One day last week when I was researching for a presentation I’ve secheduled to give at the annual meeting of the Lee Society of Virginia on Saturday, April 27 (the long story of how this came about will have to wait for another day), I came across a man named McWhorter who is a descendant of “the” Lee family of Virginia. I noticed his name because he died in Annandale, where I lived for 10 years growing up. The street behind my house was McWhorter Place, and I wondered if the street was named for him. After a little poking around, I found this publication, and I began to look at it.
In addition to The Endeavor, the Annandale Chamber of Commerce website provides a section called Annandale Retrospective. This is a treasure trove of nostalgia. Here’s what it says about Annandale in 1965, the year I graduated from Annandale High School (if you’re my age you’ll enjoy this no matter where you grew up):
Annandale of Old: The Year was 1965
By: M. Callahan
GOVERNMENT
US President: Lyndon Johnson
Vice President: Hubert Humphrey
VA Governor: Albertis S. Harrison, Jr
US Senators - VA: Harry Flood Byrd, Jr. & A. Willis Robertson
Supreme Court Chief Justice: Earl Warren
Speaker of the House: John W. McCormack
MAJOR EVENTS
Indian-Pakistan hostility erupts into war.
Pres. Johnson proclaims his vision of the "Great Society.”
Rhodesia proclaims its independence from Britain
Gambia & the Maldives gain their independence.
Malcolm X is assassinated on Feb. 21st.
Allen Ginsberg coins the term “Flower Power.”
The St. Louis Arch is completed.
Ferdinand Marcos becomes the Philippine President.
Mary Quant designs the miniskirt in London.
The first combat troops are deployed to Vietnam.
The Voting Rights Act is passed.
The Dept of Housing & Urban Development is inaugurated.
AWARDS & PRIZES
Pulitzer Prize: “Advise and Consent” by Allen Drury
Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Albert John Lutuli
Miss America: Lynda Mead (Natchez, MS)
Best Picture of the Year: The Sound of Music
Best Actor: Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou
Best Actress: Julie Christie, Darling
SPORTS
NCAA Basketball Champion: UCLA
Stanley Cup Winner: Montreal Canadians
College Football Champion: Alabama & Michigan State
Heisman Trophy Winner: Mike Garrett from Southern California
US Open Winner: Gary Player
Pro Football Champions: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
World Series Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers
EVERYDAY LIFE
The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Batman, Hogan’s Heroes, and The Andy Griffith Show air on TV.
The first game at the Astrodome was played Yankees 2 v. Houston Astros 1.
The Great Blackout of ’65 cast 30 million people over 80k sq. miles into darkness at 5:27 pm on Nov. 9th.
U.S. production of soft-top convertibles peaks at 507,000 for the model year 1965.
The Subway fast-food chain opens its 1st shop in Bridgeport, CT.
Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel The Man with the Golden Gun is published.
Arthur Ashe wins NCAA singles & doubles titles.
World Population: 3,021,475,000
Cost of a new house: $13,600
Average Income: $6,469.00 per year
New Car: $2,614.00
Average Rent: $118.00 per month
Tuition to Harvard U.: $1,760.00 per year
Movie ticket: $1.25 each
Gasoline: $.31 per gallon
US Postage Stamp: $.05
Gallon of milk: $1.05
Eggs: $.35 per dozen
Ground Hamburger: $.42 per pound
Coffee: $.87 per pound
Life Expectancy 70.2 years
BIRTHS
Charlie Sheen
Will Smith
Sarah Jessica Parker
J.K. Rowling
DEATHS
Winston Churchill
T.S. Eliot
Somerset Maugham
Adlai E. Stevenson
Stan Laurel
ANNANDALE RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS
Safeway: Columbia Pike
Hormel Fully Cooked Canned Hams: 3 pounds $2.69 & 5 pounds $4.29
Chase & Sanborn Coffee: 2 lb. $1.59
Clorox Bleach: l gal jug $0.49
Annandale Barber Shop, Annandale Center Drive:
5 free haircuts will be given away Sept. 23-24, 1965.
Annandale Record Store, Annandale Center Drive:
The Beatles album HELP $2.69
The Beach Boys album SUMMER DAYS $1.99
Sam’s Tailoring, Little River Tpk.
Wash & Wear Suits $16.50 - Dacron & Wool Suite $34.50
House of Macy, Annandale Center Drive
Beautiful human hair WIG in Pastel Blonde for $75.00
Suburban Savings & Loan Association, Columbia Pike
4% dividends offered compounded daily, plus save by the 10th and earn from the 1st.
Rosenthal Chevrolet, Columbia Pike, Arlington
Labor Day Sale: ’62 Corvette, auto transmission, radio & heater: $1995.
Annandale Theatre: 7039 Little River Tpk.
Continuous showing of John Wayne in El Dorado. 09/07/1967
Roth’s Americana Theatre: 7858 Heritage Drive
A Patch of Blue with Sidney Poitier. 09/07/1967
LOCAL NEWS
First day of class for completely desegregated Fairfax County Public Schools: 09/08/1965
Plans for the Annandale Community Park on Hummer Rd. were approved in Oct. 1965. The park boasted two ballfields, tennis courts,basketball courts, Tot Lot, Jungle Gyms, and 38 acres of mostly wooded trails. The proposed center of attraction was an amphitheatre designed to provide seating for between 700 and 750 people and a community center. Neither were built.
Regular classes begin at No. VA Technical College (later NVCC): 09/20/1965
Blizzard of 1966. 12”-24” of snow followed by winds up to 50 mph creating drifts 10’ high: 01/29/1966
Official dedication of Reston held at Lake Anne Plaza: 05/21/1966
NVCC graduates its first class: 04/14/1967
Ground broken for Massey Building: 08/07/1967
Nelson Castner’s new 2 story office building on Maple Place was completed in Nov. 1967. The Chamber has had their office in this building since January 1968.
The Chamber pressed for an ordinance to place overhead wiring underground presenting their plan to both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. Unfortunately it was not approved then and is impossibly expensive now.
Fairfax County ranks 2nd among counties in the state in per capita income. Falls Church leads all cities in per capita income with $4,349 followed by Alexandria and Fairfax City. 1967
Tyson’s Corner Mall opens: 07/25/1968
Those were the days, my friend……
Well, that was a blast from the past. We lived on Long Island when the blackout occurred. My sister and I hung out with the kids across the street. I was in ninth grade. I recognize a lot of the northern VA names and places, too.