Pope, Buddhist Die, Space Race Goes On In June 1963
Get into a conversation with a long-time Queens resident and

Photo Public Domain Pope Paul VI.

you're likely to discover

a subscriber of the Long Island Star-Journal, a daily paper that informed the community about local and world news until it folded in 1968. A banner across the Star-Journal masthead reminded readers that the newspaper's name came from the merger of the Long Island Daily Star (1876) and the North Shore Daily Journal--The Flushing Journal (1841).

Welcome to June 1963!

June 1963 was a month filled

with events which reflected the turbulence of the times.

On June 3, Pope John XXIII died. After multiple ballots by the College of Cardinals at Vatican City, Rome, Giovanni Battista Montinti, Archbishop of Milan, was elected the new Pope on June 21. He chose the name Paul VI.

On June 11, in Saigon, South Vietnam, a Buddhist monk burned himself to death by dousing himself with gasoline and putting a match to his yellow robes. Thousands of onlookers viewed the scene, which lasted almost 10 minutes. The sacrifice capped a wave of demonstrations by Buddhists demanding religious freedom and social justice from the government.

Gazette Photo Big Allis.

On June 11, Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and barred the enrollment of two black students, despite a presidential proclamation ordering him not to do so. A short time later, President John F. Kennedy ordered the Alabama National Guard into federal service because his commands to Governor Wallace against "unlawful obstructions of justice" had not been obeyed.

On June 12, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower said,"Anybody who would spend

40 billion in a race to the moon for national prestige is nuts." Eisenhower made the blunt remark at a breakfast meeting of about 160 Republican Congressmembers. He drew sustained applause to his

nuts" reference to the Kennedy Administration's space program. In Washington, "Space Chief" James E. Webb announced on the same day that NASA would move ahead with the Gemini program, which featured a two-man spacecraft, and would practice docking maneuvers that would be required later for Apollo flights to the moon. There were to be no more Mercury flights.

Photo NASA Gemini space craft in orbit.

On June 17, the Supreme Court declared Bible readings and recitations of the Lord's Prayer in public schools unconstitutional. The 8-1 ruling was based on similar cases from Maryland and Pennsylvania.

On June 19, the first man and woman space team returned to Earth. They had been launched in separate spacecraft. Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova landed first after 49 orbits of the planet, followed by Valery F. Bykovsky after 82 orbits. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was the first to congratulate them on their return. Bykovsky's flight was the longest ever, and Tereshkova's was longer than that of all four Americans who had been in orbit.

Con Edison proposed to build the world's largest atomic power plant on the East River in Ravenswood. It was to generate one million kilowatts (1,000 megawatts) of electricity and come online in 1970. On June 14, the City Council began hearings where the plan and the general issue of atomic energy use in New York City were discussed. The reason for the hearings was a bill to block the building of reactors in the city. A leading atomic physicist, Dr. James E. McDonald of the University of Arizona, testified that technology to operate such a huge plant would not exist for another 10 years and supported the bill. He was particularly troubled about the "meltdown of the radioactive core, which he contended would release radioactive material into the atmosphere." He also contended that the containment building, as proposed by the utility, would not prevent the release of radioactive material into the environment.

On the other hand, Congressman Emanuel Celler of Brooklyn was concerned that a ban on nuclear power in the city would prevent the possible construction of a nuclear powered aircraft carrier at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and limit the use of atomic energy at educational institutions. Oliver Townsend, the director of the State Office of Atomic Development, was concerned about the long-term effect of an atomic ban on the economy of the city.

Outside City Hall, a crowd of more than 100 protesters marched with signs saying "No A-plant in New York" and "Don't Make an Ash Out of Us." (Con Ed withdrew its application to build the plant on January 6, 1964 as a result of ongoing public protests. Instead, in 1965, Ravenswood Unit 3, a 1,000-megawatt conventional plant with a generator known as "Big Allis" began operation.).

World's Fair President Robert Moses, Parks Commissioner Newbold Morris and Olympic Committee secretary Asa Bushnell signed a document that would make the 1964-1965 World's Fair the site of Olympic tryouts for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. More than 15 of the 28 tryout events would be held in the city area. Boxing gymnastics, judo, weight lifting and wrestling would be held in the 15,000-person assembly area. Fencing matches would be held in the 2,000-seat assembly pavilion. St. John's University would host basketball; Downing Stadium on Randalls Island would host track and field; swimming and diving trials were to be at the Astoria Park pool.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority placed the largest subway car order ever with the Budd Company of Philadelphia. Included were 600 stainless steel cars to be operated on the BMT and IND lines. The MTA expected to save $13 million-half initially and half over the lifetime of the equipment through lower maintenance costs, less power for operation and no need to paint the exteriors.

There was an attempt to turn the Corona junkyards in Willets Point (next to present day Shea Stadium) into a park. This would have required condemnation of the junkyard property, which was naturally resisted by the owners. A proposal to fund this endeavor using the proceeds of a bond issue was questioned because the bond referred to the purchase of "open or natural lands" for park development. (Note: These junkyards still exist today, but new plans to develop the area are being discussed.)

Playing at the movies were: "Lawrence of Arabia", starring Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif; "The Birds", starring Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette, Jessica Tandy and Tippi Hedren, and "Dr. No", starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress.

That's the way it was in June 1963!

Greater Astoria Historical Society exhibits are open to the public on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at Quinn's Gallery, 4th floor, Thomas M. Quinn & Sons Funeral Home, 35-20 Broadway, Long Island City New exhibit, "Lager, Leisure, and Laughter: Long Island City at Play", now on view. For more information, call the Greater Astoria Historical Society at 718-278-0700 or visit www.astorialic.org.