1962—1963 - 6th Grade
WORLD EVENTS
The United Nations condemned apartheid in South Africa and called for an end to military and economic aid to SA.
Pope John XXIII excommunicated Fidel Castro from the Catholic Church.
Adolph Eichmann is executed in Israel for WWII war crimes.
NATIONAL EVENTS
The newly launched Telstar satellite transmitted the first television broadcast from Europe to the United States.
John Glenn orbited the earth 3 times in the Friendship 7.
President Kennedy ordered a ban on all Cuban products.
The Cuban missile crisis began. US satellite pho- tos confirmed Soviet missiles being installed in Cuba. The US blockaded Cuba. President Ken- nedy addressed the nation announcing the block- ade of Cuba and warning of possible conflict. Castro demands the USSR attack the US with nu- clear missiles. USSR seriously considers the option. For six days the threat of nuclear war was very real - only a few knew how real.
USSR conceded and removed its missiles. The US agreed not to invade Cuba and to gradually re- move 15 nuclear missiles from Turkey.
The US rocket Ranger IV landed on (actually it crashed into) the moon. It’s mission to take photos of the moon’s surface failed due to equipment mal- function. Earlier in the year Ranger III, on an identical mission, had missed the moon by about 20,000 miles. So far our space program was not going as well as we’d hoped.
The first Wall-Mart opened in Rogers, Arkansas. The first K-Mart also opened this year in a suburb of Detroit , Michigan.
Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black ordered the immediate admission of James Mere- dith into the University of Mississippi. Governor Ross Barnett defied the order and for- bade Meredith’s entry. President Kennedy nationalized Mississippi’s National Guard and enforced Meredith’s admission.
The US Department of Justice orders court action to halt racial segregation in hospitals built with Federal funds.
NATIONAL EVENTS (cont) The drug Thalidomide is removed from the market. A popular prescription sleeping aid the drug was found to cause a high rate of birth defects affecting limb development. The FDA is given expanded power to regulate the introduction of new drugs.
The oral polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Albert Sabin is given to millions of children.
The US Supreme Court ruled that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional.
The Mariner II, the first US interplanetary probe, reached Venus and returned a signal providing the first scientific information from another planet. Things started “looking up” in the US’s space pro- gram. AND IN LEHI…
V.J. Carter (Ray’s dad) began construction of the Lehi Airport on the bench above the cemetery.
The Dry Creek Storage and Debris Basin was constructed north of Lehi near the Alpine Highway. Its 36 ft. tall earth-filled dam and spillway finally put an end to the annual springtime floods along Dry Creek (including the annual Lehi Elementary playground flood).
The LDS Lehi Stake Presidency announced that the Lehi Tabernacle, probably the most prominent landmark in the city, was going to be demolished and replaced with a new building. In September of 1962, many of us watched from the Jr. High windows as the 112’ tall tower fell to the ground. Do you remember see- ing the artifacts from the Tabernacle’s cornerstone box, recovered after the demolition, that were placed on display in the Jr. High trophy case?
The old Utah Theater at 154 West Main Street (originally Garff’s Hall and also known as the Lehi Opera House - which always seemed a little run down to me anyway) was demolished to make way for the modern Lehi Drug Store, constructed by Abe Ekins. The Royal Theater was now the only place to see a movie in Lehi.
The Sego Lilly, Cedar Fort/Fairfield, and Lehi Elementary students came together as classmates for the first time in the old Jr. High School building.
MUSIC NOTES Popular music really shifted gears in 1962. A new group, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons, gave gender specific emotional counsel with “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man”. The Beach Boys’ surf music made surfing a national craze - especially for those who never had and never would surf. They (along with Ray Charles) had 3 songs in the Top 40 for the year, surpassed only by Elvis who had 4. “Surfin’ USA” was named the Song of the Year. Bob Dylan recorded his first album - it was a flop. And in England, the Beatles fired their drummer Pete Best and took on a new drummer Richard Starkey (whose stage name was Ringo Starr). Soon afterwards they recorded and released their first album in the United Kingdom. In a wasted attempt to appeal to adults (trying to bolster sales) the album included the song “My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean” (a real rocker). MUSIC NOTES (cont.)
