The very first issue of The Ponte Vedra Recorder went to press on Nov. 7, 1969. In past articles, I have written about some of the events of that year. 1969 was a significant year both nationally and in our area. The moon landings and the Manson Family murders were dominating the national psyche.
In fact, the second moon landing occurred less than two weeks after we published our first issue. The largely forgotten astronauts of Apollo 12 landed on the moon on Nov. 19, 1969. And yes, they did land on the moon despite what you might read or hear on rogue social media posts and conspiratorial podcasts.
Locally, the biggest event of the day was the release of a story nationally about a man who was arrested for jumping into the crocodile pit at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. On the night of Nov. 5-6, a 23-year-old “Florida Man” broke into the Alligator Farm at night and jumped off the roof into the “Oasis of the Nile” exhibit.
The man spent hours in the pool and was bitten by a 12-foot crocodile. Eventually, he climbed a tower and made his escape leaving behind a pair of shorts, a shoe and his wallet. He was discovered the next morning crawling across a neighbor’s yard, bloodied and wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. He claimed to have been “held hostage by gators.” At first, police and the Alligator Farm thought it was a hoax. But video surveillance footage confirmed the story. He was arrested, and the quirky and bizarre nature of the event led to national news coverage. No animals were injured.
Two days later, on Nov. 9, a group of Native Americans seized Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. They would hold the island for 19 months and offer to pay the U.S. government “24 dollars in glass beads” for the property. Here in Florida, a Seminole tribe member and Stetson College Graduate named Billy Cypress was serving in Vietnam as a combat platoon leader. He was the first Seminole to graduate from college, and he would go on to do great things.
The Jacksonville University basketball team, led by Artis Gilmore had been practicing for three weeks. They would shortly go on a tremendous 27 and 2 run that would take them to a National Championship finals loss to UCLA. Gilmore is back in the news running for an at-large position on the Jacksonville City Council against incumbent Nick Howland.
That first week, after our first issue was tumultuous. Vice President Spiro Agnew accused the press of abusing their power. Janis Joplin was arrested in Tampa for using profanity at a concert. Five hundred thousand protestors marched in Washington in opposition to the Vietnam War.
We live now in what we perceive as tumultuous times and it is worth remembering that drama and tumult were just as prevalent 57 years ago as they are today. And throughout, The Ponte Recorder has been there to provide a more genteel and civil look at our lives, perhaps a truer reflection of who we really are, here in Ponte Vedra.
