1962, Newport & Beyond...

By any account, 1962 was an eventful year in history. The Cuban Missile Crisis came to a head and John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth in Friendship 7. Telstar, the first communications satellite was activated, Spiderman, Dr. No and Andy Warhol’s Andy Warhol's Campbell’s Soup Cans all debuted this year. Johnny Carson took over as host of the Tonight Show and the Beatles replaced drummer Pete Best with Ringo Starr. Meanwhile, here in Newport, it was an America’s Cup year with Weatherly besting Gretel, the first Australian challenger. JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy followed the racing closely while spending the summer at their Hammersmith residence. The Jazz Festival returned to Freebody Park featuring Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Thelonious Monk.

June 1962:

coming 6/1/12

May 1962:

By May of 1962 things were ramping up for a legendary America’s Cup Summer in Newport. In Australia, the 12 metre challenger Gretel, was loaded onboard The City of Sydney freighter as deck cargo, (along with her trial horse Vim and two tenders) beginning her long voyage to Narragansett Bay, where Columbia and Weatherly were already vying for the defender role. Meanwhile, in Marblehead (MA), Ted Hood’s newly designed and rapidly built Nefertiti was tuning up, also hoping to defend the Auld Mug. Even the first lady was making preparations for a Newport summer. Jacqueline Kennedy flew into Hammersmith on the afternoon of May 8, via helicopter after christening the nuclear submarine Lafayette at nearby Groton. Her tour of several Ocean Drive estates with a local attorney lead to speculation that she was house hunting for a summer residence in the City by the Sea. Later that month, JFK celebrated his 45th birthday at Madison Square Garden, with a special song from Marilyn Monroe, sadly, this would be her last public appearance. In other entertainment news, King of Kings played at the Opera House while jet-setters flocked to the Cannes Film Festival including, Natlie Wood who graced the cover of Life magazine, while sailing in the Med. In music, The West Side Story soundtrack album shot to #1 on the charts where it stayed for 54 weeks (more than 20 weeks longer than any other album to date) and the Isley Brothers released what would become the new national dance craze, Twist and Shout! In local news, Pat Norton of Middletown was crowned Miss Newport in the Fourth Annual Pageant and a pesky Portsmouth raccoon climbed into a transformer causing a 3 minute blackout of the entire island. A Jail on Wheels display was at the Aquidneck Shopping Center; the “scared straight” exhibit of the 60's featured a life-sized jail cell, an actual electric chair, a high-tech lie detector and a “drunk-o-meter.” Elsewhere in Newport high technology was in use with the massive IBM, TAMAC305 computer that occupied an entire room at the Navy Base and long-distance coin-operated telephones were installed on the (VI)king (VI=84) exchange, among in first in the nation. For that magical summer, the City by the Sea may have been inspiring the world, just look at this namesake 1962 Chrysler Newport.

April 1962:

In April of 1962 America's fascination with all things "space age" continued. The Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair) debuted the Space Needle on 4/21 and Ranger 3 was launched on 4/23 pointed toward the moon to collect images prior to impact, but unfortunately missed it!  This month in sports, the Celtics drafted John Havlicek and defeated the Lakers in Game 7 overtime to clinch their 4th consecutive NBA Championship (video) sparking the fierce rivalry that continues today. Would-be America's Cup 12 metre challenger Gretel and her trial horse Vim split two 12 mile races at the Prince Albert YC Regatta in Sydney Harbour this month. Meanwhile, Ted Hood's newly designed 12 metre Nefertiti was being built under a cloak of secrecy, in Marblehead at a reported cost of  "upward of $1300/ft. In the world of entertainment Lawrence of Arabia won 7 Academy Awards. Locally, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance played the Opera House and Breakfast at Tiffanys opened the season at the Newport Family Drive-In ($1.70/carload). Rogers High alum, Van Johnson took a break from The Music Man to visit Newport to satisfy a craving for Johnny cakes and sausage. In April of 1962, the Equal Pay Act was still a year away. The Newport Daily News routinely published "Help Wanted" ads separated by gender. Listed under "Available Female" were stenographer, salesgirl, dental assistant, housekeeper, typist, cook, babysitter, cocktail waitress and Avon representative. Cherry & Webb featured "designer Easter bonnets" from the new "ready-to-wear" collections of Balenciaga, Givenchy, Nina Ricci and Pierre Cardin priced from $9.98 - $13.98. And a "Debonaire Deluxe" hairstyle at Gustave Hair Stylists in Bellevue Plaza included a "a deluxe permanent, style, cut, shampoo, set and creme rinse, for $10.00.

March 1962:

March of 1962 came in like a lion with record cold, the worst storm of the winter dumped 23 inches of snow on 3/6 and on 3/12 a winter gale buffeted our coast with 50 mph winds. With St. Patrick's Day approaching heart-warming meals were being planned; Almacs promoted a corned beef sale-- .55 cents/lb plus 100 free Green Stamps. According to the Daily News "5000-7000 people viewed the 6th Annual Parade which featured 5 bands and a 6 year old champion baton twirler." Beyond Newport, Wilt Chamberlain scored an incredible 100 points in one  game on 3/2 and on 3/15 he became the first to score 4000 points in a single NBA season. The Beatles BBC broadcast radio debut was on 3/7 and in the U.S. 90% of US homes now had televisions. Other March events included the Navy selecting Newport as the Atlantic Headquarters for the Cruiser and Destroyer Fleet, George Wein was granted a license to hold the Jazz Festival at Freebody Park and Sophia Loren starred in the film Two Women (for which she had become the first non-American actress to win an Academy Award) at the Opera House. Middletown Motors advertised brand new 1962 VW Beetles for $1341.38, which would take you a long way with the price of gas at .28 cents/gallon! And for the first time, Newport residents could park in the Mary Street lot free for three hours, the then trial program was deemed a success and contnues 50 years later. And last, but certainly not least, Daniel F. Dwyer, III was born on 3/23/62 at Newport Hospital.

February 1962:

John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth in Friendship 7 and President Kennedy announced a U.S. embargo prohibiting the importation of goods of Cuban origin. The official beginning of the "Age of Aquarius" was heralded by the alignment of the first 6 planets in an extremely rare "great conjunction" during a solar eclipse and the Beach Boys introduced a new musical style with their hit "Surfin."  Great strides were being made in the Civil Rights Movement with Memphis, TN ordering the desegregation of its lunch counters and the Supreme Court disallowing race separation on public transportation. Meanwhile, here in Newport, The Preservation Society saved the Elms (mansion) from the wrecking ball, purchasing it for $116,000 and the Colony House was designated a National Historic Landmark. The USS Ingraham arrived in Newport, her new home port, later she was assigned as part of the Cuban blockade which resulted in the removal of Russian missiles from that island.