Today In Salisbury's History: Monday, Nov. 25, 1968
By Greg Bassett
Posted 11/23/21
Monday, Nov. 25, 1968 --
Dreams of building a cultural center in Downtown Salisbury have become complicated by concerns that federal money to back the idea won’t be available. In a letter to …
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Today In Salisbury's History: Monday, Nov. 25, 1968
Dreams of building a cultural center in Downtown Salisbury have become complicated by concerns that federal money to back the idea won’t be available. In a letter to Downtown Salisbury Association President Arnold R. Wolters, city Planning Director Phillip L. Tallon said federal funding -- considered crucial to the plan -- was unlikely to be approved because of a longstanding battle between U.S. Housing and Urban Development over a 1963 residential slum-clearing project.
The Old Carriage House, the old structure long situated on the estate of the late William H. Jackson, has been converted to a budget shop under the operation of the women of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church. Built in 1883 by the grandfather of W. Newt Jackson of Jackson Insurance Agency, the carriage house once stored a fleet of carriages, sleighs and surreys used by the prominent Salisbury family. The Jacksons lived in the house on Camden Avenue that now serves as the Catholic rectory.
Just in time for Christmas, Castleberg’s Jewelers in the Wicomico Hotel building is holding a sale on portable television sets. A Westinghouse 19-inch lightweight cabinet TV with all-channel reception is just $129.95. A 12-inch attache portable TV with a 74-square-inch picture is $89.95. Bill Robertson’s Shore Appliances on East Main Street is offering General Electric dishwashers for only $2.49 per week, with the rental fee applied to the purchase price.
A 50-foot-tall Norway spruce -- believed to be one of the biggest in the United States -- has been placed in the center of the Downtown Plaza st St. Peter’s Street. The tree, cut in Parsons, W.Va., will be lighted and decorated in time for public display this weekend. Meanwhile, Jean & Ken’s Christmas Wonderland has opened on East Main Street, with pre-assembled trees ranging in price from $12.88 to $37.88.
Movies playing in Salisbury this week include “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Cool Hand Luke” at the Boulevard Theater; “Parent Trap” and “Fire Creek” at the Bowl Drive-In (where in-car heaters are available); and “West Side Story” and “War and Peace” at the Wicomico Theater on South Division Street.
Mayor Dallas G. Truitt has unveiled a $7 million capital spending improvement plan for Salisbury that includes a public golf course, a new fire house, a multi-level parking garage Downtown and a new government office building. The plan covers projects to be built between 1969 and 1974. Of 23 projects proposed by Truitt, 16 involve sewer and water, and street improvements.
In an effort to keep the city tax rate in check and increase public safety, the National Taxpayers Coordinating Commission is offering to deploy some of its members as citizen police officers to patrol Salisbury in the overnight hours. NTCC members have offered to patrol between the hours of 2 and 6 a.m. in their radio-equipped personal cars. Mayor Dallas G. Truitt has seemed supportive of the idea thus far, but the City Council has yet to meet on the matter.
Salisbury Public Works Director Philip C. Cooper said some traffic pattern changes are coming to the City Park area. Traffic through the park area has surged since the October opening of the new $7 million Salisbury Mall on Civic Avenue. Cooper said concerns that the old timber bridge that crosses Beaverdamn Creek couldn’t withstand additional traffic loads were unfounded.