Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 11

Pctnxit gxtt SECTION On the Inside Editors Notebook Paee 6 Features Editorials Books and Art Amusements Page 8 Pages 9-11 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1963 Nov. 22, 7963 -The Date of the Decode Pra-faatr Smprr Held KENNfflY-MURDERED: JOHNSON PRESIDENT I I i I 1 order of a President Overw lelims the orld. The DggcB s4T WAS a year that will be engraved in living men's memories and in the history books for those who never knew 1963. A year of shattering news 0 over-whelming event and yet a year that stumbled forward into the future with progress, a glimmer of peace and renewed dedication to the ideals of mankind. Today the Free Press devotes five pages to this 1963.

Below are the editors' choices as the 10 most newsworthy events of the year, both world-wide and locally. And in the following four pages this astounding 1963 is put in perspective. Top Stories Of the World And Nation I The Assassination A madman lined up the telescopic sight on his mail-order rifle, three shots rang out, and John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, mortally wounded, slumped into the arms of his wife. The date was Nov.

22 and the scene a motorcade in Dallas, and from that city waves of shock and grief radiated to every corner of the world. I ITTP, lp; vp j-- si iT-pM xmww-mx. i "M--TT 1 T. TT': i TT 1 T.T i -t lit P1. V- Iw- la- It I UrL, nill Top Stories Of the City And State 1 New Constitution Voters put their stamp of approval on the new State Constitution April 1.

The far-reaching document, which had evolved from seven hectic months of partisan struggle at Lansing, provided for reapportionment of the State Legislature and the redrawing of Michigan's Congressional districts. 2 Automotive Boom Last year was a great year for the auto industry, and in 1963 people across the nation showed no sign of letup in their eagerness to buy new cars. The result for the Michigan auto industry was the second boom year in a row, a condition that meant buoyancy fof the state economy in general. 3 'Freedom Now1 The cry of "Freedom Now" came echoing in from the South, and civil rights demonstrations erupted in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint and other cities. A June 23 "March to Freedom" in Detroit brought out 125,000 participants.

The civil rights issue was also raised in the fatal shooting of Negro prostitute Cynthia Scott by a policeman. 2 Civil Rights In a continuing quest for equality, American Negroes pressed demonstrations culminating in the peaceful March on Washington by 200,000 persons Aug. 28, but followed on Sept. 15 by the bombing of a church in Birmingham killing four girls in Sunday School. 3 A New Pope Pope John XXHI died, leaving behind a record of impressive and liberal achievement in a comparatively short reign.

The Sacred College of Cardinals convened and chose Giovanni Cardinal Montini, of Milan, as his successor. The new Pope decided to continued the historic Second Vatican Council. 4 Fiscal Reform 4 Viet Nam Like Democratic Governors Williams and Swain-son before him, Republican Governor George Rom-ney called for fiscal reform in Michigan. He staked a good share of his prestige on passage of the reform package, which included a State income tax, but could not get it through the Legislature. IT WAS A SUNNY DAY in Dallas and the President rode in an open car waving at the smiling crowd.

Then three shots were heard. This is the moment after the second bullet struck President Kennedy and as he slumped toward the seat Mrs. Kennedy reached over and cradled his head in her lap. He was rushed to Parkland Hospital and within an hour was pronounced dead. Dissatisfaction with the repressive measures of the South Vietnamese government and its conduct of the frustrating war against the Viet Cong guerillas came to a focus in a military coup that included the murder of President Ngo Dinh Diem and his powerful brother, whose wife, Madame Nhu, was touring the United States.

5 School Millage The Jtesult 5 Profumo Scandal Detroit voters sent shock waves throughout the city's educational system when they defeated mill-age and building proposals in April. With millage authority expiring, the Board of Education was confronted with the loss of one-third of its revenue. A millage proposal passed in November without building bonds on the ballot. As the rest of the world snickered or looked on aghast, the British government was rocked to its very foundations with the sex-and-security ramifications of the Christine Keeler affair. Minister of War John Profumo was forced to resign after discovery of his involvement.

6 Political Coup Former Gov. John B. Swainson pulled off the political maneuver of the year just when it looked as if he might lose control of the Democratic Party during its February convention in Grand Rapids. He left a sick bed in a Detroit hospital to engineer the election of Zoltan Ferency as chairman. 6 Test Treaty What was generally hailed as a breakthrough in the cold war came on July 25 with the initialing by the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union of an atomic test ban treaty.

7 Botulism Scare 7 Space Shrinks In March, two Grosse lie women died of botulism poisoning after eating canned tuna. Additional poisoning deaths in October were traced to smoked fish packed by a Grand Haven fishery. People quit buying fish and Midwest congressmen deplored what they called Federal scare tactics. The frontiers of space receded a bit more as 36-year-old American astronaut L. Gordon Cooper completed 22 orbits of the earth in May.

The next month Lt. Col. Bykovsky became the fifth Soviet astronaut and was followed into orbit by Valentina Te-reshkova, 26, first woman in space. -v-t UJ i4-' p'Vra 1 -r v. P.

ppLj- 1 1 WlS -w l'l I Pi a 8 Olympics Bid 8 Thresher Tragedy There was enthusiasm to spare, with solid backing from State and City officials, plus a torch relay to dramatize the situation, as Detroit went after selection as the locale for the 1968 Olympic Games. But the International Olympic Committee picked Mexico City in Oct. 18. Regarded as the world fastest and deepest-diving submarine, the atomic sub USS Thresher dove into depths of the Atlantic some 200 miles east of Boston on April 10 and was never heard from again. The ship took with her to a watery grave 129 men.

9 Prison Escape 9 Mine Disaster Southern Michigan Prison at Jackson, largest walled penal institution in the country, was the setting for a breakout in April by four convicts, two of them killers. Their escape touched off one of the most intensive manhunts in state history. Two guards were suspended and one fired. All four escapees were eventually caught. Miners David Fellin, 58, and Henry Throne 28, were pulled up 300 feet to safety through an 18-inch rescue shaft on Aug.

27 after being trapped in a Hazelton (Pa.) mine for 14 days. A third man, Louis Bova, separated from them by falling debris, died. I 0 Murder Mystery I 0 School Prayers On Feb. 17, Mrs. Joan Watkins, 28, a Brooklyn (Mich.) housewife and mother, failed to return from a local laundromat.

A vigorous manhunt failed to dispel the mystery. Then, on March 27, a 22-year-old unemployed father of two confessed he had shot Mrs. Watkins and buried her body outside the basement wall of the home he was building. TWO DAYS AFTER he was accused of assassinating the President, Lee Harv ey Oswald himself was slain by Jack Ruby; a Dallas strip-tease club owner. While millions saw it obscured on television.

Bob Jackson, of the Dallas Times-Herald, captured the moment of history as Ruby pressed the gun against Oswald and fired, disbelief on the faces of his guards. He, too, was dead within an hour. The United States Supreme Court, dealing with cases from Maryland and Pennsylvania, handed down a decision on June 17 that held unconstitutional the reading and recital of the Lord's Prayer in public schools as part of required exercises. 1..