For my “Front-Page History” series, today we are looking at headlines from June 10, 1958. There was quite a mix of activity, on matters that might seem familiar to you today — international news, land use developments, racial tensions, dissatisfaction with local governance, and governmental harassment of protestors. 

On Tuesday, June 10, 1958, the national news in The Northern Virginia Sun reflected the Cold War conflict with the Soviet Union: “Reds Threaten Spy Trial For 9 Americans.” A U.S. Army helicopter in West Germany, with 9 men on board, got lost on its way to artillery training. They ended up in East Germany, running out of fuel and landing on an East German farm. The soldiers were mired in an international incident, with the threat of being tried as spies. 

Locally, there was an intriguing story of a missed opportunity, with the headline of “Wilson Boulevard Mall Shaped By Planners”. The article described a “bold plan to revamp Clarendon into the largest and most modern business district in Northern Virginia”. The idea was to close down large portions of Wilson Boulevard and convert the area into a pedestrian mall. Who knows, maybe 77 years later it is time to revive the idea? 

Another headline highlighted the racial tensions arising from segregation laws and customs: “Negro Woman Freed By Court After Arrest at Mixed Picnic.” The article refers to the trial of Mildred Eldridge, a Black member of the Unitarian Church who had been arrested a week earlier at the annual church picnic in Bon Air Park, for the alleged crime of being Black in an all-White park. It turned out that this was “segregation by custom,” and so the County was only able to charge her with disorderly conduct. The arresting officer admitted at the trial that she was not disorderly in any way. 

In 1958 the Virginia legislature was trying very hard to avoid integration of the schools, and was harassing local citizens with subpoenas via the “Thompson Committee.” A local printer (and activist), David Scull, had been sentenced to ten days in jail by the Arlington Circuit Court for refusing to answer the questions of the committee chair, James Thompson. The headline for June 10 refers to the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to hear the case on appeal. 

There were two articles about the need to get highway access to the new “Chantilly Airport” that was being planned (now known as Dulles Airport). One plan (“Route B”) would require the construction of a proposed Three Sisters Bridge across the Potomac, tying into Spout Run Parkway, and heading into the “proposed Route 66”. Route B was never built, but it is interesting to note that Route 66 was being proposed as far back as the 1950s. It did not open until 1982, which gives you an idea of how difficult it was to make transportation improvements! 

“Let’s Get Acquainted”: that was the headline in the paper’s editorial, which described a proposal by the Arlington Committee of 100 to work with the Chamber of Commerce to “decrease the divisive forces within the County.” Alfred Crowe of the Chamber of Commerce had pointed out that “Arlingtonians tend to get swept into one group or another – either a pro-school group or a civic federation group or a business group,” and he suggested that “we need to get acquainted” with one another. 

The divisiveness of political parties was illustrated by the article with a heading of “Two Party Bid By Mrs. Buchholz.” In the 1950s the Republicans and Democrats had both struggled to find their footing, which resulted in the formation of two new grassroots political groups, Arlingtonians for a Better County (ABC) and Arlington Independent Movement (AIM). Leone Buchholz was an incumbent who had won a seat in 1954 under the AIM banner, but for the upcoming 1958 election she was making a bid for endorsement by the Democrats and the Republicans. 

The “rest of the story” for each item is fascinating. I may have to plan for some follow-up to these Front-