tobacco Institute’s spokesman, George V. Allen, said that the “mechanism of causation remains to be found.” There are now 2 bills aimed at forcing manufacturers to state nicotine and tar content on packaging.
Sports
UCLA’s Coach Johnny Wooden, 53, was telling people that his team did not need any big men to beat other teams. He preferred short players who could run and was rolling out a defense called a full court “zone press.” (this is the same coach who recruited Bill Walton and Lew Alcindor to play for him a few years later). A one-time English teacher and church deacon, Wooden’s door is covered with poems, epigrams and posters of his own devising, including, “Success comes from knowing you gave all to be the best you are capable of.”
Letters
The Editor and Publisher of the Mississippi Journal in Clinton, MS, wrote a critique for Time Magazine naming Martin Luther King, Jr., the Man of the Year. He stated that “time will show that the Negro revolution of 1963, due largely to the leadership involved, retarded rather than speeded Negro progress.”
Ads
“Sugar’s got what it takes – 18 calories per teaspoon – and it’s all energy” “It is the sugar in soft drinks that makes them refreshing, restoring, not merely cooling.” “Sugar works fast to make you feel better. It’s energy helps you enjoy life. Energy is the first requirement of life, and sugar is the purest energy food there is.” “You can depend on sugar.” From Sugar Information, Inc.
The oldest family car I remember us owning was a 1964 Mercury, which was advertised in this issue as the “finest car in the medium-price field.”
Group W, sponsored by Westinghouse Broadcasting Co, had a full page ad on their new 30 TV lectures on the Meaning of Communism, focused on enlightenment and forearming. (see below)
The most spacious car in American was being advertised inside the cover page of the issue – the Chrysler Imperial. (see below)
Douglas was unveiling a new jet, the DC-9, which will have plenty of room for its passengers. Not sure we hear that promise as much today.
Volkswagon said they never intend to change the shape of the VW, because they money they spend goes to the interior of the car. They said that this keeps their price at a steady $6,000 over the years.
The back of the issue included an ad for Personna Razor Blades, a company based in Staunton, Virginia, a town where I used to live and drive by all the time. And the company is still there today, on Razor Blade Lane! (see below)
“Every office need, every business need, every industrial need” – could be met with the Yellow Pages.
The easiest way to develop new business is to “Use Long Distance to get repeat sales!” “Analyze the visits of salemen and handle these more effectively with Long Distance.”
Viet Nam
“Hope springs eternal but the Viet Cong still reign supreme in 13 of the country’s 43 provinces.”
Panama
It was still a republic of the U.S. in 1964. “The U.S. flag was a symbol of a bitter dispute between the Panamanians and 36,000 U.S. residents. A mob of older men, including Castroites, were armed with guns and Molotov cocktails, angry that they heard the Panamanian flag had been trampled by the Americans. They set fire to a Sears Roebuck store, Pan American Airways building, and a Goodyear Tire rubber plant. The USIS (?) office was destroyed.” President Johnson ordered all secret papers in the U.S. embassy there burned and called Panama’s President asking him to calm down. Three U.S. GI’s were killed, 85 wounded, and 20 Panamanians were killed, although Panama claimed 300 were killed.
Business
Top selling car makers were GM, Ford, Chrysler, and American with VW being the top non-U.S. car maker. Not one Japanese auto maker was listed in the top 5 non U.S. companies.
Other
Having experienced the horrible West, Texas explosion 18 miles north of Waco in April 2013, I don’t know how many times I read about how policies needed to be passed against mass storage of ammonium nitrate to never allow this happen again. 15 people were killed and 160 injured. And yet, this article mentioned the 2 shiploads of ammonium nitrate that explored in Texas City in 1947 that killed 512 people (34X more than the West explosion) and wounded more than 3,500 people (22X more than in West).
Deep Thoughts on Higher Ed and Life 