Pete Seeger took up where Woody Guthrie had left off and married folk music to protest songs, be- coming a strong (although a little annoying) voice for the civil rights movement. Herb Alpert recorded “The Lonely Bull” and connected Jazz with Pop Music. Originally Alpert played all the parts and instruments. It would be awhile before the Tijuana Brass would form (it would be still longer before the Brass Men would form). Paul & Paula, Booker T. & the MGs, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, and the Trashmen (“the bird is a word”) all began recording. The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records. They were rejected.
TOP SONGS
1. Miserlou - Dick Dale (this was the first true 11. Party Lights - Claudine Clark “surfer song” 12. Twistin’ The Night Away - Sam Cooke 2. Twist and Shout - Isley Brothers 13. The Wah Wahtusi - The Orions 3. Do You Love Me - Countours 14. Duke of Earl - Gene Chandler 4. Can’t Help Falling In Love - Elvis 15. Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen - Neil Sedaka 5. You Belong To Me - The Duprees 16. Surfin’ USA - Beach Boys 6. The Loco-motion - Little Eva 17. Good Luck Charm - Elvis 7. Let’s Dance - Chris Montez 18. Hey Baby - Bruce Channel 8. Return To Sender - Elvis 19. Alley Cat - Bent Fabric 9. Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker 20. Shout, Shout, Knock Yourself Out - Ernie 10. Big Girls Don’t Cry - Four Seasons Maresca
TOP SELLING ALBUMS (Adults were still buying most of the albums - mostly musical soundtracks) AUTOS Cars began to get smaller with more compacts being placed on the market
1962 Chevrolet Impala 1962 Ford Fairlane Dodge Dart
Plymouth Fury Chevrolet Truck Ford Truck
Television 1. Walter Cronkite succeeds Douglas Edwards as anchor for the CBS Evening News. 2. Johnny Carson takes over as the host for the Tonight Show. 3. FCC requires all televisions to include UHF tuning (meanwhile in Lehi we kept our 3 major network channels and 2 educational channels). 4. The newly launched Telstar satellite relayed the first trans-Atlantic television signal. 5. The Rose Bowl, on NBC, became the first coast-to-coast broadcast of a college football game.
NEW TELEVISION SHOWS
The Jetsons Beverly Hillbillies McHale’s Navy The Virginian TOP RATED TV SHOWS
1. The Beverly Hillbillies 6. The Andy Griffith Show 2. Candid Camera 7. Ben Casey 3. The Red Skelton Show 8. The Danny Thomas Show 4. Bonanza 9. The Dick Van Dyke Show 5. The Lucy Show 10. Gunsmoke
TV SHOWS CANCELLED IN 1962
NEW THINGS
Invented in 1945 the Slinky The Light Emitting Tab and Diet-Rite Cola was never marketed until Diode (LED) was go on the market 1962—it was a big success. invented. “Everyone Loves a Slinky”.
Aluminum can pull- tabs introduced The first Taco Bell opened in Pentel felt-tip pen Downey, CA GREAT 1962 MOVIES
To Kill a Mocking- Named Best Picture (And the longest The First Sean Con- bird (still one of the of the Year movie too - 3 nery James Bond all-time best movies) hours)
The Miracle Worker Whatever Happened To Ba- by Jane? (This was an in- tense one)
OTHER MOVIES
1. The Manchurian Candidate 5. And the ever popular Japanese B movie: King Kong vs Godzilla 2. The Music Man (Spoiler alert - King Kong wins, in case you 3. Hatari don’t remember) 4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 6. Mutiny on the Bounty
OTHER ENTERTAINMENT NOTES Marilyn Monroe died of an apparent overdose. SPORTS NOTES
NY Yankees defeat the SF Giants 4 games to 3 to win the World Series.
Sonny Liston knocked out Floyd Patterson in the first round to become the heavyweight box- ing champion.
Emile Griffith defended his welterweight boxing title against Benny “Kid” Paret. In the 12th round Griffith hit Paret 29 times in a row before the fight was finally stopped with Paret fall- ing to the canvas. Paret lapsed into a coma and died 10 days later.
Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 100 points in an NBA game against the NY Knicks. That season Wilt averaged 50.4 points per game.
(Kind of a low-tech certificate of achieve- ment don’t you think?)